Typical Soviet-built neighborhood in Estonia

My first exposure to socialist urbanism was this neighbourhood in Bucharest, particularly as you go south down Brasov Street: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nfSr3Nuuunx2iJVg9

Romania is a pretty poor country that developed mostly on its own. When I visited there were two decades of post-1989 decay after their 1960s-80s construction. I stayed in one of those flats which is on par with what I pay $1600/month for in a much smaller city, not the capital across from a ration distribution centre. I walked through the neighbourhood and it was the first real pedestrian-centric urban forest I had been in, with all the benefits from that during a hot summer. I saw how much of a focus there was on diverse parks and how easy it was to get to them with the mass transit options. Beneath the 2br/1ba apartment bloc the first floor was mixed-commercial with bakeries on every corner, so you could just get government-subsidised enriched baguettes along with convenience store groceries ten steps outside of your front door. If not for the car traffic it would be a much better version of the best places I've lived in the US. Even on the periphery of socialist development projects they made something so much more pleasant to live in than much wealthier countries.

Anyway last week a child was almost killed by a big ole truck here using the crosswalk from a park to their low-density suburb. The speed limit is 70kph+ and the suburb lacks public greenspace. If I worked thirty years maintaining the closest thing they have to nature within walking distance, now a traumatic experience for them, I wouldn't be able to afford a house anywhere near that park. Renting a house there would be $2300/month+ and I would have to cross that same road to touch something other than non-native grass. There's no safe bike lane there for the 30 minute ride to downtown so I'd have to drive on streets designed for 1/10th of our population.

Exactly like the place I currently live in. I've never understood the hate these glorious extremely functional living spaces get.

These are all that exist in Finland as suburbs. Growing up I always thought that this is what a suburb is, and then I saw what Amerikkka is like. I think this essentially is what a suburb is also in all other countries that bordered the USSR. Also Sweden looks a lot like this.

I recently read about the way housing was done in East Germany and it was pretty much exactly how it used to be done where I live. The Soviet Union is gone, but we still have these suburbs with parks, actual services and stores, typically forests and lakes nearby, schools, sporting facilities and just everything you ever need. Funnily the last time I actually had to go outside the area I live in was months ago. My healtcare is here, my workplace is here and so are restaurants and stuff like swimming halls and gyms.

The city central is about 10km away by a tram, but I really don't have to go there unless I want to.

These are also the only type of housing I might still be able to buy an apartment in and I'm ok with that. The buildings typically have their own sauna, a root cellar (this has sadly become rare, but my grandparents still made all their jams and pickles into one when I was a kid and saved a lot of money doing that), a communal space, a bike cellar, a barbecue area, play area for kids, a laundry, some have a gym or a craft space.

I also think this is the only real material reason why homelesness is still relatively rare here, there are a lot of these suburbs and while rents have become ridiculous and they are mostly privatized, most can still find a rental to live in. The state loans that these were built with still manage to prevent the worst landlordism.

We owe everything to the Soviet Union.

Tallinn is so beautiful, Oismae is an awesome socialist housing neighborhood. The fall of the USSR is a tragedy, etc

"This is so oppressive"

-American who lives next to a homeless encampment