ABSTRACT
The rapid establishment of millions of private firms after the political turn at the end of the eighties was an impressive illustration of the speed and scale of the ongoing individualization in Eastern Europe. There is a widespread assumption mat Eastern Europeans have been isolated from the global trend of individualization for a rather long period. The general patterns of personal strategies for economic initiative are already well established in Eastern Europe. The community-focused visions and desires of humanistic individualization could not but dramatically clash with the reality of individualization which came about with all forms of privatization of state, communal and collective property. Urban development is inherently connected to present-day societal change in two ways. First, cities and in particular capital cities are key actors in preparing and leading profound change in the economy, politics and culture of contemporary societies. Second, changes in the structure and functioning of cities are deeply embedded in processes of societal change.
