POLITICKÉ A DISKURZÍVNE PRÍLEŽITOSTI LOKÁLNEHO ENVIRONMENTÁLNEHO AKTIVIZMU: PRÍPAD PREMIEN BRATISLAVSKÉHO OCHRANÁRSTVA

To build environment after 1989 is among the aspects of Central and Eastern European cities most significantly affected by the post-socialist transitions. Although this might seem inevitable as the social settings producing urban forms changed dramatically, the political context of the urban built environment transformation provides an interesting area for a geographical inquiry. The city of Bratislava gives an example of how the 1989 agenda of democracy and participation have been just scarcely met in particular areas. This paper gives a relational analysis of urban governance focusing particularly on informal groups and NGOs in Bratislava advocating the conservation agenda by promoting the symbolical value of place and opposing large-scale development initiatives. It explores how during the last two decades, these preservationists acted in and affected local political opportunity structure, and thus participated in governance shifting.