The Afterlife of Utopia by Samantha Maurer Fox - 9781501785108

The Afterlife of UtopiaUrban Renewal in Germany's Model Socialist City\nAuthor(s): Samantha Maurer Fox\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cornell University Press, United States\nImprint: Cornell University Press\nISBN-13: 9781501785108, 978-1501785108\nSynopsis\nIn The Afterlife of Utopia, Samantha Maurer Fox traces the transformation of Eisenhttenstadt, East Germany's first planned socialist city, from a Cold War showcase to a paragon of sustainable shrinkage. Founded in 1950 as Stalinstadt, the city was designed to embody socialist ideals. After German reunification, Eisenhttenstadt lost over half its population, shifting from a model city at the center of the Eastern Bloc to a shrinking city on the nation's periphery.\n\nFox portrays Eisenhttenstadt's story as reinvention rather than decline. Today, its restored center is Europe's largest protected historical site, reshaped by extensive demolition and renewal projects. Fox shows how these initiatives revived the city's original collec.