Save Karadere Resisting Relentless Urbanization of a Wild Beach on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast Miroslav Damyanov Save Karadere: Resisting Relentless Urbanization of a Wild Beach on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast By Miroslav Totev Damyanov s4163249 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Human Geography Specialization: Urban and Cultural Geography Radboud University Department of Geography, Planning and Environment Institute for Management Research Nijmegen, the Netherlands March 2015 Supervisory team Principal supervisor: Dr. Olivier Thomas Kramsch
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[email protected] Copyright © Miroslav Totev Damyanov 2015 Radboud University All Rights Reserved ii Summary Background During the communist rule in Bulgaria, the country witnessed a boom of strictly planned resorts that were based on a synthesis between the communist ideology and capitalist market model. Ever since the collapse of the communist regime, relentless urban development has been ravaging Bulgaria’s coast. In this context, forthcoming mass tourism development currently threatens the nature and culture of Karadere, one of the few wild beaches on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The offshore corporation Madara Europe and the Bulgarian company Maxi I proposed the construction of a high-end holiday complex (designed by Norman Foster) and a luxury campsite respectively. The forthcoming urbanization of Karadere unleashed a wave of social disapproval throughout Bulgaria. A coalition of citizens’ initiative “Let’s save Karadere” and NGOs mobilized in a progressive network of solidarity in attempts to preserve the wild beach. Objectives The urbanization of Karadere does not only have an environmental impact because the beach and its hinterland fall within EU’s Natura 2000 eco network, but also economic and socio-political.