TY - JOUR A2 - Skaburskis, Andrejs AU - Buivydas, Rimantas AU - Samalavičius, Almantas PY - 2011 DA - 2011/11/16 TI - Public Spaces in Lithuanian Cities: Legacy of Dependence and Recent Tendencies SP - 284573 VL - 2011 AB - The object of discussion of the current paper is transformations of urban public spaces since Czarist Russia's colonial rule up to the period after the restoration of Lithuania's independence. While reviewing the transformations of public spaces (first and foremost squares) of the country's larger cities, the authors noted that this field is distinguished by extremely contradictory tendencies: on one hand, we are dealing with the urban legacy of previous regime as well as its impact on the “physiognomies” of Lithuanian cities as well as hurried often premature attempts to change the earlier function of public spaces simply by eliminating the symbols of Soviet ideology continued; on the other, a rapid campaign for creating new ideological symbols related to independence was launched, which often involved sacrificing the actual function of public spaces and the artistic quality of monuments. It is noted that similar processes took place in the earlier periods of history: whenever the repertoire of certain visual signs and symbols was exhausted, in urbanistic spaces it would be replaced with the visual symbols of the new era and a new structure of a public space. One more tendency of restructuring public spaces has recently become distinct: under the influence of interests of private capital, part of the former traditional city squares with monuments is being converted into parking lots or other uses changing their functions and meaning. SN - 2090-4185 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/284573 DO - 10.1155/2011/284573 JF - Urban Studies Research PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -