ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the impact of the military sphere on the development of peripheral localities and examines how the spatial needs of the military sector are generally a higher priority than routine town planning. We investigate Valga/Valka, adjacent paired towns on the border of northern Latvia and southern Estonia – a peripheral part of the former Soviet Union – to illustrate how small unimportant towns, attracting little or no international attention, were ideal sites for secret military facilities and were thus subsumed during the 1960s and 1970s into the high stakes of the Cold War. We demonstrate that although the development of Valga/Valka was dramatically shaped by its position in the Eastern Bloc and its critical role in the expansion of military capability, these twin towns lacked inherent development potential and entered an inevitable phase of shrinkage when the Iron Curtain lifted and the constant threat of war eased. Small towns will continue to gain importance during military operations and conflict periods, and thoughtful town planning can help ensure that such towns do not shrink or falter when the military withdraws.
