ZGRADONAČELNIK Anđelina Svirčić Gotovac

Guest Anđelina Svirčić GotovacHosted by Tin BašićMay 3, 2026

Anđelina Svirčić Gotovac

About this episode

What you'll hear in this conversation

For decades, the state of housing in Croatia has been a topic largely discussed in anecdotes, with "no one systematically dealing with it," as the host notes. Anđelina Svirčić Gotovac, a scientific advisor at the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, is changing that. Her recent comparative study of housing quality in socialist and post-socialist residential areas across Croatia and Slovenia cuts through the academic jargon to reveal stark, data-backed realities. Her work not only revives a lost tradition of urban-sociological research but also provides the concrete evidence needed to move past common complaints about urban deficiencies—like the lack of kindergartens or green spaces—and towards informed action. This conversation explores how historical planning decisions continue to shape daily satisfaction, and where the most significant gaps in housing quality truly lie.

Insights from the conversation

What to take from this episode

The research title alone—"Quality of Life in Socialist and Post-Socialist Housing Estates"—might make many "fall asleep," as the host puts it. But the guest argues these dense academic labels often hide the foundational issues that define our daily lives and future urban development. The challenge isn't the data; it's making the data's relevance immediate.

The study divides housing into two eras: "before independent Croatia and after," encompassing the planned urbanism of 1945-1990 and the post-1990 period. This historical split reveals a critical shift: while the earlier period focused on new settlements, the later one often led to existing urban spaces being "overbuilt" and "crammed," a distinction that now defines resident satisfaction.

For decades, "no one has systematically dealt with housing in Croatia," the host observes. But the guest's institute is now reviving a tradition from the 1970s, when urban sociologists worked in interdisciplinary teams with city planning offices. The lesson is that the most critical urban challenges often go unaddressed until a dedicated, funded effort brings back a lost, integrated approach.

Conducting a comprehensive survey is "a real undertaking," the guest notes, because "money and resources are always a problem in science." This particular research on housing quality only became possible through a successful grant application to both Croatian and Slovenian science foundations. Even for the most pressing societal issues, the ability to gather data often hinges on external funding, not just perceived need.

We all "know the situation isn't good" by just walking through our neighborhoods, noticing the "lack of kindergartens, schools, green spaces, public areas." But the guest emphasizes that the research now provides "proof," "analytics," and "numbers" to back these everyday observations. The shift from anecdotal complaint to data-driven argument is what makes action possible.

The research broke down satisfaction into three units: the apartment, the multi-apartment building, and the residential neighborhood. The "multi-apartment building consistently ranks lowest," the guest finds, which is "perhaps the most expected and logical." People are generally satisfied with their private living space, but the shared infrastructure and collective management of the building itself are where dissatisfaction accumulates.

In Zagreb, residents are most satisfied with their apartments in older neighborhoods, while in Rijeka, Split, and Osijek, the opposite is true—satisfaction is higher in newer buildings. This inversion, the guest suggests, might partly be due to Zagreb's earthquake, showing how local events can reshape perceived housing quality, even against national trends. A single solution rarely fits all urban contexts.

Elements like "energy efficiency, exterior appearance, and interior appearance of the building" received the lowest ratings in the entire survey, barely scoring above a three. These tangible, visible aspects are the clearest indicators of systemic neglect and underinvestment in multi-apartment buildings, signaling a broader problem than just individual resident preferences.

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ScenariosBusiness challenges CardsEducational cards TimelineTopic evolution