From second home to suburban residence. Transformation of post-soviet dacha settlements within global suburbanization framework. Spatial analysis of Saint Petersburg metropolitan area.

Second homes are a global phenomenon, yet their conceptual understanding widely differs across different cultural and geographical contexts. Dacha—a Russian second home—is not only a place of leisure, but it also embodies collective cultural understanding of both a physical place and a social practice. Dacha has had a relevant spot in Russian history since its first emergence in the XVIII century. This phenomenon, however, had not been static; its understanding and its use have dynamically evolved: from a residence of aristocracy to an allotment plot used for self-provision during challenging times, to a second home used for leisure, to a suburban home inhabited on a year-round basis. Suburbanization is indeed a global phenomenon. It has been the primary way of urban growth in post-socialist contexts. However, this process is not taking place only by the emergence of new developments of vacant land outside cities but also by the transformation of the housing stock inherited from the Soviet era. The transformation of dacha into a permanent home has become one of the manifestations of suburbanization in the post-Soviet space, including Russia. The empirical part of this thesis analyzes spatial relationships between dacha settlements and other elements within the Saint Petersburg metropolitan area, taking into account the nuanced nature of the post-Soviet suburbanization process, which affects the functional transformation of dacha as well.