Sarajevo: divided or redoubled? Regulations, representations and pratices across the boundary

This dissertation focuses on the case study of Sarajevo, investigating the consequences of the city’s partition both in spatial and social terms. The work discusses the extent to which the divisive power of the boundary is constantly confirmed and reproduced insisting on three aspects: the underlying logic of planning regulations and space management; the symbolical manifestations of the division through urban artifacts; the spatial practices and representations of inhabitants living in the two sides. With regards to the first dimension, space management and development is largely based on a self-referential approach. Despite the two areas are not separated by any geographical or artificial barrier, urban regulations and interventions rarely entail forms of cooperation or coordination between the two local administrations and the few examples of joint intervention remain unrealized projects. The division also manifests through several urban artifacts as the built environment has been selectively reshaped to celebrate different national and religious groups neglecting the traditional multicultural identity of the city. Inhabitants’ spatial practices partially call into question the divisive impact of the partition since the crossing experience has progressively lost its emotional burden. Even though the boundary crossing has become a much more common practice, that doesn’t directly imply a renovated social exchange among individuals. Rather, the divisive power of the separation is now exerted through less visible but equally affective dynamics that foster a mutual feeling of extraneousness and detachment between the inhabitants of the two sides. In conclusion I argue that Sarajevo and Istočno Sarajevo could be more appropriately conceived as two separated urban contexts rather than the two sides of a divided city.