Abstract
Based on the urban experience of the Soviet Union, this article explores the value of the so-called priority approach for understanding the mechanisms that contributed to the creation of the spatial structure of the Soviet/socialist city. The changes in priority status that the various urban functions were subject to are highlighted. It is then proposed that these variations were instrumental in the formation of the internal functioning and social differentiation of the Soviet/socialist city and, to the extent that the pre-1991 urban fabric persists, of its post-Soviet successor. Finally, the authors propose a new model of the development of the Soviet/socialist city, fusing the priority approach with an extensive survey of previous scholarly work within the field.