Activists in Riga already have their hands full finding new life for its disused city center buildings, where over 500 properties are officially designated as “environment degrading objects.” But that’s nothing compared to the task of upgrading the under-maintained Soviet “microrayons” (micro-districts) which currently house most of the city’s population. Convincing the Latvian capital that there are benefits to organized cooperation, with all the Soviet baggage that hangs around that notion, might be an even bigger challenge. [...]
Following the 2008 financial crisis, Free Riga—a group dedicated to mapping vacant properties, advocating for redevelopment, and mediating between city officials and property owners—saw a steady demand among unemployed Latvians for low-cost, creative spaces in the capital, which are now used for everything from beer brewing to soap making, mostly by people aged 25-45. [...]
House guardianship benefits the private owners of the properties too. By allowing the NGO to take on a property and repurposing it in ways that enrich the local community, it achieves a special public benefits status. This status offers the private owners the opportunity to save 90 percent on their property tax costs. “Property tax obligations can push owners into demolishing old buildings that are both structurally sound and of historical interest,” said Harijs Rozensteins, the private owner of Zunda Garden, a Soviet hangar occupied by Free Riga from the summer months of 2015 through 2017. Free Riga also takes care of building maintenance and security. [...]
Across Central and Eastern Europe, adjoining apartment blocks are maintained by their private owners who were sold the properties in the 1990s—a move inspired by Margaret Thatcher’s “right to buy” scheme in the U.K. Maroš describes a typical situation in these housing estates where one apartment block might be painted pink, another blue and yellow, and the third not at all, because of the difficulty in getting 60 people living in one block to agree on the improvements needed. If a consensus is reached by the homeowners association, they must then find the cheapest offer from a private contractor, then apply for a grant, and commission the work. Often this complex process is navigated by older residents.
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