Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries: Past, Present, and Future

Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries

Tamás Csapó András Balogh Editors •

Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries Past, Present, and Future

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Tamás Csapó Geography and Environmental Sciences Human Geography University of West Hungary Károlyi Gáspár tér 4 9700 Szombathely Vas Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

ISBN 978-3-642-20313-8 DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5

András Balogh Geography and Environmental Sciences Human Geography University of West Hungary Károlyi Gáspár tér 4 9700 Szombathely Vas Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

e-ISBN 978-3-642-20314-5

Springer Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. The use of registered names, trademarks, etc., in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

Preface

Settlement and urban geography is one of the most popular and successful segments of geography. The discipline which was squeezed into economic geography during the state socialism era is presently finding the very same position all over the post-socialist countries, therefore also in Hungary. The reasons are obvious. Urbanization, which is one of the most fundamental processes of the globalizing world, is playing a determining role. This process is so strong, that it can still increase the share of urban dwellers within the rapidly growing population figure. The majority of the Earth’s seven billion inhabitants can be found in urban areas, and the migration to urban areas is steadily continuing. It causes enormous crowdedness in certain cities, while empties rural communities and also distorts the demographic profile of both. Rehabilitation of cities in the developed world also emerges new challenges, the side effects of suburbanization and the modernization of rural settlements, while different ways and methods of environment management are also worth investigating. Significant differences can be felt with regard to the complexity of the issues depending on the location (Asia, Africa, America, or Europe) and also on the level (national or regional) of investigations. The regions are widely different in respect of their physical and social characters, their economic development and structure, and also in their interrelation of the aforementioned. The differences can be obviously felt the most in settlement level; therefore the analysis can guide us to draw more general conclusions. One of the most important of these is that in the course of the globalizing the world and not the states is the one! playing the most influential role. Globalization has been gradually displaced by the urban concentrations (megalopolises). Research can reveal the background of their birth and formation, their developmental attributes, and trends and directions in their structural transformation, contributing to the understanding of globalized urban spatial transformations. All of the above-mentioned processes and circumstances have reached Hungary recently. It means that researchers are to investigate in detail the specific problems, the development directions of the agglomeration, the suburbanization itself, and the strengthening international attraction of our only real-global city, Budapest. v

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The international regional functions of our counterbalancing cities are also to be strengthened; therefore the background researches are also fundamental for it. The size (328 units) and differentiation of the Hungarian urban network are questioned and debated by several disciplines. Nevertheless, from a public administration aspect the entire settlement network is nuclear and scattered; the research of future development directions cannot be postponed further. One of the key issues of that is the future of small villages, where public services cannot be guaranteed among present conditions for a limited population of one or two dozen people. Scattered farms in the Great Hungarian Plain are representing a unique speciality, the research of them is a fundamental duty expected from us by the international communities. The division of the historically unified settlement network of the Carpathian basin after the Great War by artificial borders results in a common international task for the neighboring countries to investigate the backward consequences and to look for development directions and possibilities in the new common, European context. It is evident that it encourages and increases the number of cross-border co-operation contributing to the European pentagon, for the stronger and more intense linkages to the European development centers. Consequently, settlement geography—certainly cooperating with further segments of geography and other disciplines—is conducting researches on the key issues of humanity (naturally including the Hungarians). Therefore it is a pleasure that settlement geographers are given the possibility for the seventh occasion now in Szombathely to share their new ideas and innovative thoughts in the course of conferences and also in this hard copy format. Pécs, 30 December 2010

Prof. József Tóth University Professor Member of IGU Hungarian National Committee

Contents

Part I

Settlement Network, Settlement Development

Polycentric Urban System Between State Regulation and Market Economy—The Case of Slovenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vladimir Drozg Some Recent Trends in Settlement Development in Austria . . . . . . . . Walter Zsilincsar

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Changes in the Urban System of Romania, and Their Possible Effect on the Future Administrative Reform of the Country . . . . . . . . Ferenc Szilágyi

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The Settlement Network of Serbia: From the Past to the Prospective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Borislav Stojkov and Velimir Šec´erov

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The Development of the Hungarian Settlement Network Since 1990. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gábor Pirisi and András Trócsányi

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The National Concept for Settlement Network Development of 1971 and Some Western European Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zsolt Kocsis and Tibor Lenner

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A Comparison of Settlement Development in the Social Command Economy Versus the European Union’s Development Policy . . . . . . . . Mátyás Gulya

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On the Periphery of the Periphery: Demographic Trends and Development Differences in Hungarian Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tibor Kerese

Part II

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Sociology of Settlements, Urban Regeneration

Urban Restructuring in the Grip of Capital and Politics: Gentrification in East-Central Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erika Nagy and Judit Timár

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Post-1990 Urban Brownfield Regeneration in Central and Eastern Europe: A Theoretical Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Márton Berki

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Strategic and Socio-Economic Implications of Urban Regeneration in Hungary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tamás Egedy

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Urban Renewal of Historic Towns in Hungary: Results and Prospects for Future in European Context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ferenc Jankó

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Real Estate Purchasing by Foreigners in Hungarian Settlement System as Seen from the Angle of Niche Concept . . . . . . . Sándor Illés and Gábor Michalkó

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Part III

Urban Geography, Urbanization

Cross-Border Suburbanisation: The Case of Bratislava. . . . . . . . . . . . Tamás Hardi

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Suburbanisation and Suburban Regions in Hungary After 1990 . . . . . Péter Bajmócy

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Urbanisation Development Trends of Cities in the North-Eastern Part of the Carpathian Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sándor Kókai Integration of ‘‘Made Cities’’ to Their Physical Environment . . . . . . . Zsolt Huszti

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Contents

Industrial Areas and Their Transformations in Hungary . . . . . . . . . . Tamás Csapó and András Balogh

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Analysis of Dimensions and Mosaic Pattern of Urban Green Areas on the Example of Several Hungarian Cities . . . . . . . . . Gábor Baranyai and Sándor Németh

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Health Related Quality of Life and Its Local Differences in Budapest After 1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Éva Izsák and Annamária Uzzoli

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The Relationship Between Sports and Urban Structure Through the Example of Hungarian Regional Centres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gábor Kozma and István Süli-Zakar

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On the Vulnerability and Reliability of Towns and Cities . . . . . . . . . . Attila Horváth and Zágon Csaba

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Subject Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Part I

Settlement Network, Settlement Development

Polycentric Urban System Between State Regulation and Market Economy—The Case of Slovenia Vladimir Drozg

1 Introduction Polycentrism is a concept of regional development, based on several towns with a similar level of centrality. Polycentrism is de-concentration and concentration of urban functions at the same time; de-concentration in the sense of preventing concentration in one town, usually the capital; and concentration in the sense of limiting dispersion or duplicate urban function in several small towns. Polycentrism is correction of centralisation (looking top down) and centralisation at the same time (looking bottom up). A polycentric country has parts of jurisdiction transferred to larger administrative units (such as regions, provinces, counties); these centres also covering some activities for smaller settlements/towns. The concentration of activities in larger towns is a natural process that increases regional diversities of all types; negative effects of concentration of population and work places occur, the environment is burdened, real-estate market shows high prices, etc. Polycentrism is a corrective measure with which we are trying to limit negative effects of centralisation. The regional development of Slovenia has been developing in the sense of polycentrism for the last 50 years. Even though the main idea remains the same, there have been some changes since its beginnings. This article will try to show the development of a polycentric concept from the periods of state regulation and market economy.

V. Drozg (&) Department for Geography, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Koroška cesta 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenija e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_1,  Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

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2 The Source of Polycentrism: Situation in Slovenia in the Middle of the Previous Century In the 1950s, Slovenia was predominantly a rural country. Approximately 70% of the population lived from agriculture, about 20% were employed in the industry. Industrial plants were concentrated in larger cities, whereas the countryside was predominantly rural. After 1945, at the beginning of state regulation economy and industrialisation, the industrial centres became migration targets for many who stopped working on farmlands and moved to towns. This process quickly showed its negative side; the switch of the population from rural to non-rural professions accompanied migrations and the demographic changes in the rural area. The social set-up of the population wasn’t suitable for the needs of the economic development either. Educational level was low; differences between towns and the rural area were very large. One could say the same for health services and culture. Public infrastructure institutions were found in large cities only; the former were hardly accessible for the rural population. One needs to know that Slovenia has a very varied relief which influences the allocation and the number of settlements. The majority (90%) of today’s settlements have up to 500 inhabitants. Furthermore, the country is divided into several areas with local integrity (identity) that shows in a specific speech (dialect), clothing habits (national folklore attire) and culture in general. The long-term administrative division of individual countries/regions, found on the margins of the Habsburg Monarchy, contributed to the feeling of strong regional belonging (i.e. people from Upper or Lower Carniola) and the attachment to the regional centre, even though this might have been found outside of the Slovene national territory (such as Gorizia and Trieste in Italy as well as Graz and Klagenfurt in Austria, Zagreb and Rijeka in Croatia). These circumstances make it self-evident that the socialist authorities thought about the economic structure of the republic that would allow a more coherent development of all parts of the republic. Such concept would ensure: • A more coherent dispersion of work-places in the industry and consequently a more coherent development of the whole territory • Improved access to the social infrastructure • Prevention of depopulation of remote areas and taking advantage of endogenous developmental potentials • Maintenance of regional identity.

3 Setting up the Polycentric Territory The concept of polycentric set-up was approved in 1964 as part of the first regional plan of Republic of Slovenia. The main idea of the concept was to ‘‘develop centres that would be equally divided and would provide the same possibilities for

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work, living, recreation and social standing to all inhabitants’’ (Sinteza (povzetki) strokovnih gradiv 1977 p. 2). This idea suited the economic, social and ideological circumstances of the society in those times. Unifying living and working conditions can be understood as a form of social justice; doing the same with workplaces and public services (school system, health and culture) was to be achieved with government interventions at positioning economic activities. The latter is adjusted to the intervening role of the social state that would occur in the socialist system. The first concept was based on central towns and the urban system, which was adjusted to the Slovene circumstances by Igor Vrišer and Vladimir Kokole (Vrišer 1969) according to the Christaller theory. Functions, which towns have or should have, were set for individual hierarchical levels of central towns. The level of centrality was set according to the type of functions and the number of workplaces in manufacturing, which was the most important urban activity in those times. About 13–15 towns would form the frame of such polycentric concept (a more precise number was not set); those were equally divided across Slovenia. Urban functions included: administration, secondary school, hospital, library, cultural institution, bus and train station, museum, radio station, head office of a financial institution.

4 Modification of Concept Ten years after the concept was implemented, political changes occurred in Yugoslavia that would inhibit the implementation of the polycentric system. In 1974, the new constitution of the SFRY was approved, according to which municipalities became not only administrative but also the economic units, responsible for economic development. This increased the economic position and power of municipalities. Municipal centres would now develop as economic centres. Instead of 13 (15) regional centres, as known in the first polycentric concept, there were suddenly 64 centres (the same as the number of municipalities). We believe that this period caused a faster development of smaller towns and the rural areas, because the regional centres improved in their power. After 1975, the number of towns with industrial plants increased enormously; each settlement with more than 500 inhabitants had at least one industrial plan and the basic social infrastructure. The level of urbanisation of the land area increased, too, especially if one measures it with the number of daily commuters or the amount of recently built houses. The demographic growth of regional centres, on the other hand, started to decrease. In 1986, the second spatial plan for Slovenia was approved for the period 1986–2000. Polycentrism remained the basic concept of spatial development, even though the economic role of regional centres was brought forward instead of the previous cohesive dispersion of social services A new regional development goal was introduced; namely keeping the inhabitants at less developed and demographically challenged areas that had lately considerably increased in numbers.

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If the first document saw a (moderate) concentration of activities, the second saw a (moderate) dispersion of economic and social activities. The second plan also introduced a larger number of regional centres than the first. This was definitely a consequence of negative demographic, social and economic processes that had started in rural areas after 1960.

5 Adjustment of Concept The third spatial plan was approved in 2004 under the working title ‘‘Slovene spatial development strategy’’. This one again saw the polycentric development of the country as the foundation and the central theme for development of other activities. Towns were no longer seen as industrial centres only; but rather as centres of culture, provisioning, administration, service activities and traffic junctions. After a period of a large de-concentration of urban functions, the concept of the 1990s again sees the need towards the concentration of urban functions in regional centres. The polycentric system is set-up by a ‘‘two-level settlement network’’; namely regional centres of international importance (Ljubljana, Maribor and Koper) and regional centres of national importance. The first group includes the three largest towns—centres of the so-called ‘‘macro region’’; the second group includes regional centres (towns that have even before served as the framework of urban network). This type of arrangement deviates slightly from the previous concepts. The definition of these centres is the most important part of the new strategy, because it includes the international aspect which can be seen as a consequence of global approaches and connections of the Slovene economy with neighbouring regions. The second novelty is specialisation of activities in regional centres. Some activities were previously exclusively reserved for the largest towns; the new proposal also sees them in regional centres (such as vocational colleges, research organisation, media activities and specialised cultural activities).

6 Comparison of Concepts The most important issue of polycentrism is the number of regional centres and their functions. A large number of regional centres is not rational from the point of view of national economy; if the number is too small, the basic idea—a coherent economic and social development of the whole territory and an equal access to services—is affected. Choosing the right number of regional centres is therefore the most crucial problem of a polycentric concept. The number of levels therefore matters, because it is connected to the volume of functions that should be performed by individual centres. Polycentrism requires a certain level of political, economic and social autonomy. It also stands for simultaneous concentration and

Polycentric Urban System Between State Regulation and Market Economy Table 1 Regional centres in different concepts 1. concept 2. concept Higher level Ljubljana Maribor Celje Novo Mesto Koper Medium level

Murska Sobota Ptuj Slovenj Gradec Kranj Jesenice-BledRadovljica Zagorje-TrbovljeHrastnik Krško-Brezˇice Nova Gorica

Ljubljana Maribor Celje Novo Mesto Koper Nova Gorica Murska Sobota Ptuj Slovenj Gradec-RavneDravograd Kranj Jesenice-Bled-Radovljica

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3. concept Ljubljana Maribor Koper

Murska Sobota Ptuj Slovenj Gradec-RavneDravograd Kranj Jesenice -Radovljica Zagorje-TrbovljeHrastnik Krško-Brezˇice-Sevnica Nova Gorica Celje Velenje Novo Mesto Postojna

Source Zasnova urbanizacije p.59, Dolgorocˇni plan SR Slovenije za obdobje od leta 1986 do leta 2000 Fig. 1, Strategija prostorskega razvoja Slovenije p.24

de-concentration of activities. Regional centres take over parts of responsibilities from the towns of the highest rank, while at the same time concentrating activities from towns of lower rank. The higher the number of levels, the more diverse is the set-up of central towns at individual level.

6.1 The Number of Regional Centres The selection of regional centres was each time performed on the basis of different criteria. The first plan considered the number of inhabitants, the size of gravitational areas and the presence of central activities. 13 towns were defined in this plan, forming the framework of polycentric system. The second concept from 1974 defined 15 towns, selected on the basis of presence of central social services and the number of workplaces. The third concept included 15 (13 ? 2) regional centres, selected on the basis of the number of inhabitants. Different concepts of polycentric development of Slovenia saw a similar number of regional centres of the highest level; the first one had 13, the second and third 15. The increased number of regional centres in the second concept is the mirror of economic de-concentration and social services; the third shows an improved level of prosperity where the centrality level increased in almost all towns. Table 1

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Table 2 The number of hierarchical levels in each concept (figures in parentheses denote the number of towns on each level) 1. concept 2. concept 3. concept Other centres (33) Lower regional centre (8) Regional centre (4) Capital of the republic (1)

Local centre (16) Higher local centre (21) Municipality centre (33) Lower regional centre (6) Regional centre (5) Capital of the republic (1)

Local centre (16) Important local centre (20) Important municipality centre (20) Regional centre (14) National important centre (12) International important centre (3)

Source Drozg 2005: 153

6.2 The Number of Levels and the Type of Activities in Regional Centres The first concept defined four hierarchical levels of central settlements; the second and third saw six levels. This change is connected to improved prosperity. The concepts differ more in the number of settlements at each level than in the number of levels. Given that one cannot compare categories, we must limit ourselves to the settlements at the highest level. The first concept included 13 towns of the highest level, the second concept had 12 towns, the third already 29. Similarly to the increase of the number of regional centres is the increased number of levels—one would rather expect a drop in the number of levels because of increased prosperity and not the opposite. Table 2, Fig. 1

7 Measures for Implementation Given that polycentrism is the opposite of spontaneous development, the set-up of a polycentric system requires special measures that would work as a corrective measure in the centralisation process. The polycentric concept measures thus touch upon numerous and different units of the national administration. It might sound as a paradox, but in Slovenia, these measures have so far never been defined in detail. The concept was carried out through larger formal institutional factors: • Spatial plans of the state and municipalities • Strategic documents, referring to regional development • Programmes for encouraging development of less developed and demographically threatened (challenged) areas • Division of Slovenia into administrative regions of (for example); Surveying and mapping authority; regional Health protection institutes, administrative units, the Court of audit, statistical regions, regional development agencies (for the list of regional breakdown of Slovenia, please see internet 1) The principle of cohesive dispersion was used for arranging activities in regional centres. Very important in this case were also informal factors, especially

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Fig. 1 Regional centres of polycentric development

local patriotism, which is the heritage of historic divisions of Slovenia into Upper Carniola, Styria, Carinthia, Lower Carniola, Inner Carniola, the Slovenian Istria and Prekmurje. Market economy did not change measures much, but the meaning of those measures did change. The role of formal institutional factors (instruments) remained unchanged. What changed though is the method of distributing the national funds. A former centralist decision-making ‘‘according to the regional principle’’ was replaced by national public calls for development projects (Nared 2007:36). This considerably decreased the regional aspect of distribution of governmental investments (with the exception of areas that fall under the new law on development grants). The role of informal institutional factors, such as individual associations of interest, civil initiatives, and lobbies improved considerably, because those are very often organised according to a regional principle.

8 Consequences of the Polycentric Development of Slovenia Consequences of polycentrism cannot be evaluated easily. Evaluation instruments have a indirect character; many of them only give directions. The professional public therefore often talks about the so-called ‘‘free-ride effect’’ (Ger. ‘‘Mitnahme Effekt’’; according to Maier and Tödtling 2002: 185)—something, that could change or be implemented also without regional policy measures. The following effects are most commonly quoted:

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• Small regional disparities in the area of economic and social circumstances. Vrišer estimated regional differences being the largest around 1950s; they decreased considerably later on (Vrišer 1989). The major decrease was noted between the years 1971 and 1976. They later on increased slightly; however, they were never as large as at the beginning of the analysed period. If one excludes the central Slovenian region (Ljubljana), the deviations became very small and only ranged between 1:1.34 and 1:1.79. After the year 1991, they started increasing again, the deviation between the least and the most developed region ranged from 1:1.8 to 1:2.62. Even if one doesn’t consider the central Slovenian region (Ljubljana), the differences remained larger than before the year 1990, because they ranged from 1:1.3 to 1:1.9. Regional differences increased slightly later, as the ratio between the most and the least developed region increased to 1:3.2 (this value cannot be entirely compared to the evaluations of the previous periods, because the statistical data collection method changed). What is important is that regional disparities in the social environment are much smaller than in the economic environment, which is definitely a consequence of a cohesive dispersion of social infrastructure in the time of state regulation economy. • The consequence of polycentric concept is a large dispersion of workplaces across the country. In 1991, at least one company was registered in one third of 6,000 settlements; this number increased to half of the settlements today. We would also like to emphasise that there are 23 towns that have a similar level of urban functions, even though the number of population in their gravitational area ranges from min. 15,000 to max. 400,000 inhabitants. • Slovenia is even today still relatively equally inhabited; there are hardly any densely depopulated areas or areas with a large emigration. There is of course a concentration of inhabitants who move from rural areas toward town regions. However, one can still not talk about demographically challenged (threatened) or empty areas. • Given that many people still live in rural areas despite their work in towns, one notices a modest demographic development of towns. Slovene towns are small. Among 54 towns, there are more than half with less than 15,000 inhabitants. The largest town, Ljubljana, counts a population of 270,000. Approximately half of the Slovene population lives in towns, 410,000 of which in the three largest ones, which leaves 190,000 inhabitants for the remaining regional centres.

9 The Future of Polycentrism Experience from Slovenia shows that the success of a polycentric urban concept is not linked to the political system; social and economic circumstances, in which the concept is being carried out, are more important. Polycentrism was most successful in its early stages when the emphasis was placed on ensuring working places and the basic social infrastructure. In the times of improved prosperity, the

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efficiency of the concept cannot be recognised so easily. The polycentric concept will be exposed to new changes in the near future. It is believed that the following circumstances will influence the its changes: • Mobility of inhabitants increased enormously; 66% of all households owned a vehicle in 1988; in 2009 this percentage raise to 80% (Slovenija v številkah. 2003 and 2010). Also finished was the highway network between the largest towns. The 30-minute access isochrones around regional centres cover almost the entire state territory. We assume that the mobility will even increased in the future. • The dispersion of the population changed—there is now a larger concentration of population and economic activities in the vicinity of larger towns. The majority of smaller towns are demographically and economically stagnating. The decrease of the number of population means the decrease of urban functions, especially in smaller towns. • Towns look very similar in terms of urban functions, the need for a large number of regional centres therefore decreased. Accessibility to regional centres is almost equally important as the accessibility to biggest towns. • The process of centralisation of economic activities in large towns as well as urban agglomerations has increased much in the last decade. The growing social heterogeneity and individualisation of lifestyles encourages the growth of large towns, while at the same time causing a set-back for smaller towns. • In market economy, the country does not have the possibilities of arranging activities in private ownership; it can only do so with social services, which are (primarily) a governmental property. Market economy circumstances, which see the economic initiative strongly in the hands of private investors and less regulative power of the government, seem to show that the concept of polycentric development will change in the sense of reducing the number of centres at the lower level and limiting the functions in the cities at the higher level. It is very likely that the economic position of the capital, Ljubljana, will improve even more, which will further increase the centralisation of urban activities versus polycentrism.

References Dolgorocˇni plan SR Slovenije za obdobje od leta 1986 do leta 2000. Zavod SRS za druzˇbeno planiranje. Ljubljana, 1986, p 99 Drozg V (2005) Koncepti policentricˇne ureditve Slovenije. In: Dela 24. Univerza v Ljubljani, Ljubljana, pp 147–158 http://www.stat.si/publikacije/pub_katalogrds.asp Maier G, Tödtling F (2002) Regional- und Stadtökonomik. Springer, Wien, p 245 Nared J (2007) Prostorski vplivi slovenske regionalne politike. ZRC-SAZU, Ljubljana, p 202 Sinteza (povzetki) strokovnih gradiv, ki zadevajo prostorski plan SR Slovenije. Zavod SR Slovenije za druzˇbeno planiranje. Ljubljana, 1977, p 154 Slovenija v številkah. Statisticˇni urad Republike Slovenije, Ljubljana, 2003, 2010 Strategije prostorskega razvoja Slovenije. Ministrstvo za okolje, prostor in energijo. Ljubljana, 2004, p 75

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Vrišer I (1989) Policentrizem v Sloveniji. In: IB 1989/5, pp 34–42 Vrišer I (1969) Mala mesta v SR Sloveniji. Inštitut za geografijo Univerze v Ljubljani, Ljubljania, p.169 Zasnova urbanisacije. Regionalni prostorski plan za obmocˇje SR Slovenije. Zavod SR Slovenije za regionalno prostorsko planiranje. Ljubljana, 1974, p 269

Some Recent Trends in Settlement Development in Austria Walter Zsilincsar

1 Administrative Structure and Competence Distribution The nine self-ruling independent Austrian states/provinces are subdivided into altogether 98 political administrative districts and 2,357 communities. The state of Styria includes 17 administrative districts and 542 communities with an average population of 2,229. Only Lower Austria has got a bigger number of communities (573) with a mean population of 2,806 which already points to one of the many problems of settlement structure: number, spatial and population size of Austrian communities. The federal state as well as the nine single states/provinces are ruled by their own parliaments (Landtage) elected by the public. The state parliaments are constituted according to the votes the political parties had gained in the general election requiring a minimum of 5% of all votes in order to enter the state parliament. The state government is headed by a governor (Landeshauptmann) who selects his ministers (secretaries = Landesräte) from his own political party or from the nominees of other parties in case of a coalition or proportional government. Legislation and its execution are the main tasks of the governments following the agenda that have been delegated to them by the federal government. The political districts are functioning as mere administrative sub-units of the state without any legislative competence. Each Austrian community has its own elected representation with a mayor on its top and a community council at its side. Communities are locally self-governed administrative bodies with remarkable competencies especially in the fields of local, and indirectly regional planning, zoning-ordinance, or building regulations. W. Zsilincsar (&) Institut für Geographie und Raumforschung, Universität Graz Heinrichstraße, 36 8010 Graz, Austria e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_2,  Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

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The competence structure of the Austrian constitution provides that in the important field of spatial/regional planning as a complex subject area all of its concerns be exclusively in the competence of the states. State competence is attributed e.g. to agenda like population policy (the state of the Burgenland successfully prevented the installation of a third Austrian primary reception camp for refugees in Eberau near the Hungarian border which the federal ministry of the interior had planned in early 2010), land reform, spas and health resorts, nature and environment protection, building, regulations, real estate taxes, land-fees, land-improvement, zoning, protection of the built environment (e.g. historic towns), etc. In 1962 the term ‘‘Raumplanung’’ (regional or spatial planning) was introduced into the Austrian federal constitution transferring the agenda of regional planning to a binary system which from then on was in the hand of two administrative bodies: the state who was competent in the regional and the community in the local level (OROK, 1978, p. 23). From now on the communes took responsibility for the essential task of zoning i.e. of dividing a town or city into tracts of land for the purpose of land-use planning. Each zone is assigned a set of permitted uses (residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, agricultural, etc.). Additional regulations may concern density, design, size, or height ( Gregory et al. 2009, p. 816). Another agenda on the community level with far-reaching consequences for the local and regional population relates to enacting and legislating building regulations being aware of the fact that the power of the states advances the general interests over individual ones. The local mayors as the first and the community councils as the second decision-making instances in planning and building affairs thus are accumulating a substantial power in their hands. The dangers resulting from this specific situation cannot be neglected. In the first place the danger of corruption and pulling strings must be mentioned. It results from various facts like party political interests, personal connections and preferences, bureaucratic practices, etc. which are an issue especially in small predominantly rural communities where citizens and local politicians very often know each other personally. A further problem stems from the fact that in rural towns due to their historically based agricultural backgrounds, most of the developing land and future construction areas are still the property of only a few farmers. This bestows on them an disproportionately high influence in communal policy (Fig. 1). It seems clear that farmers as mayors or communal council members have a great interest in steering the local resource-of-land-policy according to their needs and desires and to those of their farmer-colleagues. This, of course, is being heavily denied officially. As study of the author from 1993 has demonstrated, in the surrounding political district of Graz with an average agrarian population of 3.8% (1981) more than one quarter (25.3%) of all communal council members in the 60 communities of the district belonged to the agrarian sector. In one third (19) of the communities the mayors were full-time or part-time farmers (Zsilincsar 1993, pp. 380 ff.).

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Fig. 1 Proportion of community council members, who were born in the community, 1990. Source Zsilincsar 1993, p. 383

Although the farm population is steadily decreasing in Austria from 5.4% (2003) to below 5% today the Austrian Farmers Association which is a political organisation of the Austrian Peoples Party (ÖVP) still plays a decisive role in Austrian interior policy. The Vice-Chancellor of the Republic as well as the Vice-Governor of the State of Styria belong to the above party organisation. Like the federal and single state administrations, also the communities as autonomous economic bodies are entitled to set private operative measures consistent to the spatial structures.

2 Compensatory Financing The question of how to equally and justly distribute incomes and expenditures on all administrative levels is not simply one of the most crucial, challenging and political explosives bearing items of interior policy, but indeed it is the key problem of policy making in general and for the development of settlements and their areas of influence in particular.

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So the credibility of planning policy, be it settlement or region oriented, depends largely on the availability of the necessary financial resources. Many local, regional, and national governments failed because they were unwilling, unable, or incompetent to solve these financial problems. Size, structure, situation, and spatial distribution of settlements also influence their development. However, today the focus of our interest should be globalisation and marginalisation, population growth and depopulation, access to national and international transportation networks, the formation and support of economic clusters, the role the knowledge society will play in the future, a regulated or uncontrolled immigration, the question whether ‘‘multi-culti’’ is a success story or a failure, and again above all, the question how to finance all these issues and how to implement them politically. There is no doubt that settlement development cannot be examined and evaluated without its relation to and interdependence with regional development. Since the end of World War I which resulted in the collapse of the Hapsburg Empire and the installation of Communist-ruled peoples republics in the successor states until the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, later a strict binary political, social, economic, and especially administrative history has been impressed on the western and eastern halves of Central Europe: on the one side more or less federal structures of administration bound to a system of market economy, on the other side a centrally steered political and administrative system embedded into a rigid Marxist command-economy. Even a geographically untrained person, no matter whether from the ‘‘East’’ or ‘‘West’’, could see and feel the huge differences in landscape and settlement structures or images on both sides of the borders. The course of the former ‘‘Iron Curtain’’ through Europe can still be well observed more than twenty years after its fall. Therein lies a decisive reason for impatience and discontent with regional development among large parts of the population and those younger generation communal politicians in Eastern-CentralEurope who are striving for change. They, too, often forget that in Austria it also needed a time span of some twenty years to recover from the set-backs caused by the rule of Nazi-Germany and World War II. Economically booming regions and settlements need different ruling and development structures and policies than backward or stagnating ones. The recipes, however, how to solve these specific problems are manifold, and are quite often controversial. In a multi-party-democracy like Austria such contradictions do not so much result from conceptual and pertinent differences but rather from party-political and, sometimes, even personal sentiments. A resulting blockade policy which can be found on all administrative levels with majority rules is one main reason for the delayed implementation or prevention of many fruitful regional and urban development projects. To prove this thesis we should throw a short glimpse on the recent Styrian/ Austrian institutional implementation policy. Implementation policy aims at altering and restructuring the organisation of the institutional arrangement of

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corporate bodies in order to change the distribution of power between the actors and the relevant processes (Bussmann 2008, p. 392). Institutional policy deals with political institutions be they federalist, more or less direct democratic, or concordantly oriented. It is based on reflections about whether and in how far specific political institutions are still actual and if they are not, how they could be reformed. Each pace referring to such considerations has to keep the deeply rooted perseverance of political institutions in mind. A very new commentary of the president of the Association of Austrian Communities, Mr. H. Mödlhammer, on the present situation in Austria with the background of the still enduring world economic crises speaks out what the real present cares of the towns and cities are and why they feel so uneasy (Mödlhammer 2010). Mr. Mödlhammer castigates those experts of institutional reforms who are jeopardising communal autonomy. Communal self-governance, one must know, is a ‘‘holy cow’’ within the Austrian administrative system. Why this is so, results mainly from the accumulated power of the communes which reaches from financial sovereignty within their particular sphere of administrational activity—including those expenditures and incomes which are to be distributed among communes, or between a community and the provincial or the federal government—to local zoning agenda and all community based planning measures. A far spread opinion (in rural areas) before the middle of the nineteenth century about the three most important persons in a community had ranked the mayor second after the parish priest and before the teacher. At least as to the mayor, this ranking in many cases is still valid although increasingly opposed by the mayors themselves. They feel overburdened through a steadily spreading bureaucracy, through the allocation of new costly, time- and labour-consuming expenses by the federal government without a just and sufficient financial aid, as in the cases of social welfare, immigrant and refugee support activities, provision of ample kindergarten and primary school facilities, security affairs (local fire brigades), public culture (public libraries, folklore, music schools), sports- and playing grounds, (indoor-)swimming pools, private and public clubs, etc. The rising communal expenditures can no longer be equated by community incomes which overwhelmingly stem from taxes (mainly land and trade taxes, reimbursements, equalisation payments from the state and federal governments). It cannot be denied that the present dramatic situation of Austrian community households is being severely influenced by the current monetary crises which has affected almost every EU member state. On the other hand one can also not neglect the fact that much of the crises is simply ‘‘home-made’’ and results mainly from the unwillingness, incompetence, and inability of politicians on all levels of administration not only to find adequate solutions for the problems waiting in line but, moreover, even if solutions exist, to implement them immediately. Still partypolitically or personally motivated considerations are paralysing decision-making processes. This is especially true for the modernisation of the Austrian administrative structure in the sense of a New Public Management (NPM). To underline the necessity of such a demand one must be aware of the fact that in 2009 only 31 (!) out of Austria’s total 2,356 communities were clear of debts, which provoked

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heavy criticism of the Austrian Community Control. In Styria according to latest internal information some 200 of its communes (i.e. 37%) will fail to pressure a balanced ordinary budget for 2013. The years after are expected to turn out even more dramatic because the high debits from borrowing in the money market during the years of depression and high unemployment rates compensate by far the meanwhile rising tax incomes resulting from a general economic recovery which seems to be under way. Biwald (2010, pp. 12–14) in his analyses of the state, future perspective, and reform requirements of the Styrian communal finances discusses measures necessary for consolidation. His rather pessimistic expectations predict no further communal household surpluses, declining investments, or such financed by additional debts only. If the level of investments is to be kept on that of the period from 2004 to 2008 some 190 million € will be needed to cover the communal consolidation costs until 2013. Communal household consolidation in Biwald’s opinion would require sharp interventions like: • Encroaching measures: … strengthening of communal competencies to decide … reduction of the off-the-top costs in advance as to shares of proceeds (a reduction from 12.7% to 6% would generate 50 mil. €. … limitation of the rate of increment with transfer payments until 2013 on the level of 2010 (could save 130 million €) … distribution of the yields of revenue from the fiscal compensation following allocated duties … enhancement of the communal shares in the joint revenues of the federal institutions … strengthening of communal tax incomes • Communal-intern measures: … blocking of regular expenses (saves approximately 100 million € until 2013) … reduction of regular expenses including a reduction of costs for personnel and materials (a reduction of 5% until 2013 saves 100 million €) … rising of the portion of the fees. The recent general elections in the Austrian provinces/states of Styria and Vienna in September and October 2010 highlighted once more the main problems as seen and felt by the voters: uncontrolled immigration mainly with an Islamic background, unsuccessful integration policy, crime, unemployment, unsolved problems in social and educational policy and development, increasing tax burdens. As one easily can see from this listing all the problem fields addressed disclose a more or less direct connection with the present situation of Austrian towns and cities. It is the urban places that suffer most significantly from the economic, financial, and immigrant or asylum seekers’ crises which are closely interlinked. Despite this

Some Recent Trends in Settlement Development in Austria Table 1 Austria’s biggest agglomerations

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Rank

Name

Province/state

Inhabitance

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Vienna Graz Linz Salzburg Innsbruck Bregenz Klagenfurt Wels Wiener Neustadt Villach

Vienna Styria Upper Austria Salzburg Tyrol Vorarlberg Carinthia Upper Austria Lower Austria Carinthia

1.996.885 325.891 281.515 218.969 193.742 192.275 104.921 81.795 71.255 70.431

fact one should release that there exists a much deeper-reaching, longer-enduring, and more important open question to be answered: administration reform. Ever since the debate in Austria had arisen how to handle and contain galloping public sector deficits, the solution recipes as offered by the two leading parties, the Social Democrats, and the conservative Peoples’ Party were mainly directed towards either deficit spending or rising taxes and reducing expenditures. Meanwhile there seems a consensus to have been found that budget-consolidation should be achieved in 60% through saving and economic growth and in 40% through taxation. However, the by far biggest budget-saving potential as repeatedly stressed by the Austrian opposition parties, by the president of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, or the president of the Federal Court of Auditors, namely a substantial administration reform, is passed on from one government to the other like a hot potato. The main reason for this very unsatisfactory situation must be seen in Austria’s federal structure with a blown-up administration-system as a heritage of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in which ‘‘authority’’ played a predominant role. The still very common term ‘‘Ortskaiser’’ (local emperor) for a long-serving and powerful mayor tells its own tale.

3 Austria’s Administrative Structure Austria’s administration can afford 9 states on a total area of 83.871 km2 hosting 8,383.784 million Inhabitants (2010). The biggest urban agglomerations in 2010 (Table 1) were Vienna (1.996.885 inh.), Graz (329.950 inh.), Linz (281.515 inh.), and Salzburg (218,969 inh.) extending into neighbouring Freilassing in Bavaria (Österreich: www.citypopulation.de, 10/2010). It is not very difficult to understand that behind this over-dimensioned administrative division there conceals an enormous political power according to the high number of necessary political, administrative, legislative, and executive positions and jobs. Which political party in power would be such self-destructive

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Fig. 2 Austria’s administrative structure. Source Frühwirth 2010, own adaptation

to deliberately abandon this potential of influence? As to Austrian administrative structures (http://docs.google.com) Fig. 2. It is one of the Austrian political peculiarities passionately discussed but nevertheless still firmly anchored in Austria’s traditional political party dualism to divide the whole country and its institutions up into clearly defined and separated spheres of (political) influence. Where such a separation was neither wanted nor possible, the simple solution was and still is—although furiously rejected by the parties involved—proportional division i.e. if the director of a state owned institution or firm belonged to the influence sphere of the conservatives then he was given a vice-director from the social-democrats as a support and vice versa even if there was no real necessity for such a support. This politically motivated proportional division can also be found with the official agencies of the Austrian communities the ‘‘Österreichischer Gemeindebund’’ (Austrian Association of Communities) and the ‘‘Österreichischer Städtebund’’ (Austrian Association of Towns and Cities). While the first represents the smaller communities with a more or less rural background forming the vast majority in Austria, the latter—although representing only one tenth (247) of Austria’s 2,357 communes—is hosting 55% of the country’s population within its administrative bodies. The ‘‘Gemeindebund’’ is dominated by the Peoples Party whereas the Social Democrats are holding a commanding position in the urban ‘‘Städtebund’’. Both institutions are official representatives of the Austrian communities and acknowledged as such by the federal government (Österreichischer Städtebund wikipedia.org, 10/2010). In a statement for the press in the course of a working-visit of a delegation of the Austrian Association of Communities in Brussels in Oct. 2010, some of the currently most urgent communal topics were addressed: the so-called ‘‘Schwellenwerteverordnung’’ (regulation of threshold levels) fixing higher threshold levels for the allocation of public orders which shortens allocation procedures for the public sector, the stability pact, the preservation of rural areas, and the so-called ‘‘local people models’’ securing a chance for the local population of tourist areas to buy building lots for their own purposes at reasonable prices. Communal policy in Austria is complaining about the fact that for many years now the areas of activity and the financial burden for the communes are constantly

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rising without an adequate compensation from the state and federal governments. Being reinforced by the late financial economic crises, this has lead to a dramatic debt ratio of Austrian communities leaving them no further scope for new community investments. The exploding costs for a compulsory pre-school kindergarten-year which the communes are obliged to offer since autumn 2010 by federal law as well as the rising expenditures for nursing subsidies, and an old-age and disabled social security system have been leading the majority of Austrian towns and cities into an almost perspectiveless financial situation. As a consequence, the communities are pleading for a higher monetary contribution of the population benefiting from public social security. Since these are political decisions which are not at all popular and might cost votes for the next election, they are not very likely to be implemented soon (Österreichischer Gemeindebund www.ots.at 10/2010). In context with the communal financial crises, the demand for a stronger control of the community budgets is getting louder although strictly rejected by the Association of Communities who fear a stroke against communal autonomy. Apart from this dispute, a recent study by the Association of Communities has proved a permanent aggravation of the frame conditions especially for small communities. The main reason for that must be sought in their population losses. Since 2001 communities with less than 2.500 inhabitants have lost around 33.000 people although Austria’s total population grew by 300.000 during the same period. In 2001, 27.3% of Austria’s population lived in small communities, in 2008 this percentage diminished to 25.9%. The rank and size development of the communities is by far more important for the single unit from a financial than from a mere statistical point of view. This is because the shares on the yields of the federal budget which are redistributed among the federal state, the 9 provinces/states and the communities, follow a special financial equation key which is based on the number of inhabitants. Therefore, the small communities have not only lost inhabitants since 2001 but also 23 million € from the federal budget. The annual allotment for each small community below 2.500 inhabitants in 2009 was 696 €/person which is 12.5% below the average for all communities. The reason for this difference lies in a gradated basis of calculation which gives the larger communes a bigger share, i.e. communities larger than 50.000 inhabitants received 1.132 € per capita per year. Representatives of the smaller communities on the other hand have made clear that their administration costs of only 158 € per capita per year are significantly below those of the larger cities [50.000 population with 566 €, simultaneously using this comparison as an argument against a general demand for the unification or incorporation of smaller communities to make them more effective, and an for an administration reform. They themselves plead for a new stabilisation treaty between the federal provincial and communal administrative levels allowing the communes except Vienna to generate budgets with negative account balances up to -0.3% of the GDP (Fig. 3).

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Fig. 3 Surplus of running budgeting. Source Österreichischer Gemeindebund, 2010, own adaptation

All these discussions underline impressively the doubts of Bussmann (2008, p. 393 ff) as to the willingness of the Austrian administrative bodies not only to discuss administration reforms but also to evaluate and implement them. The modernisation of the Austrian communal administration has failed so far, apart from the reasons mentioned above mainly because of the heterogeneity of the communes themselves. Thus ‘‘best practice’’-models are not very likely to be successful.

4 Prognoses for the Future As the development of Austrian settlements during the past has shown, making long-term prognoses concerning their future situation is difficult if not impossible. The globalisation and marginalisation processes, the collapse of the Soviet Realm, international terrorism, immigration streams and waves of refugees mainly from outside Europe, the recent world-economic, real-estate-market and bank crises—to mention just a few—not forgetting about phenomena like global warming, natural hazards, water and nutrition shortages, have created an environment which turns out increasingly hostile to a successful and balanced development of our settlements whichever size they are. What can be done then? Resign and accept the inevitable? There is neither time nor a reason for resignation what means that every single citizen, scientist, economist, planner, environmentalist, journalist and politician is challenged to contribute to finding solutions which—and this seems extremely important to accept—cannot be expected to have positive consequences only for the single citizen but also for the community he or she lives in. The population development of the Austrian settlement today is mainly steered through migration instead of natural increase. Following the newest

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migration balance 2002–2008 as published by the Austrian Regional Planing Conference (ÖROK Österrichische Raumordnungkonferenz 2010), Austria’s population since 2001 has mainly grown from immigration. The winning states from this development were Vienna (+8.8%, 2002–2008), Vorarlberg, Tirol, and Lower Austria. As seen from a regional point of view, a general pattern can be detected which allocates the biggest growth rates to the main urban agglomerations, whereas peripheral and/or structurally weak areas suffer from population losses. Thus high migration gains could be registered in the Vienna agglomeration area (Vienna +6.8%, the districts Vienna Surroundings +11.2%, Eisenstadt +10.0%, Rust +9.5%, Korneuburg +8.8%, Baden +8.2%, Graz +8.2%, Graz Surroundings +7.0%, Linz +4.0%, Klagenfurt Surroundings +4.5%, Innsbruck +4.4%, etc. Population loss has affected, among others, peripheral districts like Murau in Styria -4.4%, Tamsweg in Salzburg -3.1% or Wolfsberg in Carinthia -2.6%. (ÖROK, Bl. 01.06.10/2010). The present situation especially of marginalised settlements in rural areas in the state of Styria reveals a dark perspective for their male population. Following a report in the Austrian Radio (ORF 2010), two-thirds of rural Styrian communities are suffering from notable population losses which are affecting mainly young females. This has created a male surplus up to 40% in many rural towns. The main reasons for the exodus of predominantly young educated women between 20 and 29 years of age are the lack of suitable jobs with opportunity for advancement, insufficient educational facilities, and a limited availability of partners. The development of the regional population structure is expected to continue its present trends i.e. urban core areas and their fringes will grow further whereas remote districts will loose population (ÖROK, Bl. 01.07.10/2010). These trends are equally mirrored in the regional distribution of the purchasing power. For the state of Styria this means that only the city of Graz and a few communities along the A9 and A2 highways in the urban fringe dispose of a consuming power above the Austrian average. The purchasing power index for Styria in 2009 has risen from €16.790 (2008) per year and head to €16.870. However, this amount is still only 94.3% of the Austrian average whereas Graz (109.4%) could surpass it. The purchasing power index rates for the poorest Styrian districts Feldbach (80.9% of Austria’s average), Hartberg (83.7%), and Murau (84.9%) demonstrate impressively the interrelationship between demographic, economic and regional or settlement development respectively (Fig. ???, Statistik Austria, 2009; cf. also Ruhsam 2010, pp. 38–39). Taking this as one conclusion from this contribution, yet another one should not be neglected although commonly accepted: local frame conditions are constantly loosing influence on settlement development, whereas the role of supra-regional or global events and changes—be they political, social, economic or physical—have increasing influence on its future.

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References Biwald P (2010) Gemeindefinanzen—Status, Ausblick, Reformerfordernisse. Zentrum für Verwaltungsforschung. Managementberatungs- und Weiterbildungs GmbH. 22 p. In: www.kdz.or.at, (Steirischer Städtetag 2010. Bad Aussee) Bussmann W (2008) Evaluation institutioneller Politik in der Schweiz, Deutschland und Österreich im Vergleich. (www.digi.univ.wortschlag.net), pp 392–399 Frühwirth T (2010) Die österreichische Verwaltung. Aufbau und Verfahren. In: www.schulnote. com/html/5808.htm, 15.10.2010, Bild 1 u. 2 Gregory D et al (2009) The Dictionary of human geography. Wiley-Blackwell Publ, Padstow, p 1052 http://docs.google.com/viewer?pid=bl&scrid=ADGEES;Nn5bW9G9SZBwlCX9MSL… Mödlhammer H (2010) Gemeinden sind Garanten für Lebensqualität und Effizienz. In: www.ots. at/presseaussendung/OTS_20100910_OZS0099/moedlhammer-gemein-; 15.10.2010 ORF (Österreichischer Rundfunk-Regional-Steiermark/Styria): Österreichbild, Nov 25, 2010 ÖROK (Österr. Raumordnungkonferenz), 2010: Atlas zur räumlichen Entwicklung Österreichs. Wien, Bl. 01.06.10/2010, ‘‘Wanderungsbilanz 2002–2008’’; Bl. 01.07.10/2010, ‘‘Kleinräumige Bevölkerungsprognose für Österreich 2010–2030 mit Ausblick bis 2050’’ ÖROK (Österr. Raumordnungskonferenz), ed. 1978: Raumordnung in Österreich. Wien, 89 p Österreich: Agglomerationen. In: www.citypopulation.de/oesterreich-agglo_d.html (10/2010) Österreichischer Gemeindebund, 2010: Gemeindefinanzen: Kleine Gemeinden leiden besonders unter Ausgabenbelastungen. In: http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20100909_OZS0088/ gemeindefinanzen-kle…; 15.10.2010 Österreichischer Städtebund, 2010: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki%C3%9österreichischer_St%C3% A4dtebund; 15.10.2010 Ruhsam M (2010) Kaufkraft läßt noch zu wünschen übrig. In: Woche. Graz und Umgebung. Nr. 47. 13.10.2010. Graz, pp 38–39 Zsilincsar W (1993) Probleme der Landwirtschaft im großstädtischen Raum (am Beispiel des Bezirkes Graz-Umgebung). In: Österreich in Geschichte und Literatur mit Geographie. 37. Jg., H. 56–6, Wien, pp 358–385

Changes in the Urban System of Romania, and Their Possible Effect on the Future Administrative Reform of the Country Ferenc Szilágyi

1 Introduction Romanian settlement geographers distinguish a few classical periods in Romanian history, with the same number of city generations. These periods are not continuous, and for example the cities from the first or second period have not existed constantly from their formation in the ancient times until now. Their existence was interrupted in the late antiquity, and some of them were reborn, resettled after a few hundred years in the Middle Ages. The cities from the third period (from the Middle Ages) already had a semi-continuous existence, with the possible interrupting periods (the wars, the Invasion of the Mongols etc.) causing great step-backs in their development, but only a small interruption in their existence (Bóna 1988). We can say that the modern (actual) city system and the oldest cities have their origin in the Middle Ages. Some of them are settled on the ancient ruins of the oldest cities but they are not the same units, we cannot speak about their continuous existence. This case is also characteristic of the Roman cities from the former Pannonian province, for instance Savaria-Szombathely, Scarbantia-Sopron, Arrabona-Gy}or or Aquincum-Óbuda from the actual territory of Hungary (Beluszky 2003a).

1.1 The First Generation of Cities Although Romanian settlement geography speaks about five historical city generations, the first two belong to the cities from the antiquity. In the first period some Greek colonies (polis) appeared at the coast of the Black Sea: They were F. Szilágyi (&) Partium Christian University, Str. Prima˘riei nr. 36, Oradea, Romania e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_3, Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

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Fig. 1 The Greek colonies

commercial settlements: Histria (or Istros) in the north, Tomis in the middle and Callatis in the south (Fig. 1) (Posea 1982), each of them existing since the seventh century BC. Later they became Roman, and after that Byzantine cities, and they were abandoned in the period of migrant people. One thousand years after the foundation, the port of Histria was filled up with mud, so this city lost its importance in the Byzantine period, and it has remained the most important archaeological site in Romania up to now (Vofkori 2006). On the other hand, Tomis and Callatis were resettled and reconstructed in the Middle Ages by the Italians (from Genova) and by the Turks, their relics from antiquity was partly destroyed.

1.2 The Second Generation of Cities They appeared in the Roman period. After the Dacian conquest one (later three) Roman province was organised there. The cities from this area had a military, administrative or mining function. They were: Porolissum in the north, near the actual city of Zala˘u, Napoca in Somesßul-Mic-valley, the actual Cluj-Napoca (Pop 2001), Potaissa in Ariesß-valley, the actual Turda, Apullum, in the central part of the province, in the valley of the river Muresß, the actual Alba Iulia, Ampelum, the city of gold-mining, in Ampoiul-valley, the actual Zlatna, Sarmisegetusa Ulpia Traiana, which was the successor of the Dacian capital, and one of the most important municipalities from the Roman province, and in the southern part of the

Changes in the Urban System of Romania

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Fig. 2 The Roman cities

province the following towns appeared: Tibiscum, Dierna (the actual Orsova), Drobeta (later Szörényvár, the actual Drobeta Turnu Severin), which was the first Roman beach-head, in the north of the Danube in this area, and Romula-Malva (Fig. 2) and so on (Posea 1982; Tóth 1988). There were also many Roman cities in the Romanian part of the Moesia Inferior province (the actual Dobrogea region), with a greater settlement density in comparison with the Dacian provinces. The former Greek colonies were part of this city system: Histria, Tomis, Callatis and many new municipalities like Tropheum Traiani, Carsium, Noviodunum, Aegyssus (actual Tulcea), and so on.

1.3 The Third Generation of Cities The third generation of cities, and we can say the first units from the actual settlement system appeared in the Middle Ages. The actual territory of Romania was divided into three separated political entities which had a special and separate historical evolution—and in this way we can speak about three individual settlement and urban networks. The first medieval state from this area was the Hungarian Kingdom. After the year 1,000 the Hungarian administrative system was successfully formed, and the first cities and castles appeared as centres of counties or duchies. The administrative organisation process of the Hungarian Kingdom was completed until the middle of the thirteenth century. In an earlier period these central settlements had a defensive (military) and administrative

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Fig. 3 The medieval cities

function (Makkai 1988; Süli-Zakar and Csüllog 2003), and later, after the formation of the East-Hungarian and Transylvanian market lines they received commercial importance, too. In the earlier part of the history of Transylvania the central settlements along the market line were: Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia), Torda (Turda), Kolozsvár (Cluj), Doboka (Da˘bâca), Küküll}ovár (Cetatea de Balta) and Temesvár (Timisßoara); Arad and Bihar (Bihor) appeared along the east Hungarian market line (Makkai 1988). Bihar was quickly replaced by Várad (Oradea). Centres like Bihar, Doboka and Küküll} ovár, later lost their importance, instead of these there appeared the Saxon centres like Hermanstadt (Hun. Nagyszeben, Rom. Sibiu) and Kronstadt (Brassó, Brasßov) in the southern parts, Mediasch (Medgyes, Mediasß), Schassburg (Segesvár, Sighisßoara) in the central part, and Bistritz (Beszterce, Bistritßa) in the northern part of Transylvania (Beluszky 2003a). Beside these there appeared some smaller Hungarian feudal centres, too, like Székelyvásárhely (later Marosvásárhely, Rom. Tg. Muresß), Dés (Dej), Fogaras (Fa˘ga˘rasß), Déva (Deva) and Nagybánya (Baia Mare—as a centre of gold-mining) (Fig. 3). During the Middle Ages they usually did not gain international importance, and their population numbers remained under 5.000, with a few exceptions like Gyulafehérvár, Kolozsvár, Nagyszeben and Brassó (Beluszky 2003a). The Moldovan Voivodship appeared under the sovereignty of the Hungarian Kingdom in the fourteenth century (Fernández-Armesto 1994). Its most important urban centres (not too many in its history) appeared in the north-western part of this territory, in the first period they included the small capitals: Suceava, Baia and Siret. Later some commercial centres were founded too, in the central part (Tg. Neamtß, Roman, Iasßi) and in the southern part of the state (Vaslui, Baca˘u, Galatßi) (Posea 1982; România–Atlas istorico-geografic 1996).

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Fig. 4 New poles of urbanisation in the eighteenth, nineteenth centuries

The Walachian Voivodship appeared in the same time like its Moldovan twin, and its first urban centres were its first capitals, too: Câmpulung, Curtea de Argesß and Târgovisßte—all in the northern part of the region, near the Carpathians. From the fifteenth century the importance of Târgusßor and Bucharest increased, they were mostly commercial centres. Turnu Ma˘gurele, Giurgiu and Bra˘ila were initially Turkish beach heads in the northern bank of the Danube (Posea 1982). In the west Craiova became the second city of Walachia, but only after the eighteenth century. It was the capital of the Oltenian Banat, too (România 1996; Történelmi világatlasz 1991).

1.4 The Beginning of the Modern Era In the nineteenth century all three regions took part in a modernisation process; they lost their feudal characters (Hajdú 2005), the construction of railway lines and industrialisation began. This process made great changes in the urban network (Beluszky 2003b). The greatest poles were evidently increasing: Temesvár, Arad, Kolozsvár, Várad, Brassó, Iasßi, Galatßi, Bra˘ila, Bucharest and Craiova (România 1996). Some important historical towns fell in depression or stagnation (Vofkori 1996) like Gyulafehérvár, Tg. Neamtß, Curtea de Argesß, Câmpulung, Târgusor. There appeared some new industrial or commercial centres, too, like Szamosújvár (Rom. Gherla, in the eighteenth century), or later Resicabánya (Resßitßa), Stájerlakanina (Anina), Petrozsény (Petrosßani), Vajdahunyad (Hunedoara), Turnu Severin, Ploiesßti, Constantßa, Focsßani, Ca˘la˘rasßi (Fig. 4) (Posea 1982).

30

F. Szilágyi

Fig. 5 Before the first World War

The urban network in the actual territory of Romania was evidently born until the twentieth century, but it was weak, deficient and without a strong relation between the two/three political parts (Fig. 5). In the Hungarian half of this territory the cities were more advanced than their eastern mates. In 1900 in the Hungarian half of this area Kolozsvár (Cluj), Várad (Oradea), Arad and Temesvár (Timisßoara) were cities with regional importance and all with a population of more than 50–60.000 people (Zentai and Kósa 2003). Szatmárnémeti (Satu Mare), Brassó (Brasßov) and Nagyszeben (Sibiu) were also important urban centres with a semi-regional importance and with a population number of 25,000–30,000. The population of Marosvásárhely (Târgu Muresß) and Máramarossziget (Sighetu Marmatßiei) remained a little under 20,000, but they increased very fast (Szilágyi 2007). In Moldova the greatest city was the former capital Iasßi with 70.000, but the Moldovan Danubian port Galatßi was very close to it with a population of 65.000 people. Above 20.000 were Botosßani and Bârlad, but Piatra Neamtß, Baca˘u and Roman fell only with a little under 20,000. In Walachia the Romanian capital already had almost 300.000 inhabitants, Bra˘ila and Ploiesßti had 50–60,000, Craiova 40,000, and Buza˘u more than 20,000, but Giurgiu, Pitesßti and Turnu Severin also had almost 20.000 inhabitants.

1.5 Between the Two World Wars Before the communist era and the communist administrative system (from 1946) the relations between the cities, towns, their attraction area and the administrative

Changes in the Urban System of Romania

31

Fig. 6 Urbanisation between the two World Wars

units (counties) were weak, the cities did not have an impact in this point of view. In Transylvania Oradea, Cluj, Timisßoara, Arad were municipalities for the entire period, but Satu Mare, Brasßov, Târgu Muresß and Sibiu kept this position only partly in this era (Szilágyi 2007). In the old Romanian Kingdom they were Iasßi, Galatßi, Constantßa, Bra˘ila, Craiova, Ploiesßti and Bucharest. Each of them was county capital at the same time (Fig. 6). Most of the counties didn’t have (strong) cities, their administrative centres were only small towns without a suitable polarisation power, like in the case of Somesß, Bistritßa-Na˘sa˘ud, Sa˘laj, Ciuc, Fa˘ga˘rasß, Târnava-Mica˘, Hunedoara, Gorj, Olt, Romanasßi, Vâlcea, Vlasßca, Ialomitßa, Teleorman, Râmnicu, Tulcea, Fa˘lciu, Baia, Câmpulung and Dorohoi countries. Some countries had two or multi-polar structures, with two or more same-level (but usually weak) cities or towns, like Satu Mare, Sa˘laj, Ciuc, Târnava Mare, Alba, Hunedoara, Severin, Târnava Mica˘, Baia, Argesß.

2 The Early Communist Era In 1950 a new administrative system was introduced in Romania. The former territorial configuration (with the small counties) was replaced with a new one: the new type of unit was called region (which was divided into raions, Vofkori 1996), and this was much bigger in comparison with the earlier county-size. The purpose was to create and support a real regional city network (system) with considerable industrial power. The newly appointed regional cities got a large area of influence

32

F. Szilágyi

Fig. 7 The regions from 1950

(generally 10–16.000 km2). First (in 1950) 28 units were designated with the same number of cities: Baia Mare, Bistritßa, Oradea, Cluj, Târgu Muresß, Arad, Timisßoara, Caransebesß, Deva, Sibiu, Brasßov, Câmpulung, Botosßani, Baca˘u, Iasßi, Bârlad, Focsßani, Galatßi, Buza˘u, Constantßa, Ca˘la˘rasßi, Bucharest, Ploiesßti, Rosßiori, Pitesßti, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Tg. Jiu and Craiova (Fig. 7). Some units were created under the acceptable size. It was determined that the ideal size of a unit should be above 10.000 km2, with 800.000–1.000.000 inhabitants, and many of the new units, due to the local communist lobby, remained only half-sized contrasted with the initial intention (Vofkori 1996), like Botosßani, Suceava, Iasßi, Bârlad, Putna, Buza˘u, Ialomitßa, Teleorman, Vâlcea, Severin, Rodna, Arad. Many of the new regional administrative cities did not have a real regional potential like Câmpulung (11 thousand inhabitants), Bârlad (24), Focsßani (28), Ca˘la˘rasßi (25), Rosßiori de Vede (15), Râmnicu-Vâlcea (17), Tg. Jiu (18), Caransebesß (14), Deva (14), Bistritßa (16). Some possible regional poles have lost their administrative function like Satu Mare, Bra˘ila. In 1952, after the correction the number of the units was reduced to 18, Rodna, Sibiu, Severin, Botosßani, Putna, Teleorman, Ialomitßa, Buza˘u, Râmnicu and Gorj regions were abolished. In this way many small centres like: Bistritßa, Caransebesß, Tg. Jiu, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Rosßiori de Vede, Ca˘la˘rasßi, Focsßani lost their importance, but Buza˘u, Botosßani and Sibiu too (Fig. 8). Instead of Câmpulung Moldovenesc Suceava (with only above 10.000 inhabitants) got an administrative function because of its central position in the new Suceava region. In 1960 two regions were abolished again: Arad and Bârlad, and in this way their residence cities lost their regional status (Fig. 9).

Changes in the Urban System of Romania

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Fig. 8 The regions from 1952

Fig. 9 The regions and the Romanian city-network after 1960

The remaining 16 cities were increasing fast until 1966, with values between 33 and 272% (Table 1). The great importance of this period was that it was successful in the creation of the regional level of the cities (Vofkori 1996), all (10) with a population number above 100.000 in 1966. Despite the fast increase, some regional cities like Deva or Suceava did not get a real regional importance, because this period

34 Table 1 The growth of regional cities between 1848 and 1966

Table 2 Population growth rate in some other (new industrial or later residence) cities

F. Szilágyi City

Popul. 1948 Popul. 1966 Increase Incr. % 1948–1966

Suceava Baia Mare Baca˘u Deva Pitesßti Brasßov Constantßa Galatßi Târgu Muresß Craiova Iasßi Cluj Timisßoara Ploiesßti Oradea Bucuresßti

10.123 20.959 34.461 12.959 29.007 82.984 78.586 80.411 47.043 84.574 96.075 117.915 111.987 95.632 82.282 1.025.000

37.697 64.535 73.414 26.969 60.113 163.345 150.256 151.412 86.464 148.711 161.023 185.663 174.243 146.922 122.534 1.367.000

27.574 43.576 38.953 14.010 31.106 80.361 71.670 71.001 39.421 64.137 64.948 67.748 62.256 51.290 40.252 342.000

272 208 113 108 107 97 91 88 84 76 68 57 56 54 49 33

City

Popul. 1948 Popul. 1966

Increase Incr. % 1948–1966

Hunedoara Onesßti Sibiu Piatra Neamtßi Târgu Jiu Alba Iulia Satu Mare Ca˘la˘rasßi Sfântu Gheorghe Bra˘ila Arad Buza˘u Râmnicu Vâlcea Zala˘u Focsßani Botosßani

7.018 5.000 60.602 26.303 17.698 14.420 46.519 24.448 14.224 95.514 87.291 43.365 17.238 11.652 27.960 29.145

62.067 30.663 48.913 19.549 13.107 7.795 23.250 11.236 6.544 43.228 38.709 18.572 6.629 3.492 7.134 6.075

69.085 35.663 109.515 45.852 30.805 22.215 69.769 35.684 20.768 138.802 126.000 61.937 23.867 15.144 35.094 35.220

884 613 81 74 74 54 50 46 46 45 44 43 38 30 26 21

was too short. In the same period, in the case of the former county centres which had lost their function, the increase was slower, especially in the absolute number of increase. A few exceptions were the new industrial poles of the early communist era like Hunedoara or Onesßti (former: Gheorghe Gheorghiu Dej). The exceptional increase of Hunedoara (884% in 18 years) hindered the development of Déva too (Table 2).

Changes in the Urban System of Romania

35

3 The Late Communist Era After the state reform of 1968 the counties were reintroduced and the new priority was the development of medium-level towns (Apostol et al. 1969; Vofkori 1996). The administrative unit number increased to 38 plus Bucharest. Later three new units were created: Giurgiu, Ca˘la˘rasßi and Ilfov, with the same number of county capitals. Some former county cities did not regain their status like Sighetu Marmatßiei, Dej, Turda, Lugoj, Mediasß, Târna˘veni, OdorheiuSecuiesc, Fa˘ga˘rasß, Caracal, Turnu Ma˘gurele, Tecuci, Bârlad, Roman, Fa˘lticeni, Ra˘da˘utßi, Câmpulung, Husßi and Dorohoi. New county cities were Resßitßa, Slobozia and Alexandria. Until 1990 the cities of the regional level had increased to above 300.000 inhabitants: Constantßa, Galatßi, Iasßi, Craiova, Brasßov, Cluj-Napoca, Timisßoara, and a semi-regional city level was formed with some units above 200.000 (Ploiesßti, Bra˘ila, Oradea, Baca˘u). A large county city level was formed with a population number between 100.000 and 200.000 inhabitants, without regional importance: Arad, Sibiu, Târgu Muresß, Baia Mare, Satu Mare, Drobeta-TurnuSeverin, Pitesßti, Focsßani, Piatra Neamtßi, Botosßani, Suceava. A large group of medium level county cities was also formed with population numbers between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants: Bistritßa, Zala˘u, Sfântu Gheorghe, Alba Iulia, Deva, Resßitßa, TârguJiu, Slatina, Alexandria, Giurgiu, Târgovisßte, Slobozia, Ca˘la˘rasß, Tulcea, Vaslui with an administrative function, and Mediasß,Turda, Hunedoara, Petrosßani, Lugoj, Bârlad, Onesßti, Roman without it (Posea 1982). There existed an evident difference in the increase rate between the medium city level with and without an administrative function in the period of 1966–1992 (Table 3).

4 The Present Romanian City Network In 1989 the communist era and the period of forced industrialisation and the urbanisation process came to an end (Illés 2002). Since 1990 urban populations have been decreasing due to the suburbanisation process. In the last 20 years the Romanian urbanisation process and the territorial planning policy were not harmonised. The parliamentarian administrative–legislative work does not take into consideration the realities of the urban system. For example in 1997 when the NUTS 2 regions were founded (Horváth 2003; Vofkori 2006), some regional cities like Brasßov, Iasßi, Galaitßi, Constantßa, Oradea, Ploiesßti remained without regional capital status. Only Timisßoara, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Bra˘ila and some smaller centres like Alba Iulia, Ca˘la˘rasßi, Piatra Neamtßi have got this status. In spite of this fact the Territorial Planning Act of 2001 (Legea 351) defined the different urban categories exactly:

36

F. Szilágyi

Table 3 Population growth rate in the case of medium level cities between 1966 and 1992 County cities Popul. 1966 Popul. 1992 Increase 1966–92 Incr. % Vaslui Zala˘u Slobozia Slatina Bistritßa Târgovisßte Sfântu Gheorghe Alba Iulia Tg. Jiu Deva Tulcea Alexandria Resiitßa Other (non-residence) cities Roman Bârlad Onesßti Turda Lugoj Mediasß Hunedoara

17.591 15.144 12.443 19.250 25.519 29.763 20.768 22.215 30.805 26.969 35.561 21.898 56.653

80.614 68.404 56.048 85.168 87.710 98.117 68.359 71.168 98.238 78.438 97.904 58.478 96.918

63.023 53.260 43.605 65.918 62.191 68.354 47.591 48.953 67.433 51.469 62.343 36.576 40.165

358 352 350 342 244 230 229 220 219 191 175 167 71

39.012 41.060 35.663 42.307 36.542 46.384 69.085

80.328 77.518 58.810 61.200 50.939 64.484 81.337

41.326 36.458 23.147 18.893 14.397 18.100 12.252

106 89 65 45 39 39 18

Level 0 (National city level) includes only the capital, Bucharest. Level 1 (Regional cities) includes 11 cities: Baca˘u, Brasßov, Bra˘ila, Galatßi, ClujNapoca, Constantßa, Craiova, Iasßi, Oradea, Ploiesßti, Timisßoara. Only the cities from the first two categories can organise metropolitan areas (Fig. 10) in their suburban vicinity. Up to now only five of them have already organised their metropolitan areas: the first was Iasßi, followed by Brasßov, ClujNapoca, Constantßa and Oradea. In the near future the other six metropolitan areas will start operating: the Galatßi-Bra˘ila conurbation area (under the name of Cantemir), and the other five metropolitan areas: Bucharest, Baca˘u, Ploiesßti, Craiova and Timisßoara. We can observe that this area is very small in the case of Craiova, and we can speak about a real urbanised territory with more municipalities and towns only in the case of Cantemir, Constantßa, Brasßov, Ploiesßti and Bucharest. In the other cases the metropolitan areas are a bit strained and they have mostly rural characters. On the other hand the Planning Act does not allow the cities from level two to organise urban areas (Table 4). In certain cases we can speak about urban agglomerations around a city from this level, for example in the case of Nagybánya, Petrozsény, Râmnicu Vâlcea agglomerations, and Deva-Hunedoara, Turda-Câmpia Turzii conurbations. The first version of the planning act was modified in 2007 (Lege 100). After the promulgation of the first version there was a big wave of declaration of new

Changes in the Urban System of Romania

37

Fig. 10 The actual city network of Romania Table 4 The Romanian metropolitan areas Metropolitan Total Pop. of the central Pop. of the area pop. city suburb. area

Nr. of Nr. of mun. towns

Nr. of comm.

Rate of rural pop. %

Bucharest Cantemir Constanitßa Brasßov Iasßi Cluj-Napoca Timisßoara Craiova Ploiesßti Baca˘u Oradea

1 2 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

87 21 8 8 13 16 15 5 9 17 8

16 15 7 10 19 16 14 4 6 30 16

2,400 605 446 400 397 378 367 313 282 250 245

1,900 500 299 ? 216 = 515 90 310 136 284 116 320 77 318 60 317 50 300 13 232 50 175 75 206 39

6 0 6 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0

communes, towns and municipalities (50 new administrative units appear). After the promulgation of the second version of this act, which was more rigorous than the first, the changes in the settlement network ended.

5 The Possible Future Nowadays there exist some intentions of the Romanian government to execute a territorial-administrative reform. They want to change the NUTS regions and the county system as well. The general unit size of the counties can be reduced,

38

F. Szilágyi

Fig. 11 The possible new Romanian administrative system, and its effect on the city network

but their administrative role should be partially given to the NUTS 2 units (Szilágyi 2008). The new NUTS 3 and 2 units will be designated in conformity with the city levels 1 and 2. The number of the NUTS 2 units is going to increase from 8 to 12–16, and the number of the counties can double (Fig. 11). The possible new regional capital cities can be: Baia Mare, Oradea, Târgu-Muresß, Brasßov, Ploiesßti, Constantßa, Galatßi, Baca˘u and Iasßi.

References Apostol G, Bobocea G, Desmireanu I, Dumitrescu F, Ianovici I, Moraru I, Rosßu A, Sßtefa˘nesßci Sß, Vasilescu M (1969) Judetßele româniei socialiste. Editura Politica˘, Bucuresßti, p 548 Beluszky P (2003a) Magyarország településföldrajza. Dialóg-Campus, Budapest-Pécs, p 568 Beluszky P (2003b) Magyarország településhálózatának átalakulása 1848–2000 között. In: Süli-Zakar I (ed) A terület-és településfejlesztés alapjai. Dialóg-Campus, Budapest-Pécs, pp 47–87 Bóna I (1988) Daciától Erd} oelvéig (271–896). In: Köpeczi B (ed) Erdély története. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, pp 107–235 Fernández-Armesto F (1994) The times guide to the peoples of Europe. Harper Collins Publisher, London, p 410 Hajdú Z (2005) Magyarország közigazgatási földrajza. Dialóg-Campus, Budapest-Pécs, p 332 Horváth Gy (2003) Európai regionális politika. Dialóg-Campus, Budapest-Pécs 501 Illés I (2002) Közép-és Délkelet-Európa az ezredfordulón. Dialóg-Campus, Budapest-Pécs, p 362 Lege 100 pentru modificarea ßsi completarea legii nr. 351 din 2001 privind aprobarea Planului de amenajare a teritoriului natßional—Sectßiunea IV-a—Retßeaua de localita˘ßi. t In: Monitorul Oficial al României, Anul XIX. nr. 284 (24.04.2007)

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Legea 351 privind aprobarea Planului de amenajare a teritoriului natßional—Sectßiunea IV-a— Retßeaua de localita˘ßi. t In: Monitorul Oficial al României, Anul XIII. nr. 408 (24.07.2001) Makkai L (1988) Erdély a középkori Magyar Királyságban (896–1526). In: Köpeczi B (ed) Erdély története. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, pp 235–542 Pop PG (2001) Depresiunea transilvaniei. Presa Universitara˘ Clujeana˘, Cluj-Napoca, p 274 Posea G. (ed) (1982) Enciclopedia geografica˘ a româniei, Editura ßstiintßifica˘ ßsi Enciclopedica˘. Bucuresßti p 847 România—Atlas istorico-geografic (1996), Editura Academiei Române, Bucuresßti, p 157 Süli-Zakar I, Csüll}og G (2003) A regionalizmus történelmi el}ozményei Magyarországon. In: Süli-Zakar I (ed) A terület-és településfejlesztés alapjai. Dialóg-Campus, Budapest-Pécs, pp 17–47 Szilágyi F (2007) Partium közigazgatási földrajza, Studia Geographica 17, Kossuth Egyetemi Kiadó, Debrecen, p 197 Szilágyi F (2008) Partium in the mirror of the newest regional conceptions. In: Süli-Zakar I (ed) Neighbours and partners on the two sides of the border. Kossuth Egyetemi Kiadó, Debrecen, pp 271–281 Tóth E (1988) Dacia római tartomány. In: Köpeczi B (ed) Erdély története. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, pp 46–107 Történelmi világatlasz (1991) Kartográfia kiadó, Budapest, p 237 Vofkori L (1996) Erdély közigazgatási és etnikai földrajza. Balaton Akadémia, Vörösberény, p 157 Vofkori L (2006) Románia turizmusföldrajza. Proprint, Csíkszereda, p 367 Zentai L, Kósa P (2003) A történelmi Magyarország atlasza és adattára 1914. Talma Kiadó, Pécs, p 247

The Settlement Network of Serbia: From the Past to the Prospective Borislav Stojkov and Velimir Šec´erov

1 Introduction The settling, and the settlement network as a result of settling, mostly depends on different geographic factors. But geopolitical system together with economy, especially under market conditions, is becoming a prevailing factor nowadays. The network is getting transformed to a more dynamic system and networking is substituting traditionally static network. The layout of settlements, its hierarchy and structure is under dynamic changes, the relation between urban and rural settlements is taking new shape. As some authors points the Twentyfirst century will be the first urban century…in which the majority of humanity will have an urban (or suburban) existence.1 On the other side N.P. Milanovic, discussing the population trends, says that the most notable features were increase in absolute and relative decline of population in Southern Europe (Milanovic 2007) with specific role of cities in the process of agglomerating the population and with decline of traditional rural settlements. In that sense the settlement network in Serbia is suffering the consequences of crucial geopolitical changes during last decades, up to date. The very fact that the political position of Serbia has been under permanent changes in terms of borders 1

Gilbert et al. (1996) B. Stojkov (&) Republican Agency for Spatial Planning, Kralja Milutina 10a, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia e-mail: [email protected] V. Šec´erov Faculty of Geography—Institute for Spatial Planning, Studentski trg 3/III, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_4,  Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

41

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B. Stojkov and V. Šec´erov

and political systems of 7 (seven!) states2 clearly indicates to permanent demographic changes, changes within the settlement network and transformations in settlement structures. Significant spatial and demographic changes have been among the key characteristics of the Republic of Serbia in the second half of the twentieth century, mainly caused by the dynamic primary urbanisation process, i.e., intensive migration flows from country to town.3 The demographic processes are marked by ageing and decreasing in the period of transition, with demographic imbalance where big parts of the country are leaving their homeland (eastern, southern and, to lesser extent, western parts), going abroad or shifting to big cities in the country core axis (Novi Sad-Belgrade-Nish) and along it. The population growth in towns of Serbia, which has mainly been due to immigration, has resulted in formation of demographic expansion areas leaving on the other side the areas of constant depopulation.4 The economy and some social reasons, but the quality of life also, has made huge impact to these processes, changing the settlement network especially during nineties in twentieth century and coming to stabilisation at the beginning of the Twentyfirst century.

2 The History of Settling in Serbia Serbia under Milan Obrenovic in the nineteenth century was a regionalised state. The Constitution of 1882 enabled efficient decentralised governing within the Kingdom and self-managed organising and management of the local community, similar to that which exists in Europe today and is considered the basis for polycentric development. Serbia at that time was divided into 21 districts (okrug), each of them had 3–5 smaller units (srez) and almost every settlement was a municipality, with the possibility of dividing urban settlements into several municipalities. There were only two cities-Belgrade and Majdanpek, whereas almost every settlement, except for small mountain villages, was a municipality.5 Cities in the Kingdom of Serbia and under the Austro-Hungarian Empire changed their structure and began resembling the model of the medieval city. In comparison to the situation in Europe, this development of cities was in significant delay. (Pusic 1987) In the late nineteenth century, Serbia was therefore an extremely decentralised state, up till the end of World War II.6 In the short period between

2 After the WW2 the states have been in sequel: NRJ, DFRJ, FNRJ, SFRJ, Serbia and Montenegro, and finally Republic of Serbia. 3 Spasic and Petric (2001) 4 Ibid, p. 182. 5 The Municipality Assembly consisted of practically of all the inhabitants that had citizen rights. 6 More on this topic in the part related to the legislative framework.

The Settlement Network of Serbia: From the Past to the Prospective

43

1949 and 1951 Serbia was divided into regions.7 After this districts were formed, the regional spatial entities with 200–300,000 inhabitants. In the second half of 1950 they grew to 500–600,000 inhabitants. They were abolished in 1965, when during a ten-year period the mezzo-level did not exist. Sentic´ (1954) refers to the regionalisation of Serbia in 1954 concluding that it was established for purposes of statistical research, on the principles of homogeneity of characteristics and the principle of economic gravitation. This division lacked an intermediate stage of authority between the municipalities and districts on the one side and the Republic on the other side, which represented a difficulty for statistical work. Everything took place on the relation state-municipality. The Constitution of 1974 enabled the Republican territorial organisation on the level of inter-municipal regional communities, by a simple political decision (law) without going into detail regarding their planning and development potential, which Serbia proper has done since 1975.8 Inter-municipal regional communities during the seventies and eighties of the twentieth century in many cases adopted plans, i.e., programs of integral development. In a way, it can be said that in the mid-seventies of the twentieth century regionalisation in Serbia proper was carried out with distinctive regional structures and contrasts. The good practice of inter-municipal regional communities, was derogated by the Constitution of 1989 which restored full centralisation at the national level with formally inaugurated districts of similar size as former counties but without any prerogatives of power. In Serbia, the newly created municipality (a total of 190) lost a large number of competencies and authorisations in relation to earlier municipalities.9 The changed political situation in the period between the late 1980s and early 1990s of the twentieth century, accompanied by profound disturbances in the sphere of economic activity imposed the need to preserve and stabilise economic activities and flows, but under completely changed external and internal circumstances. The entire economic system had to experience great changes and transformations, especially in the domain of property rights, governance mechanisms, structural adjustment in constrained and limited opportunities of enhancing production deprived of export and import flows and exchanges (Fig. 1). The whole political-administrative situation reflected on the settlement network, with specific relations to urban and rural settlements. Functional links of urban centres with the surroundings created an urban–rural system (nexus) in which firm but also flexible links were established. They are often uneven, oneway or within themselves unrelated but with a tendency to meet in the city centre. The magnetism of nodes (urban centres) provokes a situation in space in which 7 The division had been made according to the principle: the Capital ? 2 provinces ? 5 districts. 8 By the Constitution of 1974 AP Vojvodina and AP Kosovo acquire all attributes of a state. 9 By the Law in 1995 municipalities are denied the possibility of planning their own territory (spatial plans of the municipalities were not foreseen by the law). Due to non-existing regions, planning of the municipality was left to the partial solutions within the urban plans or utterly superficially for the municipality level through the plans of higher order (e.g. PPPPN).

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B. Stojkov and V. Šec´erov

Fig. 1 Development axes in Serbia Source Spatial Plan of Republic of Serbia 1996.

links are more intense in the direction towards the city, but regardless of the strength of their impact they are not be able to function autonomously. Large cities within their territory establish a system which usually has a dominant centre and several secondary centres which function independently and towards which smaller settlements gravitate, while others function as mono-centric urban structures with a dominant centre. (Stojkov 2003) Therefore, the structure of the system goes in the direction from the smallest settlements towards the settlement community centres up to the central place—the city. What links them are the functions and connections which each unit in this organism has independently and is able to transfer to other surrounding settlements. On the other hand, development axes are the connective tissue of the bearers of development for a specific gravitation area. Such axes with their influence shape the specific regional whole. Development axes appear as a firm

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45

and consistent whole on a higher level of economic development. They represent an organic spatial unity with a high level of infrastructural equipment that connects the poles of growth and development (cities). In Europe and throughout history and today there have been very distinct development axes. The valley of the Rhine, Danube, Rhone and others have always been economically powerful and organically linked. It is similar in Serbia. The dominant development axis in Serbia is the Danube-Sava axis. The largest urban centres in the Republic belong to this axis. In addition, the axis in the direction of the Corridor X (Velikomoravska) and its branch towards Budapest is also one of the first-class development directions in Serbia today. In eastern Serbia there are no intensive continual development areas, while in the west they are lined along the West-Morava river development direction and the possible, but infra-structurally still unconnected, Podrinje belt.

3 Polycentricity and Lack of Polycentrism in Serbia From the geographic aspect the settlement is determined by: population duration (the presence or history of the settlement), organised and utilised functional areas and its territorial boundary in the narrower (border settlement) and broader sense (the boundaries of the settlement territory), the name, form and physiognomy, demographic, and internal and regional functional properties (Stamenkovic et al. 2010). The Statistical Service of Serbia in 1952 adopted the following definition: the settlement is a specific anthropogeographical territorial unit with a special name regardless of the number of houses which are accentuated by four groups of characteristics-population, territory, number of houses and the name. The contemporary spatial planning practice in Serbia defines a settlement as a built functionally unified space which provides conditions for life and work and the common needs of residents. (Law of Planning and Construction 2009). Contemporary practice introduces polycentrism as a policy that supports polycentricity as system of functioning of urban centres in a certain country. The policy of polycentrism assumes overall decentralization, by which the levers of development management descend to the lower (local or regional) level. Instead of a model in which territorial units depend on the will and power of the central government, in a decentralised country they depend on the success and power of its regions and local communities. On the other hand polycentricity is the network of settlements in the morphological sense and displays the physical layout of settlements in an area. It is the condition for the polycentrism policy, because a good distribution of centres in a country allows its efficient implementation. Today polycentrism surpasses the boundaries of state borders in individual countries. It has been brought up to the European level in order to harmonise the development of its entire territory. The polycentricity of Serbia has been confronted with a lack of polycentrism, the state policy supporting polycentricity as a system, in the period between 1989 and date (Stojkov 2005). During this period of development of systems of cities in

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Serbia, set guidelines lacked in the sense of reducing the concentration of people and activities in the Republic centre and province centres, and encouraging qualitative changes in their economic and socio-economic structure, with more intense use of construction funds, land and advantages of sites, professional, scientific and development resources at their disposal. At the same time the role of medium and small cities was completely neglected, which led to their economic and social distortion and retrogression. The network of urban centres in Serbia should be considered in relation to: • the hierarchical structure of urban centres; • the spatial system of urban centres; • the zones of intense relationship of regional centres and the strategy for achieving the proposed draft of the spatial model of the network of centres. In addition to the previously mentioned division, Serbia based its network of urban centres at the end of the twentieth century on the following established hierarchy of centres: centre of national and international significance, macro regional centres, regional centres, sub-regional centres, Belgrade is classified in the category of centre of national and international importance and at the same time the centre of its own macro region. This time it was attempted to define the functional scopes of macro-regional centres. Analysis of the functional scopes indicates that the Belgrade macro-region is (Fig. 2).10 This macro-region at that time connects the eastern and western part of Serbia spreading its influence up to Kladovo and Negotin on the east and to Sabac, Koviljacˇa spa and Valjevo in the west, but to a much lesser extent than twenty years ago when it was the capital of a three times larger country than today. The bold idea of marking the boundaries of functional regions (especially the great Belgrade region) had many development consequences. Eastern Serbia lost its regional centre and is fully focused on Belgrade, which only partially corresponds to the situation on the terrain. Bearing in mind the condition of roads, the demographic situation in the area, proximity to Romania and the existence of closer regional centres (Bor, Zajecar), the assumption is that a new similar division would take into account the mentioned facts. The second-largest makro-region of Novi Sad, thanks to the role of the capital city of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, practically influences all of Vojvodina, but also overlaps with the functional area of the city of Belgrade. The third-largest, Nis functional region has an impact on the area from Pirot in the east to Vranje and the Macedonian border in the south. Characteristics of settlements at that time in Serbia can be summarised as (Macura 1995): 10

Belgrade MEGA (functional area) includes approximately 2 million people (according to the Census 2002) which is about 35% more than its total population (1,576,124). In the total number of inhabitants, it represents 25.4% of the population on 7.4% of the territory of Serbia. The most intense relationships of Belgrade MEGA have an impact in the first circle of the surrounding municipalities whereas they decrease with departing from the city (total of 6 municipalities).

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Fig. 2 Zones of influence of macro-urban centres in Serbia, 1995, much larger than its administrative territory, Source Spatial Plan of Republic of Serbia 1996.

• A system consisting of an individual city-small and poorly dynamic settlements that have no significant relationship with the surroundings in which they emerged. • A system consisting of the city as the centre of a group of nearby villages and mixed settlements with which it maintains not only constant daily functional links, but can be physically connected as well. • A system consisting of a powerful city which is the centre of a group of settlements in which villages, mixed settlements and smaller towns are included. Links between settlements are functional, based on daily cycles, and physical (regional city). This system in Serbia comprises the largest cities: Nis, Kragujevac, Novi Sad. Until the nineties of the twentieth century, the policy of regionalisation was based on encouraging the development of underdeveloped areas, especially in mountainous and border areas. (Veljkovic, Tošic´, Jovanovic´ 1995). Contemporary regionalisation of Serbia is founded on the established network of centres was launched through the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia, enacted 1996, which established the basic principles, instruments and measures for the realisation of the concept of spatial organisation of the country. This Plan evaluated the basic potentials and resources of Serbia and established criteria for their optimal use and organisation of space as a basis for defining strategies and policies for regional development. The functional decentralization was based on the formation of:

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• One centre of national/international importance (Belgrade) • 6 macro-regional centres (Belgrade-and in the role of macro regional centresNovi Sad, Pristina, Nis, Kragujevac, Uzice) • 21 regional centres • 9 sub-regional centres • and other urban centres of lower rank. The hierarchy of urban centres that have their area/region of influence has been established. Although over time there has been resistance and it still exists relating to the number of centres, the criteria for selection of centres, their territorial organisation and balance, this hierarchy has set the basic modality of future territorial organisation of Serbia and the settlement network within its framework. The concept of functional urban areas is under consideration in Serbia during the nineties of the twentieth century, but with different interpretations. In the spatial planning practice of the European Union (through the system ESPON) functional areas are defined as functional urban regions, while two-way daily population commuting is treated as the main indicator of their delimitation, i.e., it is used in defining the territorial scope of regional and municipal centres or subcentres and in Serbia as well. What could be regarded as a methodological difference in reference to the current practice is that under the notion of functional areas during the period of the nineties of the last century, regions that covered the entire territory of the Republic were observed, including several municipalities around centres of different significance.11 The territorial and functional components of regional centres were not defined, nor their hierarchy. Although at that time it was concluded that the functional areas had the role of functional urban regions, i.e., daily urban systems, commuting was not used as an indicator for their definition. Consequently, areas that gravitate towards certain centres of development were not determined on the basis of criteria that could be today comparable with European practice. The influence of the macro region of Belgrade, although dominant, is significantly overemphasised, covering the territory from eastern to western Serbia, i.e., the part that overlaps with the Novi Sad and Kragujevac regions. In general, the formation of 6 macro-regional and 34 regional centres with their functional areas did not influence the decentralisation of functions to the expected extent and did not achieve a greater homogeneity of the territory of the Republic and integration of space within the established centre. On the other hand, belts of intense development remained related to the former, established development directions. The Danube-Sava and Velika Morava development axes were confirmed to be of prime importance with branches of lower hierarchical importance diffusely distributed in the territory of Serbia. The division was based on their connections (roads and infrastructure), economic and demographic potentials and natural characteristics. In addition to connecting urban 11

In this way the actual situation is that Serbia is 100% covered with functional areas without defining FUA. Functional areas are not defined by criteria that could today be relevant and comparable with the European practice.

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centres into a unique system, in this way a possibility was open for trans-border connecting regions of Serbia with neighbouring and farther regions. The role of macro-regional centres from that aspect is very important. Identified as generators of development with the greatest functional impact, these centres should be the basis for forming a unique system (macro-regional centres—regional centres—municipal centres—local settlements) and connecting to a network of urban centres in the neighbouring and farther surroundings. Serbia was therefore, at the end of the twentieth century, a centralised state at all levels, with the largest municipalities in Europe and no mid-level administration, with the exception of two provinces and the City of Belgrade.12 The new Constitution of the Republic of Serbia from 2006 opened the possibility of its decentralization and regionalisation, with very little guidance on how to execute it, so that the serious issue of regionalisation and the role of cities in this process were left over to lower legal forms. Apart from a clear definition of competencies through legislation, of these or similar regions, it is necessary to define the following: • definition of national regional development policy • definition of a national urban development policy • definition of intra-regional strategies. In this way, Serbia would catch up with the European countries that have already made these policies. In the realisation of this task it is necessary to use a wider application of best practice and developing models adapted in the regional/ local surroundings. It is obvious that the cities and their functional regions are the pillar and driving force of future regional development of Serbia and the main point for future co-operation with neighbouring countries.13 Therefore, it is necessary to yield certain levels of competence to the city and regional level with a clearly established hierarchy among them and a new model of territorial organisation of the state territory, and precisely determine the role and importance of urban areas. Similarly, it is necessary to execute further inter-regional decentralization with the formation of a settlement network within it. The period between the years 1990 and 2000 was also characterised by a serious political and economic crisis. As stated by Stojkov (Stojkov 2005), city administration was taken over by different political parties, state ownership was being abolished,14 the jurisdiction of institutions was declining, standards, criteria and responsibilities for activities in space were disappearing. This was a time of massive illegal construction, without plans, with the dominance of investors, unclear strategies, misuse of plans in favour of suspicious individual or group 12

Districts, as formal middle-range administrations are the direct exponent of the state without realistic influence and possibilities to manage and plan development. 13 In the Republic of Serbia today formally exist 24 cities 23 in the central Serbia and Pristina in AP Kosovo and Metohija). This classification, in the strict legislative sense, is not always related to the size of the regional centres in Serbia and their unique effects on the surrounding area. 14 In cities today it is still not resolved. The issues of restitution and denationalisation of land and facilities are awaiting their legal precondition and mode of solution.

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interests, the collapse of big industrial plants with serious repercussions on the surrounding area, with the closing of the state borders and suspension of serious cross-border co-operation. All this has serious consequences on the demographic situation in Serbia and, indirectly on the settlement network.

4 The New Position of Settlements The present time is characterised by an extremely poor situation, as a result of the previous period. The phase of the transition requires many structural changes in society and therefore in the position, structure and role of settlements. Public and private interest and public and private property are back on the scene, as well as the beginning of a more serious impact of the public in the process of elaborating and adopting strategic planning documents, but with the growing influence of various political parties in power. There is a growing understanding of the necessity for complete renovation of cities and their surroundings and active participation in Europeanprojects and strategies (Stojkov 2007). In Serbia there is a total of 6,155 independent settlements, of which, a certain number, according to their relevant characteristics, certainly do not qualify. In the debate about the geographical distribution of the population it has already been commented that our country is characterised by a large number of settlements, whose number is more or less continuously increasing year by year. After all, since 1971 (6,049 settlement) to 2002, 106 independent settlements appeared in Serbia, which also influenced the creation of new characteristics in the general and specific spatial dispersion of settlements, where now there is one settlement per 14.4 km2 of territory, and the average distance between the settlements is 4.3 km. In the last interval between censuses, from 1991 to 2002, the number of settlements in the central Serbia and Vojvodina increased by 13. The first prerequisite for the revival of villages and their qualitative transformation is the implementation of co-ordinated activities that include: (a) institutional and organisational support, (b) effective physical and networking communications of rural settlements in the settlement network (c) connecting rural population and organisations with civil services and market entities. The establishment of village communities is being planned, which should be defined by the local government with a recommendation that the village community centre should be planned to cover a gravitation area of about 3,000–10,000 inhabitants. This can be executed through a series of measures and instruments that will be applied in the implementation of planning strategies and priorities. The following is proposed for urban centres: stimulation of selective development of urbanindustrial centres of various hierarchical level—by measures and instruments of stimulation/discouragement and methods of direct targeting, without clear and specific guidelines. Similarly, there is the need for relatively rapid investment in the infrastructure of small and medium-sized cities. In this way, better communication between urban centres of different ranks would be achieved and the

The Settlement Network of Serbia: From the Past to the Prospective Table 1 Changes in the network of settlements in Serbia by main units from 1971 to 2002. Source Thematic book of settlement networks Spatial Plan of Republic of Serbia 2010

Year

1971 1981 1991 2002

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Number of settlement

Serbia

AP Vojvodina

Central Serbia

AP Kosovo and Methohija

451 464 466 467

4,163 4,243 4,238 4,239

1,435 1,445 1,449 1,449

6,049 6,153 6,153 6,155

possibility opened for their networking. For villages, the harmonisation of goals of the agricultural policy and regional development policy is necessary, further the establishment of a system of monitoring and evaluation of programs supported by funds from the agricultural budgets/public revenue and encouraging private investors to invest in appropriate programs, as well as improving the data base on agricultural land and ensuring resources for stimulating economic development of agriculture (Table 1). Small urban settlements dominate in the spatial and functional organisation of the network of central settlements. From the total number of 168 urban settlements in the year 2002, 51 settlements have less than 5,000 inhabitants, 41 settlements have between 5,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, 58 settlements have 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, 14 settlements 50,000–100,000, while there are only four settlements with more than 100,000 inhabitants: Belgrade (city proper population of 1,119,642) Novi Sad (191,405 inhabitants), Nis (173,724 inhabitants) and Kragujevac (146,373 inhabitants). In 25 municipalities in Serbia (excluding the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija), according to the methodology of state statistics, there are no settlements or urban areas (Table 2). The tradition of planning in Serbia always paid considerable attention to the development of settlements and their organisation. However, empty spaces between settlements were in fact those that were neglected. According to the legislation, they were treated through plans, but practical cases showed an opposite trend. At the same time the planning of development of towns and villages was not (and still is not) in an equal ratio. This is especially the case in the past two decades, where rural areas were practically not treated appropriately. They were part of the planning process, but only formally. At the same time, in the period between the years 1996 and 2003 (the period between the two laws on planning) it can be concluded that the state had no concern for the village. Although the legislative determined that plans had to be prepared and adopted for village territories and their districts, this was simply not done. This situation has had different effects in different parts of Serbia. Traditionally, well distributed and organised villages with a defined system of functioning, for example in Vojvodina, were not significantly damaged by this situation.15 On the other hand, suburbia and villages

15

Especially due to the fact that in the preceding period (until mid 80s) they were almost completely covered by some document which had guided their development, either those were plans of different types, development plans (‘uredjajne osnove’), programs of development, etc.

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Table 2 Differentiating types of settlements in central Serbia and Vojvodina in 1991 and 2002. Source Thematic book settlement network in Serbia, the Spatial Plan of Republic of Serbia, 2010 Category Number of settlements Total population 1,000,000 and more inhabitants 100,000–999,999 inhabitants 10,000–99,999 inhabitants 2,000–9,999 inhabitants less than 2,000 inhabitants Total

1991

2002

1991

2002

1 4 80 430 4,178 4,693

1 3 81 404 4,217 4,706

1,168,454 602,708 2,125,845 1,656,253 2,269,535 7,822,795

1,119,642 511,502 2,267,044 1,587,428 2,012,385 7,498,001

near large cities began to develop spontaneously. The absence of relevant policies in many cases initiated illegal construction, especially in villages, but in towns as well throughout Serbia. Left to themselves and burdened by economic problems, the villagers made surplus income by parcelling out, fragmentation and sale of their real properties. In this way, agricultural land was quickly converted into construction land, creating new forms of settlements, primarily along the main roads. The accumulation of new building lots close to urban centres increased the number of urban dwellers, while the depopulation of remote villages continued intensely and led to an extremely negative demographic situation. Practically abandoned, demographically aged, too old for employment, villages and their inhabitants, were unable to stop this negative trend. Due to uncontrolled exodus, the architectural and spiritual significance of rural areas was beginning to disappear. Therefore, today there is an effort, with help of the new legislative proposals, to restore the quality of life for people in rural areas. They require, in most cases full or some kind of selective renewal. The elementary requirement is a minimum of economic and cultural life that city residents enjoy or at least partial contents that can be compensated by good traffic links with the city centre.

5 The Settlement Network Prospective in Serbia The prospective of urban and rural settlements in Serbia calls for a new urban– rural relation based on functional links between urban centres and their functional (basically rural) surroundings. The concept of development of the network of centres and functional urban areas in terms of balanced territorial development of Serbia should be directed towards: • the possibility of integrating space outside functional urban areas with some of the urban centres by: – increasing the economic power of centres – increasing accessibility

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– development of social contents of a centre and sub-centres – positive development policies • the possibility of independent development of settlements that remain outside the functional urban areas (which cannot be functionally integrated with an urban centre) • interest networking of urban areas within the territory of Serbia and trans-border connecting with neighbours in the surrounding countries. This concept is aimed at enhancing territorial cohesion and activating the territorial and human capital of Serbia, which is necessary for its successful development in the future. The creation of clusters of urban areas closely corresponds to the dominant axes of development in Serbia (the Danube-Sava, Morava, Nišava axes), while intense trans-border co-operation is possible in the border areas, particularly in the direction of Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the year 2020, on the basis of this model, the territory of Serbia should have, in the ideal case, 92.4% of the population living in one of the functional urban areas of different levels (6,920,875 inhabitants), while their spatial coverage would be 78.4% of the entire territory of Serbia (60,564 km 22) (excluding AP Kosovo and Metohija) . On the basis of the analysis of possibly integrating the territory of Serbia in one of the existing areas of city influence, the categorisation of functional urban areas has been presumed, on the basis of which in 2020 in Serbia there will be16: • 1 centre in the category of European metropolitan growth areas (MEGA4)— City of Belgrade • 2 centres of international significance—the cities of Novi Sad and Nis • 21 centres of national significance—Cacak, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Krusevac, Kikinda, Leskovac, Loznica, Novi Pazar, Beograd, Pancevo, Pozarevac, Sabac, Smederevo, Sombor, Sremska Mitrovica, Subotica, Uzice, Vranje, Valjevo, Zrenjanin and Zajecar • 2 centres of regional significance-Pirot and Vrsa The categories MEGA and FUA on the international level have not changed (although they have grown in size) as compared to the situation in 2009, while the greatest change has been made between the centres of national and regional level, namely the transfer from lower to higher hierarchical order (Šec´erov, Nevenic´ 2010). Thus, by the functional merging of municipalities, 5 FUA’s, of regional significance have been transferred into a higher national rank (Kikinda, Pozarevac, Valjevo, Zajecar, FC). Only 2 FUA’s, Pirot and Vrsac, will remain with reduced, regional, impact on the surrounding area until 2020. By the same projection the percentage of population living in one of the FUA will increase by 12%, while the surface that they cover will be higher by 17%. FUA has the largest coverage in Vojvodina (over 95% of

16

On the territory of AP Kosovo and Metohija. Due to the lack of relevant data, situation remains defined the same way as in 2009.

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Fig. 3 Settlement network in Serbia in 2010. Source Spatial Plan of Republic of Serbia, 2010

the population and territory) and lowest in eastern and south-western parts of central Serbia. The most intensive functional connectivity will remain in the city zones and in strong industrial centres where the permanent relocation of the population in function of employment has already been executed, while extreme daily migrations are expected in inter-city areas, along transportation routes. Areas that are far from strong economic centres and commercial zones will be oriented towards the smaller work centres, integrating an insignificant number of small settlements around them (Fig. 3).

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Fig. 4 Belgrade metropolitan (functional) area 2020. Source Spatial Plan of Republic of Serbia, 2010

6 The Role of the City of Belgrade and its Metropolitan Area The influence of the Belgrade metropolitan area will grow and with the current 1.7 million inhabitants, it will integrate 2,056,200 inhabitants by 2020, functionally binding 10 municipalities of the immediate and farther surrounding. The central part of the agglomerations will continue to be the dominant gravitation area for the most intensive daily migration from the city outskirts. In this sense, the concept of spatial development of Belgrade should go in the direction of reduction of working places in the core of the city. Decentralization of functions and the creation of stronger sub-migration systems in the metropolitan area would enable the use of the model of decentralised concentration of population and functions (Fig. 4). The stimulation of the functional transformation of the agricultural settlements in rural areas outside the metropolis, would provide the possibility of locating processing plants of industrial character and activities of the tertiary sector. The aim of these activities does not have to be only to provide services to the inhabitants, but employment as well. By the development of central and service functions and the role of micro-developing centres on one side, and by connecting to a higher quality network of roads and intensifying city public transport, on the other, would stimulate the commuting of labour and thus slow down the migration flow to the central parts of Belgrade (Nevenic´ 2009). In fact, the development nuclei (6 urban centres within the territory of the City of Belgrade) should get the role of centres of functional decentralization of the metropolitan. In this sense it is necessary to apply the model of ‘‘decentralised concentration’’ of the population and activities, for which there is an initial basis in the current settlement network of the Belgrade agglomeration.

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Fig. 5 Functional integration (action area) of the metropolitan of Belgrade and Novi Sad, Source Spatial Plan of Republic of Serbia, 2010

The boundaries of the future metropolitan area of Belgrade on the north side will not change significantly. Intense merging and functional connectivity with the functional area of the city of Novi Sad will be the basis for the eventual formation of the bipolar agglomeration of the most intense development area in Serbia (Fig. 5). Together with the towns Pancevo, Smederevo, Pozarevac, Sabac and Sremska Mitrovica, it will be further extended into the zone which represents the most influential and socio-economically most developed belt of Serbia on the Danube and Sava development axis. Significant expansions may be expected on the south side of the existing area of impact of the city of Belgrade. Increasing transportation accessibility and better connectivity with the wider surroundings, the construction of primary roads to the south (Belgrade-Pozega highway) and north (‘‘Banat highway to Hungary’’), is expected to increase the mobility of the population, reducing travel time and activating the working zones along these routes (Šec´erov, Nevenic´ 2010). The construction of inter-city roads and reducing the intensity of traffic in the central zone of the City will provide a better frequency and greater flow of population from sub-centres in the wider surroundings.

6.1 Other Regional Areas in Serbia The territory of AP Vojvodina is generally the most developed area of Serbia. A good distribution of medium-sized cities (50,000–100,000 population) makes it possible to cover over 95% of its territory with functional urban areas of different levels (with the same number of people living in them). Apart from three municipalities that remain outside the direct influence of one of the urban centres (Bac, Ada, Novi Knezˇevac), all the others potentially gravitate to one of the analysed cities. In terms of the hierarchy of urban centres the situation is similar to that observed today in Vojvodina. The city of Novi Sad17 is a functional urban area

17

According to the Law on Local Self-management (2007), the Republic of Serbia has 23 cities and the city of Belgrade.

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Fig. 6 Functional integration (activity area) of the metropolitan area of Nis, Source Spatial Plan of Republic of Serbia, 2010

of international importance, with an enlarged spatial coverage by the area of two municipalities and it is expected to reach a population of 567,240 inhabitants by the year 2020, occupying 4.6% of the Serbian territory. Functional urban areas of national importance will be the town of Subotica (253,218 inhabitants), which dominates the northern part of Vojvodina and the city of Sombor, as well as the city of Zrenjanin in the eastern part. The gravitation area of the city of Sremska Mitrovica will not significantly change, as well as Vrsac whose functional area remains on the level of a regional centre. The perspective of this area is intense trans-border co-operation with Hungary in the north and Romania on the east, after the expected progress of Serbia in European integration. Almost all urban areas in Vojvodina have a complex structure dominated by the most influential centre, with a few sub-centres with a much lower impact zone. The city of Vrsac is an exception, a functional urban area of the regional level, which consists of only the municipality of Plandiste. Therefore, it is necessary to execute internal decentralization in the complex (polycentric) urban area and ensure an even distribution of socio-economic and public facilities with increase of accessibility, especially among centres, and construction or reconstruction of local roads. The system of urban centres in Vojvodina is the basis for further networking of urban areas on the territory of northern and southern Europe. Today, this type of co-operation is intensified towards Hungary, Romania and Croatia where, in the near future even more intense co-operation can be expected in order to establish stronger and more permanent links because of the need to increase the competitiveness of the entire region. Potential threats to the process of strengthening territorial cohesion in this area may be administrative and formal barriers (often of political nature) that can lead to obstruction of the initiated activities. They refer both to the external and the internal borders of Serbia, in relation to central Serbia. The territory of the southern part of Serbia is dominated by the metropolitan area created by the functional strength of the city of Nis. It is expected that the impact zone of this city will expand for about 2.000 km2 (5.1% of Serbia) and the expected population growth will be approximately 130,000 people (452.000 inhabitants), as a result of merging four new municipalities. The impacts will grow especially to the north-west and south-west in the direction of the municipalities Aleksinac and Prokuplje, and to the east where a more intense gravitation is expected by the municipalities of Svrljig and Bela Palanka towards the city of Nis (Fig. 6).

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Nis is the cross-road of the South-Morava axis (together with Leskovac and Vranje) and the Nisava river development axis of Serbia (in the direction of the future branch of Corridor X towards Sofia and Istanbul). Leskovac and Vranje retain the national rank in the network of settlements in Serbia. The city of Leskovac remains with an unchanged field of impact (except for prospective expansion in the direction of the municipalities of Vlasotince-Crna Trava), while the city with its surrounding cities of Vranje will be in functional connection with the urban centres in the municipalities of Surdulica and Trgoviste (182,855 inhabitants, 2.681 km2) and in the future a more intense relationship can be expected with the municipality Bosilegrad. The city of Pirot, in the south-eastern part of Serbia, although expanded by the area of the municipality Babušnica, is still not strong enough to progress to the higher, national rank. The morphological barriers and poor transportation links cause its expansion towards the north (Knjazevac), while the construction of the highway and liberalisation of administrative barriers towards EU (Bulgaria) would be the basis for its more intense trans-border connections towards the east. The Šumadija area (Velikomoravska) is supported by the City of Kragujevac (national rank), which will have a stronger relationship with its surroundings in the future and a population of about 225,357 inhabitants on a territory of 1.645 km2 (2.1% of the territory of Serbia) and provide strengthening of settlements in its vicinity. It is in the contact zone of influence of the City of Belgrade with which it ‘‘shares’’ the area of Topola municipality, which remains outside the distinct zone of one of the dominant centres (its southern part is indirectly connected with Kragujevac and its northern part with Belgrade). The territory of the municipality of Svilajnac, with future better connections with Raca and Lapovo, will expand the functional area of the city of Kragujevac towards the east. The city of Kragujevac and its metropolitan area are linked to the system of cities of lower rank, in the direction of Zapadna Morava (Kraljevo, Krusevac, Cacak). The city of Kraljevo in the period until 2018 will significantly expand its field of influence, while the city of Krusevac with its functional surroundings will have a population increase of about 110,000 inhabitants (over 284,000 inhabitants) with an area of 4.2% of the territory of Serbia. In the Danube belt area significant urban centres include the towns of Smederevo and Pozarevac. In the area of intense gravitational influence of Smederevo no significant changes are expected, while the functional area of the city of Pozarevac, by merging with the municipality of Veliko Gradiste, will move to a higher (national) rank (population of 122,448 inhabitants on 2.9% of the state territory). The significant conurbation along Corridor X in the direction BelgradeNis is made up of the continual area of urban centres with 3-cities CuprijaJagodina-Paracin, dominated by the city of Jagodina. The idea of ‘‘3-cities’’, although with intense functional relations (according to all criteria) has not yet been realised due to isolation of the cities within their municipality boundaries. The Sava development axis is dominated by the functional areas of the cities Sabac and Loznica. Both have potentials for cross-border co-operation with neighbouring cities and municipalities in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and

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Fig. 7 Model of functional urban areas in Serbia 2020. Source Spatial Plan of Republic of Serbia, 2010

within Serbia the cities of Sremska Mitrovica (on the north) and Belgrade on the east. The direction from Sabac towards Uzice and Loznica in the west part of Serbia, lies along an unattractive area with poor transportation connections, but has a possible perspective on the Podrinje axis, where more intensive development in Serbia is proposed. The functional area of Sabac and Loznica will remain unchanged until 2020, while the zone of influence of Uzice will expand westward, in the direction of the municipality Bajina Basta and reach a population of 160,000 inhabitants on a territory of about 2.400 km2 (3.1% of Serbia). Prospectively, the city of Valjevo and its surroundings will move to the category of the national rank together with the municipalities of Lajkovac i Mionica, and will have a population of over 130,000 inhabitants, in the territory of 1.8% of Serbia. The territory of south-west Serbia is a very incoherent area without a strong centre which has the functional potential of gathering a larger number of municipalities (Šec´erov 2007). The city of Novi Pazar, although of national importance, cannot be distinctly extended due to its poor disposition and weak economy, so that it will have the expected population of 143,000 until 2020, in a territory of over 2.100 km2. The other settlements form a semi-functional region in this part of Serbia with separate centres in Sjenica Prijepolje, Nova Varos, Priboj and Ivanjica. Connectivity is expected in the existing direction of Ivanjica-Arilje-Pozega, towards the city of Uzice and partially towards Kraljevo, while the municipalities of Priboj and Prijepolje remain in functional relation with neighbouring municipalities in Montenegro. The lack of strong industrial and economic capacities limits the possibilities of a broader field of activity for these settlements and only integrates the space of their administrative territory. Therefore, by establishing stronger links between them, recognising common forms of activity (tourist zones in high-quality areas—e.g. Uvac), improving transportation and infrastructure utilities, public and social facilities etc. but also with a defined aid by the state, this area could gradually became more attractive for potential investment and move to a higher level of development (Fig. 7). Another area that is faced with similar development problems is the territory of eastern Serbia. Although expansion of the city of Zajecar over the municipality of

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Boljevac is expected, as well as its upgrading into the category of national centres (with a population of about 119,000 inhabitants and a large area of over 3.000 km2) it is not conceivable that its influence will continue spreading. Therefore, there is also a possibility here for the creation of a multifunctional region with potentially strong industrial centres in Bor and Majdanpek, and with city settlements of a lower degree of influence in Kucevo, Kladovo Zagubica, Despotovac and Negotin. In accordance with the dynamics of ownership restructuring (privatisation) and the activation of the extraordinary potential of this area (mineral raw materials, industry, tourism, natural, cultural and spiritual heritage, etc.), the intensification of cross-border co-operation with Romania and Bulgaria, and improvement of national and local roads and better accessibility, the territory of eastern Serbia should be transformed from a depressed development area to an area of more prospective future.

7 Concluding Remarks The traditional network of settlements in Serbia still practically exists with a lot of weaknesses related to small/medium urban centres and especially to rural settlements. These weaknesses and lack of national or regional support are producing demographic, economic and social consequences jeopardising the whole development of Serbia. The settlement network is still reflecting traditional polycentric morphology with urban centres relatively equally dispersed, with expressed domination of the City of Belgrade and, to a minor extent, of the City of Novi Sad and Nish. Weaknesses of Serbian economy in the last two decades have directed large masses of population from the east, south and west to central developmental axes (trans-European corridor X) and to the largest cities: the city of Belgrade, city of Novi Sad and city of Nish. Due to the still centralised country the opening is the problem of small and medium towns and their weak role in regional and local development. The position of rural settlements (over 4.500) is in terms of demography (ageing, social structure, migrations) and in terms of economy. This is the consequence of centralisation at all levels, national, regional and local. Local centralisation keeps all the power in urban centres (municipality seats) but in sequel with their high dependence on central budgeting. The network of settlement is therefore at the very beginning of sporadic functional networking among municipalities, i.e., very static in traditional way of settlement network. The new attempts with decentralisation of Serbia, two-level regionalisation (regions and districts), the new proclaimed policy of polycentrism and functional networking of municipalities around 24 cities could open new prospective for more dynamic system of settlement networking based on functional interests. The role of smaller towns and linking villages in wider urban systems should therefore be one of major contributions to a more developed Serbia in the prospective.

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References Gilbert R et al (1996) Making Cities Work. Earthscan Publisher, London, p 6 Law of Planning and Construction (2009) Milanovic PN (2007) European urban sprawl: Sustainability, cultures of (Anti) urbanism and ‘‘Hybrid Cityscapes’’ in TERRITORIUM 6/7, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Geography Nevenic´ M (2009) Znacˇaj Beograda u regionalnoj integraciji jugoistocˇne Evrope, Faculty of Geography University of Belgrade Šec´erov V (2007) Mouy'yocn yyagpee¥a cnpaneirou gkaybpa¥a upaloda b ¥bxodbx peuboya y Pegy,kbwb Cp,bjb, Ueoupaacrb aaryknen Eybdeppbnena y <eoupaly, <eoupal Šec´erov V, Nevenic´ M (2010) Functional urban areas in Srbia, In spatial plan of republic of Serbia, RASP Spasic N, Petric J (2001) Sustainable development of towns in Serbia, In sustainable spatial development of towns and cities. In: Proceedings, International scientific conference, IAUS, p 181 Spatial plan of Republic of Serbia (1996) Spatial plan of Republic of Serbia (2010) Stamenkovic S, Tosic D, Gataric D (2010) Network of settlements in Serbia, In spatial plan of republic of Serbia, RASP Stojkov B (2003)’’Peuboyakbpawbja rao ocyod peuboyakyou papdoja Cp,bje’’, y ‘‘Peuboyakbpawbja Cp,bje, npaycupaybxya capal¥a b cowbo-ryknypyb gpowecb y Jyuobcnoxyoj Edpogb’’, Ueoupaacrb aaryknen Eybdeppbnena y <eoupaly, <eoupal Stojkov B (2005) ’’Gokbweynpbxyb papdoj Cp,bje’’, y ‘‘Cp,bja b cadpeveyb gpowecb y Edpogb b cdeny‘‘, Ueoupaacrb aaryknen Eybdeppbnena y <eoupaly, <eoupal Stojkov B (2007) ‘‘Cnanyc upala, leweynpakbpawbja b gokbweynpbxyocn Cp,bje’’ y ‘‘E cycpen yodov cnanycy upaloda y Cp,bjb-peakyocn b gonpe,e’’, GAKUO weynap, <eoupal Veljkovic´ A, Jovanovic´ R, Tošic´ B (1995) Gradovi Srbije - centri razvoja u mrezˇi naselja. Posebna izdanja Geografskog instituta Jovan Cvijic´ SANU 44. Beograd

The Development of the Hungarian Settlement Network Since 1990 Gábor Pirisi and András Trócsányi

1 Introduction Analysing the Hungarian settlement network is a challenging task, even if we look back only on the past two decades. Indeed fundamental effects have exerted an impact on the structure since the political system change, however, this period is negligible in historical scope and scale. Consequently, our paper starts with the overview of the (historical and near) past, introducing the context in which the settlement system can be interpreted. The network transformation (Berényi and Dövényi 1996; Rechnitzer 2002) is not only a process of settlements, it is affected by the changing natural environment, economy, society, and also by the infrastructure, shortly: by the geographical space. Thus it is a complex question, so in the framework of this study we mainly can focus on the changing legal-administrative, as well as real economy (market) impacts (Kovács 2002). Due to the complexity of the process, most of the Hungarian geographers dealt with the analysis of partial processes and phenomena, e.g. we have a considerable knowledge on the settlement phenomena around the capital city, on agglomerations, suburbanization (Dövényi and Kovács 1999), inner migration patterns (Bajmócy 2010), population change (Hajnal and Bugya 2006), on the relationship of transport and settlements (Erd} osi 2003), on changes in urban morphology (Csapó 2005). Similarly intensively studied area is the fit of socialist industrial new towns (Germuska 2008) in the system, and also transformation of small towns (Pirisi 2009; Pirisi and Trócsányi 2007) is very well documented, and the awards G. Pirisi (&)
A. Trócsányi Department of Human Geography and Urban Studies, Institute of Geography, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6, 7624 Pécs, Hungary e-mail: [email protected] A. Trócsányi e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_5, Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

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of town status have also been a popular topic in the past decade (Pirisi and Trócsányi 2009), as are the issues related to the settlement-transforming effects of tourism (Aubert 2003). The transformation of rural areas is now in the focus of investigations related to falling behind and peripherization (Balogh 2006), transforming borderline areas (Mohos 2002) represent another current topic, and there are more and more publications on the differentiation of scattered farms (Csatári 2000), which are unique creatures of the Hungarian settlements. Knowing all of these results we try to publish a comprehensive synthesis, however, being aware that a deeper analysis is impossible in this case.

2 Historical: Geographical Basis Hungary is situated in the Eastern part of Central-Europe, in a large region, where the European urbanization developed relatively late and in a restricted manner, bearing several distortions due to limited local resources (Enyedi 2000). Consequently, the historical Hungarian Kingdom—that included among others a part of the present Slovakia, Western and Transylvanian areas of Romania, and also regions of Serbia that lie North from the Danube—is characterized in European comparison with a relatively low density of population, scarce settlement network, and cities that are small, underdeveloped in their functions and less western in their morphology. Furthermore, a peculiar structure evolved where urbanization could only be relatively intense at the edge of the country, at some parts of the mountain range frame, and mainly there it resulted in cities by European standard. On the contrary, in the central, Great Plain regions the agricultural town type was more widespread: this is basically a settlement form with relatively large territory and population, but rather village-like in its morphology (Beluszky 2005). However, after the first wave of industrial revolution, at the turn of the nineteenth–twentieth centuries, a coherent settlement network existed, which covered the whole territory of the country, and had a dynamically developing capital city, Budapest in its centre, and some partial or total regional centres that urbanized and modernized in a fast pace (Bratislava, Kosice, Debrecen, Cluj-Napoca, Timisßoara, Szeged, Subotica, Zagreb). This organic development was interrupted by the peace treaty system that closed World War I and fragmented the historical Hungary, and left behind a capital city oversized compared to the size of the country, and a circle of functionally weak small- and medium-sized cities (Fig. 1). Conditions of the transformation of the settlement network significantly changed during the decades of socialism following World War II. Like elsewhere, ideological-political aspects became dominant also here. It is important to emphasize that the settlement policy of socialism was mainly city-friendly; consequently it was more or less openly against villages and especially against scattered farms. A forced industrialization took place in cities, often in new industrial cities, the human and material conditions of which could only be created

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Fig. 1 Settlement rings according to their hierarchy level in the Carpathian Basin. Source Tóth 2004

Fig. 2 The scattered settlement pattern of Hungary. Source edited by Pirisi

by doing harm to the countryside. Most of the Hungarian villages found themselves at that time on a down-ward slope, due to the intentional destruction activity of wealthy peasantry and forced collectivization of the 1950s. In fact, an accelerated (second) industrial revolution (and urbanization wave) took place, with consequences that have an aftermath still today (Fig. 2). The other interesting aspect in the analysis of this period is strong centralization. The settlement policy aimed at the creation of a strongly hierarchical system already explicitly after the declaration of the National Settlement Network

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Fig. 3 The increase in the number of towns (1886–2009). Source edited by Trócsányi

Development Concept of 1971, where the settlements had to possess a clearly described and comparable set of functions. This system was at least three-fold centralized, with Budapest on the top again that dominated also the economic life, even against the—not too dedicated—efforts to restrict its dominance with administrative measures. Miskolc that had a traditional industrial role among the former regional centres, was appointed to build a counter balance, however due to the strong redistributive mechanisms actually the county level was emphasized. Consequently, the county centres developed very spectacularly in the 1970s. The same took place one level lower with the district seats, and as a result, lots of small towns with 15–30 thousand inhabitants were able to strengthen their functions. Settlements with strong industrial character took a very favourable position within the system, while borderline areas became disadvantaged. The villages became in a more favoured situation after 1968 with the reforms resulted the transformation of agriculture, however, it became strongly differentiated: e.g. first signs of agglomerations appeared, resort- and other specialized settlements coloured the palette (Fig. 3).

3 Factors Influencing the Development of Settlement Network After 1990 3.1 Legal, Administrative Framework One of the cardinal legislative activities of political system change was the one that eliminated (Act on Municipalities 1990) the former system of councils and established local municipalities. The earlier hierarchical structure practically dissolved, the settlements became autonomous and legally equal, and got broad

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Fig. 4 Formal urbanisation in Hungary (1986–2009). Source edited by Trócsányi

authorization in free administration of local issues. However, the two decades passed since then proved that they were unable to take an advantage on their freedom, since their chances are strongly restricted by the permanent lack of resources. The other important factor that fundamentally influences the legal framework is the Euro-Atlantic integration of the country, reaching its peak with Hungary’s accession to the European Union in 2004. This inserted the settlement policy in European dimensions on the one hand, on the other hand it opened door to the financial tools of the Community that enabled a much more intense and varied development activity on the settlement level than before. The other important related consequence was the differentiation of the country’s borders. Today there are three types (Schengen internal, internal outside Schengen, and external) of border (control) sections around the country. A part of the borders became permeable already before, and in contrast to those times, the borderline location turned from disadvantage into an advantage, from barrier into a space of interactions—first of all in Austrian-Hungarian relation. Another important node of the changing legal framework was the institutionalization of spatial policy since the second half of the 1990s. There was a planning low-tide at the beginning of the decade, and there were no thoughtful programmes to deal with the spatial differences that increased with an accelerated speed as a consequence of the system change. However, after these, several legal measures were taken, national, regional, general and sectoral plans were born, including comprehensive national developmental plans between 2000 and 2010, that were typically financed with the help of European sources. The plans are mainly region- and not settlement-centred. Additionally, from a decade distance it can be seen that though all of them give a high priority to the decrease of spatial differences and development of disadvantaged areas that are often characterized with small-settlement structure, their failure seems to be clear here. All the same, the spatial policy took measures that fundamentally changed the regional (relative) positions of some settlements, e.g. intense development of the motorway network (Fig. 4). Also the urbanization rate of the country increased steadily since 1990. Dealing with it here, among legal conditions, already indicates the contradictions of the process. Urbanization was permanent, while the natural decrease, respectively the

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Fig. 5 Migration and suburbanisation patterns (1990–2008). Source edited by Pirisi

net emigration in majority of the past two decades was more and more typical for towns and cities. The reason of increase was simply that the door for the town nominations was opened with administrative tools, giving a way to 164 cities to formal urbanization, therefore the pool of cities doubled in number between 1990 and 2000! The settlements in question have typically 5–10 thousand inhabitants, rarely somewhat higher, but in the past period they were usually smaller settlements. We consequently call this process formal urbanization (Pirisi and Trócsányi 2009), whereby more than one million people became town or city dwellers without changing their place of living, which is some 15% of the current urban population that is around seven million in total in 2011.

3.2 Processes of the Market Economy In addition to—or even more than—the legal framework, also the real sphere’s events and economic processes formed the settlement network. The guidelines of this are the transformation from command economy to market economy and the concomitant phenomena of that. This went hand in hand with a real shock therapy at the beginning of the 1990s, when the shrinking of the state sector was extremely fast in the heavy industry. Some one million workplaces disappeared permanently from the country, employment stabilized at a very low level, even at moderate unemployment rate (Fig. 5). Role of the state-owned pull sectors was overtaken by FDI-based private companies and some branches boosted by the previous ones, like the literally re-born automotive industry, electronics, or the successfully transforming chemistry branches.

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Des- and reindustrialization did not take place spatially overlapping. The most important effect of the transformation is that it turned into regional differences the hierarchical differences that existed in the network which had earlier been centralized, but well balanced in its levels. That is, while before 1990 the standard of living of people was mainly determined by the size and type of the settlement they were living in, now it is rather the regional position that is decisive. Successfully transforming regions (Budapest and its agglomeration, just as the Northern part of Transdanubia) are catching up, while the remaining regions get on a falling trajectory. Spatial structure of the country is permanently divided in two parts, differences on the micro-regional level can nearly remind us of the deviation between developed and developing countries. The dividing line between success and failure is in many cases the accessibility by transportation, since spatial diffusion of capital investments connects well demonstrably to the motorway network. Market conditions also have brought a new period of the settlements’ competition. At the same time there is still the trace of some inherited post-socialist and Central-European character, since the competition is mainly for the allocation of central sources, its success criteria are the spectacular, but not always sustainable projects, and its main tools are appropriate political connections. Among economic factors, we have to take into consideration that tourism becomes one of the most important factors. The type of image- and resort settlements is very sharply described, it appears mainly in the Balaton region or on the base of some significant attractions (heritage element or spa). All of these processes take place in a country characterized by typical, CentralEuropean (negative) demographical scenario. The population of Hungary has been decreasing since 1981, it crossed the psychological limit of 10 million at the turn of 2010 and 2011. The demographic conditions are spatially well balanced. While Budapest itself is ageing, most of the large cities are in a favourable position. The problem cumulates mainly in small-settlement dominated areas, lots of which can be found in the country. The fall of population in most of the cases seems to be unstoppable here; almost all of the settlements with less than 500 inhabitants are shrinking with a high pace and are losing their remaining limited functions. Practically total emptying of certain areas could be expected in the following decades. At the same time there is a counter effecting process on the Hungarian countryside that is related to the Gipsies who follow a demographic pattern similar to that of West-European emigrants. Emptying settlements in the countryside are often filled with Gipsies of high natural reproduction, and their appearance usually accelerates the emigration of Hungarian population. Their settlements and inhabitants with an under-average education are cumulatively hit by problems typical for the whole country: very low rate of employment, low incomes, stand in need of social care, extreme rate of deviances, catastrophic public health and mortality conditions, which are recently accompanied by more and more frequent conflicts with the majority of the population. Consequently, segregation is typical not or not only within settlements, but it hits whole villages, soon cities, moreover micro-regions.

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One of the most spectacular recent processes that significantly shapes settlement network is suburbanization which got a new going after 1990. The antecedents were partially given also during socialism, since the largest suburban settlement (with village rank at that time) of Budapest (Érd) had nearly 40 thousand inhabitants already in 1978. All the same, the process gained momentum after 1990 and resulted in the rise of a branch of very dynamically growing, usually wealthy settlements (large villages and small towns). The agglomeration around Budapest already gives home to at least 700 thousand people, but suburbanization can be traced in the neighbourhood of Miskolc, Szeged, Pécs and Gy}or, moreover around some smaller cities (usually still county seats). This resulted in the fact that the migration balance of cities and villages favoured the latter ones in the past 20 years, though the counter seems to balancing again recently, not at least because in the meantime the favourite destinations of emigrants got almost without exception town status.

4 Conclusion: Different Levels of the Settlement Network The position of Budapest clearly became stronger in the past two decades, and though the majority expected the decrease of Budapest centrism due to the competition, in fact the economic overweight may be stronger today than ever before. Such a concentration of economic actors, capital and employees is available in Budapest that creates real market conditions in several spheres. In addition, also policy was not eager enough to de-concentrate the possible functions, so Budapest stayed a sort of deadwood (Nemes Nagy 1996). On the other hand, its physical renewal was relatively weak compared to its importance, and by today it is struggling with almost unsolvable transportation and city management conflicts, practically with an infrastructure system inherited from the socialism. Suburbanization caused serious problems, since the city lost a significant portion of its best taxpayers, became a settlement with an expressively ageing age-structure, where phenomena of slumming and ethnicity based segregation appeared. Some corners of the down-town have been revitalized by successful district regenerations in the past years, and signs of re-urbanisation can be traced: emigration could be partially stopped due to this (Fig. 6). There are five regional centres (Debrecen, Miskolc, Szeged, Pécs and Gy}or) on the second level of hierarchy, among which Gy}or is clearly a winner, while Miskolc is a loser of the change, the remaining settlements moved in different directions regarding different indicators. All five settlements, each of which has a population between 130 and 210 thousand, successfully strengthened their regional functions in the field of higher education, public administration, culture and trade, and by 2010 all of them are available by motorway. At the same time, transformation of the economic structure can be seen successful only in Gy}or, and the city became one of the symbols of Hungarian re-urbanization. The other four try to achieve a breakthrough with spectacular developmental projects (Debrecen:

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Fig. 6 The size variation of towns and cities before and after 1990. Source edited by Pirisi

MODEM, sport hall, stadium, Miskolc: rehabilitation of the down-town, tram development, Szeged: tram development, Pécs: ECC), however, the shared characteristic of these is that, though they increase the inhabitants’ standard of living, but they rarely add to the (international) competitiveness of the cities. The third level goes to the seats of the remaining 13 counties, among which there are some with a population slightly above 30 thousand, but also with more than 100 thousand. These settlements mostly belong to the losers; since the disappearance of the county redistributive system tightened their disposable resources considerably (this caused a very striking break in case of Zalaegerszeg and Veszprém). Some of them are severely hit by des-industrialization as well (Salgótarján, Eger, Tatabánya), others suffer from the almost total lack of investments that are usually caused by the co-incidence of disadvantageous location, previous industrial traditions and lack of modern human resources (Békéscsaba, Nyíregyháza, Kaposvár). Nevertheless, disregarding some exceptions, they are the most developed and dynamic cities of their counties, and usually also their developing paths seem to be stable. Some settlements with 30–50 thousand inhabitants belong to the mediumsized cities that have been typically without an important administrative role previously, and they still are. It is a totally heterogeneous group, they can be functionally relatively strong co-centres of a county (Sopron, Nagykanizsa, Baja, Hódmez}ovásárhely), but also industrial cities with marginal regional role, which have seen better days in the past (Ózd, Dunaújváros, Ajka) (Fig. 7). Variegation is even more typical for the group of small towns. At this time there are 287 settlements with their 2.6 million inhabitants in the group of towns with a population not above 30 thousand. These towns and cities can be very strikingly different not only in their current situation, but regarding their genetic and function as well. Suburban settlements are to be found among them from the solely sleeping city, Gyál, to Budaörs that grew to an edge-city. The circle of former industrial and mining centres (Komló, Várpalota, Oroszlány) is a specific group,

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Fig. 7 Variegation of small towns. Source edited by Pirisi

but also the branch of successfully transformed industrial cities (Paks, Tiszaújváros, Százhalombatta) can be found here. Besides the traditional small towns with long traditions (Tata, Balassagyarmat, Szigetvár), the former agricultural centres of the Great Plain belong here (Szentes, Jászberény, Karcag), and an interesting dash of colour is the branch of smaller or bigger resort settlements (Siófok, Hévíz, Hajdúszoboszló). The smallest among the small towns do not even hit the limit of 2,000 inhabitants, so they are justified called dwarf towns } (Igal, Pacsa, Oriszentpéter, Pálháza).

5 Summary The Hungarian settlement network that historically developed in one natural and political framework was influenced in the last century by many significant changes, which left sharp impressions behind. The new state borders drawn in the first third of the twentieth century and finalized after World War II, created new spatial and political frameworks. The era of state socialism created a multiply decentralized, strongly hierarchical system, moreover sharp typological and spatial preferences within. Market processes that appeared already since the 1960s onward as antecedents of system change, started to soften the rigid frameworks of the settlement network, spatial tendencies experienced in the Western part of the continent reached the country. Instead of the position taken in the hierarchy of settlements, the differentiating factor today is rather spatial location, accessibility, appearing tendencies of spatial development, respectively—not last—settlement management. Consequently, the settlement network of the country is free from the former rigid bounds that led to (further) falling behind of many areas and settlement, and to renaissance or rise of others.

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References Aubert A (2003) Tourismus in ungarn: struktur-dynamik-perspektiven. In: Becker, Hofinger, Steinecke (eds) Geographie der freizeit und des tourismus. Oldenbourg Verlag, MünchenWien, pp 582–592 Bajmócy P (2010) Urbanization and inner-migration trends in hungary after 1990. Geographia Timisiensis XIX:22–31 Balogh A (2006) Az aprófalvasodás folyamatának f} obb jellemz}oi Magyarországon. Földrajzi Közlemények 1–2:67–79 Beluszky P (2005) A mez} ovárosok és az alföldi út. Földrajzi Közlemények 1–2. sz. pp 31–46 Berényi I, Dövényi Z (1996) Historische und aktuelle entwicklungen des ungarischen siedlungsnetzes. In: Mayr A, Grimm FD (eds) Städte und städtesysteme in mittel—und südosteuropa. Tschechische Republik, Slowakei, Ungarn, Rumänien. Institut für Länderkunde, Leipzig, pp 104–171 Csapó T (2005) A magyar városok településmorfológiája. Savaria University Press, Szombathely, p 204 Csatári B. (2000) Types of transformation of hungarian scattered farm system. In: Minamizuka S (ed) A research of the history the tanya system in hungary. Chiba University, Chiba, pp 27–32 Dövényi Z, Kovács Z (1999) A szuburbanizáció térbeli-társadalmi jellemz}oi Budapest környékén. Földrajzi Értesít} o 1–2. sz. pp 33–57 Enyedi Gy (2000) Globalizáció és a magyar területi fejl} odés. Tér és Társadalom 1 sz. pp 1–10 Erd}osi F (2003) Transport de merchandises et organisation régionale en hongrie. REVUE GEOGRAPHIQUE DE L’EST p 43: (1–2):23–32 Germuska P (2008) Between theory and practice: planning socialist cities in hungary. In: Misa T, Hård M (eds) Urban machineryinside modern european cities, 1850–2000. MIT Press, Cambridge (Ma)–London, pp 233–255 Hajnal K, Bugya T (2006) Vizsgálatok a magyarországi városhálózat 1949-2001 közötti népességváltozásairól. Földrajzi Értesít} o, 1–2. sz. pp 65–86 Kovács Z (2002) Az urbanizáció jellemz} oi Kelet-Közép-Európában a posztszocialista átmenet idején. Földrajzi Közlemények, 1–4. sz. pp 57–78 Mohos M (2002) Kisvárosok a határ mentén. In: Pál Á (ed) Héthatáron–tanulmányok a határ menti települések földrajzából. JGYF Kiadó, Szeged, pp 275–286 Nemes Nagy J (1996) Centrumok és perifériák a piacgazdasági átmenetben. Földrajzi Közlemények, 1. sz. pp 31–48 Pirisi G (2009) Differenciálódó kisvárosaink. Földrajzi Közlemények, 133. évf. 3. sz. pp 313–325 Pirisi G, Trócsányi A (2007) Demographic processes in hungary and their manifestation in small towns. Romanian Rev Reg Stud 3(2):73–82 Pirisi G, Trócsányi A (2009) The transformation of villages into towns–a quantitative way of Hungarian urbanisation. Studia Universitatis Babesß-Bolyai 1:75–82 Rechnitzer J (2002) A városhálózat az átmenetben, a kilencvenes évek változási irányai. Tér és Társadalom, 3. sz. pp 169–188 Tóth J (2004) Kell nekünk régió? In: Hitseker M and Szilágyi Zs (eds) Mindentudás egyeteme III. kötet. Kossuth Kiadó, Budapest, pp 193–212

The National Concept for Settlement Network Development of 1971 and Some Western European Comparisons Zsolt Kocsis and Tibor Lenner

1 Objective and Database of the Research The National Concept for Settlement Network Development (NCSND) of 1971 was accepted forty years ago (Government Decree No. 1007/1971. (III. 16.)), and, although reviewed already in 1978 then abrogated in 1985 (Parliamentary Resolution No. 12/1980–1985.), it can be stated to have had long-lasting impacts on the development of Hungary’s settlements and the network thereof. The Concept was judged quite uniformly; the majority of experts involved in the geography of settlements regarded it as a misconception and its consequences as harmful. At the same time, more and more scientists take the Concept under their protection in the reference literature (Somlyódyné Pfeil 2003; K}oszegfalvy 2009). The authors of this study do not assume to re-open this much debated act; however, it is to be emphasised that • At long last, following attempts of several decades, it created a framework for the development of the settlement network; • The Concept is only partly responsible for the consequences attributed to it; • And finally (not an excuse though), similar legislation processes could be observed in Western Europe as well. The present study aims at clarifying this particular fact. Naturally, no references were made in the Concept to the fact that similar measures to those planned in Zs. Kocsis (&)
T. Lenner Department of Human Geography, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute for Geographical and Environmental Sciences, University of West Hungary, Károlyi Gáspár tér 4, 9700 Szombathely, Hungary e-mail: [email protected] T. Lenner e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_6,  Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

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Hungary were taken in Western Europe since giving such reasons for anything in a communist country would have been a political suicide. Nevertheless, a number of similarities can be found between the NCSND and its Western European counterparts, and these similarities demonstrate that the NCSND, at its own time, was a modern concept corresponding to international trends. Without financial resources, the authors had the opportunity to search for analogies and similarities in a few European countries only, using international reference literature. However, within the framework of a contingent subsidised research project, the authors are planning to collect data and information from all European countries (including the ex-communist countries). For the time being, the present study only aims at giving an idea of the scope of problems boding interesting, which could just as well be called convergence, i.e. in countries with different attributes (size, degree of development, social and political system, etc.), similar challenges trigger similar responses.

2 Presentation of the National Concept for Settlement Network Development It is necessary to present NCSND but the authors wish to devote most of the content to present foreign similarities. Thus, many components that are important though less interesting in respect of exploring analogies and similarities will not be presented. Officially, the NCSND was drawn up with the purpose of developing the settlement network, in order that the new, ‘‘modern’’ settlement system aimed at by the Concept facilitates: • A more efficient utilisation of the resources of the national economy through a better allocation in the case of each infrastructural construction projects; • The rationalisation of public administration; • Providing the population with various public services at a higher level. The achievements of its objectives were helped by several laws enacted before or after but, in either case, independently of the NCSND. Thus, it cannot be held solely responsible either for its success or for any negative impacts, still it is the NCSND that is subject to the criticism mentioned earlier.

2.1 Measures of the National Concept for Settlement Network Development To put it simple, we can say that the most important measure of the NCSND was to have classified the country’s settlements in a closed hierarchy. It appointed centres for each individual level proceeding from the top to the bottom of such hierarchy, undoubtedly triggering the development of such centres (and, as it is the case in a

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Fig. 1 High- and medium-level centres in the National concept for settlement network development (after Hajdú 2001)

society with a shortage of resources, rendering settlements not assigned with a central role to stagnate or even decline due to the shortage of funds). The consequence thereof was a high rate of disproportion, or injustice if you like, but the most criticised impact of the NCSND occurred in the case of the lowest four levels, especially the last one, which concerned the vast majority of Hungarian settlements: settlements that had earlier been viable and flourishing were sentenced to decline and a slow death. It is, however, to be pointed out that, although the example was provided by the logics and framework of the NCSND, it did not name these settlements; the formation of the hierarchy of these settlements, as to one another, remained a mediumlevel, i.e. county competence. The fate of the many depopulated small villages, and other settlements divested of their future was in the hands of county councils and county-level committees of the Communist Party (Hajdú 2001) (Fig. 1).

2.2 Consequences of the National Concept for Settlement Network Development: Hierarchy By defining the accessibility of financial resources (since, in most cases, this is what hierarchy was about), the NCSND caused accelerated development and improvements in high- and medium-level centres (of course, on the account of settlements with a lower position in the hierarchy). One of the most severe consequences was violent intervention in the hierarchy of settlements. The labourers’ state enforced its own preferences, which, many times, meant the hindering of certain earlier centres, primarily those with clerical functions, and, more often, the support of

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new, growing industrial cities. Funds from the central budget were granted to individual settlements in a manner of waterfalls: after the capital city, the next in the priority line were the privileged high-level centres, then the high-level centres, and then the settlements of the lower levels of hierarchy in each county. This resulted in a highly concentrated, and often disproportional and unjust allocation of funds, thus settlements of the four lower levels could usually not receive more than a few percent of the central subsidies granted to counties.

2.2.1 Privileged High-Level Centres Although not each of them could become a full-scope provincial equipoise since the gap between Budapest and the biggest cities in the country had hardly become narrower, they had made a great progress compared to earlier themselves and the unprivileged high-level centres. Although Gy} or was the great winner in terms of economy and the control thereof, it had not become a real metropolis as compared to the other four centres (mainly to Budapest), it had not become a university town, and did not receive any university medical clinics, but, as for its population, its backlog as compared to the other four big cities had decreased.

2.2.2 High-Level Centres Not all county capitals had fallen into this category. Due to the fact that it is primarily those county capitals whose population could, in medium term, reach 100,000 or those that were farther away from the capital city and the privileged high-level centres that could become high-level centres, these settlements were given just a supplementary role.

2.2.3 Partial High-Level Centres With the exception of one, all the other county capitals, as well as significant settlements that had either once been county capitals or those that, due to their higher population, were expected to substitute county capitals to a certain extent, became partial high-level centres. Lying adjacent to the capital of its county, Hódmez}ovásárhely is a bit of an exception; in this particular case, the underlying reasons must have been its high population, the rich history and, most probably, lobby interests.

2.2.4 Medium-Level Centres Although some of the 65 settlements placed in this category were ones without a town rank, they soon were usually promoted in order to become real centres of smaller regions without a town. Very many industrial towns are in this category

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mainly due to their higher population and labour supply and only secondarily owing to their spatial structure.

2.2.5 Partial Middle-Level Centres When the Concept was accepted, many of the 41 partial middle-level centres were expectants of a town rank, but there were also towns with several centuries of history, minor industrial towns, and, what is more, settlements that were appointed in conjunction with another, adjacent one (Gyoma and Endr}od, for example, united soon afterwards in order to receive a town rank).

2.3 Consequences of the National Concept for Settlement Network Development: Destruction of Villages As it was mentioned earlier, the scope of settlements falling into lower levels was defined by the county councils. Besides the privileged low-level (142), the lowlevel (530) and the partial low-level (292) centres, nearly two thirds of all settlements, 2,071 were placed into the category of non-improvable settlements without any central functions, which was the cause of a dramatic fall in population, a merger into more fortunate settlements with a central role, and, in a better case, stagnation for many settlements. It is highly probable that the transformation of the country’s economic, regional and social structures would have made all settlements face difficulties anyway, forcing them to compete for short funds. However, the impacts of the NCSND made many settlements totally loose their financial basis! With a few exceptions, the institutional network of settlements with no central role was intentionally reduced; schools and surgeries were closed on the plea of an improvement in the standard of education and health care, merging both their service regions and their assets into those of central settlements. In several cases, village schools were demolished in order for its construction material to be used for the extension of the building of the new, contracted school in the central settlement. Such contractions were called zoning. Quite often, these degraded villages without central functions turned into ‘‘bedroom’’ communities. During such process of zoning, • Schools were closed, thus both pupils and teachers were forced to commute. Since official quarters were only allowed to be built in central settlements, the majority of Hungary soon lost most of its rural intelligentsia; in many cases, the only college graduate was the elementary school teacher (Balogh 2006). • The offices and headquarters of agricultural co-operatives were closed; what is more, co-operatives themselves were closed down or forced to unite with those in other settlements, the co-operative of the central settlements became the

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headquarters of the new, larger unit. This caused loss of employment, and the agricultural intelligentsia to move (official quarters!), and settlements to lose their economic independence. • Local retail trading co-operatives and savings banks were closed or drawn together. The opportunities remaining after the actions described under the preceding two points were taken away from smaller settlements, which, without their economic basis and their population migrating, lagged behind in infrastructural development, thus forcing even more of their inhabitants to migrate. • Finally, in hundreds of cases, they lost their existence as municipalities and, quite often, their names as well, by having been drawn together with other settlements. The NCSND and its county-level versions thus rendered certain settlements to develop, while they caused hundreds of others to go through a slow agony. Even considering this, it might be an exaggeration to use the term ‘‘destruction of villages’’ since there are only a few villages that became unpopulated or ceased to exist after the acceptance of the NCSND, and the majority thereof had been on an irreversible decline for a while, so it is unfair to place the death of these villages to the account of the NCSND.

2.4 The Balance of the National Concept for Settlement Network Development The NCSND was a violent but, in a sense, necessary intervention in the development of Hungary’s settlement network. Out of its declared objectives, it failed to achieve regional syncretism because the privileged high-level centres were unable to develop into the real equipoise of Budapest. They regenerated regional disparity themselves in their own, smaller impact scope. No significant steps were taken to implement regionalism, i.e. to create regions between the county and the state level. By means of supplementary legal provisions, the NCSND made attempts to render regulated the thus far disordered conditions in the field of granting town ranks but unplanned grantings of town rank continued to occur (in a country with planned economy!). The consolidation of the hierarchy in conjunction with a constant shortage of funds resulted, contrary to the original objectives, in the commencement of a zoning process throughout the country (initiated at county level), which meant a fatal threat, as already mentioned, to hundreds of settlements.

3 Western European Analogies of the National Concept for Settlement Network Development Countries in Western Europe did not have to follow the Soviet example so these countries of various sizes, degree of development and historical background made voluntary attempts to implement reforms in public administration and regional

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management, perhaps based on other countries’ experience. But, of course, there is no track of endeavours to uniformise the steps taken. The question arises: if they were not forced to, if they did so to their own discretion, why did they also follow examples the negative experience gained from which had already become known? The most probable reason for this is that the most significant reforms were taking place at roughly the same time so the individual countries could not learn from one another’s mistake. By presenting the examples of some countries selected arbitrarily (and for the sake of convenience), the authors want to demonstrate the atmosphere in Western Europe at the time of drawing up and implementing the NCSND.

3.1 Sweden The Swedish example is an exception since it started already in the 1950s. The primary objective of the 1953 public administration reform was the creation of local governments with at least 2,000 inhabitants by means of contractions and unifications. By the reform, the 2,498 local governments were reduced to 1,037 but the Swedish government regarded the reform itself as a tool to create a system of more efficient and financially viable local governments. The fact that it was not only a number of inhabitants but also a taxable base that were set as threshold values also supports this idea. The achievement of an aggregate personal taxable base of 800,000 Swedish Crowns (over 12 million at present value) at local governmental level was an exemption from the threshold of 2,000 inhabitants (Hanes et al. 2009). Naturally, the process was accompanied by protests (and, though having started in 1952, cannot be regarded as completed until these days). Out of the 2,498 local governments, 2,045 were affected by the reform (towns remained intact), and 795 of them (local governments having lost their individuality or ceasing to exist during the integration of local governments) protested against the unification process, which was not always on a voluntary basis. Out of these local governments, 533 debated the plotted borders only, but accepted the necessity of the reforms. A few years later, the restructuring of public administration continued, as a result of which the number of local governments changed to 282 and 290 in 1972 and these days, respectively. The estimation of the reforms and the consequences thereof is unequivocal. However, a consensus is now shaping up about the fact that the new order of public administration created by a need for financial and economic efficiency is a sort of tool for modernisation, which is made easier to accept by the fact that the new technologies and solutions (primarily the tele-house movement, mobile phone networks, internet, etc.) enable a great deal of administrative procedures to be completed without the need of one’s displacement. Thus, the inhabitants of

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contracted and unified local governments with a larger area are now hardly feeling the impacts of the reform as a burden.

3.2 Denmark Denmark followed the example of Sweden nearby but proceeded slowly, at the same time achieving more spectacular (more drastic if you like) results. In 1950, there were nearly 1,400 municipalities with local governments, the number of which decreased to 1,089 by the year 1970 by means of voluntary unification. Then came the next phase: within the framework of the regional management reform enacted on 1 April 1970, the number of local governments was further reduced to 277, and finally, by 1 January 2007, to 98 (http://www. statistikbanken.dk/statbank5a/SelectVarVal/Define.asp?Maintable=BEF1A07& PLanguage=1). By achieving this, Denmark set up a record; regarding the average number of inhabitants within its local governments, Denmark comes third in Europe, following the United Kingdom and Ireland. There is only one municipality (kommune) with inhabitants fewer than 3,000 and seven with fewer than 20,000 (http://www.strukturforsk.dk/publ/4.pdf)! The new system gives more independence and responsibilities to the local governments but many people think that the distance between settlements makes a better completion of public service tasks just as much more difficult as the more efficient and financially more reasonable, larger size facilitates the same. The critics of the reform are also afraid that the elected representatives are getting farther from their electors, making the local control of politicians more difficult. It is in the case of local governments consisting of isolated islands that these worries are particularly justified since bridges or ferries are required to make official arrangements or to render public services, and such facilities are not available everywhere (http://www.sum.dk/Indenrigs/*/media/Filer-dokumenter-IN/Kommunerregioner/Kommunalreformen/UK-overhead-august-2004.ashx).

3.3 Germany Germany’s case could be especially interesting because in Hungary, following German examples, it had been customary for centuries (e.g. Civic Right of Magdeburg), although by Austrian mediation after a time. Both the Swedish and the Danish reforms aimed at taking geographical characteristics into consideration (e.g. when drawing together local governments situated on islands) but the German arrangements were significantly different in each federal state, although they had begun as a national ‘‘movement’’. The reason for these is not only the great variations in the historical past (e.g. Hansa-towns) and in

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the differences among the size of areas and the population, but, besides the state form (Denmark and Sweden are not federal states but Germany is), also the fact that legislators thought that the reform of public administration (municipalities) (officially referred to as Gebietsreform, Gemeindereform, kommunale Neugliederung but when emphasising its negative aspects, the term Eigemeindung is also used) was easier for citizens to accept (Krapf 2009). This proved to be a right thought because, although the German reform did not bring about such radical changes as its Danish counterpart, there are litigations in progress still today against the declaration of settlement unification. Quite often, however, it is not only the small settlements merged into bigger ones but also the ‘‘winners’’ that protest. The contractions and unifications, as well as the justification of the entire reform was based on the establishment of local governments of viable size, which also meant the unification of municipalities with a budget deficit with those managing their finances properly, thus eliminating deficits. Let it be noted that the unification of municipalities have been a common practice in Germany since the end of the nineteenth century (under a new name in case of partners of similar size—Barnem + Ebersfeld = Wuppertal—and saving the name of the larger partner for municipalities of different sizes), but, as one of our earlier studies shows, the number of municipality unification cases in Hungary in the first 45 years of the twentieth century, in a capitalist system, was the same as in the subsequent 45 years, during the communist regime (Kocsis 2008a). What is more, cases of settlement adherence, contraction, merger or unification have been occurring in almost all European countries since the Middle Ages (Mecking and Oebbecke 2009). The objective of the new system was to create units of larger average size, thus more efficient and better at the performance of public services, by a reduction in the number of local governments (Gemeinde) and districts. During the regional management reform taking place in West Germany between 1967 and 1978, the federal states significantly reduced the number of local and district-level units, which was justified also by the fact that out of the nearly 24,000 municipalities, 10,760 had a population not reaching 500! After the reform, the number of districts, towns with district rights and municipalities decreased from 425 to 237, from 139 to 91, and to 8,505, respectively (Landtag NRW 2005). The guiding principle was voluntary participation in certain federal states, where the neighbouring local governments concerned agreed after negotiations on the details of association; in other regions, rather mergers were the way. However, it happened everywhere that the order of a higher level (from the federal state) was required when parties were unable or unwilling to reach an agreement (Hamann 2005). In the reference literature, there is a sort of consensus about the reform having been necessary and being regarded as successful but many experts think that it was just a response to the trends of the age (we could see that similar processes were taking place at the time in a number of European countries). A technocratic attitude regarding efficiency as being above all conflicts with the notion of the principle of democracy, according to which the independence of municipalities

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(the lower level) does not originate from the state, which should provide reinforcement and protection only (Henkel and Tiggemann 1990; Loschelder 1976; Esterhues 2005). Quite sceptic opinions can be heard about the increase of efficiency, which, in the absence of reliable model calculations and case studies, cannot be regarded as justified. The territory of the former German Democratic Republic was not part of the study because it did not belong to Western Europe at the time of the NCSND.

3.4 Austria The case of Austria resembles that of Germany to the extent that both countries allowed different regulations for each of their provinces, and that it has been in progress for centuries thus not having shocked the settlement network. The impacts were not so radical, either: there was a slight decrease in the number of local governments, and they preferred the form of association to those of contraction or unification (which, in Germany, was accompanied by the loss of the name). As members of municipalities (Gemeinde) thus established had a lower level of independence but the former, smaller units could co-exist (Kinzl and Schütz 1962; Atzmüller 2002). The process has finished by our days, no merger or unification having taken place for a long time. Experts, however, are beginning to emphasise the necessity of continuing the process. As a side effect of suburbanisation, such zones developed around several towns whose municipalities, despite the low number of their inhabitants, have significant incomes because the shopping malls and industrial parks settled down around the city were built in these settlements; at the same time, the operation of public institutions and offices continues to be the responsibility of central towns. With their population decreasing (people moving out to settlements nearby) and reduced tax income (jobs are also becoming subject to suburbanisation); this is becoming more and more difficult. A possible unification of a town and its surroundings, which (as it frequently happened in the case of Vienna) used to mean the contraction of the actual functional urban region (FUR) into one single unit of public administration, seems impossible from a political point of view. This initiative, which primarily aims at the abolishment of financial inequalities, falls on dead ears in terms of both the inhabitants and the politicians.

3.5 Italy In Italy, it is municipalities (comune, comuni) that form the basis of public administration. This is particularly important because the borders of counties and provinces change relatively frequently owing to different political bargains. Thus,

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municipalities are also the warranties of constancy. Municipalities usually consist of a central town or village (capoluogo) and other settlements that are not used to have independence (frazione, frazioni). However, during the reform process, the number of municipalities was decreased by approximately 25 percent, thus one may encounter examples of merged municipalities having formerly lost their independence. The system is highly tolerant: it is not always the settlement with the highest population that becomes the centre. What is more, the municipality office is not always situated in the central settlement but the name of the municipality will, in any case, remain. There are even municipalities without a centre (comune sparso), where the settlement fraction (frazione) in which the office can be found is the sede municipale. Both throughout the country and within each province, there are great differences as to the size and the population of municipalities (the one with the smallest surface area is Fiera di Primiero with 0.15 km2 and the one with the lowest population is Morterone with its 33 inhabitants), which causes problems to small (financial constraints) and big (intransparent and too big to understand) towns alike. Furthermore, the municipality with 33 inhabitants and one with 3 million inhabitants are (legally) equal, which is democratic but not reasonable even if Rome would certainly defeat its smaller rivals in terms of ability to enforce interests (http://www.comuniverso.it/?lingua=eng).

3.6 Where No Reforms were Implemented Although it would be possible to continue presenting countries that started or finished restructuring their public administration, this study cannot cover more. However, for a better comparison, the authors consider it to be justified to present examples that are exceptional hereto. By doing so, it will be easier to realise to what extent regional management reforms followed a ‘‘fashion pattern’’. The exception set forth below are no less instructive than the analogies presented earlier!

3.6.1 France In France, the revolution of 1789 and the reforms executed at the time more or less did their jobs, with a result that no significant changes, except for the restoration of regions, in the system of public administration and regional management have taken place ever since. Perhaps such changes would have been necessary but have not occurred. Then, during the transition to a modern, civil public administration, a system developed in which the base units of public administration were the municipalities (commune), which can either be a town or a village and can have high or low

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population rates. Of course, a size too small can bring about functional disorders but public services can be provided within the framework of local government or municipality associations so there is no need to draw together or abolish any municipality (CGCT). This is the situation in France too, since the idea of easing the problems of primarily financial nature resulting from a network of tiny little municipalities was brought up already in the 1970s, encouraging village associations by initiatives. Thanks to the Marcellin Act of 1971, over 1,000 municipalities decided on uniting, merging or a voluntary session. Despite this, the number of municipalities hardly decreased, from 37,510 only to 36,569 between 1861 and 2008. Out of the 3,659 municipalities, nearly 21,000 have fewer than 500 inhabitants; at the same time, only 7.7 percent of the country’s total population reside in these tiny municipalities. The median of the population is 380, which means that the system continues to be fragmented, which was attempted to be helped by another law, the Chévenement Act. This act discontinues to support unions but supports integration and co-operation, leaving the independence (and thus the number) of municipalities intact (Bonnard 2005). Disregarding the 33,327 municipalities participating in 2,573 associations and considering the number of these associations only, one, of course, gains a totally different picture of the country’s public administration. However, we cannot take associations of local governments as independent governments!

3.6.2 Switzerland Switzerland is a special case because, although it has never implemented a public administration reform, the contraction and merger (in Switzerland called fusion) of settlements and municipalities in the sense as presented for Germany is more or less continuous. When merging into a bigger settlement, the smaller one usually loses its name; in case of two municipalities of a similar size merging, either the two names are united or a new one is chosen. An enormous difference, as compared to Germany and also other European states is that such processes are not forced by the central government but, having taken the mutual benefits into account, parties to the union made the decision. In Switzerland it would be unimaginable for the federation to abolish municipalities which, most of the time, have a longer history than the Bund itself. It is true that some plans and projects were made at the canton-level but not in the 1970s, at the time of NCSNDs, but in the 1990s. In 10 out of the 26 cantons, however, the consent of each party concerned (i.e. each municipality to be merged) is required. There are voluntary unions taking place in almost every canton nearly every year; what is more, some of them are cross-border unions between municipalities in neighbouring cantons (Fetz and Bühler 2005). It has been a slow process—in average, two municipalities have ceased to exist annually in the past 150 years. In the past two decades, however, the number of mergers has greatly increased; in spite of all this, the number of municipalities has

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decreased by no more than 7 percent, whereas in the neighbouring Germany and Austria, they have decreased by 59 and 42 percent.

3.6.3 The Netherlands The Netherlands stand out from the other countries with permanent reforms. In fact, no separate periods can be identified—the borders of municipalities (gemeente, gemeenten) and counties are in a constant change. However, there is a recognisable trend in the decrease in the number of municipalities (http://www.metatopos.org/). Following a great deal of mergers and unifications, 430 municipalities have remained; the process, however, cannot be regarded as complete—further changes in borderlines and municipality mergers are expected. Thanks to mergers, four basic types of municipalities can be identified: • Municipalities consisting of a central town or village and smaller villages belonging to them, under the name of the centre. • Municipalities consisting of several villages, where the municipality’s name does not include the name of any participants. • Municipalities with a double name consisting of the names of the two merged settlements. • Municipalities consisting of a central town and villages belonging to it, which, however do no bear the name of the central settlement. As it might seem obvious, the above types exist on the basis of how the united municipality is named—there is no legal difference between municipalities. Of course, a higher number of inhabitants is an advantage.

4 Experiences and Conclusions In summary, it can be concluded that that a wave of reforms in public administration and regional management swept across Western Europe in the early 1970s. The fact weather such reforms started earlier or later in a particular country would not mean a significant difference; the only reason why the time is important is that Western European examples were examined in comparison with the relevant Hungarian law enacted in 1971. Otherwise, it can be stated about each of the countries having implemented reforms that • besides many others, the primary reasons were efficiency, and access to services of a higher standard provided by local governments with a higher number of inhabitants and better financial stability; • the reform resulted in a significant decrease in the number of local governments/ municipalities; • the process continued over a long period and in multiple waves;

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• the process triggered protests everywhere – municipalities having lost their independence and sometimes their names as well during a contraction or unification all expressed their disapproval, though in different ways; • generally, no references are found as to the fact that similar processes are going on also in other countries and this is why such reforms are required here, too. In addition to this last point, let us mention that, although the processes started earlier in Sweden, Denmark and Austria (in Germany, apart from the antecedents of hundreds of years, the actual commencement was before 1971); the importance of year 1971 can be observed. It cannot have been a coincidence with the members of the European Economic Community, today’s EU, since the Committee of Regions was set up in the same year. In this way, the reform of municipalities can be regarded as a sort of preparation, or a related benefit if you like since, due to the development of the system of regions (NUTS 2), especially that of public administrative regions, lower levels, i.e. the municipalities could not have been left intact anyway. The fact that the Hungarian regulation decreasing the number of municipalities (although not having defined it either as an objective or a tool), whose content, results, and purpose sometimes resemble those of the Western European samples, was enacted in 1971 can really be held as a mere coincidence since it would have been unimaginable in a communist country to justify a reform initiative by saying that Western European countries are trying to implement something similar. At the same time, there are two facts contradicting the assumption of coincidence: on the one hand, the concept had been under consideration for years already, and there had been several ideas, concepts and plans, both official and of private initiation, aiming at restructuring Hungarian public administration. On the other hand, it was exactly at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s when a reformsupporting ‘‘atmosphere’’ was ruling in Hungary; at this time, one could imagine politicians looking out of the country—not necessarily to the direction of Moscow. This latter idea would require further research, which the authors wish to clarify during interviews with the composers of the NCSND still alive, to continue the present research.

4.1 Notes on Terminology What the authors experienced during their research work and what they suffered from while writing this paper is how unclear the terminology is. This was inconvenient for two reasons: first (but of lower importance), because we had to write down the same words ever so many times, which counts as a stylistic problem, a flaw. Second, because, when examining the Hungarian situation, the process, and the Western European analogies thereof, the authors kept facing the problem that the words they used did not correspond to each other. The authors are not precisely aware of the what exactly they are talking about because the

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Table 1 Some terms used frequently in the paper and their meaning in Hungary Terms Europe Hungary Ortschaft, Siedlung, Ort (A, CH, D), localitá (I)

Commune (F), comune (I), kommune (S, DK), Gemeinde (A, CH, D), gemeente (NL), municipality (UK)

Stadt (A, CH, D) cittá (I), ville (F), town, city (UK)

Human dwelling, group of houses, settlement with topographic name without municipality or local authority. Basic, often the most important level in public administration with elected body, head etc. They are towns or villages. In some countries parts of municipalities can have town or village title despite of the legal stand of their municipality. Municipality or community with town or city charter.

Settlement (village or town). Village.

Town, city.

meanings of words, going beyond language difficulties, are different. The word ‘‘municipality’’ (commune, comune, kommune, Gemeinde, gemeente, etc.) means the same in Western Europe: the local government, one of the most important but, in any case, the lowest level of public administration, which has its own, elected convention and leader, which has a number of rights and responsibilities, regardless of population, surface area or legal status (Kocsis 2008b). In Hungary and in Hungarian language, the same word is a synonym for ‘‘village’’. It refers to a settlement having its own public administration, convention and leader but has a legal status of a village. The authors do not think that the present study and the continuation thereof will arise legislators’ interest but we are convinced that Hungarian geographical science should draw the attention of other sciences studying settlements to the unclearness of the terminology. Though ‘‘settlement’’ is a geographical term, a spatial issue, ‘‘village’’ is a legal one and hierarchical, ‘‘municipality’’ is a term in public administration and regional management, we still mix them up and use them wrongly, thus many times improperly. Table 1. The European concept is not about uniformisation but making use of the power that lies in diversity. Thus, the authors do not think that anything that is similar in other European countries should be implemented at any cost in Hungary. However, we cannot abandon the benefit of taking over the experience just because we are unable to think over the terminology.

References Atzmüller K (2002) Die Gemeindeverfassungs-Novelle 1962. In: ÖGZ Österreichische Gemeinde-Zeitung Offizielle Zeitschrift des Österreichischen Städtebundes 2002/11, 17 Balogh A (2006) Az aprófalvasodás folyamatának f} obb jellemz}oi Magyarországon. Földrajzi Közlemények 1–2:67–79

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Bonnard M (2005) Les collectivités territoriales en France. La documentation française, ISBN 2-11-005874-9 CGCT (Code général des collectivités territoriales) (http://www.droit.org/code/index-CGCTERRL. html), http://www.droit.org/code/index-CGCTERRM.html Esterhues J (2005) Die Gemeindegebietsreform im Raum Münster von 1975. Ein Beitrag zur handlungsorientierten politisch-geographischen Konfliktforschung. In: Westfälische geographische Studien; 51. Aschendorff, Münster Fetz U, Bühler D (2005) Leitfaden für Gemeindefusionen. Chur Hajdú Z (2001) Magyarország közigazgatási földrajza. Dialóg Campus, Budapest—Pécs, p 334 Hamann P (2005) Gemeindegebietsreform in Bayern Entwicklungsgeschichte, Bilanz und Perspektiven. Utz, München Hanes N et al (2009) Municipal preferences for state imposed amalgamations: An empirical study based on the 1952 municipal reform in Sweden. http://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/umnees/0763.html Henkel G, Tiggemann R (eds) (1990) Kommunale Gebietsreform—Bilanzen und Bewertungen. In: Essener Geographische Arbeiten; Bd. 19, Paderborn Kinzl W, Schütz E (1962) Das neue Gemeinderecht. In: ÖGZ Österreichische Gemeinde-Zeitung Offizielle Zeitschrift des Österreichischen Städtebundes 1962/15-16 Kocsis Zs (2008a) Incorporated small towns. In: Csapó T, Kocsis Zs (eds) Nagyközségek és kisvárosok a térben. Savaria University Press, Szombathely, pp 182–193 Kocsis Zs (2008b) A várossá válás Európában. In: Területi Statisztika 2008/6. Központi Statisztikai Hivatal, Budapest, pp 713-723 K}oszegfalvy Gy (2009) Törekvések a magyarországi településrendszer tudatos fejlesztésére. Az Országos településhálózat-fejlesztési koncepció. In: Területi Statisztika 2009/6. Központi Statisztikai Hivatal, Budapest, pp 571-584 Krapf M (2009) Eingemeindung. In: Historisches Lexikon Bayerns. http://www.historischeslexikon-bayerns.de/artikel/artikel_44703 (20.10.2009) Loschelder W (1976) Kommunale Selbstverwaltungsgarantie und gemeindliche Gebietsgestaltung. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin Mecking S, Oebbecke J (eds) (2009) Zwischen Effizienz und Legitimität. Kommunale Gebietsund Funktionalreformen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in historischer und aktueller Perspektive. In: Forschungen zur Regionalgeschichte, Bd. 62). Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag, Paderborn Somlyódyné Pfeil E (2003) Önkormányzati integráció és helyi közigazgatás. Dialóg Campus, Budapest, p 295

A Comparison of Settlement Development in the Social Command Economy Versus the European Union’s Development Policy Mátyás Gulya

1 Socialist Planning Following World War II, Hungary became that part of the European continent which was under Soviet influence. After the war, the primary task of the first threeyear plan was the recovery of the economy and the reconstruction of the country. From 1948, after the elimination of the democratic regime of the country, the Stalin-style Soviet planned economy was inaugurated in Hungary. One of the main characteristics of the party state regime and the dictatorship was the management and the control of the economic life of the country by the state, in the framework of the command economy. The first three-year plan was launched in 1947. By 1950, private property was eliminated in the economy, and total socialisation was achieved. The copying of the Soviet model was marked by irrational investments lacking any conscious planning, such as launching Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz) or cotton production in Hungary. Under the leadership of Ern} o Ger} o, the foundations of Hungarian heavy industry were laid. In these developments, too, the country followed the Soviet model, because Hungary lacked raw materials necessary for heavy industry production, which had to be imported from the Soviet Union. This period is well characterised by the slogan of the Hungarian communist leader, Rákosi: Hungary will be the country of iron and steel or The limit is the starry sky

M. Gulya (&) ÉARFÜ Észak-Alföld Regional Development Agency Non-Profit Limited Liability Company, Simonyi út 14, 4028 Debrecen, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

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This was also covered in Péter Bacsó’s movie featuring this period, called ‘‘A tanú’’ (The Witness), from which a quote well depicts the typical way of thinking of the time: We proclaimed that let there be a Hungarian orange… and there it was.

The thoughts above reveal that there was no such thing as impossible in the development policy. The comrades in power defined the goals to be achieved, and these goals had do be achieved in any circumstances. There was no counteropinion or refusal. In order to create heavy industry, huge socialist industrial cities were built, such as Sztálinváros (Stalin City), in its present name Dunaújváros, or Leninváros (Lenin City), known as Tiszaújváros today. The implementation of the investments lacked well-established spatial and urban development strategies; they were done by simple commands. The cities erected showed no harmony with their environment, they were oversized and environmentally polluting.

1.1 The Basis of Planning Between 1948 and 1953 the Hungarian Workers’ Party, the Council of Ministers and the Parliament did not approve of any spatial and urban development programme. The first five-year plan only made a reference to some development concepts, but in that period ad hoc plans were rather focusing on the construction of socialist towns. From 1947 to 1949, during the execution of the three-year people’s economic plan hardly any communal developments were shouldered, because the plan basically aimed at post-war reconstruction. It was mainly ad hoc plans for the construction of socialist cities that were made. The upcoming five years proved to be crucial in terms of the shaping of the structure of Hungarian industry and settlements. The town constructions and other large investments commencing at that time also designated the way for lather development policy, because they could not be abandoned unfinished, while their completion posed a huge burden on the national economy. Entrusted to elaborate the regional and settlement developmental sections of the medium-term plan, the Regional Development Workshop framed the plan of three regional co-operative efforts in heavy industry instead of the extension of the existing centres, as they wished to create new towns for the development of weakly urbanised regions. In the summer of 1948, the National Planning Board proposed the development of the industrial centres of Budapest, Miskolc, Ózd, as well as the establishment of a centre of metallurgy by River Danube, including the foundation of yet another new settlement. The first five-year plan enacted in December 1949 defined selective infrastructure development plans and aimed at the catching up of the disadvantaged

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regions in general. Yet, the section of the plan on transportation only contained major developments in the case of existing major cities and the industrial ‘‘centres’’. The people’s economy plan approved by the Hungarian Workers’ Party at the end of April 1950 was not much concerned about the disadvantaged regions, but targeted the improvement of the provision of commercial, cultural and social investments to certain prioritised settlements. Even the preparative phases of planning were dominated by the needs of industrialisation. The five-year factory establishment plan set the main objective to create new industrial nodes, and drive industrialisation in areas with large volumes of unused agricultural manpower. A key element of the concept was the planned industrial region around Mohács, which was designed to serve as a reciprocal pole of the industrial areas in the north. In addition to the projected developments, no plans were drawn up for the establishment of new towns or for the transformation of existing industrial centres into urban areas. In general, private property ceased to exist in economy, but following the Soviet model agricultural co-operatives and state farms were created, and the landholding farmers were forcefully introduced in these new forms of production and ownership. Regional and settlement development programmes were then elaborated in the late 1960 and 1970s. Gyula Belényi was the first to study the regional and settlement development policy of the Rákosi era, and thereafter Anna Ádám examined socialist regional policy from the perspective of the settlement and decentralisation of industry. Gyula Belényi’s research revealed that development plans had been prepared even in the Rákosi era, and forwarded to the Institute of Spatial Planning and National Planning Board, but eventually they were not implemented due to the lack of approval (Belényi 1984). In the socialist system, development policies were ordered into a strict hierarchy according to the communist ideology and the contemporary geopolitical, military situation. The priorities of economic policy determined the pace and structure of industrialisation, i.e. industrial policy in practice, which in turn determined spatial and settlement development policy. The development of settlements was evidently determined by economic policy, there was no independent spatial and urban development at this time. In this period, planning was supposed to be made on professional bases in the departments of the Party Headquarters, the National Planning Board and the departments of the ministries; however, communist ideology adjusted the end results to its own needs. This meant that real development alternatives were only produced by independent planning workshops, such as the Task Force on Spatial Planning of the Institute of Political Sciences, the Urban Department of the Technical University of Budapest, or the Institute of Spatial Planning itself. The concepts worked out by these organisations, however, were ‘‘alien to the system’’, so they were not integrated in any form into the practice of socialist planning (Germuska 2002).

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1.2 Rationalisation of Settlement Development After 1968, economic reforms aiming at increasing of the independence of the companies were launched, and the issues of spatial and settlement development were also given more attention. In 1971, four important documents were prepared on the principles of spatial development; the development of the settlement network; the order of spatial planning; and the division of competencies and tasks. The socio-economic transitions having taken place brought about a broad-scale transformation of spatial planning. In order to structure planning practices that can handle technical-physical, socio-economic criteria in an integrated manner, spatial development associated with the construction industry needed to become disentangled from the industrial bonds, and find contacts with economic planning that had extensive experience, but tended to handle regional aspects as peripheral issues. It was the Government Decree of 1971 on the guidelines of spatial development that first set forth the requirement to enforce social, economic, physical and environmental criteria in a combined manner, alongside the principles of the country’s spatial development policy. This move did give grounds to the theoretical opportunity to make spatial planning a complex discipline. The Government Resolution on the system of regional planning outlined a standardised system for the various types and kinds of plans, described their primary tasks, time horizons, planning domains and interrelations. The Resolution also defined the order of procedure in regional planning activities, and in this context two main types of plans, the spatial development and spatial arrangement plan belonged to the hierarchical system of regional plans in view of spatial scale and time horizon (Bokor 2003). In the 1970s, when the further refinement of the reform came to a halt, economic research started to focus on the operation of the particular system of centralised plan economy that had evolved in Hungary. That was the time when Hungarian economic sociography came to a new life, similarly to the second half of the 1950s. Researchers highlighted those special traits of the new economic mechanism that made a positive distinction from the Soviet-type plan economy, and quite early they pointed out the internal contradictions of the new economic mechanism. However, it was only in the 1980s that the related literature came to be interested in the contradictions arising from the merged existence or inseparability of politics and economy (Tardos 1972; Bauer 1975). Hungary has never tried to put the concept into practice that has seemed to be prevailing since the middle of the 1980s in China to see whether it is possible to head for a market economy gradually, step by step, while the props of the party state regime are kept in place. By the 1980s, it had turned out that the development convergence between regions and countries as suggested by the neo-classic development theories was very slow, market forces alone were incapable of converting the outbalancing and compensatory benefits offered by the European integration into real convergence.

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2 Development Policy in Hungary After the Systemic Change Article 158 of the Treaty establishing the European Community prescribes the moderation of the development differences among the regions as one of the goals of the integration. The accomplishment of the political objectives seems to be a focal point of both scientific and political debates, and these days publications often tend to be critical, and evidence the inefficiency of the European development policy and the failure of regional convergence (Rodríges-Pose and Fratesi 2003). New economic geography assumes that the spatial concentration of economic activities is a concomitant of development. The extent of such spatial concentration is variable in terms of both time and space, and the interactions among actors from regions of different levels of economic development may as well result in the spatial rearrangement of economic resources and incomes. These differences in the developmental level of regional units are often targeted by some of the interventions on the part of public politics, as well as spatial or regional policies. The set of means available to regional policies changes from time to time. Interventions of development policy rarely serve the narrowing of regional differences and the improvement of national efficiency; the short- and long-term effects of interventions may deviate from the initial intentions. The maturing processes of settlement policy, the broadening of the scope for local actions and the challenges posed by grant application schemes have raised demands for the strategic planning of local developments with increasing frequency, on the level of settlements and their associations. Within the framework of strategic planning, apart from spatial aspects, other fields of settlement policy such as economic development, environmental policy, social issues or housing policy have come to focus as well. The interests of both the communal and public sector are promoted in the scene of planning. In the current approach, an important role is attributed to the process of planning, the involvement of the stakeholders, because approval by the communities is also essential for the acceptance of any concept. For this reason, the elaboration of concepts is both a professional and political process right from the first steps (Futó and Szeszler 2003).

2.1 Planning Problems After the Systematic Change Before the systemic change, Hungary witnessed centralised plan economy with the National Planning Board in charge of the compilation of five-year plans. During the transition to the market economy, the Board was dissolved in 1990. As a consequence of the earlier, fairly unrealistic, politically tuned planning process, wide-scaling distrust surrounded strategic planning and evaluation. Evaluation activities were often confused with regularity supervisions, audits, monitoring or

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controlling, and therefore politicians and bureaucracy have largely remained suspicious about evaluations even until now. Another issue frequently raised is whether the benefits of such evaluations exceed costs. After the millennium, with the advent of the accession to the European Union there was an increasing demand for long term professional policies, and for strategic planning including evaluations. This was partly related to the use of the pre-accession funds and the preparation of the first National Development Plan. The permanent demand for summarising earlier experience and forecasting the expected outcomes of development programmes has contributed to the gradual spread of evaluation-type activities in the central administration. The composition of the structural expenses of the state budget saw little change in the period spanning more than a decade before the accession. The largest portions of resources were allocated to education, agriculture and the transport infrastructure; these three sectors used to concentrate some two-thirds of all the development funds. Nevertheless, it was a consequence of the zero-based budgeting approach, rather than the unchanging nature of priorities in development policy. If for the period of 1994–2003 changes in the added values are compared with the volume of supports, it is apparent that services and industrial activities producing dynamic growth were given much smaller resources than agriculture. Therefore, development funds channelled to agriculture can be rather regarded to be hidden social aids to decelerate the impoverishment of those working in the sector. The efficiency of the development policy interventions was influenced to a large extent by the specific socio-economic environment and processes deriving from the systemic change. Development policy objectives were often conflict with the goals of other policies, especially macro-economic policy. The functional allocations in the annual budgets clearly reflect that whenever deficit figures sank well beyond the planned levels, development resources were cut, and investments were deferred. The scenic ‘‘large projects’’ promising a higher return enjoyed priority all the time, often consuming a significant part of the development resources, resulting in a delay of the implementation of minor developments whose realisation was justified on professional grounds. This is especially true for the road network: besides the motorway constructions no resources were left for the maintenance and development of lower rank roads. In addition to external circumstances, the particular characteristics of the given institutional system also had their role in the uneven performance of the objectives set in the various development policies. The budgets of developments initiated by the Government—similarly to the other budgetary expenditures—were re-negotiated from year to year, and thus quite frequently the funding of projects planned for years ahead was reduced or re-allocated, which delayed implementation, hindered completion according to the plans, and caused excessive expenditures. As the utilisation of resources was weak both in planning and evaluation, the information revealed in execution was not properly fed back for the purpose of the preparation of programmes for the following period. When interventions were examined, the primary emphasis fell on the supervision of regularity, whereas the

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review of the efficiency and effectiveness of the programmes were rather neglected, which infringed the democratic control of the development policy.

2.2 Settlement Development in Hungary, a Member State of the European Union Settlement development strategies are made in order to enhance the attraction of settlements, and provide information to both the inhabitants and business organisations. Decisions pertaining to settlement development or economic aspects are frequently motivated by the attraction of the settlements—an idea that is often hard to explain—more strongly than sectoral statements or cost-efficiency calculations. Therefore, not at all surprisingly, settlement attraction is a term that has been used with increasing frequency in the course of the development of regions in Europe. A settlement development concept describes the development actions that are designed to make the given environment more liveable for the inhabitants, and more attractive for the enterprises in the competition of potential business sites in the close or broader surroundings of the settlement. These plans have outlooks for 10–15 years, which supports the settlement in becoming competitive on the long run. The concept may as well function as a self-accomplishing prophecy, as it can be used for banning developments in conflict with the plans, thereby promoting the accomplishment of the given objectives. Any settlement development concept can accomplish its objectives if it has a relevant response to changes in the spatial roles taken by the settlement and the relationships within the context of centre and periphery in the close or broader geographical surroundings of the settlement. It means that the document should be in line with the regional plans outlined for the wider area, such as the microregion, county or region. Towards this end, plans shaped for broader geographic units and settlement plans are to be reconciled with each other. It is particularly important that a concept should also consider the plans of the neighbouring settlements, because it makes disturbing effects crossing the boundaries of the settlements avoidable. Settlement development concepts of strategic nature are to describe the priorities and methods that are also deemed to be the fundamental conditions of grants from the European Unions, and whose application are beneficial for the settlements, as well as the closer or wider environs of the settlements themselves. According to the fundamental assumption of the new economic geography, owing to the rising returns, economic activities show spatial concentration, whereas the product of the immobile sectors and the equalisation of wages and salaries on the labour market counteract agglomeration forces. The balance between centripetal and centrifugal forces depends on the respective shares of sectors featuring rising earnings in consumption, on replacement flexibility shown by the given sectors, and on the transportation costs incurred. Larger

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agglomerations can better exploit the opportunities offered by rising earnings, the associated sectors will attract each other to the same location, while the larger mobility of the production factors encourages the spatial expansion of the economic operations (Szepesi 1999). In the course of the elaboration of the strategy for the first planning period of 2004–2006, Hungary had little historic experience, and therefore such problems surfaced in the process of execution that could have been avoided if planning had been able to rely on the evaluation of domestic programmes from the pre-accession times. During the elaboration of development programmes, the solutions facilitating the use of the resources, typical in the former Hungarian support policy, enjoyed priority. Presently Hungary is entitled to a €22.4 billion support from the European Union in the 2007–2013 planning period. Development strategy was preceded by a long preparatory work, which was approved after broad social discussions. In the planning cycle the use of the support takes place on the basis of the development plan, amended several times. The planning document valid until 2010 was called New Hungary Development Plan. The magnitude and the time span of the support allowed the implementation of not only local projects but also major harmonised development plans concerning a number of settlements. Projects initiated by settlements co-operating with each other, e.g. microregions, may require several years of implementation. The objective of such projects is restructuring in some form, or joint development concerning several settlements. A few examples for common purpose developments in the present planning cycle are as follows: • Construction of regional joint waste deposits, e.g. the Hajdú-Bihar County Waste Management Programme has a budget of €18.7 million; in the framework of this programme the regional waste management and recycling plant of the Bihar area will be built from a total amount of €6.3 million. Another example is the construction of the waste deposit of Szeged, with an investment worth €38 million; • Further tourism developments that address regional issues, such as the construction of a bicycle road network in Jászberény in a value of €1.3 million or the construction of the Zsurk–Záhony–Györöcske bicycle path, whose budget is €0.8 million; • Construction of a waste water treatment plant, with favourable impact on the quality of the waters of the region: e.g. the treatment of the waste water of Budapest aiming at the improvement of the quality of the water of the Danube. The total value of this investment is €20.7 million. Another example is the ‘‘Upper Szabolcs waste water placement and treatment plan’’, with a development worth a total of €10.7 million. The above-mentioned projects are being implemented in specific settlements, yet they will affect their broader environments, regions. Therefore, on the basis of the development strategy of a given region, the goals set forth in the plans can be implemented by means of a series of co-ordinated projects.

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3 A Brief Overview of Spatial Development in Some European Countries After the examples from Hungary we are now taking a look at the documents and concepts determining the development of the settlements in a few countries of the European Union.

3.1 Lower Austria The act on spatial planning in Lower Austria province orders the spatial development programme of a settlement to the competence of the local authority; the plan must include the land use plan and the development concept of the settlement. According to the act, the development concept (Entwicklungskonzept) is at the top of the hierarchy of the documents, because the spatial planning programme (Raumordnungsprogramm) can be modified only if the given alteration serves the objectives set forth in the development concept. If the local government approves the development concept in the form of a decree, case-by-case changes of the spatial development programme will not call for the consent of authority experts. Otherwise, all the proposed modifications of land use should be approved by the competent authority expert. Therefore, the local development concept makes settlement planning transparent and safe on the long run, mitigates the risks associated with household and business investments. The main purpose of the concept is the regulation of land use and those elements of the local strategy that concern the development of the economy, the decrease of the social disparities and the improvement of the provision of social services, but the primary goal is the clarification and theoretical foundation of land use policy.

3.2 France 1954 saw the enactment of the Code of Settlement Development (Code de l’Urbanisme), which standardised the varied rules of settlement development. In 1967, the land occupation plan (Plan d’Occupation du Sol—POS) as the means of regulated settlement development was introduced. In order to break down the centralised exercise of power, in 1982 a decentralisation act was adopted, which then necessitated the establishment of the complex institutional means of decentralised operation and various forms of co-operation among the settlements. Upon the implementation of decentralisation, for the settlements it was the first time that they became responsible for the preparation of their own settlement development plans. Since 1999, co-ordinated regional development concepts (SCOT, Schéma

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de Cohérence Territoriale) have been drawn up for the associations of settlements, as well as for the areas of one or more settlements. In the enforcement of the resolutions of the municipal assemblies, mayors have a key role with respect to the decisions concerning the expansion of built-up areas, and the activities that can be pursued in these areas and other aspects. These decisions and concepts emerge in the plans for spatial development and sustainable development, while the settlements themselves work out their respective strategies and the means needed for the accomplishment of the development objectives in the course of the preparation of these settlement development documents. Spatial planning policy is made with a comprehensive approach and in a horizontal relationship system, so plans do not only handle the organisation of the built-up areas but also assist the solution of the sectoral problems in a consistent way, such as in the field of transport development, the housing development plan of the settlement, as well as the trade development concept. The Act requires the existence of legal compatibility links among these documents and the local development documents, e.g. the spatial development concept or the local settlement development plan. The way to simplify inter-settlement co-operation and rationalise the division of tasks was described in the ‘‘Act on strengthening and simplifying the co-operation of settlements’’, which has created geographically contiguous clusters of settlements and various settlement ‘‘communities’’ (communautés de communes).

3.3 Great Britain Enacted back in 1947 and reinforced in 1990, the Town and Country Planning Act prescribed for each local planning authority to prepare a development plan in relation to the future of their areas. The spatial development organisations of ‘‘counties’’—that are more or less similar to the Hungarian counties—prepare the structure plans presenting the large-scale strategic concepts, whereas the spatial development organisations of the smaller districts elaborate their own local plans stipulating the detailed, local rules. In the case of cities and municipal associations formed by several local governments, these two organisations are merged (unitary authority), and their unitary development plans are framed by joint planning boards. In Great Britain the decrees define considerable planning responsibilities for the central government and also for the medium-level and higher level authorities. Sectoral plans are not independent of local planning; they are usually designed in order to develop and fill the local strategic partnerships with content, and to strengthen the connections among the respective local policy fields. At certain governmental agencies, there are separate divisions set up to handle and mitigate ever-arising conflicts and tensions among the local, regional and governmental programmes.

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Enacted in 2000, the Local Government Act requires the preparation of local strategies on a mandatory basis. The purpose of these strategies is to improve the economic, social and environmental situation of regions, and contribute to sustainable development. Since 2002, the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions has been reconciling the methodology of the settlement development plans prepared by the individual local governments. The local strategy is called the Community Strategy. The settlement development strategy has become more detached from spatial representation, i.e. the physical planning of settlements than in other EU countries, such as in Austria. Nevertheless, the process of physical planning is still closely associated with the creation of settlement strategy. The settlement development strategy integrates broad-scaling activities relating to settlement planning, thereby ensuring coherence and the avoidance of parallelisms. The goal of the Community Strategy is to improve the life quality of local communities, as well as to contribute to sustainable development in the country by bettering the economic, social and environmental life circumstances in any given district (Futó and Szeszler 2003).

4 Measures to Increase the Efficiency of Settlement Planning on the Economy In the period lasting for more than a decade before the Hungary’s accession to the European Union, among Central Eastern European countries it was this country that showed the fastest pace of closing the gap in the per capita gross domestic product. In the past decade we have successfully become parts of the European economic and social networks, but social inequalities having emerged as a consequence of the socio-economic transformation and regional differences inherited from the previous regime could not be moderated at all or just to a small extent. In comparison with our competitors in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic states and the cohesion countries that are generally used for reference purposes, Hungary has expended a lot on communal developments. The threat in such largescale governmental developments is that they draw away funds from private investments regarded to be more efficient, which is also supported by the fact that in Hungary the ratio of private investments to the total value of investments is still under the average of the other EU member states. The less well-to-do member states that acceded the European Union earlier typically boast higher rates of structural expenditures than the countries having joint in 2004, which means that the common cohesion policy considerably contributes to the costs of development projects initiated by the governments. The elaboration of development plans should pay more attention to the identification of the effect mechanisms of interventions not only on the macro level, but also during the establishment of certain priorities. Even in the field of community

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programmes funded solely from domestic resources, there is a need for the development of a programme evaluation system, similarly to the corresponding practices of the European Union. Besides, in order to enhance the efficiency of spatial and settlement development, closer co-operation should be forged between planning and enforcement actions. Planning should be done with the consideration of the results of the experiences achieved during the implementation, however, more attention should be paid to the exploration of the impact mechanisms of interventions, which can increase the efficiency and strengthen the impacts of the developments.

References Bauer T (1975) A vállalatok ellentmondásos helyzete a magyar gazdasági mechanizmusban. Közgazdasági Szemle, 6. sz., pp 725–735 Belényi Gy (1984) Településfejlesztési koncepciók az 1950-es évek elején. Honismeret, 1984/5. sz., pp 37–41 Bokor P (2003) Településfejlesztés, -irányítás. pp 85–99 Futó P, Szeszler Zs (2003) A településfejlesztési koncepció elkészítésének módszerei az EU-ban és Magyarországon. pp 38–46 Germuska P (2002) A szocialista városok létrehozása. pp 1–18 Rodríges-Pose A, Fratesi U (2003) Between development and social policies: the impact of European structural funds in objective 1 regions. EEG Working Papers Series Szepesi B (1999) The mew economic geography and its implications for regional economic policy. MA thesis, Central European University Tardos M (1972) A gazdasági verseny problémái hazánkban. Közgazdasági Szemle, 7–8. sz., 911–927

On the Periphery of the Periphery: Demographic Trends and Development Differences in Hungarian Villages Tibor Kerese

1 Introduction Modernisation, industrialisation and urbanisation brought on growing disparities and polarised centre-periphery relations in the twentieth century. The emerged regional asynchronism characterises the regional development and that is especially visible in the Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European space. These tendencies have continued and deepened during the communist rule and the post-socialist transitional period. The industrialised urban areas got the highly developed winner position in this competition. The rural areas for the most part became underdeveloped and disadvantageous regions and the loser poverty poles of the economic development. In the second part of the twentieth century new geographical trends appeared. Globalisation and localisation, suburbanisation and counter-urbanisation, post-industrialisation and post-modernisation resulted in rapid changes in the periphery, too. These processes lead to different evolutions of settlements in the field of politics, economics and society (Haggett 1983). Today rural areas have a growing significance. Near the Millennium village, renewal and rural development have become a new paradigm. The number of hits on Google search to these notions are 57,300 and 10,100,000. Lots of associations were founded world-wide in the eighties and nineties for rural territories. In last decade of the twentieth century the topic became an official policy of the EU. In 1991 the LEADER programme started, which implemented an integrated development of the rural areas. In 1992 recommendations were formulated to the members for the national development of regions which do not have positive development dynamics. In 1996 the criteria of rurality and the goals of the development of the countryside were declared (Csapó 2001). The Council T. Kerese (&) University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

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Regulation in 2004 stipulated for each member state to prepare its own rural development national strategy plan for the period from 2007 to 2013, and established the financial base, the EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development). This integrated project seems to be more successful than the previous departmental programme, and helps the cohesion for villages. The role of Hungarian villages in the past was the base of the settlement-system of the Carpathian Basin until the middle of twentieth century. Villages were the base of the essentially agricultural Hungarian economy, too. The increment population of villages was the source of the slowly emerging trend of urbanisation, and the thriving capital and the other commercialised and slowly industrialised towns won their population from the overpopulated villages. After World War II the role of Hungarian villages transformed totally. Secularisation and the total control of production by the government first appeared in the industry and financial sector. In the villages the agrarian reform meant the distribution of the great estates, and half a million penniless could build their own micro-farms. However, agricultural economy slowly got in the background, the policy started a massive attack against villages. Relocation of the significant German ethnic minority and the swap of the minority population between Hungary and Czechoslovakia, tipped over the stable society of many villages. Then in 1949 the legitimate communist era started, with the requisition or surrender of the crop, the persecution and relocation of rich farmers (called ‘‘kulaks’’), and the collectivisation of agriculture. The communist policy destroyed the traditional society in the villages, and the collective farms required less manpower. In 1951 territorial planning appeared. The settlements were classified by ‘‘TERINT’’ (Territory Reforming Institute; a department of the Rebuild and Labour Ministry). The 73 accentuated industrial centres and 84 planned urban development settlements were designated; there were only 43 legal towns in Hungary. Other villages did not fit into the socialist development. 1,254 villages with local economy got no investment, and 1,500 little villages got into the ‘‘must be extinguished’’ category. In 1963 the first National Settlement Network Development Plan was made with a regional and unitary settlement network approach, but 1.5 thousand villages received no investments. These plans stayed only plans, but they induced changes in the thinking. Parallel to these push effects, in the towns, especially in the ‘‘new socialist towns’’ massive industrialisation was going on. That meant a lot of well-paid workplaces in the new socialist heavy industrial factories, and newly constructed blocks of flats. These were the pull effects to the young village people, who started a massive migration towards the towns, and the process of specific socialist urbanisation emerged. Some of the greater villages with increasing population were on the way of becoming a local centre or a town, but most of them were characterised by out-migration and the decrease of population. The most successful plan was the National Settlement Network Development Concept (called OTK in Hungarian) in 1971, which was enacted by the Parliament to the level of official state policy. It classified settlements into rigid centralised hierarchical categories with assigned functions and development sources.

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The financial sources were distributed by the chains of the levels of administration (state—county—district—settlement). The supplier systems in villages were relocated to allotted local centres and schools, doctors, councils, shops and at last the pubs were left off in thousand villages which were nominated ‘‘settlements without function’’. The common councils of the settlements naturally developed their own seat but the annexed partner settlements dropped out of all development investments. The effects of the Concept were completed with the elimination of railway ‘‘feeder lines’’. These caused the escalation of depopulation process in rural areas. (Tóth 1990) Depopulation is a self-inducing process. The young, mobile people capable of work migrated out first then the young families followed with their children. This eliminated the capacity to reproduce the population. Children disappeared from the villages and the population started ageing. The territories of little villages were characterised by the heaviest out-migration tendencies. Some of them depopulated absolutely, and became dead or ghost villages. However, in villages around the greater towns suburbanisation started (Tóth 1994). The realisation of the OTK received harsh criticism as early as in the eighties. It was called the ‘‘Hungarian village destruction’’ program, and the system was reformed in 1985, and totally dissolved in 1990 at the end of the communist era. Two special Hungarian economy phenomena influenced villages, parallel to the Concept. Market gardens were the forms of semi-private economy mainly in animal husbandry. They worked as a complementary of the great co-operative socialist agriculture plants. They added their produces to the significant Hungarian food export and in the seventies they were subsidised again. The other was the unique complementary industrial production of collective farms, de facto the low level industrialisation of villages. These extraordinary possibilities lifted the capacity of villages to produce income, and resulted in a partial village renewal in the eighties with a lot of new family homes. In the post-socialist transition era there was no working comprehensive development policy in Hungary. The self-governments of settlements became totally substantive entities, with their own local policy and own local financial sources. Disparities in the economic and the financial position dispersed the development of settlements (Trócsányi and Wilhelm 1997). The financial sources came directly from the state by a per capita quota, but this was only enough for daily operation. Only the self-governments of disadvantageous settlements got extra subsidies for their operation by a higher quota. They did not have enough money for development, only the marketing of properties meant extra proceeds for the development. Turning away from the Soviet market caused an economic crisis but competition started rapidly on the global market. Privatisation in the whole economy caused a new situation for rural areas. The privatisation of land and farms created the new owners of agricultural economy, but they did not have capital. The privatisation of the food-industrial plants caused lots of close-downs. Foreign investors often bought the plant only to gain their market. The privatisation of the food market and the appearance of international merchandisers have caused high food import to the

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narrowed market. The decreased demand for Hungarian foods has caused a massive decrease in the food production and the Hungarian villages have lost their traditional agricultural functions. If any, the crude plant products can be marketable, but that does not mean enough income. Only a few villages found other functions instead of agriculture. Holiday villages have an attractive environment and built possibilities to receive tourists, or the sold properties are used as weekend-houses (Bajmócy and Balogh 2002). Eco-villages have become the home of the green ecofriendly people and some of the villages have elderly people’s home and are characterised by a high mortality index and high immigration. Unemployment highly increased in Hungary and showed higher proportion mainly in the villages. In the price of the real estates a great disparity appeared between towns and villages. This caused social migration towards the villages in the nineties which meant partly the re-migration to the homelands and partly the massive migration to suburban village-rings round greater towns (Dövényi 2007). However, the depopulation of villages far from towns continued for the most part. The degradation of public transport and the high price of fuel and the increasingly decaying country road network detain village people from getting well-paid workplaces in the towns. Of course those who have chance move to the town or at least near the town to lower-priced properties. The most attractive target is already the agglomeration of Budapest (Dövényi 2004). The new era for Hungarian regional planning started near the Millennium. The National Regional Development Concept and the creation of the NUTS 2 regions in 1998 were the preparatory steps of the accession to the EU (Tóth 2004). This advocates the unitary development of the disadvantaged small regions instead of the discrete village development. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Rural Development established by the Orbán government exercises a nominal rural development. The main target to the greater villages is to become a town for the better image (Pirisi et al. 2008). In 2003 the LEADER Programme started in Hungary, as an experiment to bring up rural territories. The National Rural Development Plan was prepared around the entry to the EU, which worked between 2004 and 2006. It did not deal with villages, only contained afforestation and environmental programme to the development of the countryside. In the current period from 2007 to 2013 the New Hungary Rural Development Program contains in the third axis ‘‘Quality of life in rural areas’’ the subsection ‘‘Village renewal and development’’ and ‘‘Conservation and sustainable development of the rural heritage’’. To realise it in 2008 the Hungarian National Rural Network was established for the co-operation of the characters of rural development, and the Local Rural Development Offices started their work to co-ordinate the local interests and projects. The rural development policy can be based on strong research. The science of villages has been a main topic in the Hungarian geography and sociography for a long time. Notable researchers, to mention only a few, included Becsei, Beluszky, Erdei, Györffy, Lettrich, Sikos T, Tóth. Nowadays regular conferences about villages show the attention paid to rural regions. As regards theory, the case of villages is falling out well. But what about practice in 2010?

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2 Methods There are a lot of ways for categorising settlements and for describing spatial disparities. The whole village network was characterised by Beluszky and Sikos (1982, 2007) through a factor-and cluster analysis of 25 data. Demographic, economic, geographic and infrastructural data generated five factors and the cluster analysis of factors resulted in 25 groups of villages. Finally they emphasised the macro-landscape of village types of Hungary. The triple generalisation washed away the spatial disparities in the micro-space. Another characterisation was to choose the disadvantageous villages through a development score-system of 14 data (Faluvégi 2003). Small villages were characterised trough their new or traditional functions of the settlement (G. Fekete 2005). Our hypothesis based on the present situation of villages was strongly determined in the communist and the transition era. Spatial disparities that characterise regional development emerge in the demographic trends. Villages are simple settlements and changes in the population or migration rapidly indicate the processes in the economy and society. Consequently, villages can be characterised by a few main indicators of the dynamics and the structure of the population. In our paper we outline the main demographic tendencies in the peripheral areas and describe the territorial differences in the processes in the Hungarian rural sphere. Villages were sorted out into dynamic groups through their long-term population change in three periods: 1949–1980, 1980–2001 and 2001–2009. Then they were grouped through a social standardisation by a few representative demographic parameters. In practice that meant sorting them out by the extremity of demography and a few data of the demographic structure in the last decade. We can cross the dynamic and social standardisation to the final diagnosis on the groups of villages, and visualise the village types on a thematic map. The data matrix of the processing was the 2,846 permanently existent villages by the legal status of the settlement in the period between 2001 and 2009. We ignored the new villages and villages that have became a town in the last decade after the Millennium. We used annual demographic data from 2001 to 2009 from the T-STAR database from Central Statistical Office (KSH). The earlier population data for the 3 periods and the data of demographic structure were based on the Census Database in 2001.

3 Results 3.1 Demographic Trends in the Last Decade The population in villages is mostly characterised nowadays by the continuing depopulation trend. The annual average rate of the decrease was -2.1 ppt after the Millennium. From the statistical analysis of the demographic parameters we can

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20 00 20 01 20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05 20 06 20 07 20 08 20 09

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0 -1

Villages

-2

Towns

-3

Budapest

-4

Municipal Towns Other Towns

-5 -6

8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10

Fig. 1 Natural decrease and the migration balance in villages and towns between 2000 and 2009 in % (edited by the author based on data from the CSO)

establish that the negative tendency is caused nowadays primarily by the massive natural decrease, and the weak positive immigration balance cannot bring the population of the villages in balance. Their annual average values are -4.4 ppt and +0.8 ppt. The average strong negative natural increase and the average positive migration balance of the villages showed a high deviation (8.7 and 13.1). The maximum rate of the natural increase is already high over the zero, it is +28 ppt. The minimum is very deep, it is -128,5 ppt. The extremes of migration balance are more than ±100 ppt, the same distance from zero in both directions. The average demography of villages is compared to that of towns (Fig. 1). Natural decrease is stagnant in the villages but slowly growing in towns. However, we cannot notice this growth in all town types. Only the diagram of Budapest is growing massively and a little bit in the municipal towns; other towns and villages are characterised by stabilised or a little bit regressive natural decrease. Of course, the climbing trend in Budapest means only the setback of the significant negative demography, and the natural decrease has declined to the half its value measured at the Millennium. The result in the migration is more noticeable. The balance of migration has turned opposite in the last decade. The turning point was in 2006. Migration to towns permanently increased from the negative range, and towns became the main target of immigration again after 15 years. Villages became the main source of migration and moved to the negative range. Types of towns show great difference, too. Budapest and the municipal towns were the trend-makers, but other little towns changed like villages, only the values of their balance was less. Is that re-urbanisation or only the change of the direction of social migration? The answer to this question requires more analyses and the confirmation of data by the census in 2011. The examination of the context of the demography and size of villages result in a massive difference (Fig. 2). Natural decrease and migration balance showed a significant but well proportioned difference between the size categories of villages. Large villages over 2000 inhabitants are all along over the average, the graph of middle villages runs by the average but the small and extremely small or hamlet villages are under the average. Hamlets are at the bottom in both aspects at all times. About the tendencies we can notice that the values of natural decrease show

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20 00 20 01 20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05 20 06 20 07 20 08 20 09

20 00 20 01 20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05 20 06 20 07 20 08 20 09

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20

0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 -12 -14

15 >5000 2000-5000 1000-2000 500-1000 200-500 <200 Total

10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20

Fig. 2 Natural decrease and migration balance and the size of villages between 2000 and 2009 in % (ed. by the author based on data from the CSO)

stagnation and the migration balance is falling except for the last year in all village categories. The turn of the migration balance direction was in order of the size. Nowadays all villages are characterised by out-migration except for the largest category. Finally, we can establish by the diagrams that the demographic trends are the same in all village categories but the scale of the demographic parameters is influenced through the size of the population. Large disparities lie behind the average. Average values of the two demographic parameters of villages were represented in a XY diagram (Fig. 3). The distribution of data points of villages is very diffuse. The diagram shows the growing, stagnant and regressive types of population change. Most villages stand on the regressive side, and a lot of them are near the stagnant track. Some of the villages have a dynamically growing population. The nine types of demography were illustrated in the diagram. Natural increase, immigration and the two together cause the growth of population. Natural decrease, out-migration and the two together cause population decline. Natural decrease with immigration, natural increase with out-migration and the absolutely balanced demography cause stable population. In practice the villages have mostly moderate natural decrease and moderate out-migration or immigration. The extremities go along mainly five directions. Massive immigration or out-migration with moderate natural demography is the most significant deviation. Massive natural decrease with massive immigration is yet a rather strong extremity. Natural decrease with out-migration and natural increase with out-migration are yet smaller but noticeable deviations. The fast dynamic growth of some villages is mainly caused by immigration. The decline of most villages is caused mainly by out-migration. There are a lot of regressive villages with immigration and extra high natural decrease, which could be the special effect of the elderly people’s homes, where many aged people move and die. The population change of every village was compared graphically with their size (Fig. 4). A dynamic growth characterises a few villages in every size category. Stagnation typifies most villages in every category. Moderate decline is

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Fig. 3 The demographic parameters in Hungarian villages (average rate in %) (edited by the author based on data from the Central Statistical Office)

50

immigration Natural decrease & immigration

natural increase & immigration

40 30 20 10 0

Balanced demography Natural decrease

Natural increase

-10 -20 -30 -40 Natural decrease & outmigration

-50 -50

Natural increase & outmigration outmigration

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

Change of Population 2000–2009 (average rate ‰)

80 60 40 20 0 –20 –40 –60 –80 0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

Population in 2009

Fig. 4 The relationship between change of population and the size of the villages (edited by the author based on data from the Central Statistical Office)

present in some middle and in the great mass of small villages. Heavy decline characterises numerous villages, but they are all hamlets. Consequently, the decrease of villages is influenced by size, but the quantity of population does not iinfluence the increase of villages. The population change was contrasted with the proportion of ageing people and the proportion of employees. It is not a surprise that most villages dispersed around the average. However, dynamically growing villages are characterised by a young age structure and most regressive villages by an old one. Relation between the change of population and the proportion

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80

Permanent Dynamic

Accelerator 60

40

2001–2009

20

0

–20

Permanent Stagnant

–40

–60

Chronic regressive

–80 –80

–60

Decelerator –40

–20

0 20 1980–2001

40

60

80

Fig. 5 Annual rate of the change of population in the period 1980–2001 and 2001–2009 in % (edited by the author)

of employees is rather diverse, but it is noticeable that dynamic villages are located on both extremities.

3.2 Long-Term Dynamical Tendencies The tendencies in the last two periods were confronted graphically. (Fig. 5) There are five typical cases of population change. Permanent dynamic is characterised by growing and chronic regressive by depopulation in both periods. Accelerators were regressive earlier but nowadays they are dynamically growing. The members of the decelerator group were dynamically growing earlier but they have become regressive in the present. At last, there are the permanent stagnant villages near zero. By the distribution of data points most villages are in the chronic regressive quarter or in the permanent stagnant block. Many villages are in the permanent dynamic range too. Accordingly, the position of most villages did not change between the two periods. There are many villages in the accelerator category, their position turned better at least in the population. Villages positioned in the decelerator quarter have regularly small values of change but that means the appearance of the negative trend in their population. The diagram of the periods 1949 and 1980 versus 1980 and 2001 was more compact with less extremity. The accelerator

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Table 1 Distribution of dynamic types of Hungarian villages in the three periods in population categories Population 1949–1980 1980–2001 2001–2009 category Dyn. Stag. Reg. Total Dyn. Stag. Reg. Total Dyn. Stag. Reg. Total [5,000 2,000–5,000 1,000–2,000 500–1,000 200–500 \200 Total

0.3 5.0 7.2 4.9 1.8 0.3 19.5

1.1 9.6 13.2 10.0 4.4 0.1 38.4

0.6 6.0 9.6 14.3 10.4 1.2 42.1

2.0 20.6 30.1 29.2 16.6 1.5 100

0.8 5.3 6.2 4.1 1.8 0.3 18.6

0.6 10.2 13.9 11.0 7.4 1.1 44.3

0.0 1.8 5.1 11.4 13.6 5.2 37.1

1.5 17.4 25.2 26.5 22.8 6.6 100

0.9 5.0 6.8 4.6 4.6 2.4 24.3

0.5 7.7 10.4 9.6 7.1 1.8 37.1

0.1 3.0 5.7 9.8 13.1 6.8 38.5

1.6 15.6 22.9 24.1 24.8 11.0 100

group is missing and there were fewer villages in the dynamic quarter and more villages in the decelerator one. Consequently, the important changes could start near the Millennium, but they influenced only a few villages. The types of villages in the population changes were calculated in three periods and the dynamic types were rated by the population-size category (Table 1). The chart shows the proportion of the dynamic types from all villages by size categories in three periods. The higher group in all periods is marked with grey background and the main changes between the periods with bold characters. Noticeable is the decreasing regressive group in almost every village category. The growth of the regressive group characterise only the smallest villages. As a result of depopulating tendencies the proportion of the villages under 500 inhabitants is growing in the total column, and parallel to this, the proportion of greater villages is descending. The multiplication of dynamic little villages is exciting. The occurrence of the types of villages was investigated in the Hungarian regions (Table 2). Changes in the proportion of dynamic village types were caused by the transformation in the regional disparities of the Hungarian economy. The high proportion of dynamic group in Central Hungary was characterised by the centralised development in the three periods. The high but descending proportion of regressive villages and the massive growing rate of the dynamic group in West Transdanubia in all three periods show the magnitude of transformation of the western location. The regressive villages in Central Transdanubia were caused to decline by economical development. The change of the higher group in Southern Transdanubia and in the Southern Great Plain can show the temporary decline of tendencies of depopulation but it is continued in the last decade. The decrease rate of the regressive group in the second period and increase rate in the third one in the Northern Great Plain can mark the temporary fall of out-migration. The decreased rate of the dynamic group and the increased rate of the regressive one in Northern Hungary show the declining importance of the industrial axis. It became mostly regressive in the last period but there are many dynamic villages, too.

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Table 2 Proportion of the dynamic village types in the regions Region 1949–1980 1980–2001 Central Hungary Central Transdanubia Western Transdanubia Southern Transdanubia Southern Great Plain Northern Great Plain Northern Hungary

2001–2009

Dyn.

Stag.

Reg.

Dyn.

Stag.

Reg.

Dyn.

Stag.

Reg.

67.4 29.8 9.1 8.9 5.8 17.9 29.8

24.3 39.4 34.8 32.7 45.9 49.1 42.6

8.3 30.9 56.1 58.4 48.3 33.0 27.7

63.9 28.7 14.2 12.6 11.6 14.5 16.8

29.9 44.6 33.5 44.5 56.5 61.7 45.2

6.3 26.7 52.2 42.9 31.9 23.8 37.9

80.6 33.9 28.6 15.0 11.1 16.0 19.0

13.2 42.7 32.1 35.6 40.1 51.9 37.4

6.3 23.4 39.3 49.4 48.8 32.1 43.6

3.3 Typology of Hungarian Villages Villages were classified through the analysis of dynamic change in the three periods and the following dynamic types were chosen. Dynamic villages have a massive growth at least in two periods. Accelerators had a tendency from decreasing to increasing, decelerators from increasing to decreasing. Regressive villages have mainly massive decreasing population. There are the stagnant settlements with stable population, and in the miscellaneous category there were no explicit tendencies of the population change. The villages were classified through the representative demographic parameters, too. In practice that meant sorting out the extremity of demography by a few data of the demographic structure. We could choose the following typical categories with their main indicators. Urban villages are characterised by natural increase with immigration and high ratio of employees. Ghetto villages were indicated by natural increase and low ratio of employees and ageing people. Commuting villages have a high ratio of employees and commuting employees. Ageing villages were chosen by a high rate of ageing people. The other villages with an average ratio of employees and average ratio of ageing people were distributed further by their rates of migration. Villages with high rate of immigration got into the target group and villages with a high rate of out-migration got into the escape group. The rest with average values of indicators were classified as the average group. The two characterisations were plotted in one table and issued the crossed types of villages. Theoretically we could get 6 9 7 = 42 types, but 19 of them were insignificant with less ratio than 1%. 23 types had more than 1% and 7 of them scored more than 5%. The largest pool of the Hungarian villages belong to the regressive escape and the regressive ageing groups with more than 10% ratio. They indicate the continuing depopulation trend in Hungarian rural areas. The ratio of the ten most significant types characterise the regions well with 58–74% total share (Table 3). We marked the strong appearance (over 10%) in the regions with grey background, the concentration of type in a region with a multiplied ratio of that of the country with bold, and the insignificant presence with less then a half of the country ratio with italic characters. The characteristics of the distribution relate with regional developmental disparities and the occurrence of

2.8 12.1 8.3 2.6 0.0 0.6 5.5 5.2

0.0 3.6 17.1 3.2 0.0 0.0 1.1 5.1

4.2 10.7 5.9 8.6 23.2 13.3 9.0 9.7

0.0 4.1 1.3 5.7 6.3 10.2 3.4 4.3

0.0 3.9 2.6 5.5 7.2 7.1 9.2 5.4

0.7 6.6 5.8 21.5 25.1 14.2 6.7 11.6

13.2 2.5 1.6 1.1 1.4 2.2 1.6 2.2

Central Hungary Central Transdanubia Western Transdanubia Southern Transdanubia Southern Great Plain Northern Great Plain Northern Hungary Total Hungary

48.6 15.4 7.8 3.2 2.9 0.3 1.8 7.4

Regressive escape

Table 3 Distribution of the 10 most significant types in Hungarian regions (ratio of types in %) Dynamic Dynamic Stagnant Regressive Stagnant Stagnant Decelerator The ratio in % of the Urban target commuting commuting average escape escape village types from all villages in the regions 3.5 7.2 16.0 7.9 7.7 4.9 15.1 10.4

Regressive aging

0.0 0.0 0.0 5.2 0.0 17.3 4.6 4.0

Stagnant ghetto

72.9 66.1 66.3 64.6 73.9 70.1 58.0 65.6

Total 10

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village-size types. The more developed north-west part of Hungary had the dynamic and commuting groups, and the stagnant and regressive villages are located in the underdeveloped south and east regions. Central Hungary has mostly dynamic urban, and Central Transdanubia has dynamic and stagnant villages. Regions of the Great Plain are characterised by stagnant and regressive groups. Finally, West Transdanubia, South Transdanubia and North Hungary, the regions with small villages, are characterised mainly by the regressive groups. Naturally, this context is caused by the great volume of the small regressive villages in these regions. The proportion of Hungarian villages and the proportion of population in the mixed village types were represented with tables. (Fig. 6) The significant characters were marked with bold characters. When we compare the ratio of the number of villages to the ratio of the population in the particular types, we can notice somewhat different values. All dynamic groups and the stagnant average one have a higher ratio in the population than in the ratio of the number of villages. Consequently, they are mainly the greater villages. Most people live in the dynamic urban and the stagnant average groups. In the regressive column the values are less by the population than by the number of villages. These are mainly the many small villages with low population. However, it is of course a result of long-term negative processes in most of the cases. The spatial distribution of village types is the most expressive on the thematic map. To gain a manageable number of types we contracted the analogous and small groups into 12 categories. These are marked with the same colours in the tables and on the map. The picture of the village types seems to be somewhat medley but some of the groups show definite occurrences. Dynamic urban is concentrated around Budapest, Székesfehérvár, Gy}or and Szombathely. Commuting villages are mainly in the northern part of Transdanubia. The target and the average group are really dispersed, but the target villages are located mostly in the north-west half of Hungary. The average village group occurs mainly by the northwest-southeast and the southwest-northeast power-axes of international connections of Hungary. An extended appearance of the average group can be pointed out also in the South Great Plain. The escape and ageing villages are dispersed in the country, but many of them constitute closed blocks in some small regions along the country, region and county borders, regularly far from regional centres and county seats. They are e.g. south-east of Balaton, ‘‘Rábaköz’’ in the middle of the Small Plain and along River Tisza in the middle of the Great Plain. They are the rural regions of the inner borders. Many escape and ageing villages occur by the south-western, northeastern and south-eastern borders of Hungary, they are the rural regions of the outer border zone. The small towns of these rural regions have regressive population, too, and these structurally underdeveloped mostly new ‘‘semi-towns’’ could not play the role of the centre of the area. Thus, the total areas became the losers of the regional development differences. The ghetto villages concentrate in the north-east (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg), and the South Transdanubia (by the Sellye-Nagybajom

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Fig. 6 Village types of Hungary (Map edited by Tihamér Laborci based on data from the author)

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axis). In our typification, the indicators of ghettoisation were only social and labour data of the population, but the occurrence of these social ghetto areas totally coincides with the occurrence of the Gypsy minority. Some of the ghetto villages have already dynamic population, but naturally this does not mean development here. This is only caused by the higher fertility rate of Gypsy families. Their natural increase was intensified by the social policy for a long time. The problem appeared in the socialist era, but at the time they tried to have Gypsies working in the economy. It was not a problem in that era when through the ‘‘inside-the-gateunemployment’’ the officially non-existing unemployment could get into the factories. This form of social economy was typical in the socialist countries and naturally this ‘‘success’’ was only a misinterpretation(Fig. 6). In the new economy of the transition era, unqualified employees are not required. Nor could many qualified employees find work. Unemployment rate sprung into the sky and was the highest in the ghetto villages in the whole of Hungary. Parallel to this, it intensified crime and the occurrence of crime was analogous with unemployment and the Gypsies. Ascendant revulsion against Gypsies closed them into these ghetto regions, and breaking out from these ghettos became very difficult. Many Gypsy families saw their livelihood guaranteed by social support and family allowance. The more-children-more-money effect has been working for a long time, and the proportion of Gypsies is rising in these villages and in the entire country, too. The problem is being reproduced abundantly and the integration of the Gypsy population is becoming more difficult.

4 Summary The demographic trends of the village network in Hungary have been towards the negative direction since the Millennium. The migration balance of villages turned to negative in the last decade due to the massive average natural decrease. However, villages are strongly differentiated. The values of demographic parameters, which are negative, show a univocal context with the size of the settlements. Natural increase and the migration balance of villages are dispersed, and they have different roles in the deviation of the change of population. Most villages have a chronic regressive or stagnant population, but the greatest part of village people live in large dynamic urban villages. Behind the averages, great spatial disparities lie. The analysis of village types by population dynamics and structure gave a characterisation which is spatially well interpretable. The significant groups represented the Hungarian regions well with typical distribution. The developing groups with a dynamically growing population are concentrated around the capital and a few municipal towns in the north-western part of Hungary. The regressive groups created blocks mainly along the inner and outer border zones. They are located mostly in the regions with small villages. Consequently, there is a connection between the change of population and the size of villages. Finally, regional

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ghettoisation, which has been waiting for a solution for a long time, is a real critical problem for the Hungarian village renewal programme in 3 regions. It is becoming an ever greater challenge for the settlement, for the social and even for the economic policy.

References Bajmócy P, Balogh A (2002) Aprófalvas településállományunk differenciálódási folyamatai. (Differential processes of the hamlets in Hungary) Földrajzi Értesít}o (Geographical Bulletin), 3–4, pp 385–405 Beluszky P, Sikos TT (1982) Magyarország falutípusai. (Village types of Hungary) MTA-FKI, Budapest Beluszky P, Sikos TT (2007) Változó falvaink. (Our villages in change) MTA Társadalomkutató Központ. Budapest Csapó T (2001) Structural policy and regional planning along the external EU frontier to central Europe. In: Jensen J, Miszlivetz F (eds) Preparing for a new Europe institute for social and european studies. Szombathely, Leipzig, pp 28–42 Dövényi Z (2004) Contribution to the assessment of Hungarian economy and territorial structure in the light of the accession to the european union. Földrajzi Értesít}o—Hungarian geographical bulletin 53:(1–2) pp 21–31 Dövényi Z (2007) A belföldi vándormozgalom strukturális és területi sajátosságai magyarországon. (The structural and spatial characters of the inner migration in Hungary) Demográfia (Demographical Bulletin) D 4:335–359 Faluvégi A (2003) Tájékoztató a kiemelten támogatott településekr}ol. (Prospectus about the accentuated subventioned settlements) Központi statisztikai hivatal, Budapest G. Fekete É (2005) Small villages undergoing transformation. In: Barta Gy et al (eds) Hungarian spaces and places: Patterns of transition. Centre for Regional Studies, Pécs, pp 483–501 Haggett P (1983) Geography A modern synthesis. Harper-Collins, New York Pirisi G, Szabó A, Trócsányi A (2008) The transformation of villages into towns–A quantitative way of Hungarian urbanisation. In: Csapo T, Kocsis Zs (eds) Nagyközségek és kisvárosok a térben (Large villages and small towns in the space). Savaria University Press, Szombathely, pp 60–68 Tóth J (1990) Depopulation of rural areas in Hungary. In: Stasiak A, Mirowski W (eds) The processes of depopulation of rural areas in central and eastern Europe, University of Pécs - Institute of Geography, Warszawa, pp 236–251 Tóth J (1994) Urbanisation and spatial structure in Hungary. Geo J 4, University of Pécs - Institute of Geography 1994:343–350 Tóth J (2004) Hungarian regional development with the Europe of regions. In: Pak M, Rebernik D (eds) Cities in transmission, Ljubjana, University of Pécs - Institute of Geography, pp 295–308 Trócsányi A, Wilhelm Z (1997) Regional differences in Hungary. Eurogeo: Geo Bulletin 8:79–80

Part II

Sociology of Settlements, Urban Regeneration

Urban Restructuring in the Grip of Capital and Politics: Gentrification in East-Central Europe Erika Nagy and Judit Timár

1 Introduction While students, local residents, activists, homeless people and squatters at the 1988 Tompkins Square Park demonstration in New York City were chanting, among other things, that ‘gentrification is genocide’ (Smith 1991), the same geographical term has never appeared in the media, nor has it ever been chanted by those affected in connection with acts of squatting or evictions in Budapest. The reason is that they might not ever have heard of the term ‘gentrification’. Nor would the urban studies conducted and published in Hungary at the time have been of any help with the interpretation of the concept.1 It was not until immediately after the political changeover in 1989 that the findings of research in this topic were published, among the very first of their kind in East-Central Europe. Drawing on experience and data pertaining to Budapest in the 1980s, these retrospective analyses reported the emergence of some ‘socialist’ or ‘controlled’gentrification (Cséfalvay and Pomázi 1990; Heged}us and Tosics 1991; Lichtenberger et al. 1995). Studying urban restructuring brought about by the emerging new political and economic conditions, researchers were now curious to know whether the conditions of ‘Western-type’ 1 From among the numerous currently available definitions we have adopted Smith’s (2000, p. 294) definition. Accordingly, gentrification is ‘the reinvestment of capital at the urban centre, which is designed to produce space for a more affluent class of people than currently occupies that space.’

E. Nagy (&)
J. Timár Békéscsaba Department, Centre for Regional Studies, Great Plain Research Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szabó Dezs} o u. 40-42, 5600 Békéscsaba, Hungary e-mail: [email protected] J. Timár e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_9,  Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

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gentrification had materialised (Kovács 1990, 1994; Beluszky and Timár 1992). Soon, however, focus was shifted onto the identification of the causes and characteristics of gentrification, which was gaining ground at an increasingly large number of places, and was especially visible in large cities. An issue that gave rise to debates and drew attention outside the East-Central European (ECE) region as well was whether there existed a clearly ‘post-socialist’ version of gentrification. Bearing our own studies on small and medium-size towns (SMESTOs) in mind, we share the opinion that the post-socialist features of the mechanism of gentrification are linked to the now completed process of political, economic and social transition (Timár and Nagy 2007; Nagy and Timár 2008; Timár 2010). Therefore, even though we do not completely rule out the possibility that some vestiges of the old regime prevail, we believe that it is about time to end the debate over ‘whether or not there is postsocialist gentrification’. We seem to agree with those who urge a change of approach in urban research, pointing out that rather than analysing the fall of state socialism, researchers should study the way in which cities and towns in ECE connect to global urban restructuring, which would obviously offer some completely new perspectives (see e.g. Bodnár 2009). In this study, interpreting urban space as the product of global capitalism, we seek to give inputs for understanding the nature and mechanisms of gentrification in the East as well as in the West. For this, on the one hand, we base our analysis of ECE gentrification on theories of the globalisation of capital that relies mainly on experiences on the ‘West’ or at least outside East-Central Europe. On the other hand, we evaluate the results of research conducted in small and medium-size towns, which may add new information to the lessons learnt from ECE studies focusing mainly on large and/or capital cities (e.g. Kovács 1994, 1998; Sykora 1994, 2005; Enyedi 1998). In order to understand the mechanism of gentrification in ECE today, we have adopted two critical geographic concepts as our working analytical framework. One interprets gentrification as the local manifestation of uneven development facilitating the accumulation of capital at a global level (Smith 1984, 1996). Marxist geographers consider uneven geographical development to be the result of contradictory but inseparable tendencies toward the equalisation and differentiation of the levels and conditions of development related to the accumulation and circulation of capital. The role that capital plays in the production of gentrified neighbourhoods is clear from Smith’s rent gap theory (1979). According to this theory, the participants of local real estate markets respond to the disparity between the actual ‘capitalised ground rent’ and the ‘potential ground rent’ that could be realised by a different use, creating an opportunity for reinvestment. The other theoretical understanding is also associated with Smith (2002: 427, 446) who does more than simply stating that gentrification is present in a large number of places around the world. He makes it clear that gentrification, which ‘initially emerged as sporadic, quaint, and local anomaly in the housing markets of some command centre cities’ is now a global urban strategy and an expression of neoliberal urbanism. ‘Even where gentrification per se remains limited, the mobilisation of urban real-estate markets as vehicles of capital accumulation [and lubricated by state donations] is ubiquitous.’

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These two closely interrelated conceptual approaches to gentrification are also corroborated by our experience in small towns in East-Central Europe. In what follows we seek to prove that the above approaches also apply to gentrification in these towns. Regarding the structure of the study, presenting research results as disclosed in the relevant literature and our own results, we describe the way in which uneven development at a global scale opened up East-Central Europe to global capital and neo-liberal policies and set the stage for ‘inevitable’ gentrification in small towns. We will then go on to present 3 case studies (Veszprém, Oradea, Sopot) in order to show how the local mechanism of gentrification is embedded in the global system of uneven development and that of neo-liberal urbanism. We decided on Sopot (in Poland) and Oradea (in Romania) from among 16 cities studied within the framework of the INTERREG.III. CADSES.B. Hist.Urban and SEE ViTo EU projects, the revitalisation programmes and practices of which we have investigated by means of development documents, interviews with municipality officials, urban planners and, in some cases, representatives of professional chambers and civil organisations since 2006. Adopting statistical, cartographic and qualitative method, we prepared our third (most detailed) case study in Veszprém.2

2 The Global Context of Gentrification In Smith’s concept, uneven development, of which gentrification is a local-scale manifestation, produced the conditions for organising resources into a global system needed to maintain the profit rate (Smith 1984, 1996). Setting a global framework for the accumulation of capital inevitably entails the equalisation of the conditions, by providing access to resources (by developing IT, transportation, etc.) and more or less ‘standardised’ (legal, institutional, etc.) frameworks for production (Harvey 1989; Smith 1996; Castells 1997). Expected returns are measured in the global system thus evolved, and existing differences are exploited accordingly, producing new social-spatial inequalities at different geographical scales. The integration of post-socialist economies into global flows was part of the equalisation process to enhance the scope of capital inside the highly differentiated and institutionalised European economic space. The process of ‘adjustment’—through the demolition of the institutions and mechanisms of the centrally planned system and the establishment of the legal and institutional framework for market economy (freedom of 2 We relied, in part, on the results of previous empirical research and, in part, on the conclusions of an analysis of nearly three dozen interviews and a focus group discussion conducted with developers, architects, mayoral office staff, social workers, directors of various institutions, senior officers at municipalities in charge of the town and the neighbouring settlements. We would like to seize the opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of all our interviewees and also the financial support of the National Scientific Research Foundation (OTKA 043510 FT2 Hungarian project), the Bolyai Research Foundation, the National Office for Science and Technology (INNOTÁRS-Határtalan városrégiók’ project), and the INTERREG IIIB CADSES (Hist. Urban), and the SEE EU (SEE-ViTo) programmes.

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enterprise, market pricing, privatisation, liberalisation of trading, etc.)—became a fully fledged process after 1989 (Sykora 1994; Marcuse 1996; Taylor 2001; Blazek 2002; Harvey 2005; Nagy 2005). Due to the emerging market environment in ECE in the early 1990s, as well as the slowdown in global economic growth and lower return on property investments throughout Western Europe since the late 1980s, the real estate markets of post-socialist cities also became the targets of the localisation strategy of global agents (Jones Lang Lassalle 2004; Colliers 2009). The specific role of the region was stemming from growth potential of the property market, fuelled by the socioeconomic transformation, the lack of robust domestic actors in the property market, and the deficiencies of business infrastructure for services (offices, retail facilities, hotels, etc.) (Adair et al. 1999). By the late 1990s, the region was embedded into global flows of capital that reshaped property markets in metropolitan areas, and increasingly, in small and medium size towns. The adoption of neo-liberal urban policies by the political elite of East-Central Europe supported the equalisation process. In post-socialist context, the reorganisation of the frameworks of social reproduction was focused on transforming the ‘omnipotent’ central state through privatisation and liberalisation, into a facilitator of the actions of capital. In post-socialist political rhetoric, it was interpreted as releasing individuals from the state control and making way for the ‘pure logic’ of the market in social practices (Szalai 2006). Accordingly, national urban policies were focused on the ‘competition’ and ‘competitiveness’ of cities. In this scheme, responsibilities for stimulating economic restructuring, as well as managing social conflicts stemming from economic crisis, shrinking public services and other malfunctions of the state were thrown to local (urban) scale. As a response, in lack of financial resources and institutional capacities, the local political elite adopted development strategies that relied on investment incentives and public-corporate partnerships. The ideology of neo-liberal urban policies was fuelled and the techniques provided by European (EU-financed) regeneration programs, in which East-Central European cities were increasingly involved in the 2000s. As a result of institutional learning (thinking ‘globally’ and adopting ‘best practices’ from the West), of financial dependence on non-local (corporate and EU) funds, especially, of SMESTOs, and of the cultural context of the post-socialism (mistrust in the state/deficiencies of regulations), urban land markets in EastCentral Europe were turned into playgrounds of the agents of neo-liberal urbanism. The involvement in global flows of capital re-evaluated and differentiated urban networks regionally, by size (urban hierarchy) and by specific assets (e.g. tourism potential) in ECE that was reflected by the relative depreciation or appreciation of the real estate stocks.3 The growth and spread of services was an engine of the differentiation (of uneven development) amongst and inside cities in ECE. The growth in the sector that was fuelled by the rise of new activities to eliminate the 3 2004 was the first year when towns outside regions of capital cities appeared in major transnational property agencies’ websites as potential target areas, primarily for logistics, industrial parks and retail investments.

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‘inherited’ deficiencies of consumer and produce services, and also by the global reorganisation of the latter, deepened the gap between major urban centres and small and medium size towns. Nevertheless, the restructuring of urban economies took place also in SMESTOs.4 Due to the higher risk stemming from the smaller scale of urban land market (thus, from the lower return), the primary targets of property developments were town centres. They were transformed into scenes of business services (e.g. banks), as well as of new spaces of consumption (e.g. city centre shopping schemes) mediating the global ideology of consumerism and providing access to globally traded goods/trademarks at once (Sklair 2001; Lowe 2005). Local agents (retailers, cultural and tourism-related services) that entered the area also made use of such changes (Sykora 1994; Temelová 2007; Nagy 2005). Thus, the stimuli for functional conversion of town centres involved commercial gentrification based on the rent gap, attracting new consumer groups that occupied the gentrified space of the centres. Functional differentiation and the liberalisation of the housing market produced and deepened socio-spatial differentiation that manifested in intensified segregation in SMESTOs, too, as it was suggested by our case studies. Nevertheless, the concern of local policy makers was raised rather by the speculative investments that were spoiling the physical conditions of the town centre and by the resulting negative image of the city, keeping potential investors and tourists ‘out’. Thus, acting by the neo-liberal scheme, city centres became the primary targets also for urban development projects to produce an ‘attractive’ urban landscape, and a lively town centre with mixed functions, that inherently, rendered further differentiation led by the logic of capital.

3 Gentrification as a Local Strategy 3.1 Veszprém Veszprém, a city with a population of 60,000 illustrates the mechanisms through which differentiation within the urban space occurs as well as the way in which such mechanisms become embedded in the global system of uneven capitalist development in the case of even a small town. A decade after the political transition, a spectacular physical renewal of the historic centre of Veszprém, financed by the middle classes that had moved in, began. It was mostly residential and mixed-use properties in Jókai Street, a street below Veszprém Castle that was affected by the process (Fig. 1).5 However, resultant gentrification, implemented 4 It has been an ongoing process in Hungary since the early 1990s (Becsei 1991; Beluszky and Timár 1992; Nagy 1999; Kovács 1999; Csapó 2005; Kozma 2005), nevertheless, our interviews suggested that it was a widespread process throughout ECE. 5 Simultaneously, and later a further 4–5 streets.

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Fig. 1 A mental map on gentrification and displacement in Veszprém Source A: Interwiews conducted with developers and social workers in 2006. B: Central Statistical Office, Hungary 2007

as a municipal project, was facilitated by the displacement of approximately 235 disadvantaged, predominantly Gypsy families. The transformation of the neighbourhood of the Veszprém Castle into slums dates back quite far. After the nationalisation of large, old middle-class houses

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often with a floor area of 600–700 m2 in the early 1950s, the local council converted them into tenement houses, dividing them into one-roomed flats without any modern convenience. Industrialisation in the 1960s and 1970s and the rapid growth of population generated housing estate developments on the fringe. In the meantime, the houses in Jókai street fell to neglect and their tenants in socially prestigious jobs, decided to move into comfortable flats in the new, modern blocks on the outskirts. The most spectacular result of the 1989 political change was the renovation of the Castle, which became, in part, church property. Simultaneously, the dominance of institutional functions (CBD) was gaining ground, which, in turn, led to an increasing appreciation of the Castle area. As a result, we suppose, the highest rent gap could have been identified in the completely run-down streets in the Castle’s immediate vicinity, had they been utilised on a business basis. One thing is certain, however; namely that, as one of the characteristics of post-socialist transition, fundamentally it was the socialist state that created the pre-conditions for ‘capitalist’ (market-driven) gentrification. It is not only the operation of the local real estate market that serves as proof of being embedded in the global system of uneven capitalist development. The example of Veszprém corroborates, at a small town level in ECE, the concept that gentrification has become a ‘global urban strategy’ and that it is a manifestation of (capitalist) neo-liberal urbanism (Smith 2002). The newly established local government that was involved in the process as an agent of the local property market, could not, for lack of adequate funds, and did not, as a number of circumstances suggested, want to finance ‘social rehabilitation’ (László and Tomay 2002) resulting in a socially mixed gentrified area. In the late 1990s the local government helped to kick-start market-driven gentrification: first, it used financial incentives to persuade the tenants to move out of the council flats, then sold the flats.6 Given such pre-conditions, similarly to other cities in a number of countries, a ‘collective social action’ was taken, ‘collective capital’ (Smith 1996) flowed in, making space suitable for social groups much higher up in the social hierarchy to take possession. All kinds of developers, professional, occupier and landlord developers7 (Smith 1996), involved in gentrification elsewhere, also emerged here. As they were creditworthy, indirectly through them, banks also got involved, though to a much lower extent than in Budapest or countries in the west. Local government used its rehabilitation strategy mainly to generate economic development, subordinating the management of social problems to this goal. As an interviewee, a municipality official told us, these two goals were linked, first and foremost, in the programme of tourism development.

6

According to the concept, the proceeds from the sales were to finance the compensation to be paid to the Gypsies. 7 ‘Professional developers’ purchase and redevelop property and sell it for profit. ‘Occupier developers’ purchase and redevelop property, where later they live. ‘Landlord developers’ rent out rehabilitated property (Smith, 1996:69).

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Veszprém’s tourist attraction was the Castle itself, which had to be utilised commercially through upgrading the streets in the vicinity into a finely designed thriving neighbourhood (…) there has evolved a district about which, we said, we should do something for the sake of the city so that no beggar can be seen in the streets.

Another aspect of social issues was housing conditions, which were ‘miserable’ and affected the residents of the run-down neighbourhood. The solution which finally led to a decision about the displacement of the residents is inherent in the above-described logic of economic development. The municipality of Veszprém decided on paying compensation to those who agreed to move out. This project was declared to be a non-welfare (a business) project, which was also reflected in the fact that neither the social welfare office, nor social workers had been involved in the preparatory or the implementation phase, and, even more importantly, in the fact that it was regarded to be an ‘agreement’ or a ‘civil code-based legal relationship’ rather than a ‘social affair’. The ideology used to provide an explanation for the solution was an unmistakable product of post-socialist transition. It was a combination of criticism levelled at the practice of the former paternalistic state and a eulogy of the new social order (neo-liberalism) that treats citizens to be on equal footing with it. It is reflected in the reasoning offered by an interviewee, an officer, arguing in favour of compensation money rather than replacement accommodation. People shouldn’t be pampered at any cost. Before 1990 you were told what was good for you. And that was it. Now, a few of us are saying that people shouldn’t be pampered. Rather, they should be persuaded to think things over and decide what they want and what they want to do.

Nevertheless, they did not think it necessary to involve those concerned in the preparation. Where needs were assessed, it turned out that accepting compensation money offering the possibility of ‘free choice’ rather than requesting replacement accommodation was not at all an obvious choice (see e.g. in Budapest in László and Tomay 2002). Gentrification was perceived to be the success of urban policy—at least according to the municipality officials and the entrepreneurs whom we interviewed. The Castle district is now suitable for tourism-related developments and the further gaining ground of the businesses in the tertiary sector, which also adds to the tax revenues of the city (Fig. 1). Furthermore, cultural heritage was successfully protected, which was to the satisfaction of most local residents. The mayoral office finds the sums paid to the tenants expressly generous. They were calculated in a way that they might amount to as much as 60% of the price of a 50 m2 apartment in a housing estate. The rest of the purchase price was supposed to by financed from bank loan (certainly, it was available only for those having permanent job). Estimates reveal that only 3–4 families were able to do so. Housing conditions for the Gypsies improved, at least for a while, but not in the city, but rather, in the surrounding villages where compensation money bought them a place. As they left not only the rehabilitated district, but also Veszprém, the number of the problem families causing headache to

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officials of the social department at the mayor’s office also decreased, at least temporarily. One thing is for sure, however, namely that, in order to make a success of the project, the local government saw to it that those moving out observed its office decree. They received a cheque to the amount of the promised compensation only when the seller of the house they were going to move in appeared, the whole kit and caboodle was in the car and the windows were boarded up. By contrast, despite the fact that the developers who purchased the houses were bound by a 3-year obligation to renovate them and a prohibition on their alienation, they were not charged, even if they failed to complete renovation before the deadline. Therefore, although the population exchange accompanying gentrification was over, actual urban rehabilitation was not. What happened in Veszprém proves that it is global interrelationship between gentrification, segregation and displacement that we can identify. It was only in the first phase that the Gypsies leaving both the inner city area and the city itself as a result of municipality-led gentrification did not accelerate segregation within the city. However, it deepened segregation between the city and the neighbouring villages that fell behind in (uneven) development and thus, offered affordable housing to the Gypsies. A municipality official in one of the villages affected said, ‘They resolved a certain problem in one of the districts in Veszprém by exporting the problem here and we simply took note of the fact.’ As time passed, the Gypsies turned out to be unable to maintain their households. In the hope of affordable lodgings, better employment opportunities and easier living and, as a municipality official in Veszprém added, more generous social care benefits, they returned to the city ‘by stealth’. The Gypsies found ‘shelter’ on a deteriorating housing estate in the north-east and in enclosed gardens with mostly tool sheds on them in the north-western periphery, thereby deepening themselves the urban segregation accompanying gentrification. Furthermore, according to social workers, they are likely to have been involved or get involved in the ghettoisation that is concentrated on a privatised 10-storey building—once a workers’ hostel—in the periphery of the northern industrial belt (Fig. 1). The housing conditions for lodgers, bed-renters, illegal squatters and corridor squatters in that district are the modern twenty first century reproduction of the conditions prevailing in Jókai Street prior to gentrification. As uneven capitalist spatial development carries the inevitability of differentiation; the local manifestations of global economic processes and global neoliberal urbanism include not only urban physical renewal, but also gentrification with re-produced social inequalities as its implications.

3.2 Oradea Oradea is considered as a ‘winner’ of the rapideconomic growth that has resulted in a social-spatial polarisation in Romania since 1989. Nevertheless, urban restructuring was a highly uneven process also at the urban scale that raised series

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of conflicts locally. Social problems were stemming from the structural crisis of the urban economy (erosion of local industries, rising unemployment, shrinking public financing, etc.), that was deepened by the slow and hectic transition of the legal and institutional framework in the 1990s. In that period, the entangled ownership of urban properties stimulated a physical decline, particularly in the city centre that was the primary scene to restitution and housing privatisation,8 and the urban centre was hit also by the consequences of disinvestment under ‘socialism’, that produced and increasing rent gap. The tide could not be turned by small capitals either, since the new owners, as well as local enterprises lacked capital for the costly renovation of historical buildings. The process was scarcely controlled by the local state, as the legal and institutional system of territorial administration and of urban planning and policy took shape slowly (Benedek 2006). Due to increasing macroeconomic stability, the influx of capital into Romania accelerated from 2000, raising new problems at the urban scale. The rapid growth boosted the urban property market, and stimulated social-spatial changes in Oradea (Majoros 2006). The rent gap in the city centre was exploited by major service providers’investments (banks, insurance companies, retailers) and also by ownerspeculators that stimulated functional conversion and revaluated the housing stock in the area. Thus, the urban centre was a scene to commercial gentrification (turned into a ‘CBD’), and made a potential target of well-off social groups. Nevertheless, residential gentrification is a slowly emerging process, due to the relatively belated transition (equalisation) process. The response of local policy-makers was a strategy focused on changing the position of Oradea in the national and European (global) competition of cities. The interviewees perceived Oradea to be lagging behind other major Romanian county towns, by economic performance and also by their city’s position in the centralised, hierarchical national system of public administration and services.9 The development of business infrastructure, and the use of urban space, particularly town centre as means of capital accumulation were the keys to investment incentives that local strategy rested on (Conceptul Strategic, ZM Oradea 2008). In the vision of local policy-makers and planners, the historical centre should be the scene to a variety of services and quality housing, to tourism, as well as to public life. Therefore, functional conversion (particularly, tourism-related business), preservation of historical buildings, and the improvement of public spaces are supported, moreover, being realised through ongoing development projects, financed by local, national and EU funds. This vision was shaped largely by the

8 Restitution raised problems, such as transferring ownership to foreign citizens who had no interest in and for renovation, or just lacked capital for that; in many cases, ownership rights were disputed and taken to the court; or as a result of privatization, mixed tenant/owner-occupier blocks emerged that blocked common actions. 9 The two competitors, Cluj Napoca and Timisoara are both seats of NUTS II regions and were scenes of major investments in manufacturing during the last decade. Meanwhile, Oradea was targeted by less large scale projects and dominantly, by service providers (e.g. by logistic companies).

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local architects’ lobby that had a pioneering role in the preservation of the historical structures and articulating a new national heritage policy. Nevertheless, the view of a lively, prosperous, aesthetic city centre is in conflict with the social reality of the urban centre. Poor and elderly are over-represented in the historical centre, which is considered as a constraint of physical and functional revival. Thus, a set of devices are used to stimulate social change in the area, by fining the owners of decaying buildings,10 increasing the rents of municipal housing in historical buildings on central locations, and indirectly, by supporting housing developments on the urban fringe and suburbs11 as alternative dwellings for city centre residents. In this way, through supporting commercial gentrification by development projects, as well as through the displacement of city centre residents through housing policies, the area is being prepared for the new, well-off residents (gentrifier citizens).

3.3 Sopot A town with a population of 40,000, Sopot implements revitalisation programmes based on neo-liberal principles in order to strengthen its competitiveness. Located in Poland’s 4th largest agglomeration (Trójmiasto = Tri-City) and in the vicinity of Gdan´sk and Gdynia, both with industrial and harbour functions, this small town with low bargaining power has identified the development of tourism as a way of gaining a competitive edge in the context of market economy. Both its geographical features and relations with Germany, which have gained importance again since 1989, support such ambitions. The municipality authority has adjusted its urban development objectives to the criteria of the official spa-town status that was awarded to the town in 1999. This spa town status has been reinforced through a number of privately and publicly (i.e. municipality-) funded developments including infrastructural investments, the creation of pedestrian zones, the establishment of sports facilities, the construction of luxury hotels along the waterfront and the ‘Sopot Centre’ revitalisation project. This urban development process was reflected in the local property market influenced by disinvestment in the socialist era, a global flow of consumers and capital and—due to the proximity of the state frontier and the town’s traditional relations with Germany—an early entry of international occupier developers. Privatisation after the political changeover in 1989 has led to a chaos regarding the 10

The worse are the conditions of the (historical) building the higher is the property tax. Thus, cultural heritage policy (a local initiative) is used as a device for supporting gentrification. 11 Professional developers are supported by providing municipal land, extending urban infrastructure and planning land use at regional level for which, municipalities with more than 200.000 inhabitants have an opportunity (Metropolitan Zone, including the area within 30 km). National housing policy that targeted primarily young couples and the poor, largely supported the process, nevertheless, the budget was heavily cut back due to the crisis.

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ownership of the downtown housing stock. Impoverished, mostly elderly residents did not have sufficient funds to renovate run-down buildings. The town’s increasingly strong appeal as a tourist destination made a clear contribution to a rise in ‘potential ground rent’. Gradually, renovated homes have become second homes for or places rented out (often untaxed) to foreigners. This transformation gave a new impetus to black market economy, especially because businesses of a different kind run by downtown residents were few and far between. Similarly to how social deprivation, rampant crime and increasing social inequalities were regarded, the municipality authority deemed the unused tourism potential of downtown Sopot to be an equally grave issue. This was reflected in the strategic goal (‘Making Sopot a town of high living standard for all of its local citizens’) of the revitalisation projects launched in the late 1990s seeking EU financing (e.g. the Hous-Es URBACT and Hist. Urban schemes). The official evaluation of the implementation of the plans prioritises success along the principles of a clearly neo-liberal policy: (1) increase in the town’s appeal as a tourist destination, (2) an increasingly high number of firms choose the town as their headquarters, and (3) investors had been convinced to participate in projects through working out partnership solutions before national law on PPP was adopted. It is no co-incidence that property prices are the second highest here after Warsaw. Although residents have adopted a favourable attitude towards some of the implications of the neo-liberal concept of tourism industry (e.g. physical rejuvenation and new jobs, etc.), they also perceived the negative aspects of the urban restructuring. Because dynamic growth has also given rise to a number of social conflicts, e.g. Sopot people think of the growth in tourism industry activity (e.g. separation of the spaces of consumption) as ‘encroachment’ on their daily spaces. Small local businesses are forced out by more expensive outlets supported by external capital. Also catering for tourists, local sports facilities are rarely used by locals; local property prices are prohibitive for the locals, forcing them (mainly the youth) to leave their native town; exclusive private housing development limits potential for social housing. A development strategy citing the interest of ‘all the residents of the town’ is nothing but empty rhetoric. In reality, local politics is about lending a helping hand to capital with its space-producing role, which is reflected in transnational recreational/residential and commercial gentrification and leads to the crowding out of low-income young residents.

4 Conclusions Although, it took place in different national (policy and planning) contexts and had specific types of momentum rooted in local conditions, reinvestment in towns centres followed the spatial logic of capital in all the case-study areas. Thus, we may presume, the involvement of East-Central European economies in global flows launched gentrification also in small and mediums size towns, and this

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process should be considered as manifestation of uneven development at the urban scale, even as in metropolitan areas. Though gentrification was not driven necessarily by global agents directly, the strategies and actions of the actors of urban land markets clearly reflected what is labelled ‘neo-liberal urbanism’ by Smith (2002). The adoption of neo-liberal urban policies that interpreted urban spaces and particularly town centres as means of capital accumulation largely enhanced of the scope of capital in ECE. In this context, post-socialist transition should be understood as a series of steps toward the integration of ECE in global flows—from a global perspective, toward the equalisation of conditions for investments (the ‘see-saw’ of capital)—, that ‘produced’ also new social groups, who grew key agents in shaping urban space, including gentrification (e.g. the ‘service class’—potential occupier developers). We found that the above processes including also the re-definition of the role of the state, made East-Central European small and medium size towns highly vulnerable—dependent on non-local resources of development—, leaving little room for community building and the emergence of a democratic control over socialspatial changes locally. Thus, investors were (are) able to shape urban space (almost) deliberately, due to the institutional (planning) and legal deficiencies, to the general distrust in the state as such, and later, to the emerging neo-liberal development strategies of local states. The logic of such processes is not disturbed by the ‘sizespecific’ features of reinvestment either, such as the larger stake of small capitals and generally, of local agents, moreover, commercial gentrification as the first stimuli of revaluation of town centres in SMESTOs, either. Rather, the lack of civil control over political processes contributes (makes ‘smoother’) to preparing the valuable urban space for reinvestment and the displacement of resident population.

References Adair A, Berry J, Mcgreal S, Sykora L, Parsa AG, Redding B (1999) Globalisation of real estate markets in Central Europe. Eur Planning Stud 7(3):295–305 Becsei J (1991) Békéscsaba településen belüli társadalmának térszerkezete. Földrajzi Értesít}o 40(1–2):81–103 Beluszky P, Timár J (1992) Changing political system and urban restructuring in Hungary. Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie. 5:380–390 Benedek J (2006) Területfejelsztés és regionális fejl} odés. Presa Universitara Clujeana, p 299 Blazek J (2002) Local government finances in the Czech Republic as a framework for local development. Acta Universitatis Carolinae Geographica 37(2):157–174 Bodnár J (2009) Guest editor’s foreword. Studia Universitatis Babesß–Bolyai Sociologia. 1:3–5 Castells M (1997) The power of identity. Blackwell, London, p 539 Colliers International: Hungary. Report (2009) Budapest, (www.colliers.hu) Conceptul Strategic de Dezvoltar Durabila, Zona Metropolitana Oradea 2007–2026; Oradea, 2008, p 145 Csapó T (2005) A magyar városok településmorfológiája. Savaria University Press, Szombathely, p 201

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Cséfalvay Z, Pomázi I (1990) Az irányított dzsentrifikáció egy budapesti program példáján. In: Kocsis K (ed) Társadalomföldrajzi Tanulmányok. Területi Kutatások 9. MTA Földrajztudományi Kutató Intézet, Budapest, pp 27–37 Enyedi Gy (ed) (1998) Social change and urban restructuring in Central Europe. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest Harvey D (1989) The condition of postmodernity. Blackwell, Oxford, p 378 Harvey D (2005) A brief history of neoliberalism. University Press, Oxford, p 247 Hegedüs J, Tosics I (1991) Gentrification in Eastern Europe: the case of Budapest. In: Van Weesep J, Musterd S (eds) Urban housing for the better-off: gentrification in Europe. Stedelijke Netwerken, Utrecth, pp 124–136 Jones Lang Lassalle (2004) City profiles, Budapest, Prague, Warsaw. www.joneslanglassalle.hu Kovács Z (1990) A posztfordizmus hatása a nagyvárosok társadalmára. In: Kocsis K (ed) Társadalomföldrajzi Tanulmányok. Területi Kutatások 9. MTA Földrajztudományi Kutató Intézet, Budapest, pp 73–84 Kovács Z (1994) A city at the crossroads: social and economic transformation in Budapest. Urban Stud 31:1081–1096 Kovács Z (1998) Ghettoization or gentrification? Post-socialist scenarios for Budapest. Hous Built Environ 13(1):63–81 Kovács Z (1999) Alföldi nagyvárosok társadalmi térszerkezetének vizsgálata. In: Rakonczai J, Timár J (eds) Alföldi Tanulmányok XVII. Nagyalföld Alapítvány, Békéscsaba, pp 52–72 Kozma G (2005) A lakosság térbeli eloszlásának meghatározása Debrecenben 1990 és 2001 között. In: Csapó T, Kocsis Zs, Lenner T (eds) A településföldrajz helyzete és f}obb kutatási irányai az ezredforduló után. Településföldrajzi konferencia, Szombathely, BDTF TTK, pp 123–138 László M, Tomay K (2002) A Westend árnyékában. Szociológiai Szemle 3:66–90 Lichtenberger E, Cséfalvay Z, Paal M (1995) Várospusztulás és -felújítás Budapesten. Magyar Trendkutató Központ, Budapest Lowe M (2005) The regional shopping centre in the inner city: a study of retail-led urban regeneration. Urban Stud 42(3):449–470 Majoros A (2006) Verseny és együttm} uködés. Európai Összehasonlító Kisebbségkutatások Közalapítvány, Budapest, p 136 Marcuse P (1996) Privatization and its discontents: Property rights in land and housing in the transition in Eastern Europe. In: Andrusz G, Harloe M, Szelényi I (eds) Cities after socialism. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 119–191 Nagy E (1999) A kereskedelmiingatlan-fejlesztések néhány sajátossága és térszerkezet-formáló szerepe a kelet-közép-európai városokban. In: Rakonczai J, Timár J (eds) Alföldi Tanulmányok XVII. Nagyalföld Alapítvány, Békéscsaba, pp 13–29 Nagy E (2005) A városi térhasználat átalakulásának néhány sajátossága a kereskedelmi fejlesztések er}otereiben. In: Nagy E, Nagy G (eds) Az Európai Unió b}ovítésének kihívásai–régiók a keleti periférián. MTA RKK ATI, Békéscsaba, pp 365–370 Nagy E, Timár J (2008) A városmegújítás társadalmi következményei Európában. In Szabó V, Orosz Z., Nagy R., Fazekas I (eds) IV. Magyar Földrajzi Konferencia. Debrecen, 2008. Nov. 14–15. Debreceni Egyetem, Debrecen, pp 307–313 Sklair L (2001) The transnational capitalist class. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 34–112 Smith N (1979) Toward a theory of gentrification: a back to the city movement by capital not people. J Amer Planning Assoc 45:538–548 Smith N (1984) Uneven development: nature capital and the production of space. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, p 323 Smith N (1991) Tompkins square park time line. In: Wodiczko K (ed) New York city tableaux: Tompkins square the homeless vehicle project. Exit Art, New York, pp 14–21 Smith N (1996) The new urban frontier. Gentrification and the revanchist city. Routledge, London, NY, p 262 Smith N (2000) Gentrification. In: Johnston RJ, Gregory D, Pratt G, Watts M (eds) The dictionary of human geography. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 294–296

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Post-1990 Urban Brownfield Regeneration in Central and Eastern Europe: A Theoretical Concept Márton Berki

1 Introduction Inasmuch as processes of deindustrialisation began in the 1960s and 1970s, brownfield regeneration is apparently one of the youngest (yet highly important) research fields of urban studies. In post-socialist Central and Eastern European counties, however, large state-run industrial companies have been (artificially) maintained until the early 1990s, causing an even more serious crisis during the period of transition. The shift to market economy greatly affected the political and economic sphere, as well as cultural life and former relations in general. In case of Hungary, to make matters worse, deindustrialisation and demilitarisation occurred around the same time, also in the beginning of the 1990s. As a consequence, besides obsolete industrial buildings (factories, warehouses etc.), several military objects—such as former barracks and shooting ranges—remained without legal proprietors, constituting a key element of post-1990 urban issues. Although brownfield regeneration is generally conceived as having a predominantly applied focus, it is important to note that its foundations in spatial and social theory are somewhat unclear. The majority of economic and social processes that are related to the formation and future revitalisation of urban brownfields (such as ‘deindustrialisation’, the emergence of ‘post-industrial cities’, ‘reurbanisation’ or ‘gentrification’) almost exclusively emerged after the quantitative revolution of the 1950–60s and the subsequent behavioural turn. Thus, in this regard, the entire ‘brownfield issue’ is (or should be) connected to the postmodern approaches of human geography. Hence, examining new theories of urban M. Berki (&) Faculty of Science, Doctoral School of Earth Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

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space and critical social theory ought to be indispensable to understand how people use their cities, what they are thinking about urban space and, on the other hand, how authorities are trying to gain control over ‘public’ space. Moreover, a greater understanding of people’s opinion and their demands might facilitate more efficient urban planning and revitalisation as well.

2 Theories of Space and Spatiality 2.1 From Absolute to Social Space Over the times, there have been diverse theories concerning the nature of ‘space’ and ‘spatiality’. In this section, before introducing the trialectic conception of Henri Lefebvre and Edward Soja, I aim to present a concise historical overview of these notions. When providing such a synopsis, one should always be aware of avoiding presentism (Livingstone 1992) and linear interpretations. Although a number of other schools and theoretical approaches existed, I have tried to outline the main types of reasoning regarding ‘space’. It is a long-lasting philosophical debate whether space itself is an entity (the absolutist conception), a system of relations between entities (the relativist approach) or just a conceptual framework (the Kantian view). The absolutist (or substantial) conception emerged in the seventieth century, during the age of classical mechanics and baroque rationalism. According to its advocates (such as René Descartes or Isaac Newton), space is a reified category, a substantial physical entity that exists permanently, and irrespective of containing objects or not. Meanwhile, another group of philosophers (e.g. Gottfried Leibniz) developed the relativist (or relational) conception; they argued that space and spatiality is nothing more than the relation between objects, defined by their distance and direction. Thus, in their view, space is non-existent per se, only a formal category (therefore, space itself cannot be perceived, only spatiality). Later, during the eighteenth century, Immanuel Kant aimed to reconcile these two main approaches by proposing a third way of reasoning. He considered ‘space’ and ‘time’ as elements of a systematic framework that is given a priori, in which people are able to structure their experiences and memories. Thereafter, as mathematicians and physicists created an explicit formalisation of space, their explanations started to dominate the debates, from which philosophers and social theorists were excluded (cf. the ‘science wars’ of the 1990s; ‘hard science’ vs. ‘soft science’). However, from the 1960s onwards, the latter have also elaborated their own interpretations of (social) space. Behind these widely diversified approaches, mainly worked out by French intellectuals, one can find the same general idea. The spatial conceptions of Maurice Merleau-Ponty (for whom space is not a physical phenomenon but a cultural product), those of Henri Lefebvre (the social production of space), Michel Foucault’s ‘heterotopias’ or

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Fig. 1 Edward Soja’s trialectics of being and spatiality (after Gregory et al. 2009)

Pierre Bourdieu’s ‘fields’ all have the same theoretical basis; instead of being a given, unalterable frame, space is a social construction, formed (and constantly re-created) by human activity.

2.2 Spatial Conceptions of Henri Lefebvre and Edward Soja One of the most influential theories of social space (i.e. ‘the social production of space’) is derived from French sociologist, philosopher and urban theorist Henri Lefebvre (1991, 1996). Lefebvre’s tripartite spatial conception, along with his essential 1974 work ‘La production de l’espace’ (English translation; 1991), has been introduced to the discipline of geography by American urban planner and political geographer Edward Soja (1989, 1996). One of his most important contributions to the Lefebvrian concept is the notion of trialectics that goes beyond the conventional way of dualistic thinking and challenges binary divisions modernism has created (and thus, the reduction and totalisation of social reality). Soja (1996) proposes two kinds of trialectics (Fig. 1); one of these is concerned with ontology (‘the trialectics of being’) and the other one with epistemology (‘the trialectics of spatiality’). Firstly, all human beings exist in space, in a specific period of time and within a certain society. On the other hand, focusing on space and spatiality, he distinguishes between perceived, conceived and lived spaces, referring to them as ‘Firstspace’, ‘Secondspace’ and ‘Thirdspace’ in his work. To grasp the idea of ‘Thirdspace’, we need to begin explanations with ‘First-’ and ‘Secondspace’. Until the behavioural turn of the 1970s, the main focus of geographical enquiry has been on ‘space as perceived’; Firstspace. In Soja’s (1996) terms, it is ‘the concrete materiality of spatial forms, (…) things that can be empirically mapped’ (p. 10.). It has been the subject of spatial analysis, as well as ‘objective’ cartography. The idea of mental (or cognitive) space first appeared in the works of Kevin Lynch (1960) and Edward T. Hall (1966), although from quite different points of view. Due to the behavioural turn, the conception has later been introduced to human geography by Gould and White (1974), Downs and Stea (1977) etc., creating one of the most influential

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(and definitely less positivistic) ways of studying urban space. According to Soja, Secondspace is ‘conceived in ideas about space, in thoughtful representations of human spatiality in mental or cognitive forms’ (p. 10.); it is what we have in mind about our geographical environment. However, this shift in examining space has created another binary opposition (‘objectivity’ versus ‘subjectivity’, ‘the material world’ versus ‘imaginations’). Thus, in order to dissolve this opposition, Soja proposed the notion of Thirdspace1 (or lived space), lived realities as practiced. One of the most important advantages of this tripartite conception is what he calls ‘Thirding-as-Othering’. Lived space is a hybrid of perceived and conceived spaces; it is socially constructed, both ‘real’ and ‘imagined’.2 Thirdspace is what we call ‘real life’, depending on how we act as a part of a certain society, with all its conventions and traditions. Additionally, in Soja’s reading, Thirdspace also appears as the ‘space of resistance’, by providing an opportunity to react against oppressive power structures that are associated with Firstspace (by architectural features of the built environment) and the political and ideological use of Secondspace.

3 Proposing a New Theoretical Approach for Brownfield Regeneration 3.1 Trialectics as a Recurrent Spiral My contribution to this trialectic concept is to expand it to a recurring (spiral) process. Assuming such a spiral, we might be able to define different stages these industrial districts have undergone during the period of post-socialist transition (Fig. 2). In this model, each stage has its own historical background, as well as different socio-cultural characteristics: Stage 1: At the first stage, during the socialist era, factories are working. They constitute a ‘lived space’ that is lived (and formed) by the working class. Stage 2: Due to the politico-economic transition, factories are shut down, the production is over. Society has no access to the area, so that it becomes the subject of mere perception. Stage 3: After a while, these buildings and districts become physically run-down and unattractive, creating a general bad image for brownfield sites. In this 1 It is important to note that ‘Thirdspace’ has a slightly different meaning in postcolonial studies (see Bhabha 1994); instead of dividing the world into ‘the West and the rest’, post-colonial thirdspaces are ‘hybrid spaces’ representing the spatial and temporal co-existence of the colonial system (with its infrastructure, institutions etc.) and the local native society (having utterly different spatial practices and traditions). 2 ‘Thirding’ and ‘hybridity’ have been key issues for Bruno Latour (1993) as well.

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Fig. 2 Urban brownfields in the period of politico-economic transition and a proposed aim of regeneration (based on the ‘trialectics of spatiality’)

period, they are still cut from the urban fabric, constituting Foucauldian ‘heterotopias’ (Foucault 1986). Stage 4: As the former factory is revitalised, people start to (re-)use the area; therefore it becomes a ‘lived space’ again, although in most cases with entirely different functions. In addition, during the politico-economic transition in Central and Eastern European countries, there has been a completely different public opinion towards these four stages, along with their associated images.

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Dominant imaginations and associations: 1

labour, production, working class (+)

2

economic crisis, unemployment (–)

3 4

no man’s land, prohibited access (–)

Dominant dimensions: economic dimension social dimension

leisure, recreation, ‘chic’ (+)

(+) positive image (–) inimical image A proposed aim of regeneration should be reaching ‘Stage 4’; to create lived spaces again. As the growing number of successful examples show, former brownfield sites can be regenerated in diverse ways. These might include leisure functions (parks, sports centres), cultural functions (concert halls, galleries), business, commercial and administrative functions (office blocks, logistic centres), entertainment functions (pubs, discos, theme parks) or residential functions (loft apartments). Another popular solution is to establish open-air industrial museums or exhibitions that feature the industrial heritage of these areas.3

3.2 Theoretical Complements Contrary to my spiral approach, I am fully aware of the fact that a certain space is always perceived, conceived and lived at the same time. As such, it might only constitute a Firstspace, Secondspace or Thirdspace for different social groups.4 Hereinafter, I have attempted to compile a number of examples demonstrating the diverse aspects of spatiality various social groups are characterised by: Stage 1: During the socialist era, these factories and industrial districts are lived spaces for the working class and the representatives of the state party (the spaces of production, labour, state power etc.). On the other hand, they are only perceived and conceived spaces for the members of the former ‘bourgeoisie’ (then stigmatised as ‘the enemies of the state’), as they have no physical contact with these areas.

3 However, museums are also Foucauldian ‘heterotopias’, thus they are not ‘used’ in the everyday sense of the word. 4 I am greatly indebted to Vladimir Drozg (University of Maribor) for his insightful comments on this issue.

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Stage 2: After the politico-economic transition, most social groups (even former workers) lose contact with these districts; therefore they become perceived spaces for the vast majority of society. Stage 3: Thereafter, although they are still only perceived spaces for the majority, common imaginations and bad images reshape them to conceived spaces (‘run-down area’, ‘dangerous buildings’ etc.). In this period, however, they also become lived spaces for some (relatively small) social groups, such as illegal occupiers, street kids or homeless people. Stage 4: After revitalisation, concerning the use of these spaces, the ‘original’ order of the socialist era (as described in ‘Stage 1’) is entirely reversed; former factory workers (now belonging to less favoured social groups) are excluded from these gentrified spaces, while yuppies and dinkies are using them as new forms of recreation, consumption or entertainment. These relations might be revealed more accurately by conducting further research based on qualitative methods, e.g. questionnaires, interviews, focus groups or mental mapping.

3.3 Further Implications Besides investigating the relations of different social groups with perceived, conceived and lived spaces (as described above), this theoretical framework could be applied with a wider scope as well. Beyond brownfield regeneration, the conception could also be used in a wider sense, as an endeavour of the entire urban revitalisation process. In this case, former industrial areas can be displaced with historical city centres, block housing districts, inner city slums, and so forth. The analogy, however, might be the same; an urban planning aim to re-create these areas with new functions and to encourage people to (re-)use them, with a deep awareness to avoid any kind of social exclusion or spatial control. Furthermore, the model can also be useful in evaluating our cities on a historical scale. In certain periods, ‘lived space’ is overtaken, either by mere perception or by cognitive images and spatial stereotypes. ‘Lived space’ (or rather, ‘lived spaces’) might be able to represent the historical continuity of our cities, the link(s) between the past, present and future.

4 Concluding Remarks When concluding this paper, it is important to note that I do not want to overestimate or fetishise Lefebvre’s and Soja’s trialectic concept; nevertheless, I find it a useful analogy for the philosophy underlying brownfield regeneration. These former industrial districts are undoubtedly valuable areas of urban space, in the future—with appropriate revitalisation—they might become significant

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community spaces. Moreover, with a wider scope, this model can be a beneficial theoretical basis for any kind of urban revitalisation. Different ages—different uses of urban space and thus, different(ly) ‘lived spaces’. Urban planners and policy-makers should always be aware of people’s opinion concerning their own space(s) which is, again, differently lived from place to place, from time to time, and from social group to social group (see Fig. 1, the trialectics of ontology; being in space, time and society).

References Bhabha HK (1994) The location of culture. Routledge, New York Downs RM, Stea D (1977) Maps in minds–reflections on cognitive mapping. Harper & Row, New York Foucault M (1986) Of other spaces. Diacritics 16:22–27 Gould PR, White R (1974) Mental maps. Penguin, London Gregory D, Johnston R, Pratt G, Watts MJ, Whatmore S (eds) (2009) The dictionary of human geography, 5th edn. Wiley-Blackwell Chichester, West Sussex Hall ET (1966) The hidden dimension. Anchor Books, New York Latour B (1993) We have never been modern (translated by porter C). Harvard University Press, Cambridge Lefebvre H (1991) The production of space (translated by nicholson-smith D). Blackwell, Oxford Lefebvre H (1996) Writings on cities (translated and edited by Kofman E and Lebas E). Blackwell, Oxford Livingstone DN (1992) The geographical tradition–episodes in the history of a contested enterprise. Blackwell, Oxford Lynch K (1960) The image of the city. MIT Press, Cambridge Soja E (1989) Postmodern geographies–the reassertion of space in critical social theory. Verso, London, New York Soja E (1996) Thirdspace–journeys to los angeles and other real-and-imagined places. Blackwell, Oxford

Strategic and Socio-Economic Implications of Urban Regeneration in Hungary Tamás Egedy

1 Introduction Before the change of economic and political system, Eastern European countries—including Hungary—had not paid enough attention to the renewal of deprived urban neighbourhoods. Consequently, problems related with the built environment in these countries appeared in a cumulated way. As a result, quarters with dilapidated residential and building stock have competed on the housing market with a handicap, and this often coupled with the appearance of social problems (Holt-Jensen and Morrison 2000). Local governments and investors have faced complications as a result of the postponement of renovation activities. In the last decade decision-makers on state, regional and local levels in Hungary gradually faced the inevitability of urban regeneration and the opportunities the latter offers for architecture, economy and society. In the second half of the 1990s state and local governments recognised that problems deriving from the deteriorating state of dwellings and decreasing housing construction must be handled, and the rehabilitation of high-rise housing estates and urban residential environments require arrangements both on national and local levels. The first actual regeneration programmes appeared around 2000 in Hungary and also the improvement of housing conditions came to the front of political dialogues and state interventions. The problem is that these interventions have not been shaped in the practice into an integrated and comprehensive strategy yet and programmes for the rehabilitation of the social and economic environment lag behind the renewal of physical environment on the national level. T. Egedy (&) Geographical Research Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budaörsi út 45, 1112 Budapest, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

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146 Table 1 The evolution of urban regeneration

T. Egedy Period

Policy Type in Western Europe

Policy Type in Hungary

1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s

Reconstruction Revitalisation Renewal Redevelopment Regeneration

Rebuilding (1945–1948) Reconstruction (high-rise housing estates) Rehabilitation

Source After Stöhr (1989), Liechfield (1992) and Roberts and Sykes (2000)

International experience shows that there are no universal strategies and models to follow during urban regeneration. Despite recognisable international trends in urban regeneration, there is a wide scale of national, regional and local rehabilitation strategies existing in Europe. Instead of isolated urban rehabilitation programmes, nowadays an integrated regeneration process of economic, social and physical (built) environment comes to the front in the public opinion of Hungary. Hungarian urban development experts gradually recognise that spatial planning is more than a simple urban planning process: it is a complex of social, economic, physical and political processes, which requires strategic thinking. Thus, local contexts must always be taken into consideration when working out local strategies and formulating objectives.

2 Development Paths and Trends in Urban Regeneration 2.1 Evolution and Significance of Urban Regeneration In the evolution of urban rehabilitation a decisive period was the one following World War II. This time can be characterised with changing policies of urban construction and rehabilitation all over Europe. The phases of historical development of urban rehabilitation in Western Europe and Hungary are summarised in Table 1. In the last phase of the Western European development comprising the 1990s there was a gradual return to the policies seeking consensus and the recognition of new issues and challenges that influenced urban strategies. This has led to the expansion of the theory of sustainable urban development, laying foundations for and setting objectives of urban rehabilitation activities labelled in the European literature as urban regeneration. This is a comprehensive and integrated method aimed at the solution of the problems of the city and a sustained improvement of economic, physical, social and environmental conditions of the areas to be developed (Roberts and Sykes 2000). The development phases in Hungary differs those of the Western European ones because of the divergent political and socio-economic ideology experienced during the decades of the socialist era. The different developmental paths brought along different terminologies, thus the reconstruction carried out during the 1960s and 1970s in

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Fig. 1 Linear and integrated approach of urban regeneration

Hungary meant predominantly the construction of high-rise housing estates in the periphery of urban areas or in the former city centre areas demolished, on the other hand the phrase urban regeneration has not established itself in the Hungarian terminology yet (Table 1). Although the topical objectives of long-term urban regeneration strategy have been changed many times, it can be stated comparing the international and Hungarian experience that development experts in Hungary and in the eastern part of Europe still unambiguously consider urban regeneration as the renewal of the physical (built) environment. The rehabilitation of the social and economic environments comes only later and these interventions follow each other (linear approach). On the other hand, urban regeneration in the western part of the continent is viewed as a comprehensive and complex attitude and intervention aiming the solution of the problems of the city, joint and continuous improvement of economic, physical and social environments of the neighbourhood to be developed (integrated approach) (Fig. 1). Accordingly, the rehabilitation of the built environment is accompanied by social and economic measures. Using this integrated approach would be particularly important in Eastern European countries, because the postponement of urban rehabilitation triggered negative processes not only in the built environment but in the social environment as well. These processes appear simultaneously and are closely related to each other, therefore they should be managed jointly because—as experience shows—social problems cannot be solved by measures of urban construction alone. In general, countries of Western Europe excel in strategic thinking, with elaborated strategies in different levels, higher institutionalisation, closer partnership between the actors of urban regeneration, and a broad range of monitoring and analysis of the social impacts of projects.

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2.2 Some Characteristic Features and Problems of Urban Regeneration in Hungary Among the features and problems, the most significant ownership relations, financial and social issues are to be highlighted below. Ownership structure has decisive impacts on the process of rehabilitation. As a result of give-away privatisation the Hungarian housing market underwent profound changes (Kovács and Wiessner 1995). Events of the past 20 years have proved that privatisation was necessary for the capitalist transformation, since there was a substantial lack of capital in the system and a remedy for local governments was needed. At the same time rapid privatisation has had drawbacks of its own which could not be anticipated in the first half of the 1990s (a dramatically vanishing social housing system, problems emerging from mixed ownership in residential buildings). Recently it has become obvious that ownership structure has a vital influence on rehabilitation: a high ratio of public or state ownership (social rental sector) within a given area creates favourable conditions for rehabilitation making thus possible to plan and implement large-scale projects (e.g. the Corvin Promenade Project in Middle-Józsefváros). At the same time a high rate of mixed ownership and overwhelming private properties enable rather small-scale interventions or step-by-step approach in urban rehabilitation (e.g. in case of Inner-Erzsébetváros). The previous act on condominiums also hindered the activities on rehabilitation: to take decisions a complete consensus of inhabitants was needed which could not be achieved practically in condominiums with a high number of flats. The new condominium law adopted in 2004 resolved this absurd situation. As regards the financing of the Hungarian projects of rehabilitation, we should refer to the scarcity of local government sources and own sources of condominiums and residents living in the neighbourhood. Nowadays governmental funds are only sufficient for initiating regeneration activities; local governments are interested in mobilising as great amount of private capital for such purposes as possible with minimum expenditures. In this sense the PPP model has played an emerging role in Hungary and Budapest during the past two decades. However, due to corruption experienced after the turn of the new millennium the new state government decided in 2010 to reconsider the role of state in PPP projects. It is to be emphasised that—in spite of the general belief—urban regeneration initiatives can be carried out in Hungary without the involvement of huge financial assets, and the success can be granted also by a step-by-step procedure. Microprojects in a smaller scale are more reasonable to implement and it is especially valid for the municipalities with scarce financial sources. As a consequence of limited financial sources of local governments, the potential human and financial capital of the local society will obviously gain on importance in the rehabilitation of neighbourhoods in the near future. As regards the social aspects of rehabilitation it should be mentioned that in an optimal case we need exact information about the social contexts of the project

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area already before starting the project (ex ante assessment). Regretfully, municipalities in Hungary as a rule do not possess information on the expected and possible effects of the renewal. Social processes are actually not monitored and measurements of social impacts (ex post assessment) are not carried out consequently. Nevertheless, they are necessary because usually rehabilitation is followed by considerable population exchange. From the side of the population, a better housing situation, new environment and local community require stronger adaptation in order to avoid social tensions in the new neighbourhood.

3 Urban Regeneration Strategies Applied in Hungary 3.1 Strategies on National Level 3.1.1 The ‘‘New Hungary Development Plan’’ In the New Hungary Development Plan elements of an integrated urban rehabilitation and development can clearly be recognised: e.g. the development of services in the first priority (Economic development), the development of the inner- and sub-urban public transport in the second priority (Transport development). The third priority (Environmental and energy development) contains arrangements regarding the social rehabilitation: on the one hand the advancement of the human infrastructure through the development of health and education infrastructure supports the further improvement of social environment, on the other hand the strengthening of the social inclusion and partaking (e.g. community building programmes, support of civil organisations) increases the future prospects of deprived social strata (see also Uzzoli 2006; Izsák et al. 2010). This priority also provides perspectives for improving the employment situation and labour market in Hungary. Concrete measures for urban regeneration can be found in the fifth priority (Regional development): an integrated urban rehabilitation strategy for creating a competitive and co-operating network of liveable cities clearly appears. Within the cities brown-field investments have priority instead of green-field developments, and the Plan pays an emphasised attention to the substantial building stock of cultural heritage. For the implementation of objectives and priorities, the national government worked out 13 operative programmes containing also mid-term regional strategies for the Hungarian NUTS-II Regions. The importance of urban development appears as a priority in the different regional strategies. Among urban regeneration activities to be supported, two fundamental forms have to be underlined: the rehabilitation of city centres and in the frame of social urban rehabilitation (integrated urban development) the renewal of run-down housing estates and deprived inner-city quarters.

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3.1.2 State Governmental Interventions to Improve the Housing Situation The Hungarian government made arrangements to change negative tendencies on the housing market in the 1990s (1994 and 1999): in 1994 housing construction was predominantly supported through subsidies related to social policy, later in 2000 mortgage credit measures were provided. One of the most important national strategies was the Széchenyi Plan adopted in 2000. This mid-term governmental plan contained development projects designated for the period of 2001–2006. The Housing Programme of the Széchenyi Plan summarised those measures and support possibilities which had to be carried out for improving the housing situation in Hungary. Regarding urban regeneration the subprogramme ‘‘Modernization of the housing stock’’ must be mentioned, because in this sub-programme the block-rehabilitation programme and an energy-saving renewal and reshaping of high-rise housing estates were addressed as urgent necessity. In Hungary altogether 837,000 of the total 4 million and 65,000 dwellings can be found in housing estates and 1.9 million inhabitants reside in them. At the same time 62% (517,000 dwellings) are located in pre-fab panel buildings. The Panel Programme adopted almost 10 years ago plays an extraordinary role in the renewal process of the building and dwelling stocks. Actually, since 1997 it has been possible in Hungary to use governmental subsidies for the rehabilitation of panel buildings (the first programme was a German loan construction in 1997). According to governmental information since the announcement of the Panel Programme in 2001 an amount of altogether 35 billion HUF (120 million EUR) has been spent on projects and 190,000 dwellings have been renewed until the end of 2008. There were few other national loan programmes and subsidy schemes in the last decade for improving the dwelling stock. In 2000 the central government announced a state loan programme which was very popular because of the financial shortage of Hungarian households. Due to the high number of households taking the loan, the conditions of this HUF-based mortgage credit were restricted in 2004, which had led to the sweep of the credit constructions based on foreign currencies. Due to the devaluation of the Hungarian currency (HUF) during the world-wide economic crisis in 2008–2009, this process resulted in a wide-ranging mortgage crisis in Hungary.

3.2 Typical Rehabilitation Strategies in the Major Cities of Hungary According to local urban development plans, the most typical rehabilitation strategies applied in the large Hungarian cities (Budapest and the county seats) can be summarised as follows: • Demolition of old, run-down buildings and construction of new dwellings • Renewal and housing construction by retaining the former architectural structure and building stock

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Rehabilitation of historical inner-city areas Social rehabilitation Revitalisation of old neighbourhoods creating new sub-centres within the city Incumbent (spontaneous) upgrading by local residents Linking urban regeneration with renewal of the social rental sector Renewal of brown-fields Renewal of green areas.

Because of its huge building and dwelling stocks and accumulated problems of built and social environments, Budapest plays a leading role in the regeneration processes and provides a wide scale of spectacular examples for investigating urban regeneration. Budapest was the city where the first comprehensive development strategy, the so-called Podmaniczky Programme was worked out in 2005 for further development of urban areas located within the city. Meanwhile all the larger and smaller cities worked out their rehabilitation strategies and according to the current activities and investments, most of the typical rehabilitation processes could already be recognised in Hungary after the turn of the new millennium. In the chapters below a few relevant strategies and projects will be introduced very briefly.

3.2.1 Demolition of Old, Run-Down Buildings and Construction of New Dwellings In Hungary the first urban rehabilitation project with forced demolition started in the mid-1980s in the nineth district of Budapest (Middle-Ferencváros). During the 1970s still pre-fab panel buildings were planned to be erected on the rehabilitation area, however in the beginning of the 1980s the concept was changed and retaining of the traditional street layout and building structure through passages and green areas in the inner courtyards came to the fore. Classical block-rehabilitation started in the mid-1980s continued also after the change of regime, but the leading role in the finances was taken over by private investors from the local government. During the 1990s the demolition of old, run-down buildings and dwellings became first priority and they were replaced by new ones. Until 2004 altogether 1,000 dwellings had been demolished and 3,100 apartments had been constructed in the rehabilitation area. Until the end of 2007 another 2,200 dwellings were built up on the site and in this sense this has been the most successful period in the history of the rehabilitation process (Photo 1). In the last 20 years a considerable part of the building and dwelling stock was replaced, which brought a substantial transformation in the social environment of the area. Due to gentrification processes starting in the area, low-status classes were replaced by younger and higher status classes with better financial background and more education. The rehabilitation of MiddleFerencváros is nowadays considered as one of the most successful regeneration processes in Hungary. In 2003 a similar mega-project was started in the neighbouring eighth district of Budapest (Corvin Promenade Project), in a former run-down area that had been the

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Photo 1 Lenhossék Park—a spectacular renewed area in Middle-Ferencváros (photo: Egedy)

poorest part of the capital city. Many experts considered this neighbourhood as centre of the ‘‘Gypsy ghetto’’ in Budapest. The area could be characterised by a high ratio on low-quality buildings and dwellings, deprived and disadvantaged strata and social exclusion. After demolishing the run-down buildings a brand-new area was constructed here for the highly skilled young urban population.

3.2.2 Renewal and Housing Construction by Retaining the Former Architectural Structure and Building Stock It is generally emphasised in different rehabilitation strategies that one of the most important objectives of rehabilitation is to retain the original built environment, the architectural structure and the worthy building stock of the neighbourhood (Földi 2006). Many negative experiences in Hungary and Budapest show that the will of private investors and real estate development companies often overwrites declarations about saving the built and social environments. This can be traced back both to the shortage of local governmental budget (selling properties and lack of measures against demolition) and to real estate speculations (demolition of buildings under protection and construction of low-quality dwellings instead). In the seventh district of Budapest (Inner-Erzsébetváros) similar processes could be detected. The quarter is one of the oldest, most interesting and intimate quarters where the organic street layout of the spontaneous urban development gained shape in the 18th century and the Classicist and Romantic building

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structure still remained. Since the beginning of the 19th century the quarter gradually became the traditional, teeming and varied residential area of the Jewish community in Budapest. After World War II the neighbourhood became increasingly deprived both in architectural and social sense, therefore since the 1970s the restructuring of the area by demolishing the old buildings has regularly re-appeared on the agenda. The last three decades can be characterised as a thundery period of different reconstruction and rehabilitation ideas: groups for re-building and for retaining perpetually conflicted with each other. In the last two decades after the change of regime a renewal (renovation) process started in the area, however many valuable buildings fell victim to real estate developments. Voices and civil organisations for saving the architectural structure and for performing renovation in the original form have emerged. As a consequence of these movements the area became a World Heritage site in 2002 (Old Jewish quarter of Pest) and at the same time the local government started to protect many buildings as historic monument (Rátz et al. 2008).

3.2.3 Rehabilitation of Historical Inner-City Areas The regeneration of historical city centres is one of the most typical rehabilitation interventions in Hungary. The process started in the 1980s, and its first attempts can be dated back to this decade (e.g. the renewal of Gy}or’s inner-city in North West Hungary) and gained stronger impetus after the change of regime in the late 1990s and in the new millennium (e.g. Debrecen, Székesfehérvár, Miskolc, Nyíregyháza) (Enyedi and Kovács 2006; Jankó 2006; Szirmai 2006). All these projects focused on the rehabilitation of the built environment exclusively (renovation of buildings and blocks). The rehabilitation of historical inner-city areas shows all the characteristic features of Hungarian regeneration processes. First of all it must be underlined that rehabilitation concentrates on the renewal of the built environment as already mentioned above (Photo 2). It is quite straightforward, considering the fact that domestic experts still identify urban regeneration predominantly with rehabilitation of the physical (built) environment. As a consequence strategies and measures for rehabilitation of social and economic environments are still often missing. A characteristic feature of these projects is that they focus on the improvement of the linear infrastructure with a special reference to traffic system and transport development (e.g. Szeged in Southern Hungary). In the rehabilitation process of inner-city areas local governments play the leading role and (local or state) governmental funds are also decisive. Private capital joins in the process only if considerable real estate development is to be carried out on the site as well (e.g. shopping centre, commercial and trade centres, housing etc.). Since in the downtown areas of major cites in the countryside the number of social rental dwellings are high, renewal projects are often linked with social housing programmes. During the progress of regeneration the process generally is expanded also to the areas near the city centre, in this way inner-city rehabilitation claims multiplier (spillover) effects in big cities.

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Photo 2 Renewed residential buildings in the inner-city of Szeged (photo: Egedy)

3.2.4 Social Rehabilitation International and domestic researches have proved that there is no guarantee for urban regeneration programmes if they only focus on rehabilitation of the built environment and do not pay attention to renewing the social and economic environment of the area. Considering these experiences, the Municipality and the affected district governments of Budapest started in 2005 a so-called social rehabilitation pilot programme in three different neighbourhoods. The Magdolna quarter (eighth district), the Dzsumbuj (‘‘Jungle’’– nineth district) and the Bihari street (tenth district) were integrated into the programme and an amount of 1,8 billion HUF (6,5 million EUR) from the municipal budget plus financial support of local governments were spent for the projects. The renewal of the building stock is complemented with social programmes which improve the situation of local society. From the three projects the Magdolna Quarter Programme will shortly be introduced. The Magdolna quarter is a neighbourhood in Middle-Józsefváros showing the most serious social and environmental problems. In the area there are 74 lowquality social rental buildings without any conveniences or low comfort level of which 30% are single-room dwellings. The local government did not spend earlier any money for the rehabilitation of these buildings. As a consequence Magdolna quarter became the largest continuous area in Józsefváros and probably in Budapest where run-down built environment, social and economic backwardness are typical. The ratio of deprived families (of which a considerable part are Gypsies) is extremely high and the neighbourhood started to sink into an

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increasingly disadvantaged position within the district. The local government initiated a social rehabilitation programme of which the first and core project was the rehabilitation of a small green area called Matthias square. The square has a high symbolic value within the local society and the urban development company responsible for the project intended to improve the social environment through the renewal of the square. The programme contained also investments to improve local services, increase the quality of education and culture and to support co-operation between civil organisations. On the other hand the project contains elements of an economic rehabilitation by supporting local SMEs, providing new workplaces, starting new employment, training and crime prevention programmes. By active participation of the local society in the project, poverty and exclusion could be decreased and a more secure neighbourhood could be developed in this part of Budapest (Egedy 2008).

4 Social Impacts of Urban Regeneration in Hungary 4.1 Urban Rehabilitation and Gentrification Processes Gained Between 2006 and 2008 many households questionnaire surveys (n = 360) and in-depth interviews (n = 20) were carried out both in Budapest (inner-city areas in Józsefváros and Ferencváros close to the city centre) and in major cities in the country (e.g. historical inner-city areas of Szeged and Debrecen in South and East Hungary and a high-rise housing estate in Székesfehérvár in Middle Transdanubia), to do research predominantly on the subjective quality of life and well-being of residents. The following paragraphs summarise the most important results of these research projects. In our questionnaire surveys higher requirements and needs of residents towards their residential environment and dwellings could be detected. Since the second half of the 1980s—and particularly in the 1990s—the importance of living environment has been enhanced when individuals and households were looking for a place to live. Due to social polarisation and segregation, the quality of residential environment and satisfaction with it have undergone sharp differentiation in the past two decades. A social layer emerged which is more sensitive to the quality of physical environment. In this sense gentrification might be instrumental in upgrading the social prestige of the neighbourhood. The renewal of an urban quarter often entails massive population exchange, thus rehabilitation processes in Hungary generate predominantly gentrification processes. The phenomenon can be described by a gradual rearrangement of the social structure, by a shift of the social composition in the neighbourhood towards higher status strata without a spectacular and rapid homogenisation of local population. The effect of urban rehabilitation upon residential mobility is more articulated than its impact upon social composition (homogenisation).

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By gentrification some higher status strata come to stay only provisionally to the neighbourhood. They serve as catalysts for its rise and development, but the behaviour of these newcomers might be decisive for the future of the quarter: whether they remain to live in the area after its renewal or move to quarters of higher status, perhaps to the suburban zone. The behaviour of residents with low income and high property value (e.g. retired widow people in huge dwelling) is the most difficult to predict (filtering down or up?). Their out-migration of the neighbourhood could raise residential mobility but it is not just the same who and which social strata will replace them. Thus the presence of these strata within the neighbourhood might generate either positive or negative trends of development. It should be remembered however that urban policy, regeneration and development are inconceivable without a comprehensive management of problems. With the resettlement of poorer strata during the rehabilitation, problems would not be solved, they only become repeatedly relocated from one place to another within the city. Many experts expressed the hidden opinion that local governments aware of the fact that projects generate gentrification start rehabilitation processes very often only to clear away the poor strata from the area. A possible resolution for emerging social problems could be to link urban rehabilitation to social housing programmes that is a well-known practice of urban renewal in Budapest. It offers considerable advantage for the two processes, they can support each other and can be complementary so that several problems are addressed simultaneously. We recognised through our observations that urban regeneration has a balancing effect on the housing market bringing along consistency between financial and housing situation. Residential mobility induced by urban regeneration and gentrification leads to a shift on the housing market in a sense that the population affected will move subsequently in apartments fitting better to their financial potential (Egedy 2005).

4.2 Impacts of Urban Regeneration on the Quality of Life Since the change of political system, the expectations and requirements of local residents towards their dwellings and physical environment have obviously increased (Fig. 2). In this way housing conditions and residential environment essentially influence the satisfaction of residents with their everyday life and living conditions. The composition of dwelling stock is decisive for the satisfaction and it influences also the intention to move out. On the other hand it has an impact upon the position and valuation of neighbourhoods on the housing market and the successful development of these quarters in the long run. Our results based on the subjective satisfaction of local residents verified that inner-city areas in bigger cities of the country provide higher level living conditions for the residents of these neighbourhoods than quarters located near the city centre in Budapest whether before or after regeneration. On the other hand, satisfaction with housing situation is higher in the country than in Budapest.

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Fig. 2 Changes in the situation of respondents in the past 10 years Source own survey in different renewed neighbourhoods, 2007, n = 359

It could be proved through our surveys that the often criticised high-rise housing estates represent a real alternative against other residential environments and despite unfavourable living conditions suggested by mass media, they provide on the housing market suitable housing conditions for certain social strata (first of all for the capital-deficient low-middle and middle class). The quality of life of residents living in renovated and revitalised housing estates often exceeds that of those living in renewed inner-city neighbourhoods and the rehabilitation of housing estates weakens the intention to move out. As a consequence of the ongoing regeneration carried out in high-rise housing estates, a new type of gentrification, the ‘‘gentrification of housing estates’’ started in the new millennium in Hungary. It is typical for the local society that residents recognise problems and raise questions, however they are still reluctant and do not want to take part in solving these problems. One of the key issues of successful rehabilitation processes is whether it is possible to involve local society and civil organisations in promoting interests of inhabitants into the regeneration. There is always a layer (5–15% of local residents) being present in the local society which is much more sensitive to the residential environment. These persons are more active and take voluntary part in local events. We can state that civil organisations are generally more interested in local processes than individual residents, the self-representation of these organisations increases faster than that of locals. Thus, the activity of local society can probably be better stimulated and increased through civil organisations than on the individual level.

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In the near future the mobile capital within the local society will probably play a more important role in financing the renewal processes. It is getting to become an even more substantial question, to what extent local communities will be able to mobilise their own resources in the rehabilitation process. If taking into consideration also the share of wavering population, we can estimate the ratio of those residents who could be involved into the financing of regeneration processes to be around 40–45%. Expectations about the effects of urban regeneration are often overestimated within the local society, and satisfaction of residents with the results lag regularly behind them. Based on our surveys, nine–tenth of interviewees expected benefits from the rehabilitation before the process was started, however the ratio of those interviewees declaring actual benefits from the projects was much lower after the intervention (60–70%). Thus, the cognitive projection of regeneration is a timeconsuming process and the renewal of an area will appear on the cognitive level only to a certain extent. Nevertheless, it is unquestionable that urban regeneration has positive effects both on the satisfaction of local society and its mental condition (rise of the feeling of happiness). In fact, the filtering down of an area, or run-down environment and dwelling stock, disadvantaged position and social difficulties etc. do not regularly mean the irreversible crisis of local society and complete regression of social relations. According to our results local residents (generally a half of interviewees) expect that urban regeneration brings local residents together, relationship and dialogue between them will get better and mutual understanding grows. Social cohesion can be increased by urban regeneration in neighbourhoods and social resources within the local society can be explored through renewal processes. Rehabilitation can extend and strengthen the social umbrella, nevertheless its positive effects are limited in neighbourhoods with steadily embedded (‘‘fixed’’) social structures.

5 Conclusions It can be stated that urban rehabilitation has undergone organic development since World War II and along the path of reconstruction–revitalisation– renewal–development it reached urban regeneration by the 1990s completing a comprehensive and integrated cycle of urban rehabilitation. In the course of the neighbourhoods it is indispensable to adopt an integrated approach because, as experience shows, physical rehabilitation of buildings and living environment in itself cannot guarantee a successful rise of quarters. Recent economic changes and the process of globalisation have led to the deterioration of the economic, social and physical environment in many urban settlements. Socioeconomic changes, however, occur much more rapidly than the physical ones therefore it is indispensable to follow these trends when conducting the regeneration of the physical environment. A genuine success can be achieved by an integrated regeneration of built, social and economic environments.

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Besides, organisations participating in urban regeneration are gradually becoming aware of the multilateral character of the problem and realise that its solution rests with a strategically conceived and adequately supported mutual partnership of the different sectors based on local activities. The analysis of Hungarian case study areas has proven that neighbourhood contexts vary and no uniform methods and models can be applied in the rehabilitation of urban quarters. Each project and every neighbourhood represent a unique and specific context of the environmental subsystems which makes drawing general conclusions extremely difficult. Consequently, information about local specific features, problems and opportunities has a great importance, and adequate means should be found for the satisfaction of local needs. On the other hand, rehabilitation strategies introduced in the paper drew attention to the fact that even though neighbourhoods are very complex and diverse systems, the fundamental problems are the same everywhere. In this sense, the objectives set up by the initiatives, the ways of thinking, working methods and the approaches to the problems could be applied in other quarters successfully. The most reasonable solution for neighbourhoods is to build up a new own model using the experiences available from other projects: we should select those applicable elements and relevant components that could be used successfully in our model. Different strategies and approaches underline that traditional methods and measures will not be successful and effective any more in handling of these complex problems. Thus, institutions and neighbourhoods must be faced with new procedures and working methods to be applied during the regeneration. Among others, the ownership structure (ratio of private and public property) within the neighbourhood and accordingly the scale of project to be carried out (micro- or mega-project) must be considered. Decisions about financing (indicative impacts of local governmental resources, accumulation of funds, involvement of private capital, PPP) are needed, clear strategy with comprehensible objectives should be worked out and also the ratio of demolition and new construction must be settled. On the other hand, co-operation must be launched between the participants, and different interests of the stakeholders must be balanced as well. Based on our empirical results we can state that the role of physical rehabilitation, urban structural and architectural measures are still often overestimated among experts, and expectations towards these interventions are excessive. Regeneration programmes aiming an integrated rehabilitation of physical, social and economic environments are in initial and experimental phases yet. But only these integrated multi-sectoral projects based on strategic thinking, cautious planning and mutual partnership can be successful. In addition we must not forget about the exploitation of human and financial resources lying in the neighbourhoods, the integration of the non-profit ‘‘third party’’ and the involvement of locals into the process. Through integrated rehabilitation by involving local residents and civil organisations more effectively it will be possible on the one hand to stop the worsening tendency in the quality of life turned up in the last decade and to decrease the high level of intention to move out from the investigated neighbourhoods.

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The main objective and task of development interventions in Hungary is still not always the improvement of the quality of local residents’ life, but programmes and strategies will hopefully move towards this direction. A welcome and positive development in Hungary is that municipalities gradually recognise the necessity of rehabilitation of the obsolete neighbourhoods and of the elimination of the local social problems. We hope that beside the rehabilitation of the built environment also projects aiming at the resolution of local social and economic problems will be implemented in the near future.

References Egedy T (2005) Urban regeneration and residential mobility in Budapest. In: Czapiewski K, Komornicki T (eds) Central and Eastern Europe: changing spatial patterns of hunan activity— EUROPA XXI–Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, vol 12. pp 63–81 Egedy T (2008) The expected impact of the rehabilitation of Mátyás square on the local community and the quality of life. In: Alföld Gy, Kovács Z (eds) Urban Green Book—Városi Zöld Könyv. ÉTK Kft, MTA FKI, Rév8 Zrt, Budapest, pp 122–146 Enyedi Gy, Kovács Z (eds) (2006) Social changes and social sustainability in historical urban centres the case of Central Europe. Centre for Regional Studies of Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs, p 252 Földi Zs (2006) Neighbourhood dynamics in Inner-Budapest—a realist approach. Neteherlands Geographical Studies 350, Utrecht, p 345 Holt-Jensen A, Morrison N (eds) (2000) Neighbourhood housing models—Special issue on social exclusions and community initiatives. Geo J 51 (4). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, London, pp 277–363 Izsák É, Probáld F, Uzzoli A (2010) Examining the factors of quality of life—A case study in Budapest. J Banat’s Biotech 1:37–47 Jankó F (2006) Városfelújítás Pécs és Gy} or történelmi belvárosában (Urban renewal in the inner city of Pécs and Gy} or). Tér és Társadalom 20(1):109–123 Kovács Z, Wiessner R (1995) Die Umgestaltung des Budapester Wohnungsmarkts unter dem Einfluss von Marktwirtschaft und Wohnungspolitik. In: Meusburger P, Klinger A (eds) Vom Plan zum Markt—Eine Untersuchung am Beispiel Ungarns. Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg, pp 229–248 Lichfield D (1992) Urban regeneration for the 1990s. London Planning Advisory Committe, London Rátz T, Smith M, Michalkó G (2008) New places in old spaces–mapping tourism and regeneration in Budapest. Tour Geogr 10(4):429–451 Roberts P, Sykes H (2000) Urban regeneration—a handbook. SAGE Publications, London, p 320 Stöhr W (1989) Regional policy at the crossroads: an overview. In: Albrechts L, Moulaert F, Roberts R, Swyngedlouw E (eds) Regional policy at the crossroads: european perspectives. Jessica Kingsley, London Szirmai V (2006) Socially sustainable urban development in the historic urban centres of East Central Europe. In: Enyedi Gy, Kovács Z (eds) Social changes and social sustainability in historical urban centres—The case of Central Europe. Centre for Regional Studies of Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs, pp 20–38 Uzzoli A (2006) The spatial structure of health inequalities in Europe. Geographical Phorum, geographical studies and environment protection research 5. University of Craiova, Romania, pp 101–113

Urban Renewal of Historic Towns in Hungary: Results and Prospects for Future in European Context Ferenc Jankó

1 Introduction Urban centres always attracted great attention, but today there is a particular reason for studying them, as more and more social, economic and environmental problems have accumulated in their area. Among them the situation of historic urban centres is quite special, as beyond their central location and function—by means of their historic, cultural and built heritage—they have an essential role in creating and reflecting the image and the memory of a city. First, the question of heritage tourism can be raised, though these quarters are also residential areas, their residents wanting to meet the same common needs. Since the society and the economy change much faster than the urban fabric, this generates a conflict between city and citizens. This essay summarises a severalyear-long study focusing to a question which was formulated in seven Transdanubian (West-Hungary) towns: i.e. how were they changed, whether by urban design and planning or by spontaneous development? In Hungary urban geography and sociology have focused their attention on Budapest and its characteristic quarters with their special problems. However, the study of country towns should not be neglected, which was a significant motivation in this research as well. We have to add that the historic cities have particular features in Hungary, i.e. historical drawbacks, which they had to face during their history. In Hungary the way of European urbanisation had moderate outcomes; the cities had weaker citizenship, weaker economy, and generally slower industrialisation and in the long run slower urbanisation. The conquest of the Ottoman Empire affected the F. Jankó (&) Faculty of Economics, University of West-Hungary, Erzsébet st.9, 9400 Sopron, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

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half of the Hungarian Kingdom, so the urbanisation of the Great Hungarian Plain lagged behind and turned to a different way of development: the so-called market town emerged with the particular farmstead (‘‘Tanya’’) system in their hinterland. The cities hardly worked out the disadvantages, few of them succeeded to rise to the highest places of urban hierarchy including the capital of Hungary, the latter Budapest. The development of the towns of Transdanubia, the Uplands and Transylvania did dot remain undisturbed either, but the way of urbanisation was the same. For these reasons Hungary does not have the kind of historic cities like the richer and luckier cities of the West. The built heritage from the middle ages are very scarce, while baroque townscapes are general (Enyedi and Kovács 2006). This is the background that motivated the study of historic cities of Transdanubia as well, focusing to the following questions, among others: • How can the several-decade-long activity of heritage planning (i.e. protection of built heritage) be evaluated in historic inner-cities of Hungary? Might it be seen as a real urban renewal which has also brought social and economic regeneration to the affected quarters, or can it be regarded first of all as an architectureand culture-based activity? • In which direction did the development of historic urban quarters turn before and after the transition? How has spontaneous renewal taken place? Which are the newest efforts in urban policy? • What kind of social processes can be recognised? What kind of conclusions can be drawn for the future? How has the function of preserved historic cities been altered by the influence of monument restoration and new city centre building? How has it changed after the transition with the conditions of market economy? • What kinds of questions arise about the future of historic urban centres? What kind of future gains shape for the historic quarters?

2 Methodological Background and Areas of Research The subject of this essay is the historic city. By this, I do not only mean an inner urban zone built up by the end of the nineteenth century, but more closely, the outcome of the pre-capitalist urban development i.e. the walled cities and their historic suburbs). For studying the historic towns I used the methodological traditions of urban morphology and urban geography as well. Accordingly, during my research the analysis of the ground plan, the street pattern, the urban fabric, the building structure and pattern gave a starting point. For this reason the basic lessons of the morphological school, the Chicago school, the theory of the housing class (Rex 1968—compare the theory of functional morphology in Hungary—Mendöl 1936) have been considered; i.e. the ground plan and the street pattern has a great significance in the research as well as the explaining of urban development.

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The traditions of the settlement geography of Tibor Mendöl were continued and developed in Hungary first of all by Ern} o Wallner and Edit Lettrich, so it lead from the urban morphological approach through social geography (‘‘Sozialgeographie’’ in German) to the elements of urban social geography (Jankó 2005; Gy}ori 2009). These features have remarkable connections with the Conzenian urban morphogenetic approach, but they have visible perspectives of the cultural readings of the urban fabric, as the element of the common memory as well (Conzen 2001; Heineberg 2006). With this background I used empirically collected data for the analyses. In the designation of study areas it was principal to allow for the analysis of how the historic inner-cities fitted in the urban fabric as a whole. I also endeavoured to seek out some historic suburbs, staying in a given area size. Finally, the survey was made in the historic inner-city areas of Gy} or, Pécs and Magyaróvár, and in the historic quarters (i.e. historic inner-city and its historic suburbs) of K}oszeg, Pápa, Sopron and Veszprém. The designation of historic inner-cities was less difficult; the earlier walled cities with their plot-system adequately indicate their former extension and there is sufficient documentation. The designation of suburbs was somewhat more difficult. They were rarely defended by walls (except for Sopron and K}oszeg). The focus was to consider the plot-system, the natural boundaries and historical data. The data survey was made between 2000 and 2005. Among others, morphological and functional data-types were collected: number of dwelling units, building period, number of storeys, morphology, type of zoning, state of repair of the building and functions. The data of monument protection, local protection and partly the time of construction were taken from governmental-and municipal sources, as well as the data of municipal housing properties. The unit of the survey was the plot, or rather the individual building. Secondly, I used for my analysis block-level data of 2001 census received from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office and register-district level of 1990 census data gathered from a CD-ROM database. On this basis, thematic mapping and statistical analysis was made.

3 Preservation of Monuments and Urban Renewal: From Past to Present The preservation of monuments is a special field in the international practice of urban renewal dealing with the renewal of historic quarters. Generally more disciplines co-operate, the complex, integrated and holistic approach of urban regeneration is widely used, which cannot ignore either social, economic, or architectural aspects (Roberts 2000). Between 1945 and 1990 in Hungary and in the (post-)socialist states the conservation of monuments gave the only chance for historic quarters to survive. The communist regime tolerated and also financed the conservation of monument sites

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Fig. 1 Monument houses in K} oszeg, Jurisics square. Photo by the author

and cities. The negative exceptions were those states where the built heritage was interlocked with the former nation that formed the state (Baltic States, Romania—Hammersley and Westlake 1996; Custodis and Schürmann 1998; Ashworth and Tunbridge 1999; Nistor 2001; Rutkauskas 2002; Bucek 2006). In Hungary the preservation of monuments—as in other countries—started first with the aims of art, culture and heritage protection, and only secondly with social aims (Fig. 1). In the 1960s the preservation of monuments was considering the conservation of sites, which paralleled with international tendencies (Ashworth 1991). Therefore the conservation areas were designated, but the practice of heritage planning was excluded from urban planning. In many towns urban planning and design with a historical and a non-historical point of view existed side by side and caused huge conflicts in the townscape and city-identity by the building efforts of housing estates and ‘‘new city centres’’ (Figs. 2 and 3—Winkler 1983). By virtue of the nature of the socialist regime, urban renewal based on intentions of social policy could not gain ground, but was kept back until the mid-1980s. The so-called social urban rehabilitation essentially took place in Budapest—in planning in the 1970s, and in practice in 1985—where the slums of the inner districts of Pest gained attention (Lichtenberger et al. 1994). For these reasons the conservation of monuments cannot be considered as urban renewal in the strict sense in Hungary. First, their incentive came mainly from architecture and heritage preservation, the social and economic aspects lagging behind. Consequently the double-selective feature of urban renewal came into being: it was intended only for monuments, and primarily for public housing. Therefore renovations have not brought a remarkable change in the social and

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Fig. 2 Historic city of Gy} or. Construction period of buildings, 2005. a: before 1800 (Baroque and older) b: between 1800 and 1930s (historic) c: between 1930s and 1945 (early modern) d: between 1945 and 1989 (socialist modern) e: after 1990 f: Border of the conservation area. Design and cartography by the author

economic renewal of historic quarters. Social decline could only be hindered or prevented in the neighbourhoods where a wide-range of conservation and regeneration was carried out. After the transition no remarkable change occurred concerning the aims of urban renewal, only the leading actor changed: instead of the public sector the private sector turned into the economic driving force. We have to add that this happened with twenty years’ delay compared to Western Europe. Thus, monument protection existed parallel with public-lead urban planning and development. The rehabilitation efforts survived only in Budapest. In many towns the former conceptions of urban development, i.e. planning features live on, and the life of the historic inner-cities is shaped basically according to them (especially in Pécs, Gy} or and Mosonmagyaróvár). For example in Pécs the transformation of the SW, SE and NE part of the historic city, i.e. the conservation area continued with new buildings after the transition as well. It means that there was and still is a different planning and regulation concept within the conservation area (Fig. 4). Nevertheless, the urban development got into an ideological vacuum, and the question: ‘‘what is the role of the public without money?’’ can be raised. However,

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Fig. 3 Veszprém. Historic city and twenty-storeyed tower-house with 130 flats. Photo by the author

Fig. 4 Historic city of Pécs. Construction period of buildings, 2005. a: before 1800 (Baroque and older) b: between 1800 and 1930s (historic) c: between 1930 and 1945 (early modern) d: between 1945 and 1989 (socialist modern) e: after 1990. Design and cartography by the author

stricter planning regulations have appeared in the historic cities as well, and the conception of area conservation is more and more predominant in everyday life (esp. in Pápa, K}oszeg and Sopron). The spread of the aspect of town conservation

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is not general, it would be desirable to improve the extant tools (local protection, regulations, architectural orders), because the historic townscape is very vulnerable even if they are applied. But it might be said that regulations are not enough to preserve the historic cities, the experiences of urban renewal of Western Europe say that the civil and economic actors must be involved as well, to gain greater success (Balsas 2000; Drewe 2000; Vermeijden 2001; Ball and Maginn 2005; Bonneville 2005; Verhage 2005). The answer to the question above came a bit slow: the EU-practice, based on the urban-initiative experiences offered a motivation-tools-methods-aims package, which is under adaptation this time. For the majority of the towns there are very few methods to enhance the renewal: the public housing estates were largely privatised. It was many times partial; the houses stayed in mixed property conditions and became a major source of urban decline. It would be a possible step forward in the practice of urban development in Hungary, if the aspects of an integrated approach, of partnership, of long-term thinking and sustainability could take place among the sphere of urban policy as well.

4 Leftovers and Possibilities: The built Heritage of Historic Suburbs. Around the walled cities historic suburbs evolved, which were originally separate villages and then, only later, merged into the urban administration. Generally, compared to the cities, citizens of the lower class lived there, who worked in agriculture or were handicraftsmen. These quarters underwent a transformation in the nineteenth century depending on the development rate of the towns. Though in smaller towns they were left untouched, since the reconstruction plans made in the era of socialism (with only a few exceptions) remained unrealised, and heritage conservation also lagged behind, partly because of the priority of private house owners, and the public sphere concentrated their money and effort to the inner cities. The particular built heritage of these quarters could be pointed out with geographical methods. The historic suburbs of this study can represent their earlier economic and functional role, the former territory of the agricultural population and the rural townscape. For this reason the concept of the historic city needs clarification, because it is possible to separate the historic suburbs in a social and an economic sense, in a different way than formerly. Among the studied towns Sopron owns the most characteristic historic suburbs, which form almost a whole belt around the city (Jankó et al. 2010—Fig. 5). Paradoxically, mainly the population at lower status guarantees the subsistence of this type of neighbourhood (Fig. 6). The bubble-like remainders of rural townscapes deserve preservation, and they can also play a role in strengthening local identity and in tourism development (Fig. 7). These opportunities have

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Fig. 5 Sopron. Morphology of the historic town centre, 2001. I single-storied houses, II multistoreyed houses, a: front-gabled house with ridge roof, b: front-gabled house with lean-to roof, c: house with hipped ridge-roof, d: house with hipped lean-to roof, e: transitional type, f: terraced (town) house, g: other house type, h: blockhouse, i: church, tower etc. Design and cartography by the author

already been recognised in several towns, for example in Pécs, Gy}or and Sopron where the conservation areas were extended, and so historic suburbs are under protection as well. We can recognise that the policy of demolition and reconstruction of historic suburbs, which was popular for decades, is changing.

5 Social Dynamics and Functional Role of Historic Quarters The housing stock of historic cities was intensely modernised after the political transition, but the imprints of the history are still visible (Fig. 8). However, it was not followed by a remarkable social renewal, and the social processes are less definite; the analysed data refer to a social micro-pattern becoming more and more complex and puzzle-like. In the inner-city neighbourhoods of larger towns (Pécs, Gy}or), and in the areas of dynamic new housing construction, the replacement of local society i.e. the process of gentrification can already be perceived. In smaller

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Fig. 6 a, b The historic town square of Pápa. Contrasted pictures. Photo by the author

Fig. 7 a, b Veszprém. Transformation of relict heritage in the historic suburbs. Photo by the author

town quarters with signs of spontaneous renewal can also be found. The extent of regeneration is unrelated to the monumental and historical value of the neighbourhoods; the main factors being their hierarchical position in the town, their functional role and the environment of the neighbourhoods. We need to emphasise the role of new housing; only this type of intervention can be interpreted as a real dynamic factor of urban renewal. It is not surprising, if we consider the subsidy system of housing in the recent past. This indicates that

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Fig. 8 Gy}or. Joint ratio of populated dwellings with semi-comfort, without comfort and emergency dwellings, 2001, %. a: 0–4 b: 4–8 c: 8–12 d: 12–16 e: 16–25 f: above 25 The average data of Gy}or: 6, 1. Data: Population census 2001 Design and cartography by the author

the renewal of historic cities cannot be restricted to new housing; the regeneration of old buildings should be fruitful for investors and owners too. The significant role of new housing was underpinned by the functional study of the buildings. However, according to the results of the research, the listed buildings are richer in functions than the unlisted ones, though this is not unusual regarding the aims of former conservation and the central location of monuments. When studying the housing stock broken down by age, it turned out that the new buildings have more non-residential functions. They stand out especially in office and financial functions compared to older buildings. The essential aims of conservation—the adequate function, possibilities of presentation—helped historic buildings to get a public function during the process of preservation. Consequently, museums, public institutions and restaurants were opened in the listed buildings. For this reason a museum quarter came into being in Sopron and in Pécs. Generally, conservation areas also kept their central role in public administration, religion and culture, thus the conservation of monuments strengthened the historic urban centres in their central role. The subsidised flats in listed buildings raise several principal and ethic questions; however, they are not worthy of the use of cultural heritage. Professionally it is still undecided whether to keep monuments in public or private ownership. For this reason municipalities and the National Office of Cultural Heritage are sometimes in conflict.

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Fig. 9 Magyar street, the traditional shopping area of Mosonmagyaróvár. Photo by the author

The building of new city centres had a central role in Gy}or, Mosonmagyaróvár, Pécs and Veszprém; the aim was to take over or abate the central function of historic urban centres. According to the social system of the socialist regime, they planned not only public institutes and service buildings, but also housing estates. The study areas vary in their main role: they received public (Gy}or, Mosonmagyaróvár) or retail and service (Pécs, Veszprém) functions. However, the new city centres have turned only partly into real counter-poles of traditional urban centres. Moreover, after the political transition historic inner-cities have regained and re-strengthened their central role, because modern commerce and services prefer a more attractive, historical milieu (Fig. 9).

6 Conclusions: The Future of the Historic Town in Hungary A very important question for the future of the historic city is an architectural and environmental question, i.e. how to conserve the harmony of preserved and nonpreserved sites, areas and buildings. In this respect we can talk of failure in several settlements and quarters. The historic quarters are not equal either, in some places we may talk about an ‘‘outdoor museum-type’’ of development, or elsewhere we can see further differentiation inside the historic city. The development of green surfaces and areas might be a solution here to offer a harmonic transition between the old and the newer parts of the city.

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The social question of historic cities arises as follows. If there is a social decline in the area, it means a cumulative conflict, which is much harder to treat because of the cultural value of conserved cities and of the building regulations. The new housing may have only limited role in renewal. Therefore regeneration, i.e. the renewal of historic buildings and monuments must be supported in some way. This means that the present prohibition-oriented regulations have to be changed into support-oriented regulations. There is a small growth in public housing property in towns, which is supported by governmental measures. Besides qualitative growth, local municipalities have to improve the composition and quality of flats. The function of social housing in monuments should be eliminated, if not by privatisation, then by improving housing quality as a first step. The third question of historic cities deals with the economy. Today we can say that the historic inner-city has kept its central role, although, there have been some attempts to weaken this in larger county towns. However, several international examples remind us, that in Hungary’s delayed urbanisation economic suburbanisation might threaten the functions of inner-cities in future. This process is under way now and the inner cities or rather the urban policy should have the answers to the challenge of the emerging shopping centres on the urban fringe. Heritage tourism is another important factor of the economy of historic cities, but we must underline that we will not have tourist-historic cities. Nevertheless, its significance depends on settlement marketing, the way the historic city is sold, and of course on the ‘‘product’’ itself. Additionally, it depends on global processes having an influence on tourism, and on the structure of the tourism market. The interest in Hungarian historic urban centres is not too high in a global range, which could not be altered by drawing new ‘‘products’’ in either. However, historic suburbs would be suitable for this role, but in this regard the possibilities of the study towns are quite different. On the whole we are witnessing a further differentiation of historic inner-cities, in architectural-morphological and social sense as well. The strong presence of the public sector and the dynamism of commercial areas guarantee the continuous renewal of historic urban centres. Beyond conservation areas, the stagnating-differentiating urban zones and the rather differentiating rural-type neighbourhoods are noticeable. More and more signs refer to the decline of reconstruction areas—and to the decrease of social status or the degradation of economic functions. This might divide the attention paid to the renewal of historic cities; but the former mistakes should not be repeated: the social and physical integrity of the fragment settlements have to be reproduced. This essay demonstrates the reason for the existence and for the use of urban geographic research on the level of elemental units, i.e. individual buildings. Urban geography in Hungary must not give up empirical research that meets the requirements of geographical (regional) completeness; respect for traditions is a further reason for this. This is a great chance for urban geography and for urban morphology if they can get engaged in the research of urban heritage, and can support the decisions of urban planning with the use of their modern concepts and methodology, by keeping the social and economic factors in view—which is the

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main field of geography. After all, the morphological approach is a method for the better recognition and understanding of social processes.

References Ashworth GJ (1991) Heritage planning: conservation as the management of urban change. Geo Press, Groningen, p 150 Ashworth GJ, Tunbridge JE (1999) Old cities, new pasts: Heritage planning in selected cities of Central Europe. Geo J 49:105–116 Ball M, Maginn PJ (2005) Urban change and conflict: evaluating the role of partnerships in urban reneneration in the UK. Housing Studies 20(1):9–28 Balsas CJ (2000) City center revitalization in Portugal. Cities 17(1):19–31 Bonneville M (2005) The ambiguity of urban renewal in France. J Housing Built Environ 20:229–242 Bucek J (2006) Post-socialist urban development, planning and participation. The case study of Bratislava city centre. In: Enyedi Gy, Kovács Z (eds) Social changes and social sustainability in historical urban centres. The case of Central Europe. HAS Centre for Regional Studies, Pécs, pp 65–80 Conzen MP (2001) The study of urban form in the United States. Urban Morphology 5(1):3–14 Custodis PG, Schürmann H (1998) Denkmalpflege in Polen von 1945 bis 1997. Geographische Rundschau 50(1):24–29 Drewe P (2000) European experiences. In: Roberts P, Skyes H (eds) Urban regeneration. Sage, Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi, pp 281–294 Enyedi Gy, Kovács Z (2006) Social sustainability of historical city centres in Central Europe—an introduction. In: Enyedi Gy, Kovács Z (eds) Social changes and social sustainability in historical urban centres. The case of Central Europe. HAS Centre for Regional Studies, Pécs, pp 11–19 Gy}ori R (2009) Tibor Mendöl. In: Lorimer H, Withers CWJ (eds) Geographers: Biobibliographical Studies 28. Continuum, London, pp 39–54 Hammersley R, Westlake T (1996) Planning in the Prague region. Cities 13(4):247–256 Heineberg H (2006) Geographische Stadtmorphologie in Deutschland im internationalen und interdisziplinärischen Rahmen. In: Gans P, Priebs A, Wehrhahn R (Hrsg.): Kulturgeographie der Stadt. Kieler Geographische Schriften 11, pp 1–33 Jankó F (2005) A települések bels} o szerkezetének vizsgálata: a ‘‘Mendöl-módszert}ol’’ a szociálgeográfiáig. [Studying the inner structure of settlements: from Tibor Mendöl’s method to social geography] Földrajzi Közlemények 129(53):1–2, 15–30 Jankó F, Kücsán J, Szende K (2010) Sopron. Hungarian Atlas of Historic Towns No. 1. Sopron p 87 Lichtenberger E, Cséfalvay Z, Paal M. (1994) Stadtverfall und Stadterneuerung in Budapest. Beiträge zur Stadt-und Regionalforschung, Band 12. (Hrsg. Heinz Faßmann), Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien, p 162 Mendöl T (1936) Alföldi városok morfológiája. [Morphology of towns in the Great Hungarian Plain] Tisza István Tudományegyetem Földrajzi Intézete, Debrecen, p 44 Nistor S (2001) Romania’s urban architectural heritage: between neglect and revitalization. Manuscript http://www.arcchip.cz Download: 2006 Rex JA (1968) The sociology of a zone of transition. In: Pahl RE (ed) Readings in urban sociology. Pergamon Press, Oxford, New York, pp 211–231 Roberts P (2000) The evolution, definition and purpose of urban regeneration. In: Roberts P, Skyes H (eds) Urban regeneration. Sage, Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi, pp 9–46 Rutkauskas G (2002) The regeneration of the historic city centre in Vilnius. Manuscript http://www.heritage.xtd.pl, Download: 2006

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Verhage R (2005) Renewing urban renewal in France, the UK and The Netherlands: Introduction. J Housing Built Environ 20:215–227 Vermeijden B (2001) Dutch urban renewal, transformation of the policy discourse, 1960–2000. J Housing Built Environ 16:203–232 Winkler G (1983) A városfelújítás tudományos kérdései. [The scientific questions of urban renewal.]—M}uemlékvédelem 27(1):1–11

Real Estate Purchasing by Foreigners in Hungarian Settlement System as Seen from the Angle of Niche Concept Sándor Illés and Gábor Michalkó

1 Introduction Mankind strives to spend maximum time in a space segment where they would be able to feel satisfied, relaxed and happy (Layard 2007). There might be places that contribute to the improvement of the quality of life (QoL) both for work and leisure time (Gémes 2006; Jakab et al. 2006). Those who cannot find any space (niche) providing for well-being within the usual place of residence still might take a chance to encounter it as participants of mobility processes. Tourism and migration often exist in symbiosis (Williams and Hall 2000) as both are related to find niche. When consuming space-specific tourist products (offered by urban, rural, mountain, waterside tourism, and by ecotourism), individuals have an excellent opportunity to discover a place existing in their imagination as the optimal environment for relaxation, physical and mental regeneration (Litvin 1996; Roberts and Hall 2003; Nepal and Chipeniur 2005; Kivela and Crotts 2006). There are individuals who would not rest content with a scarce enjoyment of services in their favourite destinations as tourists and want to gain experience offered continuously or with short interruptions by a tourist-migrant niche far away from the scene of their everyday life. For this purpose they appear in the given place first as return guests, then as property owners with seasonal stay

S. Illés (&) Department of Social and Economic Geography, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary e-mail: [email protected] G. Michalkó Geographical Research Institute of Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budaörsi út 45, 1112 Budapest, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_13, Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

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and later as permanent residents i.e., migrants. Migrants driven mainly by existential motivations (physical needs or desires) also tend to seek a good place (niche) of their own (Schrover et al. 2007). A recent trend of international tourism is a gradually growing number of those searching for alternative tourist experiences (Dearden and Harron 1994; Blom 2000; González 2002; Mackellar 2006). The emergence of alternative tourism at the expense of mass tourism resulted in new elements of supply and patterns of the place consumption. The central figure of this phenomenon can be labelled as the new tourist type. On the one hand, these actors have become saturated with experiences that could be acquired in mass tourism so they look for different impulses. On the other hand, they are involved in mobility processes on the borderland between tourism and migration. Similarly to the overlap between alternative and mass tourism it is not easy to distinguish between tourists and migrants. One group of the new international tourist–migrants ever growing in number comprises foreign property owners who have bought residential dwellings (detached houses, apartment flats), vacant sites to build on, holiday and weekend houses, dispersed rural homes (cottages) abroad. These purchasers are prompted by highly different and sometimes mixed motivations such as intention to invest, to buy second home, to conduct studies, to obtain residence for the time of occasional work, to follow the latest fashion, to maintain prestige, or simply try to explore an own niche. The desire to find a niche, often provoked by a hidden attraction of the place, might also be a trigger.

2 Niche in the Focus of QoL Niche is a key concept in ecology denoting a space where environmental parameters for the existence of a species are disposable (Meszéna 2005). Niche is an area providing resources for the survival of the selected human creatures (Nánási 2005). Where survival and reproduction have restraints, the various populations compete for the possession of the niche. In spite of the fact that human race is able to survive under most different environmental conditions, they investigate places that offer optimum living conditions. Quite naturally most people feel satisfied and happy in their everyday environment and have no intention to leave it. There are quite a number, however, who seek for work matching better their skills and knowledge or try to find a home being to their desire, far away from the venues of their everyday life. Some people strive for spaces of welfare permanently, whereas others prefer places of well-being as temporary aim (Brülde 2007; Moya 2007). The former migrate to improve living conditions and to raise living standards, the latter are targeted at the prolonged or recurring experiences and enjoyment offered by the place to be visited.

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According to an interpretation related to the tourism studies, existential niches are called places outside of the venues of everyday life that offer optimum conditions for the most efficient use of workforce, knowledge, skills and abilities of an individual. Spaces of a given settlement are bound to be a niche utilised in tourism not in general but because they arouse the interest of certain individuals or of well-defined groups thus becoming wanted (Ceccagno 2007; Gratton 2007; Rangaswamy 2007). Applying the analogue of ecological niche, various habitats offer optimum conditions for different species therefore social groups organised e.g., geopolitically, religiously, culturally or some other way are bound to pay interest to distinct spaces. Mental niches, sometimes existing in symbiosis with the existential ones, are places providing impulses of joy and pleasure for leisure time activities outside of the daily living environment of the individuals (Hughes and Macbeth 2005; Wilson 2006). For the sake of a prolonged provision of these impulses stemming from the exploration of niche they try to spend maximum time at the favourite place and to do it as frequently as possible. The concept that a place turns into niche exactly because there is a well-defined circle of its consumers is also valid for the mental niche and should be emphasised.

3 Islets of Niches in the Sea of Tourism On a global scale, the volume of tourists on the Mediterranean coasts represents the main market segment, but the demand on the products of alternative tourism is on the rise since long (UNWTO 2008). The result of the processes of integration and globalisation, the population of the world is becoming increasingly mobile. With the growth of travel experiences particular species may appear as alternative living spaces. Literature on alternative tourism points out the uniqueness of services and experiences, a relatively low number of people involved and an intimate contact with the environment (Dearden and Harron 1994; González 2002). With regard to the niche as our particular topic, a most important aspect is the interrelationship between the tourist and environment. In alternative tourism mass product is a rare phenomenon and a real experience takes its origin from the quality of the relationship with the environment, especially from links with the local people. Population of the target area could add to the experiences and a closer acquaintance with the economic resources might raise the level of consumption per capita. Specific features of the physical environment represent an attraction in alternative tourism; their protection and maintenance of sustainability is of key importance for the tourists as well. As the participants in mass tourism pay less attention to the surrounding environment, immersion in its values is shallow, the perception and understanding of the space is superficial. In contrast, alternative tourism provides opportunities for the establishment of a

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closer contact with the target area and for shaping a more intimate contact with it. As a result of the diversification of activities relating to the consumption of tourist products, alternative tourism could be traced back to the first steps in the perception of niche market and for meeting the demand. For instance, according to Robinson and Novelli (2005) every tourist product and place fulfilling the demands of a relatively narrow market segment is a topic for niche tourism. The authors use the concept of niche tourism as a synonym of alternative tourism. They distinguish between macro niche and micro niche. The former is assigned to tourist products in a broader sense (e.g., cultural tourism or rural tourism), whereas the latter denotes the narrower sectors (religious tourism within cultural one or wine tourism within rural one). Interpreting niche they distinguish spatial product and consumer oriented approaches. Accordingly, the periphery (Grumo and Ivona 2005) is linked to the geographical domain, and gastronomy (Hall and Mitchell 2005) is related to tourist product, whereas volunteers (Callanan and Thomas 2005) are tackled from the viewpoint of the consumers, all of them being niches addressed by the literature on tourism. In our opinion the main shortcoming of the niche concept by Robinson and Novelli (2005) i.e., the use of the niche concept in a sense of alternative tourism is its relatedness to marketing roots (Hall 1999; Morgan et al. 2003). Once each destination, each product and each consumer are considered carriers of niche tourism options, they all could be turned into part of the niche market through adequate development and marketing communication. In this sense the concept of niche obtains elusive interpretations that might lead to obscure approaches. Macleod (2006) formulated his critical remarks from the perspectives of sustainable development of alternative tourism. According to his criticism there is a never-ending diversification of tourist activities resulting from the constant exploration, discovery and exploitation of new gaps, which jeopardises the sustainability requirements emphasised just in relation to alternative tourism. Consequently, of the various endeavours to lay the theoretical foundations of the niche concept we still prefer those aimed at the combination of ecological and economical bases.

4 Specific Features of the Tourist–Migrant Niche Individuals and/or group of people who cannot find niche in their actual residence (living environment) may search it as participants of mobility processes. Niche is a peculiar space segment related to permanent labour or temporary tourist activities when spending leisure time. Tourist niche denotes a place where the tourist could fulfil demands of growth formulated by Maslow (2003). Thus an important feature of tourist niche is the embodiment of the high quality of the place in values assigned to it by the visitor and in the positive impact upon his/her QoL. Consequently, a settlement or part of it in the mind of the tourist are not

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Fig. 1 Elements of the concept of tourist–migrant niche

necessarily places of renown i.e., tourist destinations within a given area. The concept of niche in each case suggests an intimate relationship between the tourist and the place visited. The division between niche and tourist destination could be captured in tourism theory through the attitude of a person to a given place and the tourist behaviour and his/her future plans erecting from it. While tourist destination is a general and objective category, niche is a particular and subjective notion. In the case of destination the duration of stay and related emotional and/or rational ties are not especially decisive for the classification of the visited place by the theory of tourism, even if perception of a unique milieu is an important step towards turning of a place into niche. Visits to some destinations are limited to a couple of hours. On the contrary, tourist niche is conditioned by a prolonged stay or recurring visits and by the establishment of personal ties that have a considerable impact upon the existential and/or mental state of the individual. Niche offers multiple opportunities for the accomplishment of the personality and abilities of the visitor, and for the achievement of physical, mental and spiritual harmony. The individual should be tied existentially and/or mentally with the place and be convinced that his/her desires and dreams would come true. Niche is nothing else but a mental construction, which has a direct impact on the QoL (Smith and Varzi 1999). Tourist destination and/or receiving area of migrant is merely a good place visited by a great number of tourists and/or

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settled by immigrants. Whereas niche is a source of well-being or happiness of the individual with an image that the longer time they spend there the more favourably it will affect their QoL. Similarly to spatial movements tourist–migrant niche is to be conceived in the framework of a relational system with two time dimensions, sending areas, receiving areas and moves between them (see Fig. 1). The consumption of niche, staying in the space assumed as niche is preceded by the move (travel) there i.e., leaving the living environment, but the return is also part of the niche concept. It is just the duration of stay as one of the time dimensions and the return to the usual place of residence that differentiate between the features of tourism and migration. From time to time the individual returns from the tourist niche to home (the usual place of residence) and does not give it up preserving double or multiple residences. The case however when somebody moves from his/her country of usual residence (home) for more than one year long already belongs to the domain of international migration (Rédei 2007). A settlement used as tourist niche might turn eventually into the scene of tourist–migrant niche, thus the consumption of a tourist–migrant niche is to be considered a link between the destinations of tourism and migration. Tourist–migrant niche has a transitive character between temporary tourist destination and permanent migrant receiving area. Tourist–migrant niche is surrounded a part of terrain without rigid border, namely a segment of destination with unique milieu. The perception of unique milieu would be the first phase of exploration of the particular tourist–migrant destination (Michalkó and Rátz 2006). The unique milieu is the common feature of tourist and migrant destination, too but only it is a slice both of them. More frequent tourist travels and in-depth potential migrant discovery of the target area would transform the core of unique milieu of tourist–migrant niche. In our opinion the tourist–migrant niche is the final spatial unit in the investigation of mobile people. There is no opportunity to share it smaller parts. Tourist–migrant niche is explored mainly by independent individuals or close tie network of people. We suppose that individuals and group of people are able to make special efforts to guard their own tourist–migrant niche. For instance they would be active to avoid the mass tourist and/or migrant inflows to the destination area and they guarantee the exclusivity of tourist–migrant niche without label or trademark (Végh 2010). Starting from the concept of ecological niche, tourist–migrant niches are sorts of places that one has got acquainted with travels in his/her lifetime and were found viable as permanent living space. In other words the tourist–migrant niche is considered as the proto-residence (home) for himself/herself and one’s family. In a conscious search for well-being and happiness among the new tourist–migrants are bound to insure a particular niche for themselves through buying real estates abroad, far away from the ‘‘first home’’ (see Fig. 1) environment (Jorgensen and Stedman 2006). Living tourist–migrant niche in long term is mainly guaranteed by the ownership of a real estate. The expression of ‘‘second home’’ referring to dwelling, apartment or cottage thus purchased is a hint about the given property as a potential new home (Duval 2004; Timothy 2004).

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5 Tourist–Migrant Niches of Foreign Property Owners in Hungary Harmonised collection of data on real estate purchasing by foreign citizens based on administrative source was adopted in Hungary in 2001. This sort of information was exploited on the territorial levels of whole country and counties (Illés and Michalkó 2008; Michalkó and Illés 2008). The database at disposal allows an analysis related to the tourist–migrant niche concept to be performed on settlement level, according to the absolute number and citizenship of foreigners who have bought real estates. Potential tourist–migrant niches of the foreigners should be found in places of spatial concentration of real properties in their possession. Between 2001 and 2006, 36,434 foreign citizens purchased real estate in Hungary. During this period Germans represented the largest group of purchasers by nationality (33.1%), followed by Austrians (14.7%), Romanians (9.6%), Dutch (8.6%), Irish (6.3%) and British (4.1%), altogether making up 76.4% out of all buyers. According to the real estates purchased, there could be recorded fairly well identifiable and characteristic regional preferences of the foreigners. In order to localise the potential tourist–migrant niches of the six most significant foreign nationals we separate the top 25 settlements (included the districts of capital, Budapest) of each citizens out of the upper half the buyers by nationals. From cartographic approach, we depict the 25 most popular settlements by each national on maps. According to our preliminary expectations, the patterns of spatial preferences of foreign buyers are appeared (see Fig. 2a and b) During the period investigated Germans bought properties in 1,534 settlements. The average rate was 7.9 purchasers per settlement. German citizens purchased real estates mainly at the Lake Balaton. For instance they preferred Cserszegtomaj (192 persons), Gyenesdiás (122 persons) and Siófok (114 persons). They demand concentrated on Transdanubia, the western part of the country, except for two settlements of the Great Hungarian Plain, namely Tiszafüred and Kiskunmajsa. Within the capital they settled two districts. One of them is situated in the city centre (VI. district). The other is a mountain-like area with high standard of living (II. district). The citizens of Austria purchased real estates in 959 Hungarian settlements with the average rate of 5.6 buyers per settlement. They highly concentrated on the common borderland (Sopron 195 persons and Mosonmagyaróvár 90 persons) and the western part of the region of Balaton. The Budapest and the settlement of Great Hungarian Plain were out of the scope of their quasi-mass interest. Among the nationals investigated in this paper with common Hungarian border, the citizens of Austria had the highest level of distance dependency (Müller 2004). During the period investigated Romanian citizens bought properties in 879 settlements. The average rate was 4.0 purchasers per settlement. The less characteristic example of distance dependency than Austrians, Romanian citizens purchased real estates along the Hungarian side of common border with two area of condensation. The first was situated around Biharkeresztes, where a high traffic

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Fig. 2 a and b Spatial features of selected foreign property purchasers by citizenship in Hungarian settlements, 2001–2006 (continued)

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Fig. 2 (continued)

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border station has been functioning. This area was becoming the outer hinterland of the Oradea (Nagyvárad), as an example of international suburbanisation. The centre of second concentration was Battonya (119 purchasers) under the shade of Arad. We must mention that populous Hungarian minority lives in both Romanian towns. Two regional centres near to border also became popular places, namely Debrecen (93 persons) and Szeged beside the capital, Budapest. Within Budapest the Romanian citizens preferred Pest, left side of river Danube with lower lever of property prices than Buda, in the right side. We only met with three settlements in the northern part of Transdanubia (Esztergom, Oroszlány and Gy}or). Dutch citizens purchased real estates in 724 Hungarian settlements with the average rate of 4.3 buyers per settlement. Buyers from The Netherlands preferred villages to towns in Hungary. Two spatial concentrations were distinguished among them in the south direction from the imagined axis of north-east–southwest. The first appeared in the south part of Transdanubia, the second was in the hearth of the Hungarian Plain (Csem} o 79 persons and Kocsér 50 persons). The majority of Dutch citizens bought properties in rural areas. They kept away from the overcrowded shore of Balaton, the capital and the towns with more than 20 thousand inhabitants (except for Nagyk} orös). During the investigated period, Irish citizens bought properties in 59 settlements. The average rate was 38.6 purchasers per settlement. Low size settlements involved parallel with the high rate anticipated the extreme concentration of Irish purchasers in Hungary. At the top 25 settlements more than 90% of Irish people chose the capital. They preferred the city centre (V. and VI. districts with the most attractive 3–5 storey block of flats built at the turn of ninetenth-twentieth centuries) and the newly rebuilt areas (IX. district) within Budapest. All of them were situated in Pest. Based on the map we could not separate any territorial preferences of Irish nationals in the countryside. British citizens purchased real estates in 363 Hungarian settlements with the average rate of 4.1 buyers per settlement. The British case was similar to the Irish one except for the smaller volume; however, British people avoided the Great Hungarian Plain. They purchased real estates in the city centre (V., VI. and VII. districts) and in the areas of gentrification (IX. district) within Budapest. All in all, Germans gave preference to the settlements surrounding Lake Balaton (the largest lake in Central Europe). The ethnic factor is one of the explanations of German purchasers. The members of the German minority, and the presence of former German-origin buyers in Hungary recruited new investors from their personal network. Most of Austrians bought properties in towns and villages in the vicinity of the northern section of the common borderland. The citizens of surrounding countries prefer to buy estates near the border with their own country, which is probably motivated by easy access combined with different attractions. They are unlikely to increase their expenses by travelling to more distant areas within Hungary. We suppose that circulation between the countries would play an important role. Citizens of Germany favoured lakeside resorts, but Austrians preferred settlements with thermal spas and border towns with multifunctional character to mass tourist resorts at Lake Balaton. In their efforts to buy houses and

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farms, Romanians favoured the area along the middle section of the common borderland zone (besides Budapest). The majority of Romanian purchasers could be the members of Hungarian ethnic minority in Transylvania. But this relationship became weaker in time because the mass acquisition of Hungarian citizenship. For double citizens there were not necessary to request permission from authorities to buy a property. Dutch citizens purchased dwellings and farmsteads in two hubs of the countryside located south of the south-west–north-east axis of Hungary. Spatial behaviour of Dutch people referred to the fact that amenity seeking international migration was in rise in the Hungarian remote areas, too (Balogi 2010). Irish purchasers displayed a straight preference to Budapest; the share of the Hungarian capital was so high (94.9%), that there are hardly any real properties in Irish possession in the countryside. Not surprisingly, the high purchasing power combined with the relatively low prices of properties. Similarly to Irish, British citizens bought real estates mainly in the different districts of Budapest. Opposite of their massive presence on the property market in Budapest, the Irish and British citizens did not appeared in the local education, health and social systems (K} oszeghy 2010). This fact indirectly strengthened the dominance of economic factors behind their purchases. If comparing the number of tourist visits and immigration of foreigners from the countries involved with that of real estate purchasers, we find a rather mosaic picture nevertheless showing some typical patterns of behaviour, as far as the relationship between two mobility forms and real estate purchasing is concerned (see Table 1). For German and Austrian citizens an increase in the number of visitors and the fluctuating amount of immigrants were accompanied by a decrease in the number of purchasers between 2001 and 2006. Irish nationals and British subjects displayed a growing number of visitors with a concomitant rise in purchasers of real estates. The volumes of immigrants fluctuated with a peak of 2005 (after one year of the Hungarian accession to the European Union). There was a continuously growing tourist inflow of the Dutch and Romanian citizens coupled with a hectic manner of change in the number of immigrants and relatively stable volumes of purchasers of real property. In the course of data analysis two characteristically different groups could be identified. While German and Austrian citizens have had long decades of experience as frequent visitors to Hungary, Irish and British have predominantly become an important segment of the visitors’ market following Hungary’s accession to the EU in 2004, and with the appearance of air companies offering low-cost flights. Consequently, Germans and Austrians have had a closer linkage and richer experiences that could also be traced in the volume of transactions conducted prior to 2001. Behind the decline of purchase proclivity of German and Austrian visitors there has been the saturation of this market segment, the shrinking supply due to economic circumstances, and a turn towards other countries. At the same time for the British and Irish visitors and especially for the potential customers Hungary occurred as a blank but attractive spot. For the latter, a relative unfamiliarity of Hungary and a lack of mental linkage suggest motivations rather based on existential triggers than on tourist experiences gained during previous visits.

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Table 1 Foreign visitors, immigrants and real estate purchasers in Hungary Citizenship 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Change between 2001 and 2006 (%) German

Visitors (thousand persons) Immigrants (persons) Purchasers (persons) Austrian Visitors (thousand persons) Immigrants (persons) Purchasers (persons) Romanian Visitors (thousand persons) Immigrants (persons) Purchasers (persons) Dutch Visitors (thousand persons) Immigrants (persons) Purchasers (persons) Irish Visitors (thousand persons) Immigrants (persons) Purchasers (persons) British Visitor (thousand persons) Immigrants (persons) Purchasers (persons)

2726

2739

2875 3136

3199 3222

18.2

753 3080 4790

337 2313 4735

392 57 2170 1958 4870 5237

3857 722 -4.1 1416 1139 -63.0 5600 6088 27.1

124 1459 4861

84 1130 5660

93 24 987 775 5976 7435

793 381 207.3 510 492 -66.3 7445 8651 78.0

10648 10307 9599 12129 8895 7872 -26.1 564 510 614 556 559 701 24.3 211 239 240 296 325 339 60.7 102 480 27

69 460 27

75 428 31

15 633 49

425 566 53

42 568 52

-58.8 18.3 92.6

20 24 200

17 23 207

24 117 208

6 786 319

83 721 405

7 608 361

-65.0 2433.3 80.5

158 106

326 125

396 153

68 245

707 367

63 490

-60.1 362.3

2001–2006 Source Hungarian central statistical office, ministry of local government and regional development

As there is a lack of empirical studies on tourist–migrant niches of foreign citizens in Hungary, the approach through the formulation of hypotheses and theoretical constructions had to be made carefully. Acquisition of a real estate anywhere is the evidence of a close (mental and/or existential) linkage with a particular space. It provides a sound fundament to introduce the concept of tourist– migrant niche in the terminology of human geography and to initiate studies on its specific features.

6 Conclusions In the present study an attempt was made to get a closer insight into the interpretation of mobility related QoL by adapting some elements of the concept of niche borrowed from ecology and economics. We argued in this paper that

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tourist niche is not equal to destinations of alternative tourism. Tourism niche coexists with migrant niche, where multiple moves search for unique milieu, and tourists and/or migrants explore their own tourist–migrant niche within unique milieu. Tourist–migrant niche is claimed to be a spatial segment of the result of mobility transitive between the scene featuring persons who visit the given place as tourists and those who immigrate there. Tourist–migrant niche appears to individuals as a space providing a perfect physical and mental relaxation and spiritual regeneration on the one hand and as a potential destination for a new life on the other hand. In order to spend more time in a space claimed to raise QoL outside one’s living environment, i.e., in tourist–migrant niche, one must possess a real estate of own. We suppose that the purchase of property (especially abroad) provides adequate bases for studies on tourist–migrant niche. We must not avoid defining what tourist–migrant niche is. According to our proto-definition the tourist–migrant niche reached (gained) by the spatial mobility of individuals or groups is nothing else that a place providing objective and subjective well-being and welfare for individual(s) and group(s). Foreign property purchase is conceptualised as an indicator of tourist–migrant niche in this paper. Tourist–migrant niche differs from the ecological concept of niche as follows. Discovery means competition, thus within the niche the actors make efforts to exclude the possibility of competition, in other words, they try to guard the exclusivity of their own tourist–migrant niche. The selection process refers not only to the place and its environment, but also to people living in the neighbourhood. The distinguishing features of tourist–migrant niche from an economical concept of niche are listed below. It is impossible to broaden the narrow segment of tourist–migrant niche. Mass influx into the tourist–migrant niche means the disappearance of unique milieu surrounding the core of the tourist–migrant niche. Spatial preferences of foreign citizens who bought real estate in Hungary between 2001 and 2006 are informative about the spaces considered by the purchasers as places with a positive impact upon their QoL. Purchasing property by Germans and Austrians in highly frequented recreation areas in Hungary and the appearance of Dutch in peripheral rural regions support the idea about the part played by mental linkage in the emergence of a large variety of tourist–migrant niche. Property acquisitions by the majority of Irish and British citizens concentrated at Budapest were rather triggered by purely financial reasons (investment orientation) than by other motivations. In our opinion this sort of activity is out of the scope of tourist–migrant niche in general. Based on macro-data it is difficult to separate precisely whether the purchase was fuelled by recreational, immigration or economic motives. Theoretical foundations related to the tourist–migrant niche might be instrumental for a thorough understanding of the border zone between tourism and migration. One of the aspects of the issue is the interpretation of QoL and, most importantly, the understanding of well-being of mental embeddings. The conceptual framework outlined above and the related statistics on the spatial aspects

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of purchase of property by foreign citizens in Hungary provide an adequate starting point for performing surveys as qualitative method and in-depth interviews as part of qualitative analyses in the near future, in order to draw a more sophisticated picture of tourist–migrant niche.

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Part III

Urban Geography, Urbanization

Cross-Border Suburbanisation: The Case of Bratislava Tamás Hardi

1 Introduction The suburbanisation of the residential places is now a general phenomenon in the big cities of Hungary. In addition to the out-migration of the urban citizens to nearby settlements, part of the inhabitants moving into the economically developing regions from other parts of the country also choose settlements in the vicinity of the cities as places of residence, instead of the cities. The authors of the literature on this issue have diverse opinions as regards the suburbanisation tendencies of the big cities in Hungary: some say they are identical with the WesternEuropean processes, other says they are considerably different (Timár and Váradi 2000). In general, the main tendencies of urban development are similar, with specific Central European features coming from the specific historical and socio-economic development of the region, and the belatedness of this development (Enyedi 1988). It is a particular situation if a big city is situated right on the state border, and its expansion is limited by the political space. This situation is definitely reinforced if the border is in the way of the natural direction of the expansion of the settlement, in the way of geographical and/or transport potentials. The opening of the border in such cases will inevitably lead to the penetration of suburbanisation into the border region of the neighbour state. In this case, however, the impacts of suburbanisation are special. The incoming population is different not only in their sociologic features but also in their nationality and language, and their migration motives also include short-term advantages not existing within their own country (currency exchange rates, and disparities in living conditions). The study analyses T. Hardi (&) Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Centre for Regional Studies, West-Hungarian Research Institute, Liszt F. street 10, 9022 Gy}or, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_14,  Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

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this phenomenon, featuring the case of Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. In this city this phenomenon is relatively new, as the migration of the Slovak families to Hungary only started a few years ago. This phenomenon was slightly surprising for the public, but in addition to the power of novelty, the process also brought about several new possibilities as well as a few new problems.

1.1 The Phenomenon of Cross-Border Suburbanisation Cross-border suburbanisation takes place when the urban sprawl of a city near the border reaches the state border and crosses that, in the presence of adequate conditions. The result may be the birth of a cross-border functional urban area. These specific areas symbolise the weakening effect of the integration of the European Union on the national state territories and mean a real transnational region and everyday life where a new form of international migration and existence appears. In Europe this phenomenon is visible around several cities, typically along the internal borders of the EU, although one of the oldest cross-border suburbanisation processes can be demonstrated in the region of Geneva, on the border between Switzerland and France. The progress of the integration of the EU and the breaking down of the barriers to international movements and acquisitions of property lead to the increasing frequency of the appearance of similar situations (e.g. in the case of Trieste of Copenhagen (Jagodicˇ 2010)). The strengthening of the freedom of movement does not only result in new forms of migration but also the transformation of the migration strategies which then create migration forms of new quality (Pijpers and van der Velde 2007). Accordingly, as it is an international migration which is not simply one of the forms of migrations but a qualitatively new phenomenon, thus we do have to separate this phenomenon from other types of international mobility. It is the most frequently researched phenomenon is international migration which is realised between two states, and the main motivation of which is the disparity of incomes available in the two countries. This migration often involves large distances. This, too, has several impacts on society and on spatial development both in the area of origin and the receiving area (Williams 2009). We have to separate, however, the phenomenon of cross-border mobility (Hardi 2011), the reason for which is also economic advantage, but an important motivation is the spatial proximity, in certain cases even stronger than the financial gains (Hardi 2009). Cross-border employment e.g. can be motivated by the accessibility of the workplace as well as by income disparities. Cross-border movement and activity can anyway be triggered by smaller disparities in potential financial gains, due to geographical proximity. Accordingly we also have to distinguish cross-border movements: some are basically motivated by financial gains (income disparities, disparities of current prices, disparity of the supply of consumer goods, differences in taxation, currency exchange rates) and are temporary, dependant on economic booms; they may happen at any place of the common border and thus can be taken as smaller-scale

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local equivalents of the international migrations. Some of the cross-border movements, on the other hand, are based on geographical proximity, the individual spatial structure of the areas on the two sides of the border, the economic differences between and the structure of the border regions; these are built on processes stable in the longer run and are less dependant on the development levels of the neighbour states. (On the Hungarian-Romanian border e.g. the employment of the Hungarian labour force on the Romanian side has started, despite the lower incomes in Romania. For the citizens of the peripheral Hungarian border region, commuting to the nearby Romanian cities in the border region is still a real alternative to the larger-distance permanent movements to other places within Hungary, a country offering higher incomes.) Because the birth of functional regions is basically built on the long-term spatial movement tracks (Haggett 2006), the appearance of the spatial proximity-motivated forms of cross-border movements and interactions can serve as the foundation of the birth of transborder regions which are already separate spatial entities and qualitatively different from the programming and institutional regions organised along the border (Hardi 2011); in a structural approach these can be called transnational local spaces. These cross-border regions can, as regards their functions, be labour or retail trade catchment areas, cross-border urban spaces (suburbanisation), or in their most advanced form, cross-border agglomerations. Whichever of the functional spaces above is realised, a basic issue is the definition of the person migrating in this space for the administrative systems built on nation state frameworks. This phenomenon still exists despite the fact that the European Union approaches the respective systems of the nation states to each other. The problem is caused by the fact that the persons involved are linked by their nationality to one state, but by their workplace, place or residence or the service used (e.g. health care services) to the other state, so their everyday life takes place on both sides of the border. The national administrative systems usually treat persons with other nationality according to the rules of international migration, where habitual living and nationality are easy to separate geographically. This disparity is the source of many difficulties for the inhabitants of the cross-border regions but sometimes also offers possibility for illegal or semi-legal benefits, due to the lack of regulation and legal clarification. This is why some authors suggest that the term ‘‘transnational migrant’’ or ‘‘transmigrant’’ should be introduced: these are persons who use habitually, actually simultaneously the territories of two states (Strüver 2005; in: Jagodicˇ 2010; van Houtum and Gielis 2006; Gielis 2009). Such persons can only be called migrant because of their nationality and the use of the different state territories, actually, because the distances managed in their daily routine and their other features are not different from the movement of an ordinary citizen; all that is different is that they cross a state border (maybe several state borders). It is clear then that cross-border suburbanisation is one of the spatial movements which takes place in this transnational local space. The existence of this phenomenon is the function of the simultaneous presence of several conditions. Some of these conditions are related to the phenomenon of suburbanisation, which

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are necessary in the case of all cities for this phenomenon to become massive: these are the development of the local economy, the intensity or the real estate market, and the concomitant dynamic increase of the demand for real estates. Another part of the conditions, on the other hand, is necessary for the ‘‘urban sprawl’’ resulting from suburbanisation to cross the state border. • The specific geographical situation of the city is important. This means the proximity of the state border, on the one hand, which cuts across the optimum space of movement of out-migrants. It is also important that the expansion of the city to other directions within the home country is limited, either due to geographical constrains or the use of the areas for other purposes, maybe because of their low social status. Besides physical space, accessibility may also be of decisive importance, i.e. the endowments and the development potential of the transport infrastructure, the inner spatial structure of the functional parts of the central city and the location of the main commuting destinations also matter. These may lead to the use of the territory on the other side of the border, as a possibility and a must. • The freedom of international movements is of basic significance. The former regimes restricted, even in case of relatively free border traffic, the multiple crossings of the border in one day, also, they made it difficult or impossible to settle down or buy real estates. All these were allowed by the EU in its member states, even in places where it had been difficult or impossible before. This does not only mean the freedom of purchase but also the long-term security of remaining in possession of the acquired real estate. Today an own real estate allows settling down for habitual living in another state, and not only travels for tourism purposes. • The physical permeability of the border is part of accessibility. This depends on the character of border guarding (or its mere existence) and the capacity of the infrastructure elements crossing the border. • Besides all these, evidently financial aspects, too, play a role in the birth and development of cross-border suburbanisation. There may be great differences between the costs of everyday life and real estate prices even between neighbour states. Real estate prices are heavily dependant on local conditions. In case of closed or partially closed borders the border regions are often of peripheral character, even if there is a central area on the other side of the border. The proximity of the city in the other country is rarely reflected in the real estate prices of the given country. If the borders are opened, it is only a peripheral area that directly meets a dynamic centre, and the price differences are substantially larger than what we could expect on the basis of the physical distance. This happened in the case of Bratislava and the neighbouring Austrian and Hungarian villages, but also a similar thing can be observed at the Romanian–Hungarian border, in the Hungarian neighbourhood of Oradea. • Not last we have to mention the existence and the features of the mental border. Although this small-distance type of migration is not as big a trauma for the individual as classic international migration (Ambrosini 2008; in: Jagodicˇ 2010),

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because it actually takes place in the space, still we have to mention the mental circumstances of the migration as well. This is important for several reasons. By moving to the other side of the border we place our properties in the territory of another state and we partly subordinate ourselves to the laws of the country, which is a risk in any case, especially if the neighbour states are not in long-term friendly relationship. The mental barrier, the ‘‘mental distance of the other state’’ is large because of the cognitive strength of the national spaces, created by the school system, media, politics and the socialisation of national character. The mental distance, prejudices may be significant, towards nationality, ethnicity and the spoken language. This may reinforce the opposition between the ‘‘locals’’ and the ‘‘in-migrants’’ typical in other suburban regions too; this opposition may have an ethnic touch, especially if the income level of the inmigrants differs from that of the local inhabitants, primarily if they come from a poorer country. Along the northern part of the German-Polish border the economically less advanced German regions can be found. From the city Szczecin, moving out to the nearby German areas has started, and in some cases the income level of the moving Polish middle class is higher than the income of a substantial part of the inhabitants in the peripheral German region (Sontheimer 2008), which has led to ethnic tension. Evidently, those who speak or understand the language of the other side and are familiar with its features have an advantage. In such cases prejudice are less frequent, as well.

1.2 Bratislava and its Region The capital city of Slovakia was the fifth largest Hungarian city until the end of World War I. In 1910, before the war broke out, the city had 78,223 inhabitants, a mixed population of Germans, Hungarians and Slovaks. Bratislava (then Pozsony by its Hungarian name) was the central city of the Kingdom of Hungary several times in history. From the time of the Ottoman Conquer (1542), when the larger part of Hungary was occupied by the Ottoman Empire and the north-western and western parts of the remaining areas were seized by the Hapsburgs, right until the revolution of 1848, Pozsony was the place of the coronation ceremonies of several Hungarian kings and queens, also the place of national assemblies. During the bourgeois revolution this was the place where the first responsible Hungarian ministry was established. In the second half of the nineteenth century Pozsony’s development lagged behind that of Budapest, both as regards population number and economy. The city was occupied by the Czechoslovak Legion on 1 January 1919, and made the city part of Czechoslovakia. Bratislava has had its present official name since March 1919, it had been called Pozsony before. The increase of the number of population was rapid. In 1910 it had 78,223 inhabitants. The largest population number was reached at the time of the census of 1990, with 442,197 inhabitants. It is true though that the historical city’s growth was partly due, in addition to in-migration and natural increase, to the growth of its territory: it annexed several nearby villages.

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Bratislava may be the only capital city in the world that is neighbour to two states at the same time. The city found itself at the state border after World War I. The Peace Treaty of Trianon designated the Danube River in this area as the (Czecho)Slovak-Hungarian border; the left bank of the river, including Bratislava was annexed to Czechoslovakia, the right bank to Hungary. There was only one village that was an exception, Pozsonyligetfalu (Petrzˇalka in Slovak) that was situated on the right bank of the river. This village later became part of Bratislava, now it is the city quarter called Petrzˇalka. Unlike South Slovakia which was annexed to Hungary (1938) before World War II, Bratislava became the capital city of the Slovak state existing from 1939 to 1944 (Gulyás 2007). During the cold war, the Iron Curtain separating the two opposite parts of the world was located in the direct proximity of the city. Despite this fact the city developed as the centre of the Slovak member state of the Republic of Czechoslovakia, and its territory constantly grew. In the years after World War II and in the 1970s several neighbouring villages were annexed to central Bratislava, increasing its territory to 367.5 km2, and making the state border the direct administrative boundary of the city (Fig. 1). Naturally, this territorial expansion entailed a significant growth in the number of population in the second half of the twentieth century. A rapid inflow of population took place from other parts of Slovakia (we have to remark that this concentration is still an ongoing process (Slavik et al. 2005)), but in the socialist years this process mostly concerned the inner city areas (like the huge housing estate the construction of which started in the late 1970s in the territory of the former Petrzˇalka, on the right bank of the Danube River), as a result of this, the proportion of Bratislava from the total population of the present territory of Slovakia grew to over 8% by now, from 2.5% in 1910 (Zubriczky´ 2010). No wonder that the demographic pressure had an impact on the spatial expansion of the city, resulting in a start of population growth in the neighbouring settlements. Moving out from the city started after the systemic change, first it only concerned a small number of people, but the phenomenon strengthened as a result of mortgage loans appearing in the second half of the 1990s, and gained a real momentum after the economic boom of the early twenty first century. The economic growth resulted in the typical real estate effects, the increase in the prices of construction sites and homes, and we also have to consider that the number of cars in the ex-socialist countries approached the level typical in the western countries in these years, which contributed to the freedom of transport, and of moving. All these factors directed the demand of the urban citizens for real estates towards the rural areas. In the first years, detached houses self-financed by the owners were typical, but the increase of the prices of available construction sites led to the appearance of housing constructions on business grounds, the construction of semi-detached houses and residential parks. This change led to mass suburbanisation and the radical transformation of the image and society of the suburban settlements. The population of the city has been decreasing. It was 428,672 people in 2001, and it fell to 425,459 persons by 2005. A strong suburbanisation process started: parallel to the decrease of the population of the inner city areas, there is a

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Fig. 1 The geographical position of Bratislava Source: Archives of Forum Institute - Samorin, Slovakia

rapid growth in the number of inhabitants in the extra-urban areas. The population of the settlements belonging to the Bratislava district1 but situated outside the city

1

The administrative unit called ‘‘kraj’’ in Slovak is the level compatible with the NUTS 2 level (region) in the EU NUTS system.

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grew by approximately 4 thousand, by 2.3% from 2003 to 2005 (the total population of the district exceeds 610 thousand people, including the capital city), but the suburbanisation process of Bratislava reaches well beyond the boundaries of the district. The agglomeration now reaches Samorin and Dunajska Streda in the east and Trnava in the north. The direction of the migrations and the maximum distance of location from the city are influenced by transport conditions and the geographical environment. West and south of Bratislava there is a state border, north and north-east of the city we find mountains whose beauty and pleasant residential conditions offer good (but expensive) conditions for settling down. The good transport conditions towards the north and the north-west are secured by the motorways. East of the city there is plain area, favourable for spatial expansion, but the capacities of road transport in this direction are weak. The first main direction of migration is then to the north–west. The motorways offer good accessibility to Brno and Senec (Trnava). Besides the areas with good transport endowments, that were soon saturated, the other side of the border was slowly discovered. The neighbouring Austrian and Hungarian villages are much closer to the inner city in space than the majority of the settlements in the Bratislava agglomeration, and the road infrastructure is well built out, especially to Hungary. The accession of Slovakia and Hungary to the European Union in 2004, then the membership of the two states in the Schengen agreement, with the concomitant elimination of border control (2007) raised the interest in the settlements on the other side of the border, so the Bratislava citizens started to move first to the Austrian side of the border and later to Hungary. In order to fully understand this phenomenon we have to introduce the whole of the border region. Bratislava can be found in a central area of Central Europe, in a region divided by borders. The nearby Vienna (at a distance of approximately 60 km), the capital city of the Hapsburg Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was the centre of this macro-region, and the city’s hinterland reached into the region now belonging to Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic. This area was the central part of the Monarchy, with sound economic development. After World War I the borders tore this region apart, and the Iron Curtain turned the separating borderline into a strong wall. After the political transition, this joint region revived; the development level of Vienna and the dynamism of Bratislava together made this region one of the most rapidly developing regions in Europe (Hardi 2005). The region is an important junction from a transportation geographic aspect too: an important north–south transport axis, linking the Baltic area to the Adriatic, runs across Bratislava, while on the Hungarian side we find the Budapest-Vienna axis which is one of the most important transport axes of Europe leading to Asia Minor across the Balkans area. These two large axes cross each other on the Hungarian side. The transport infrastructure and the accessibility of the region are of far better quality than what is typical in the Central European states. The region is home to several ethnic groups. Bratislava itself had German, Hungarian and Slovak population before its growth started in the twentieth century (after the massive migration into the city, 90% of the population is Slovak now).

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The region is also home to Croats (typically on the present Hungarian and Austrian side). This naturally reinforces the multicultural character of the region, which is a strong factor in migration decisions. It is interesting that the eastern foreground of Bratislava (the so-called Csallóköz area), one of the destinations of suburban movements, is an area within Slovakia that has a Hungarian majority: 80% of the population of the district is Hungarian by ethnicity. From ethnic aspect then the Bratislava citizens will find themselves in a Hungarian speaking environment even if they have changed their place of residence within Slovakia, and not only if they have moved to Hungary.

1.3 Cross-Border Suburbanisation in the Hungarian Foreground of Bratislava It is evident then that Bratislava has a specific position in the border region and has a unique spatial structural situation (Williams et al. 2001; Mezei 2005; Hardi 2008). Its geographical endowments predestine the city to expand its urban area beyond the border, and the economic growth of the city requires new territories, as well. The endowments of the western border areas of Slovakia and Hungary are so much interdependent that labour market relations, commuting already started in the socialist decades (Szörényiné Kukorelli 2000; Rechnitzer 2001; Hardi 2008). After the acquisition of the EU membership and the accession of these countries to the Schengen zone these geographical endowments have promoted the mobility of the inhabitants of the two countries to settle down in the neighbour state. Commuting to work and do the shopping became typical in the twenty first century, the centres of which are Bratislava in the Bratislava region, and the Hungarian towns along the Danube River. The phenomenon of residential mobility, suburbanisation started intensively after 2007, and first concerned two villages along the border: Rajka (which is practically neighbour to Bratislava) and Dunakiliti, which is separated from the administrative area of the Slovak capital city by the Danube River. These are still the villages mostly concerned by suburbanisation; by now approximately 20% of the inhabitants of Rajka (2,495 people in 2009) and some 10% of the population of Dunakiliti (534 inhabitants in 2009) are Slovak citizens. After the first migrations, the increased real estate prices led to the appearance of Slovak home owners in the second and third row of the settlements (Bezenye, Feketeerd}o, Dunasziget, Mosonmagyaróvár and other settlements in their proximity). Mosonmagyaróvár is the central town of the region, where the proportion of incoming Slovaks is low, but the largest number of homes owned by Slovak citizens can be found here (63 in 2009). We have to remark that we do not have exact information on the number of in-migrants, because many of them do not register themselves officially in their new place of residence (a similar phenomenon can be observed on the Slovakian side too);

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also, according to the Hungarian laws, a foreign citizen can only be permanent resident in a settlement after 5 years of living there (Somlyódyné Pfeil 2010). Citizens of an EU member state can freely buy real estates in Hungary, but they have a reporting obligation of the real estate acquired (Baj 2010). Taking all these facts into consideration, the number of Slovak citizens who have settled down in Hungary in the foreground of Bratislava is estimated to be between 2000 and 3000. The number of people settling down is expected to increase, as the municipalities, reacting to the demand, have designated new residential areas in the settlements and the constructions there have already started. Also, housing constructions on business ground have started; semi-detached houses consisting of several homes are built. The customers and clients are almost exclusively Slovak citizens. A basic difference is that in Rajka the new settlers are typically located in one single block, while in Dunakiliti, the smaller village, there was a conscious effort to offer construction sites in various locations of the settlement. According to our surveys of 2010,2 approximately 80% of the new settlers are Slovaks, although some half of the respondents speak or understand Hungarian at some level, from native language to simple understanding (Lampl 2010). It is important to know that there was strong assimilation in history between the Hungarian and the Slovak inhabitants in both directions. Several mixed marriages were made, making it problematic in some cases to tell the ethnic identity of a person. Several new conflicts also emerged over the years, partly related to the phenomenon of suburbanisation and partly to its international character. For settlement in the proximity of a big city, people moving there from the city is not a new thing, the process is predictable. The villages in the border region, on the other hand, became neighbours to a big city overnight, and several impacts came as surprise. The first problem was related to the language spoken. It is understandable that the administrative staff, the public service providers on the Hungarian side were not prepared for the reception of the citizens speaking only Slovak. In the beginning, all cases had to be solved individually, the issue of translation was solved by the in-migrants; now some of the authorities have staff speaking Slovak. Theoretically the Slovak children can use the schools, like their Hungarian peers can, but it is not the reality for the time being, in the absence of Slovak language teaching. The Rajka kindergarten, on the other hand, is attended by a few Slovak children. Interestingly enough, German became the language of mediation in the beginning: Rajka used to be a village of German ethnicity, there is still German ethnic minority in the village, the kindergarten has a German speaking group, which was attended by the Slovak children (Reisinger 2010). Now a

2 AGGLONET Slovakian–Hungarian agglomeration around Bratislava. Supported by European Regional Development Found. Hungary–Slovakia Cross-border Co-operation Programme 2007–2013. Read more: http://agglonet.foruminst.sk.

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kindergarten teacher speaking Slovak is employed. It was interesting to compare in our questionnaire of 2010 the replies to the question whether it was possible to live without Slovak and Hungarian language skills on the Hungarian majority part of the Bratislava agglomeration, or in Hungary. On the Slovakian side, 29% of respondents thought it was possible to manage without speaking Slovak, while 76% (!) of the respondents on the Hungarian side believed that it was possible to live without Hungarian language skills. Of course it is not only the consequence of language differences. The larger part of those moving into Hungary cannot and do not even want to integrate into the local society. Thirteen per cent of the respondents have no contact with the Hungarian inhabitants. The change of the place of residence did not mean a change of identity in their case. A broad layer of the new settlers nevertheless feel themselves home, they learn Hungarian and participate in common programmes. The next grade of integration will be when candidates of Slovak citizenship can run for positions in the local municipal governments. For similar reasons, language deficiencies do no mean a problem in the case of public services, either. Apart from the very basis local services, the inhabitants use practically all services in Bratislava. At the level of the local governments, on the other hand, the suburbanisationrelated problems are accumulated. It is hard for the municipal governments to keep up with rapid population increase even within the same country, because the revenues do not increase just as dynamically, but they have a responsibility to provide services. In this case, in addition, the new inhabitants are foreigners who do not pay their taxes in Hungary; accordingly the municipal governments receive less state support or do not receive any support for them at all from the Hungarian redistributing system. This issue is still to be managed; probably a special agreement of the two states will be necessary for the solution of the problem. During our interviews and focus group surveys we did not experience major conflicts within the population, at least not ethnic or citizenship-related prejudices reaching beyond the problems of an average suburban settlement. An important issue was the increase in the prices caused by the demand of the Slovaks, which made it difficult to move for the local inhabitants. At the same time, the closer relationship with the capital city of Slovakia transformed the thinking of the local people as well. In October 2010 a regular urban bus service started to operate between Bratislava and Rajka. Many respondents then said they would use this bus line to drop into the city to look around, to go out etc. It will be the subject of further researches when an incoming Slovak person becomes ‘‘Rajka citizen’’ in such circumstances and when the local Rajka people feel themselves a bit like ‘‘Bratislava citizens’’, as it usually happens in a traditional agglomeration. The special geographical position did not only attract inhabitants to move out. In addition to the suburbanisation of residences, the purchase and construction of weekend houses started too in the pleasant environment (Szörényiné Kukorelli I 2010). Several recreational services are built on the demand of the Bratislava people. In the most recent months the demand for industrial sites has also increased. In Rajka there is a Slovak business already, and people interested in business

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opportunities have appeared elsewhere too. The favourable transport geographical location of the region will probably lead to considerable economic growth.

2 Experiences Cross-border suburbanisation is a relatively new, specific urban development phenomenon, whose appearance requires the joint impact of several factors. Although the EU integration provides certain conditions, several other forces also have to act so that the development processes of a city should cross the state border and a functional urban area should appear between the two states. Existence within a nation state is still simpler and the neighbour areas are still farther away in our mental maps. Bratislava and its region have a geographical location unique at the European level. The history, spatial structure and economic growth of the broader region predestine the capital city of Slovakia to cross the border and create a transborder agglomeration around it. These processes seem to have the potential to overwrite even ethnic tensions. At the same time, we have to draw attention to the fact that these short-term international movements may generate a number of new problems or may exacerbate the challenges usually present in suburbanisation. In order to handle this situation, the neighbour states must make a series of generous and rational agreements which concern a relatively small number of population but can be taken as a model of the EU integration. At the same time, the co-operation of the local level is also necessary. In the Slovakia-Hungary programme indicated above (AGGLONET) we made an attempt to create a cross-border network consisting of municipalities, public service providers and non-governmental organisations that promotes the handling of the difficulties and the utilisation of the opportunities coming from the ‘‘transnational’’ character of the region (Csizmadia 2010). The breaking down of the separating character of the border seems to promote the development of this region that once had a successful development path in history, with Vienna as the centre. The phenomena visible on the Hungarian side suggest that now it is not only suburbanisation that takes place in the Bratislava region but maybe the highest level integration of the border region: birth of a cross-border urban agglomeration.

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Suburbanisation and Suburban Regions in Hungary After 1990 Péter Bajmócy

1 Introduction Suburbanisation is one of the most spectacular regional processes in Hungary in the 1990s and in the first years of the new millennium. There are a lot of new houses, new streets near the largest towns of Hungary in more and more settlements. A lot of those settlements, which are close to the largest towns have migration gain, while the largest towns had migration loss. It is an absolutely new phenomenon, before the 1980s mass urbanisation was the main migration process in Hungary. There are a lot of definitions of the suburbanisation process. By our opinion suburbanisation is a decentralization of the urban population and functions. Decentralization, because the urban population and functions do not concentrate mainly in the cities, but in the nearby area, and de-concentration because a real out-migration of the people and the activities, functions start. This process is decentralization in the urban areas, but concentration if we see the development of a whole region or a country. In harmony with the previous definition, the suburban settlement is a dynamic settlement near the cities and its dynamism derives in considerable amount from the out-migration of people and their activities, functions from the cities to these settlements. In this paper we would like to answer three questions. First we would like to compare the suburbanisation process in different urban areas of Hungary and compare the last twenty years in the context of suburbanisation. Secondly, specify and classify the suburban settlements in Hungary. Thirdly, we would like to P. Bajmócy (&) Department of Economic and Human Geography, University of Szeged, Egyetem u. 2, 6722 Szeged, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_15, Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

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investigate the reasons of the out-migration of the people from the towns to the nearby villages. Urbanisation and inner-migration trends of the last decades are well-known. Mass-urbanisation process was the main migrational process in Hungary before 1990, the population of the towns became larger, that of the villages’ smaller (Enyedi 1988; Beluszky 1999). First we could see this population growing process at the large towns than later at the medium-sized and small towns as well. The size was also really important at the villages: the smaller the village was, the larger migrational loss was. Geographic location was also important, but not as important as the size. Only some villages with special functions had migrational gain (villages with substantial degree of tourism, industrial villages, mining villages, some important agricultural centres). Because of out-migration, the demographic situation of the villages also changed, their population became older, and they had natural decrease from the 1970s, 1980s. After 1990 most of the towns also had natural decrease and the previous migration trends changed dramatically. Urbanisation, which was much slower in the 1980s than before, now stopped. The population of the large and medium-sized towns became smaller and smaller. The most important reason of this decline was suburbanisation. First around Budapest, than around the other large towns we could see villages with increasing population and the reason was migration from the towns. The literature of suburbanisation is quite rich in Hungary, we know most of the reasons as well (Bajmócy 2000; Bajmócy 2002; Bajmócy 2006; Dövényi and Kovács 1999; Hardi 2002; Timár 1999). Normally during suburbanisation we can see population decline in the rural areas. In Hungary we could see it in the 1990s, but the size of this decline was not larger than the decline of the total population. The population change tendencies of the rural areas had been caused by several reasons. In the first half of the 1990s a lot of people moved back from the towns to rural areas because of the living problems, unemployment, economic crisis of the towns. They went first of all to the poorest regions of Hungary (Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén counties). The dynamic zones near the towns sometimes overlapped the borders of suburban zones. Some classic rural areas also became popular, usually which are touristic } areas too (Balaton-Highland, Orség), and some people moved there. So during the 1990s and the first 3–4 years of the 2000s we could see declining large and medium-sized towns, increasing suburban regions and stagnating small towns and rural areas in Hungary. But after 2004 some of these trends seem to change.

2 Database of the Research In this research we can deal with the population change trends of settlements between 1949–2001 by decades, and between 2001 and 2010 by years. We could also see the different elements of population changes (migration balance, in-migration, out-migration, natural increase/decrease, births, deaths) separately.

Suburbanisation and Suburban Regions in Hungary After 1990

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We have got the data from HCSO (Hungarian Central Statistical Office) and we’ve seen 3135 settlements in the whole era. There were some problems because of the methodological differences of data of the census and the other years. The population of some special institutions (schools, prisons) counted at the census, but not at the other years. For example the population of Márianosztra (Pest county) was 866 in 1990, 1610 in 2001 and 969 in 2008. In 2001 the population of a prison also added, but not before and later. Sometimes the data of the year 2001 can be really different from the others, but it gives a small problem as we have seen the trends. This is why we had to see two data for the year 2001, the census and the overcounted1 one. We also used the data of our own questionnaires from the local governments of 345 settlements near the largest Hungarian towns. We chose these settlements by the statistical data (population change, net migration, etc.). At least we also used the database of the questionnaires of the population of these villages. With the students of the University of Szeged we asked almost 1500 families in the villages near almost all of the largest towns of Hungary. We divided the settlements of Hungary by the population change trends into two large groups and eight small, inside them. The two large groups are the towns and the villages. The towns mean not the administrative ones (more than 300 in Hungary), but the functional ones. There are a lot of administrative towns in Hungary without any urban functions. We used the typology of Pál Beluszky at the towns, with some simplifications. We had four groups: Budapest, the large towns (regional and county centres, 19) medium-sized towns (40) and the small towns (small towns and partly urban settlements, 109). There are 169 towns in contrast of Beluszky’s 190, because we put some towns of urban agglomerations and some touristic towns into different types. In the second large group there are the villages. We made also four sub-groups, three dynamic ones and one laggard. There are two suburban groups of villages (and small towns), one around Budapest and one around the other large towns. The suburban zone of Budapest is much larger than the official agglomeration, finally there are 166 settlements in this group, most of them in Pest County. There are 291 suburban settlements around the other large towns, most of them are around Gy}or (36), Pécs (27), Zalaegerszeg (27), Szombathely (26), Kaposvár (25) and Miskolc (23). The third special group of rural settlements are the touristic ones, because the population change trends are also different from the others. There are 116 such settlements, most of them around Lake Balaton (88), but there are some around the Lake Velence, Lake Tisza, in the Danube Bend and also some spas as well. The largest group of villages are the rural settlements (2393 mainly villages, with some administrative towns without any urban functions). In this paper we could examine the population change trends of these groups between 1949 and 2010 by categories and counties.

1

The overcounted population means that to the population of a census the number of births, deaths, migration was added year by year. Source of data HCSO.

210

P. Bajmócy

Table 1 Percentage of the settlement types from the total population of Hungary 1949–2010. Source of data HCSO Buda- Large Medium- Small Suburban Suburban Tourism Rural Allpest town sized town zone of zone of large area area together town Budapest towns 1949 1960 1970 1980 1990 2001 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

17.28 17.88 19.39 19.23 19.44 17.43 17.27 17.09 16.99 16.86 16.85 16.85 16.85 16.95 17.07 17.16

11.05 12.49 15.05 17.38 18.40 18.41 18.30 18.23 18.20 18.14 18.10 18.11 18.15 18.20 18.31 18.36

8.93 9.79 10.45 11.32 11.40 11.23 11.27 11.24 11.19 11.16 11.12 11.09 11.04 10.98 10.95 10.91

10.23 10.10 9.76 10.13 10.35 10.43 10.53 10.52 10.48 10.47 10.42 10.37 10.31 10.23 10.15 10.06

6.13 6.41 7.26 7.81 7.92 9.41 9.31 9.49 9.67 9.90 10.11 10.27 10.48 10.69 10.89 11.07

5.08 4.99 4.77 4.53 4.68 5.28 5.26 5.34 5.41 5.48 5.52 5.56 5.59 5.62 5.63 5.65

2.02 1.99 2.06 2.08 2.17 2.22 2.25 2.27 2.27 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.32 2.33 2.34

39.29 36.35 31.27 27.52 25.64 25.60 25.82 25.83 25.78 25.72 25.58 25.44 25.26 25.01 24.67 24.42

100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

3 Population Change Trends The basic table of this paper is the following (Table 1). We can see how much of the whole population of Hungary lived in the selected categories in the different years between 1949 and 2010.2 The percentage of the urban types became higher and higher before 1990, in the case of Budapest between 1949 and 1970, at the large towns all the time, at the medium sized towns to 1980 and at the small towns between 1970 and 1990. In contrast of it the percentage of rural areas dropped from 39.3 to 25.6%. The suburban zone of Budapest had a small increase, especially between 1960 and 1980, but the suburban regions of the other towns dropped slowly between 1949 and 1980 and grew a bit after 1980. The touristic regions had also small population gain after 1960. So before 1990 we could see increasing towns, stagnation suburban and touristic area and declining rural regions in Hungary. After 1990 these trends changed a lot. The population of Budapest and the large towns started to decline, while the population of suburban areas increased rapidly. We could see small increase of the touristic areas, but the population of the small towns and the rural areas seemed to stagnate. It was a classical case of suburbanisation.

2 1949–2001: Data of census, 2001–2009: Overcounted data (adding the natural increase and the migrational balance year-by-year. The first 2001 row is the data of census, the second is the overcounted population. See the categories in the text.

Suburbanisation and Suburban Regions in Hungary After 1990

211

Table 2 Population change trends by categories, yearly, per thousand, between 1990 and 2009. Source of data HCSO Population change Population change Population change 1990–2001 2001–2005 2005–2009 Budapest Large town Medium-sized town Small town Suburban zone of Budapest Suburban zone of large towns Tourism area Rural area Hungary

-10.8 -1.5 -2.9 -0.9 15.2 9.8 0.4 -1.7 -1.5

-8.5 -5.2 -5.9 -5.1 18.8 9.7 2.2 -4.9 -2.6

1.3 0.9 -5.7 -8.3 17.2 3.1 1.4 -10.7 -1.9

After 2004 new trends started, which are not well known yet. (Bajmócy and Dudás 2009). The most important changes are the following: the population loss of Budapest and the large towns stopped and their population started to increase. Anyway we can see a continuous increase in the agglomeration of Budapest. In the suburban areas of the other towns first we could see just smaller and smaller increase and finally in 2009 the population increase of these regions almost stopped. We can see really huge decrease of population in the rural areas nowadays. This decline of the rural areas is as large, as their loss in the 1960s and 1970s during the era of mass-urbanisation. The population change trends are similar to the percentage changes of the categories from the total population of Hungary (Tables 1, 2). The population trends of Budapest and the large towns became much better between 2005 and 2009 comparing the years of 2001–2005. On the other hand the situation at the small towns and rural areas became much worse. In the suburban areas of Budapest we can see the same—growing—trends between 2005 and 2009 than 2001–2005, but the situation at the other suburban regions became worse, their population increase almost stopped. If we divide the population change into its two main components, we will get closer to the solution. The main reason of the change of the previous population change trends is the change of the migration trends. If we take a look at the natural increase, we can see a small increase at Budapest and a small decline at the rural areas, but the changes in the migration trends are larger at these two types as well. The migration balance of Budapest and the large towns became more positive after 2005. On the other hand we can see a decline of migration trends at the small towns, suburban areas of large towns (except Budapest) and rural areas. At the rural areas and small towns we can see the increase of out-migration. The situation is the same at the suburban areas of the large towns as well. The situation at Budapest and the large towns is opposite to the previous groups of settlements. Here we can see an increase of in-migration rate (Tables 3, 4).

212

P. Bajmócy

Table 3 The trends of the elements of population change by categories, yearly between 2001 and 2007. Source of data HCSO Natural Natural Migration Migration Population Population increase increase balance balance change change 2001–2004 2004–2007 2001–2004 2004–2007 2001–2004 2004–2007 Budapest Large town Medium-sized town Small town Suburban zone of Budapest Suburban zone of large towns Tourism area Rural area Hungary

-5.4 -2.6 -3.5

-4.2 -2.2 -3.5

-6.8 -4.1 -3.2

-2.8 -0.5 -2.5

-12.2 -6.7 -6.7

-7.0 -2.6 -6.0

-3.5 -0.9

-3.7 -0.6

-1.7 17.5

-4.2 15.3

-5.2 16.6

-7.9 14.7

-2.5

-2.4

12.0

6.9

9.5

4.5

-4.6 -4.8 -3.7

-4.5 -5.4 -3.6

5.7 0.0 0.0

4.3 -3.1 0.0

1.1 -4.8 -3.7

-0.1 -8.5 -3.6

Table 4 The trends of the elements of migration rate by categories, yearly, in per thousand, between 2001 and 2007. Source of data HCSO InInOutOutMigration Migration migration migration migration migration balance balance rate 2001– rate 2004– rate 2001– rate 2004– 2001–2004 2004–2007 2004 2007 2004 2007 Budapest Large town Mediumsized town Small town Suburban zone of Budapest Suburban zone of large towns Tourism area Rural area Hungary

28.4 37.2 35.1

33.5 41.5 38.5

35.2 41.3 38.3

36.3 41.9 41.0

-6.8 -4.1 -3.2

-2.8 -0.5 -2.5

37.6 61.8

39.0 62.2

39.3 44.3

43.1 47.0

-1.7 17.5

-4.2 15.3

55.7

55.2

43.7

48.4

12.0

6.9

63.6 43.8 41.2

65.5 46.7 44.3

57.9 43.7 41.2

61.2 49.8 44.3

5.7 0.0 0.0

4.3 -3.1 0.0

We can summarise the previous results now. The population decline of Budapest stopped because of the larger amount of in-migration and partly because of the better position of natural increase. The population loss of the large towns also stopped, mainly because of the increase of in-migration. The population of the

Suburbanisation and Suburban Regions in Hungary After 1990

213

suburban zone of Budapest still increases rapidly. However, the population increase of the other suburban areas almost stopped, mainly because of the increase of out-migration, partly because of decrease of in-migration. Finally, the rural areas (small towns and villages) have now a very serious population loss, mainly because of the larger amount of out-migration. These processes are general in Hungary. It is not typical around only some towns or around some regions, but in almost every region of Hungary. Most of the large towns have better population change trends nowadays than some years before (Table 5). There are only three counties (Somogy, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok and Zala) where the county-seat had larger population decline between 2004 and 2007 than between 2001 and 2004. The situation is similar at the suburban areas of the large towns. In all these suburban regions (except one) the population change situation is worse now than some years ago. This decline is also general in the rural areas (18 counties from 19) and at the small towns (16 from 19). Only at the medium-sized towns the situation is more diverse, but there are a little bit more mending than decaying towns. But there are no large, homogenous regions with mending or decaying settlements if we see the population change trends between 2004 and 2007 and 2001–2004. There are some peripheral regions with decaying trends (SoutheastHungary, Zemplén Hills, Lake-Tisza region, Southwest-Hungary). Mending regions are in Northwest-Hungary near Gy} or and Sopron and a small north-eastern part of the agglomeration of Budapest near Vác and Veresegyház. At 15 among the 20 large towns of Hungary we can see better population change trends between 2004 and 2008, than between 2001 and 2004 (Table 6). In 14 cases this mending is significant and among the 14 towns there are the ten largest towns of Hungary. In all cases (except one, Szekszárd) one of the main reasons of these mending population change trends is the increasing in-migration and in the half of cases the decrease of out-migration and the mending birth-rates. The mending of the death rate is significant, but not the most important at only Szeged and Szombathely. So we can emphasize that the most important reason of the mending population trends of the large Hungarian towns is the increasing in-migration. For better understanding we made some interviews with the mayors of some settlements. We made these interviews in some suburban villages near large towns, where the population change trends became worse and in some rural villages with also decaying population change trends. In the first group we could see population growth in the last decade, but nowadays stagnating population, in the second stagnating in the last decade and now undergoing steep decline. In the suburban villages we can see an increase of out-migration and sometimes decline in in-migration. The local people can not see any dramatic changes in the migration trends of the suburban villages and not in the rural areas either. Thus, if there is some kind of turnaround, local people cannot feel it. None of the mayors of the suburban villages said that there is a strong out-migration from these village to anywhere. They also do not feel those processes which occur sometimes near Budapest that some people because of the disadvantages of suburban regions

Budapest Baranya BácsKiskun Békés Borsod-AZ. Csongrád Fejér Gy} or-M-S. Hajdú-B. Heves KomáromEszt. Nógrád Pest Somogy SzabolcsSz.-B. Jász-N-Sz. Tolna Vas Veszprém Zala Hungary

9.2

9.2

-0.1 -1.5 8.5 -2.5 -2.5 3.2

4.0 2.4

11.1 9.4 1.8 4.3 9.6 0.2

1.2

-0.4 1.8 3.7 6.3 -0.2 4.5

0.5 6.9 1.2

0.5 -1.9

3.7

3.7 -2.0

7.1 4.3

-0.8 2.1

-0.5 2.2

5.1 6.8

-2.8 -0.7 -1.1 -6.1 -2.7 -1.8

-2.3 1.0 -1.8 -2.2

-4.0 -0.9 -1.6 -3.7 9.6 2.6

-1.3 -4.3

2.0 -1.3

0.1

3.9 0.3

-0.3

-5.1

-4.7 -2.2 -5.6 -15.1 0.0 -4.7

-6.1 -3.3

-13.1

-7.5 -6.8 -3.4 -4.3 -4.4 -5.4

-6.6 -2.6

-3.8 -3.7

2.0 -1.2 3.9 1.3

4.0

1.5 0.7

-9.0 6.5

10.2

-4.6

-3.2 -5.3 -0.7 -4.0 -2.2 -3.1

-4.7 -6.1 -2.4 -1.0

-3.4 -3.3 0.1 -3.4 -3.1 -5.0

-6.4 -4.5

-1.5 -2.1

-1.7 -2.7 0.2 -1.3 0.8 1.5

-2.4 0.4 -1.5 -0.3

2.5 0.4 0.8 -0.5 -0.1 -0.4

-1.3 -1.8

9.2 1.6 0.7

Table 5 Changes of population trends between 2004 and 2007 and 2001–2004 by categories and counties in per thousand. Source of data HCSO. Significantly mending types in bold, significantly decaying types in italics Counties Buda- Large Medium-sized Small Sub-urban zone of Sub-urban zone of large Village with Tourism Allpest town town town Buda-pest towns tourism area together

214 P. Bajmócy

b

a

1763533 165754 104921 58270 62087 67663 107686 208016 161179 185578 130101 82476 117516 36059 72776 55059 62366 77646 45673 68255

1705309 162586 101778 56807 61470 65710 107665 204722 157659 177809 128571 80530 116540 35008 71626 56257 62148 76604 43681 68077

1702297 167039 101755 56457 62286 64852 110316 205084 156664 171096 128808 79300 116874 34004 70388 57895 61717 75008 40970 67464

-11.0 -6.4 -10.0 -8.4 -3.3 -9.6 -0.1 -5.3 -7.3 -14.0 -3.9 -7.9 -2.8 -9.7 -5.3 7.3 -1.2 -4.5 -14.5 -0.9

The most important reason is the progression of this element An important reason is the progression of this element

Budapest Szeged Székesfehérvár Eger Veszprém Békéscsaba Kecskemét Debrecen Pécs Miskolc Gy} or Szombathely Nyíregyháza Szekszárd Tatabánya Sopron Zalaegerszeg Szolnok Salgótarján Kaposvár

-0.4 6.8 -0.1 -1.5 3.3 -3.3 6.2 0.4 -1.6 -9.4 0.5 -3.8 0.7 -7.2 -4.3 7.3 -1.7 -5.2 -15.5 -2.3

10.6 13.2 9.9 6.8 6.6 6.4 6.2 5.7 5.7 4.5 4.4 4.0 3.5 2.5 0.9 0.0 -0.6 -0.7 -1.0 -1.4 b

b

b

a

b

a

b

b

a

a

a

b

a

b

b

a

a

a a

a

a

a

b

a

b

b

a

Table 6 Population change of the large towns between 2001–2004 and 2004–2008, and the main reasons of the changes. Source of data HCSO Popu-lation Popu-lation Popu-lation Pop’n change Pop’n change Difference Birth Death InOut2001 2004 2008 2001–2004 2004–2008 migration migration

Suburbanisation and Suburban Regions in Hungary After 1990 215

216

P. Bajmócy

Fig. 1 Types of Hungarian settlement by aspects of suburbanisation. Source own calculation

(traffic jams, too many people, loss of natural beauty, lack of services) tend to move back to the towns. In some suburban villages (around Veszprém and Miskolc) there is some kind of moving in—moving out migration: if the possibilities are better in the towns, some, mainly poor people move there and when the possibilities are better in a suburban village go back. There is a small out migration from these suburban villages to the most developed regions of Hungary (Budapest, Székesfehérvár, etc.). On the other hand the mayors said that less people moved to these suburban villages, than before. The main reason is the lack of building plots for new houses. But the in-migration is continuous to these suburban villages both from the nearby town and both from the rural areas—said the mayors. In the rural areas the mayors said that they feel the larger out-migration from these villages. The main reasons are the lack of working places, the better quality of education elsewhere and also the lack of building plots. Most of the people had moved to the local urban centres (small towns, county seats), and also to Budapest and Western-Hungary.

4 Types of Suburban Settlements We made five types of settlements by the statistical and local governmental data (Fig. 1). Those became certain suburban settlements, where both the statistical data and the local government said that it is a suburban village. There are 295

Suburbanisation and Suburban Regions in Hungary After 1990

217

‘‘certain suburban’’ villages around 42 towns of Hungary. Most of these settlements are near Budapest (128), Gy} or (21), Pécs and Szombathely (16-16), Miskolc (15), Székesfehérvár (13), Veszprém (11) and Szeged (9). 9% of the Hungarian settlements belong to this group. There were 327 uncertain/weak suburban settlements where only one of my two main information-sources (statistics or local-government) said that the settlement suburban or the migration trends were weak. These settlements are near the largest towns, but a little bit further than the previous group, but some of them are near some middle-sized towns, where there are no certain suburban settlements (near Salgótarján, Szolnok, Békéscsaba, Hódmez}ovásárhely). The other settlements were neither the statistics nor the local governments said that they are suburban settlements constitute the large group of rural (non-suburban) settlements. 79% of all the settlements belong to this group, some of them with in-migration or increasing population, but not because of suburbanisation. We divided the centres of the suburbanisation into two groups. The first group is the group of certain suburban centres where there are at least two certain suburban villages near the town. There are 25 certain suburban centres, all the municipalities except Salgótarján, Szekszárd, Szolnok, Békéscsaba and Hódmez}ovásárhely, but also Mosonmagyaróvár, Tata, Keszthely, Siófok and Tiszaújváros. The number of uncertain/weak centres is 17 (with only one certain or some uncertain suburban settlements nearby), some of these centres are near another larger town where the boundaries of the suburban zones are not clear. Most of them are at the border of the agglomeration of Budapest (Jászberény, Esztergom), and at the classic urban zones (Szeged-Hódmez} ovásárhely, Miskolc-Szerencs-Kazincbarcika). The 1990s and the first years of third millennium were the years of mass suburbanisation in Hungary around Budapest and the other large towns as well (Table 7). It was the faster around Budapest and the inner zone of suburban areas of other large towns. The yearly population change of suburban zones was the largest between 2001–2005, but after it became much slower. We can see sharp decline at the large towns of rural Hungary and especially at the outer ring of suburban zones with uncertain/weak suburban settlements. At the outer zone we can see population decline between 2005 and 2009 both around Budapest and the other large towns. On the other hand the speed of suburbanisation in the inner zone of Budapest is as large now as it was before. If we see the total growth of population of all the suburban zones, in the 1990s the inner zone of Budapest lonely got the 60% of the total growth and the 90% between 1990 and 2005. In contrast of it the suburban zones of the other towns had a yearly population growth of 6.000 between 1990 and 2001 and 2001–2005 and 1.000 between 2005 and 2009.

691219 284121 275459 448876

128

166

68

260

471150

290455

331026

810271

1902902 1100726 802176 1141297 761605

476303

294302

351723

878694

2001022 1172996 828026 1230417 770605

469695

294092

365179

949436

2078402 1243528 834874 1314615 763787

3.9

5.7

15.4

16.7

11.3 13.6 8.4 16.3 4.6

2.7

3.3

15.6

21.1

12.9 16.4 8.1 19.5 3.0

1699675 966678 732997 975340 724335

All suburban area Suburban area of Budapest Suburban area of other towns Certain suburban settlements Uncertain/weak suburban settlements Certain settlements around Budapest Certain settlements around other towns Uncertain/weak settlements around Budapest Uncertain/weak settlements around other towns

622 196 426 294 328

HCSO Pop’n change 2001–2005 (per year)

Table 7 Population change of settlement types of suburbanisation in Hungary between 1990 and 2009. Source of data Number of Population Population Population Population Pop’n change settle-ments 1990 2001 2005 2009 1990–2001 (per year)

-3.5

-0.2

9.6

20.1

9.7 15.0 2.1 17.1 -2.2

Pop’n change 2005–2009 (per year)

218 P. Bajmócy

Suburbanisation and Suburban Regions in Hungary After 1990

219

5 Suburbanisation by the Aspect of Local Governments Almost half of the settlements subsidise in-migration among those ones where we sent questionnaires, but on the Western part of the country a bit more. The most common form of subsidising is the cheap building plots supplied with public utilities or supporting house-building. Only half a dozen local governments prevent in-migration, all of them are in very nice environment and with large populations of national minority (Germans, Slovakians, Croats). The largest group of the migrants were the families with little children (according the data of the local governments), but at the most developed Middleand Western-Transdanubian Regions the intellectuals were the largest group. The entrepreneurs were also an important group, mainly in West-Hungary, while the pensioners in Southwestern- and Eastern-Hungary. In Western-Hungary the rate of the richer out-migrants (the rich, intellectuals, entrepreneurs) is much larger than the poorer (the poor, gypsies, pensioners), while in Eastern- and SouthHungary the poorer out-migrants are in majority. So in this case the urbanisation process of Eastern-Hungary in the 1990s is similar to Eastern-Europe, and in Western-Hungary is similar to Western-Europe. There is not just residential suburbanisation around the large cities of Hungary, but industrial, commercial and recreational as well. But the gap between the agglomeration of Budapest and the other towns is larger in these processes than residential suburbanisation. There are only some discos, petrol stations, restaurants, some small factories in the villages near the larger Hungarian towns. Around Budapest there are dozens of new factories, logistic and shopping centres in the suburban zone. In contrast, recreational suburbanisation is quite common in the provincial part of Hungary as well. Most of those people who moved out from the towns to the nearest village travel to the town to work or for some services, thus the connections between the towns and the suburban settlements are very strong.

6 Motivations of the Residential Suburbanisation In our opinion, the main (but not the only) reason for out-migration from towns to suburban villages is the need of the consumers, what they want, where they want to live. We asked almost 1500 households in 24 different urban areas of Hungary with the help of geography students of the University of Szeged. The questionnaires aimed at those households which migrated out from the towns to the nearby villages in the last decade. We asked questions about the date of the migration, the living facilities in the previous and the actual home, the reasons of migration and the reasons of settlement choice. We chose the households with random sampling based on data from the local governments. Finally we had 1226 useable questionnaires from the out-migrant families. Most of the questionnaires are from nearby villages from 24 of the largest Hungarian towns, but some of them are from

220

P. Bajmócy

settlements in the administrative area of the towns, because of the speciality of Hungarian urbanisation (suburbanisation inside the administrative area of the towns). Most of the out-migrants are with secondary-school certificate or diploma. Thus, it is true even in the provincial part of Hungary that most of the out-migrants are from the higher groups of the society or at least they have higher school degree. On the other hand, most of the out-migrants came from blocks of flats and now living in a family-house with garden, so the living facilities of these families changed drastically with the migration. Why do people move out from the large towns to the villages (and small towns) near the towns? The main reasons are economical. The price of the building plots is very expensive in the towns and much cheaper in the villages. It is very important that people move out from the towns to the villages but the workingplaces are still in the towns, mainly in the centres of the towns. The transport facilities are in key position. The other forces are in connection with the circumstances of life and the environment. The time of the suburbanisation process is the time of the‘‘rural renaissance’’ as well. We can enumerate the advantages of the villages and the disadvantages of the towns at great length. But the ‘‘rural renaissance’’ is not such an important reason in Hungary as in Western-Europe. Another main reason was that people want private houses (probably with garden) and they can buy or build it easier in the suburban villages, than in the towns. In the towns there is limited space for new building plots, especially for large ones, so to build a new house is easier in the villages than in the large towns. Out-migrant people said that the main difference is at the environmental position of the villages and the towns, but the service facilities were much better in the towns. The main difference is not in respect of the different towns, but in respect of the towns in contrast of the villages.

7 Conclusions If we compare the present trends with the trends of previous decades we can see the followings: The population loss of large Hungarian towns between 1990 and 2004 was the largest we ever have seen. We have witnessed an increasing degree of population loss in medium-sized and small towns since 1990. The large population growth of the agglomeration of Budapest is not unparalleled. We could see such increase between 1880–1941 and 1949–1980, but the growth rate between 2001 and 2005 was the largest. In the suburban areas around other large towns we can see large population growth between 1990 and 2004, but nowadays we can see almost stagnation. In the rural areas after the large decline of population during socialism we could see stagnating population between 1990 and 2005 and a steep decline again after 2005. The speed of the decline is as large nowadays as it was in the 1960s, but nowadays the natural decrease is also important beside outmigration.

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221

In the last years we can see large out-migration from rural areas to large towns. The population of large towns became larger and larger, so we can see a new urbanisation process in Hungary. For the first sight we can define this process as re-urbanisation. If we see the re-urbanisation process defined by Van den Berg we can see growth in the large towns and also in the rural areas and a steep decline in the suburban areas (Van den Berg et al. 1982). In Hungary the situation is different. We can see suburbanisation around Budapest, and something which is somewhere between urbanisation and suburbanisation around the large towns of Hungary. It would be interesting to see what will happen later. Will the processes return to urbanisation or go ahead towards suburbanisation or somewhere else? It can be also interesting to compare these processes with the situation of other Central and Eastern European countries.

References Bajmócy P (2000) A ‘‘vidéki’’ szuburbanizáció Magyarországon, Pécs példáján. In: Tér és Társadalom 2000/2-3, MTA RKK Gy} or, pp 323–330 Bajmócy P (2002) Szuburbanizációt kiváltó okok a vidéki Magyarországon. In: AbonyinéBecsei-Kovács Cs (eds): A magyar társadalomföldrajzi kutatás gondolatvilága. Ypszilon Kiadó, Szeged, pp 247–255 Bajmócy P (2006) A hazai szuburbanizációs folyamatok trendjei 2000 után. In: Csapó TamásKocsis Zsolt (szerk.): Agglomerációk és szuburbaniszálódás Magyarországon. Savaria University Press, Szombathely, pp 112–127 Bajmócy P, Dudás R (2009) Újraurbanizáció szuburbanizáció mellett. Új trendek Magyarország népességének belföldi migrációjában. In: Csapó T, Kocsis Zs (eds) A közép- és nagyvárosok településföldrajza. Savaria University Press, Szombathely, pp 208–218 Beluszky P (1999) Magyarország településföldrajza. Általános rész. Dialóg-Campus Kiadó, Budapest-Pécs, p 584 Dövényi Z, Kovács Z (1999) A szuburbanizáció térbeni-társadalmi jellemz}oi Budapest környékén. In: Földrajzi Értesít} o 1–2, pp 33–58 Enyedi Gy (1988) A városnövekedés szakaszai: Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest. p 116 Hardi T (2002) Szuburbanizációs jelenségek Gy} or környékén. In: Tér és Társadalom 2002/3, pp 57–83 Timár J (1999) Elméleti kérdések a szuburbanizációról. In: Földrajzi Értesít}o 1–2, pp 7–31 Van den Berg L. et al. (1982): Urban Europe: A Study of Growth and Decline, Oxford, Pergamon, p 162

Urbanisation Development Trends of Cities in the North-Eastern Part of the Carpathian Basin Sándor Kókai

1 Introduction The present paper outlines some characteristics, factors and consequences of urbanisation in the twentieth century considering the north-eastern part of the Carpathian Basin were the formerly united process of urbanisation was shaped by different social-economic tendencies of four countries in the past ninety years. The changing role of borders set new situations and triggered new urbanisation processes in this region as well. My main target was to keep the number of studied cities relatively low because high number of investigated cities would make setting my following argument difficult and the city groups would be highly heterogeneous. The main criterion was that the population of the cities has to reach 100,000 people (only Munkács and Eperjes were exceptions). The inclusion of Munkács and Eperjes in the study is justified by their certain regional role both in the past and today and by the spatial structural centre role despite their smaller number of inhabitants. Considering the above, the following ten cities were included in the study: Eperjes (Prešov), Kassa (Kosicˇe), Ungvár (Uzhgorod), Munkács (Mukachevo), Miskolc, Nyíregyháza, Debrecen, Nagyvárad (Oradea), Szatmárnémeti (Satu Mare), Nagybánya (Baia Mare). Based on the census databases I tried to draw conclusions regarding the differences of urbanisation—associated with urban population growth—by countries. An assessment of twentieth century characteristics, their comparative analysis and united spatial view are still missing, as the available demographic, urbanisation and local historical analyses are generally based on the data of one certain census discussing the processes of only one or two decades and separating by countries (e.g. Hardi et al. 2009; Benedek 2006 etc.).

S. Kókai (&) College of Nyíregyháza, Sósóti Street 31/B, 4400 Nyíregyháza, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_16,  Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

223

224

S. Kókai

Table 1 Population of the ten examined cities from 1890 to 2006 Town

1890

1910

Actual increase (%)

1920/1921

1941

Actual increase (%)

Kassa Eperjes Miskolc* Nyíregyháza Debrecen Ungvár Munkács Nagyvárad Nagybánya Szatmárnémeti

32165 11330 42288 27179 58952 13344 11142 40750 9842 21218

44211 16323 51459 38198 92729 16919 17275 64169 12877 34892

37.5 44.1 21.7 40.5 57.3 26.8 55.0 57.5 30.8 64.4

52900 21775 61322 44850 97930 35628 34267 68081 12780 37376

66981 24721 77362 61439 119608 38659 36797 92942 21399 52011

26.6 13.5 26.2 37.0 22.1 8.5 7.4 36.5 67.4 39.2

Town

1950/1956

1970

1990/1991

Actual increase (%)

2001

2006

Actual increase (%)

Kassa Eperjes Miskolc* Nyíregyháza Debrecen Ungvár Munkács Nagyvárad Nagybánya Szatmárnémeti

60700 28000 100841 56334 110963 n/a n/a 82282 20959 46519

149555 51917 169292 81949 162313 n/a n/a 122534 62658 68246

235160 87765 196464 114152 212235 117941 84300 222741 148363 130584

57.2 69.0 16.1 39.3 30.8 – – 81.8 136.8 91.3

236093 92786 179507 118781 198905 115600 81600 206527 136254 113697

234969 91650 178950 117832 204124 117600 n/a n/a n/a n/a

-0.5 -1.2 -0.3 -0.8 2.6 1.7 – – – –

Source Census volumes

In the studied region four well-definable phases of urbanisation can be determined in the twentieth century.

2 Urbanisation in the Early Twentieth Century Analyses focused on the number of inhabitants as the most detectable variant. Other aspects of urban population growth (migration, ethnic structure, etc.) were discussed only occasionally despite the facts that number of inhabitants alone cannot show the complexity of urbanisation in the case of these cities (Kovács 1990). Urbanisation in Hungary in the dualism period is well known to have resulted in the explosive increase of city populations (Beluszky 1990; Tóth 1978, 2010). Demographic data of the ten studied cities between 1870 and 1910 (Table 1) show that the most dynamic increase occurred in Miskolc and Nagyvárad. Urbanisation and the changes in urbanisation phases occur as the result of migration, and the two phenomena cannot be separated (Enyedi 1988; Dányi 2000). Census data from 1910 include all important demographic-social

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225

Table 2 Ratio of mobile and immobile population in the examined cities Town Number of Immobile (%) Mobil (%) inhabitants

Quasi-immobile (%)

Kassa Eperjes Miskolc Nyíregyháza Debrecen Ungvár Munkács Nagyvárad Nagybánya Szatmárnémeti

17.4 20.8 24.0 13.8 18.0 20.3 21.8 29.8 25.3 29.3

44211 16323 51459 38198 92729 16919 17275 64169 12877 34892

36.0 42.6 41.1 67.3 51.5 46.6 54.3 36.7 57.3 45.7

46.6 36.6 34.6 18.9 30.5 33.1 23.9 33.5 17.4 25.0

Source Dányi

characteristics of migration, and a general image of population spatial restructuring can be gained. The number and ratio of those born in the corporate towns or those born in the related county and those having immigrated from other counties were ordered according to cities. The ratio of locally born people (immobile) and that of the non-migrating population varied between extreme values in 1910 (Table 2). Despite industrial development and urbanisation, almost every second inhabitant was born locally. The effects of moving were different in the cities of the region, which can be explained with the fact that the higher the ratio of those employed in industry, the smaller is the ratio of locally born inhabitants, i.e. the ratio of the immobile population. Considering immigrants two groups can be identified (Dányi 1998, 2000): immigrants from other county and immigrants from the local county (quasi-immobile). Mobility hierarchy reflects clearly the mobility ‘‘rank’’ of the cities, thus the cities topping the list can be qualified as most mobile. The ratio of immobile population is small and the number of mobile people exceeds that of the quasimobile people. A relatively significant ratio of the total population born in the municipal cities stayed in their birthplace. Although their ratio varied—except for Debrecen—36 and 45.7% due to significant immigration. The ratio of immobile population varied between 42.6 and 67.2% in the corporate towns and it was larger than 50% primarily in the market towns of the Great Hungarian Plain (Tóth 1978). The ratio of mobile population—moving from other counties—is greatest in the northern cities (e.g. Kassa: 46.6%, Eperjes: 36.6%). It cannot be ignored that the preference of immigrants is influenced not only by economic and social factors but by the geographical location of the studied cities as well (Frisnyák 1998). In the period of dualism, representatives of Hungarian liberal nationalism did not trust the force of educational ‘Hungarianisation’ but they rather believed in the exemplary role of rapidly ‘Hungarianising’ cities. However, drastic change in the ethnic conditions did not occur.

226

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Table 3 Ethnic diversity of the ten examined cities in 1910 Town 1910 Kassa Eperjes Miskolc Nyíregyháza Debrecen Ungvár Munkács Nagyvárad Nagybánya Szatmárnémeti

Hun.

Slov.

Rom.

Ruth.

Ger.

Other

33350 7976 49099 37463 91305 13590 12686 58421 9992 33094

6547 6494 749 405 82 1219 42 279 16 27

91 170 97 10 286 23 18 3604 2677 986

210 47 156 34 21 641 1394 25 2 33

3180 1404 948 191 695 1151 3078 1416 175 629

824 232 410 95 340 295 57 424 15 123

3 Between the Two World Wars Changes in the legal state of the country following the Trianon treaty resulted in radical restructuring in the succession states as well. Political stress among the new states affected the development of regional networks and the condition of the cities as well. Forcing the development, withdrawing investment and restructuring administrative networks of certain cities and their hinterland were decided on ethnic, strategic, national state formation and economic bases. Public administration was always an important factor regarding the town network of the Carpathian Basin (Hardi et al. 2009). Cities in Hungary near the Trianon borders (so-called ‘counter-poles’) wished to fill the empty space left by the detachment of the seven regional centres in planning and expecting accentuated developments. Regional centres of historical Hungary—like Kassa, Ungvár and partly Nagyvárad—received the role of majority national centres of the regions given to the new states. Between the two World Wars the radical transformation of these regional centres into Slovakian and Romanian national centres was started with deliberate resettling and national restructuring. The frequent alteration of public administration borders—always in the interest of the majority—resulted in serious assimilation losses. Cities—as meeting places of ethnic groups and national communities contacting with each other at different levels—were used deliberately for spreading the language and nationality of the power (Table 3, 4, 5). Considering the places of ethnic processes in the twentieth century, cities had accentuated role in this region as well (Kocsis 2000). With the help of deliberate public administration and urban development policy, the neighbours of Hungary aimed to transform the ethnic conditions of the towns in areas inhabited by Hungarians from the very start by sometimes radical, elsewhere gradual resettling, assimilation, industrialisation, etc. actions. This aim was served by the ‘‘cultural’’ zone policy of Romania between the two World Wars handing major incentives to Romanian in-settlers. Czechoslovakia aimed to reduce the ratio of foreign ethnic groups in Kassa below the 20% limit of language usage

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227

Table 4 Ethnic diversity of the ten examined cities in 1941 Town 1941 Kassa Eperjes Miskolc Nyíregyháza Debrecen Ungvár Munkács Nagyvárad Nagybánya Szatmárnémeti

Hun.

Slov.

Rom.

Ruth.

Ger.

Other

55920 7520 76367 58473 125075 27397 20211 85466 17011 47919

7345 14215 141 124 88 1113 165 122 16 52

213 150 115 147 168 116 83 4873 3667 2387

235 52 – – – 4072 4256 57 14 31

1676 855 244 112 280 268 882 863 119 264

1592 1013 495 300 322 2285 6005 1561 582 1358

Table 5 Ethnic diversity of the ten examined cities in 2001–2002 Town 2001–2002 Kassa Eperjes Miskolc Nyíregyháza Debrecen Ungvár Munkács Nagyvárad Nagybánya Szatmárnémeti

Hun.

Slov.

Rom.

Ruth.

Ger.

Other

8940 208 95.7 114314 99.6 8000 7000 56830 19683 47086

210340 86910 0.3 134 – 2500 – 477 3 7

– – – 62 0.1 – – 145295 115159 65426

– 1111 – 32 – 89900 63000 76 253 154

398 42 0.3 252 0.1 – 1600 566 249 618

16413 5626 3.7 – 0.1 12800 8700 2723 1905 848

Source Census volumes

defined in the language act. Major flat blocks were built to locate the new Czechoslovakian bureaucracy. The most important specifics of Eastern-Central European urbanisation processes considering ethnic changes are the advancement of majority nations and the one-way character of assimilation processes resulting in the radical change of ethnic conditions. Undoubtedly, he looser of this process is the Hungarian population of cities outside the Hungarian borders. City development in the national states following the regime change in 1918–1920 focused primarily on its own national regional sub-centres, besides developing the capitals. However, between the two World Wars the inherited cityscape was changed only slightly, as expansive industrial development was not present in city development policy at that time. Nevertheless Kassa, Ungvár, Nagyvárad were changed significantly due to building and road constructions in and near the city centres, contributing also to the transformation of the ethnic structure in the cities.

228

S. Kókai

4 From World War II to the Regime Change In this time period, the process of Central-Eastern European urbanisation was defined fundamentally by an artificially intensified, frequently forced urbanisation policy. The subsequent phases of socialist urbanisation presented the most intense and radical changes. First, the strongly deformed urbanisation process of communist type voluntarist city development took place resulting in the radical change of the town network of the entire Carpathian Basin (Tóth 2010). The opinions of scientists differs significantly regarding whether Eastern-Central European urbanisation and the transformation of the settlement network can be fit into the universal model of urbanisation cycles or it can be regarded as developing along a specific way (Tóth 1988; Enyedi 1988; Beluszky 2005). Heavy industrial establishments became part of small and large city environments: the population of industrial towns largely originated from rural environment and expanded by people belonging to the majority nation and speaking only their single language. Following World War II, apart from new refugees leaving their new country, ‘re-Slovakisation’, exchange of inhabitants and ‘‘malenkij robot’’ resulted in several hundred thousand people being lost from the Hungarian minority population living in cities. At this time the rapid erosion of the Hungarian style of the cities along the Slovakian, Trans-Carpathian and Romanian border was started. As a result, the image, ethnic-spatial structure of the cities, the traditional language of communication, the language of offices and public life changed radically. Assimilation processes associated with the society transforming efforts of the party states contributed significantly to the ethnic homogenisation of the formerly multinationality regions and city structures and to the continuous reduction of all ethnic minorities. This artificially intensified urbanisation took place in unique ways in the studied cities, as they became periphery borderside centres. The major waves of people moving into the cities, the way it happened in Western and Central Slovakia and in southern Transylvania (Varga 2000), did not occur in the studied region. Artificially enlarged so called ‘‘socialist industrial cities’’ were not created—certain parts of Miskolc, Nagybánya and Kassa are something similar—i.e. spontaneous assimilation effects dominated. These cities in Transcarpathia, Transylvania and upper-northern Hungary had no significant population moving in from areas outside the Carpathian Basin. The ratio of people moving into the cities did not increase drastically among inhabitants in the time period between 1950 and 1959 or later, contrary to South-Transylvania or Western Slovakia where people moving into the cities multiplied their populations by 3–4 times. Between 1950 and 1970 only the population of Kassa and Nagyvárad were doubled. Of course, the movement of people from villages into towns was active in this region as well, and this resulted in the alteration of the city structures regarding both structure and ethnicity, yet this did not become the primary source of social and economic tension. The young generation of village population wishing to work in the industry was resettled in defined places. Among the dynamically developing nations of the region Slovakians, Ukrainians,

Urbanisation Development Trends of Cities

229

Romanians—thanks to their natural increase in population and the inner movements in the regions of Hungarian majority—could establish major centres. In 4 out of the studied cities, the number of population increased by more than 500% between 1910 and 1991 in: Nagybánya (1152%), Ungvár (697%), Eperjes (538%), Kassa (532%). In the case of Miskolc (382%), Szatmárnémeti (374%), Nagyvárad (347%) and Nyíregyháza (299%), the increase rate was more than three times while at the same time the population of Debrecen (229%) only doubled. Despite all these, the urbanisation process was, no doubt a spectacular period in the 1960s and 1970s regarding both voluntarist development policy and from national points of view. Changes are worth studied in a longer time-scale, based on the data of which we can state that in the time period between the two World Wars (1920–1941) inhabitants of the ten cities increased by only one hundred thousand people (Table 1), approaching the number of 400,000 (389.052) people. In contrast, the population of these cities increased by one million people between 1950 and 1990, approaching 1.5 million (1.549.705). Changing in ethnic conditions is indicated by the fact (Table 3) that the ratio of the power nations exceeded 80% in all of the studied cities—except for Szatmárnémeti –, thus the studied cities practically became ethnically homogeneous. Well practised draining and assimilating effects are observed during the twentieth century: one part of the Hungarian type cities suitable for industrialisation were regarded as colonisation destinations, and efforts were made to change the ethnic structure of the cities by deliberate resettling periods. Large city environments presented increasing assimilation pressure. The latter is indicated by the data proving that the ratio of ethnic groups did not reach 5% in Kassa, Eperjes and Nagybánya in 2001 and their share remained below 10% in Ungvár as well. According to the data of the census in 2001, the reduction of the Hungarian population was greatest in the city environment across the border. In the case of middle and small sized towns their location in relation to the once sharp (nowadays looming) language borders and to the areas of Hungarian majority was decisive (Hardi et al. 2009; Kókai 2010). Among the Eastern-Central European characteristics we must mention the overshadowing of the regional centres as their function was changed along the state borders, and the reassessing of the social-economic conditions of the centres losing their ethnic background, cultural, economic and political connections. The civil, lower middle-class Jewish, German and Hungarian inhabitants were overshadowed in the class-war context of the 1950s before the arrival of the new settlers, and lost their determining social-economic positions in the cities. In this region city boom out of the phases of urbanisation took place with lower population concentration than in other regions of the Carpathian Basin and this is characterised well by the term ‘under-urbanised’. This also means (again in a comparison with western European conditions) that while urbanisation remained uncompleted, city societies also showed rural characters (Table 6). Partly due to uncompleted urbanisation and partly due to the specific social and economic conditions, suburbanisation could be identified only sporadically even at

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Table 6 Changes of development structure in the studied cities Town 1910 2001

Kassa Eperjes Miskolc Nyíregyháza Debrecen Ungvár Munkács Nagyvárad Nagybánya Szatmárnémeti

Primary (%)

Secondary (%)

Tertiary (%)

Primary (%)

Secondary (%)

Tertiary (%)

2.2 20.2 4.7 42.9 22.9 29.3 31.2 5.2 6.7 15.5

35.5 27.8 38.0 15.3 32.8 34.7 22.3 35.7 41.5 34.3

62.3 52.0 57.3 41.8 44.3 36.0 46.5 59.1 51.7 50.2

1.9 4.8 0.8 2.4 1.7 9.5 10.3 6.2 5.1 6.7

29.4 31.7 23.3 23.2 25.4 25.1 30.4 27.3 34.7 27.1

68.7 63.5 76.0 74.4 72.9 63.4 59.3 62.5 60.2 66.2

Source Census volumes

the end of the 1980s. Moving out of the cities to the surrounding environment was not a general phenomenon. As the consequence of the above, the stages of de-urbanisation and re-urbanisation were not identifiable until the regime change. This means that the phase of urbanisation in the studied region from World War II till the end of the 1980s was a specific route that carried the social, economic and political characteristics of the time.

5 Urbanisation Tendencies at the Turn of the Millennium The population in all the towns has decreased since 1990. The differences in the reduction are representative since the most developed industrialised towns of the socialist area has lost the biggest percentage of their population. Urbanisation process slowed down following the regime change in 1989–1990, even more in the towns associated with loosing heavy industrial and mining establishments that went into bankruptcy and causing the removal of masses (e.g. Nagybánya). In the 1990s these cities were not under migration pressure. Just over 11,000 people moved in from other settlement groups and they gave only 4% of the population. From an urbanisation point of view, the recession of the earlier period in these cities continued in the 1990s and a certain peripheric state was maintained. This was the case despite that in theory new conditions were established in the 1990s due to political and economic changes, and urbanisation could have been continued within new conditions. On the one hand, however, the scale of values, habit, and the behaviour of the society change much slower and more less easily than the political and economic institutes, and on the other hand a new and extremely strong factor appeared: globalisation. Due to the effects of globalisation it was not possible even in theory that the urbanisation of the region takes a similar route to what the western societies followed. Certain phases of modern urbanisation never appeared or overlapped each other. In Hungary, for example, the 1990s can be

Urbanisation Development Trends of Cities

231

regarded as the decade of suburbanisation while the process did not start in the two cities of Transcarpathia. In the second part of the 1990s in Hungary and in Slovakia, the reconstruction and development of the traditional and the new, liveable city spaces were started by the reparation of the traditional city centres, by major monument preservation and economic rehabilitation programmes. This is only present in the form of plans in the Transylvanian and Transcarpathian cities. In the meantime it is also a fact that the new ethnic power relations that developed in the past decades have been enforced and fixed. This makes probable the further linguistic, cultural, economic and political reduction of the Hungarian population in the local cities of all of the neighbouring countries. In the first years of the new decade, suburbanisation ceased or did not even start. The migration balance of moving into and out of Hungary—according to statistic data—turned to be positive in large cities which indicates clearly the start of re-urbanisation thus it is highly unlikely that new settlements would enter the sphere of suburbs. Every sign indicates that this process will continue in the forthcoming years as well. Based on the above analyses and the increasing statistic databases, two wellidentifiable city types can be distinguished regarding the conditions of city communities. The first type is made up by historical regional centres suffering from rapid ethnic change processes: nation and state building efforts of the majority ethnic groups regard these cities as their own centres or regional sub-centres: Kassa, Ungvár, Munkács, Szatmárnémeti, Nagyvárad belong to this type. The second type includes the cities that grew due to industrialisation and communist type urbanisation where the Hungarian small town characterised by Hungarian majority turned into a non-Hungarian industrial centre: Munkács, Nagybánya. The greatest reduction occurred in the cities of Slovakia and Transcarpathia between the two World Wars, however, the ratio and cultural presence of Hungarians were not reduced in either regions like later, following World War II, primarily between 1960 and 1980. Despite the changes, numerous things remained from the settlement network of the north-eastern part of the Carpathian Basin prior to the Trianon treaty (e.g. distribution of cities, former spatial connections).

6 The Effect of Urbanisation on the Ranking of Cities The hierarchy and ranking of cities can be described by applying several aspects (Beluszky 1999; Tóth 2010; Hardi et al. 2009). The simplest way—ignoring legal and administrative-functional categorising—is when changes in the rank of the studied cities are reviewed in relation to the Carpathian Basin according to city size (Table 7). This is a very important aspect because, contrary to administrative-legal categories (Tóth 2010), city network changes are slower and persistent tendencies giving some kind of a synthesis of changes in the twentieth century. Table 5 shows

232

S. Kókai

Table 7 Changes in the ranking of cities in the Carpathian Basin between 1910 and 2001 Town 1910 2001/02 1910 1930 1950 1970 1990 2001 Debrecen Nagyvárad Miskolc Kassa Nyíregyháza Nagybánya Szatmárnémeti Ungvár Eperjes Munkács

92729 64169 51459 44211 38198 12877 34892 16919 16323 17275

198905 206527 179507 236093 113281 136254 129153 117317 92786 81600

3 7 11 14 17 89 21 73 75 69

3 7 13 10 17 97 16 47 79 48

3 10 6 12 17 72 22 21 62 n/a

6 12 4 7 19 25 22 24 18 n/a

7 6 8 5 19 15 16 18 25 27

7 6 10 5 19 15 16 18 24 28

Source Census volumes

the rank of the studied ten cities in the order of cities and towns in the Carpathian Basin. Data have specific meanings: • The order of cities according to size did not change fundamentally, only the size of the involved cities increased. The most populated city became Kassa instead of Debrecen in the region. Only Nyíregyháza lost and Nagybánya gained more than two ranking positions in the last hundred years. • Urbanisation associated with industrialisation was lowest here—after the region of the Great Hungarian Plain—regarding the Carpathian Basin. • The ranking of typical Great Plain cities (e.g. Nyíregyháza) fell continuously and it was true for Debrecen as well. Only the detached cities across the border could improve their position, among which the most spectacular was the improvement of Nagybánya, Ungvár and Munkács. • Despite a major increase of population, the number of inhabitants did not exceeded 250,000 people in either of the cities, i.e. they did not develop into real counter-pole cities and did not improve significantly the north-east orinted, disadvantageous urbanisation slope of the Carpathian Basin. • The hinterlands of the cities were deteriorated by the Trianon treaty borders, their social-economic development possibilities became restricted, limiting the process of urbanisation. • The former spectacular improvement of Miskolc faded away in the last two decades, it suffered from major fluctuation and migration loss. • Cities that remained in Hungary kept their rank or slightly lost from their position. • The largest movements in the ordering took place in the 40 years between the end of World War II and the regime change. • Cities of the market line (e.g. Szatmárnémeti, Nagyvárad, Miskolc) maintained their positions or slightly improved, owing to their geographical positions that influenced their development all the way.

Urbanisation Development Trends of Cities

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• The policy of pumping small settlements into large cities was not effective, new cities did not appear on the list except for Nagybánya. • The growth of population stopped in all of the cities by the turn of the millennium, and population decrease can be observed today with suburbanisation signs at places (e.g. Kassa, Miskolc, Nyíregyháza, Debrecen).

References Beluszky P (1990) A polgárosodás törékeny váza—városhálózatunk a századfordulón. Tér és Társadalom, 3–4. sz Beluszky P (1999) Magyarország településföldrajza. Dialóg-Campus kiadó, Budapest-Pécs, p 584 Beluszky P (2005) Magyar városhálózat a 20. század elején. Budapest-Pécs: Dialóg Campus Kiadó, p 232 Benedek J (2006) Településrendszer. In: Északnyugat-Erdély V. fejezet. A Kárpát-medence régiói (szerk. Horváth Gy.) Dialóg-Campus kiadó. Budapest-Pécs Dányi D (1998) Regionális vándorlás, urbanizáció a XIX. század végén. In: Illés Sándor—Tóth Pál Péter (szerk.) Migráció. I. Tanulmánygy} ujtemény. NKI B, pp 87–114 Dányi D (2000) A 19. század végi hazai bels} o vándorlás néhány jellemz}oje. Történeti Demográfiai Évkönyv Enyedi Gy (1988) A városnövekedés szakaszai. Akadémiai kiadó, Budapest Frisnyák S (1998) A Felvidék történeti földrajza. Nyíregyháza, p 538 Hardi T, Hajdú Z, Mezei I (2009) Határok és városok a Kárpát-medencében. Gy}or-Pécs. MTA. RKK. p 374 Kocsis K (2000) Magyar kisebbségek a Kárpát-medencében. In: Bihariné D K, Bihari Z (szerk.) Magyarok a világban: Kárpát-medence. Ceba, Budapest, pp 13–29 Kókai S (2010) A Bánság történeti földrajza (1718–1918). Nyíregyháza, p 421 Kovács Z (1990) A határ menti területek központhálózatának átalakulása az els}o világháború utántól napjainkig. Földrajzi Közlemények, 1–2. sz. pp 3–16 Tóth J (1978) Az alföldi városfejl} odés elmúlt évszázada. Alföldi Tanulmányok II, Budapest, pp 5–23 Tóth J (1988) Urbanizáció az Alföldön. In: Területi és települési kutatások 3. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, p 200 Tóth J (2010) A magyar városodás néhány id} obeni és regionális sajátossága. In: Dr. Moholi Károly emlékkötet, Szeged, pp 185–197 Varga EÁ (2000) Erdély etnikai és felekezeti statisztikája III kötet. Teleki László Alapítvány, Budapest-Csíkszereda, pp 445–636

Integration of ‘‘Made Cities’’ to Their Physical Environment Zsolt Huszti

1 Introduction In Central Europe in the twentieth century—partially due to constant historical changes, and wars –settlement hierarchy has altered several times. In the accelerated times thousands of settlements were depreciated or appreciated, towns and villages were born and perished, maybe after centuries of existence. During history the choice of the location of the settlements became a more and more complex conscious decision, so in the last century new settlements were only born by the conscious systematisation of the location factors. The birth of settlements is one of the most interesting processes of social geography which raises several questions: what were the factors taken into consideration when deciding on the location, what social and economic functions were built on what endowments, and what impact the birth of the settlement had on the physical geographical environment. Further issues can be raised in connection with the survival of the ‘‘newly’’ born, founded settlements. Was the establishment of new cities in twentieth century a success story or not? If this is a solution, then why are no new towns made today? How can a city like this be transformed? When will it be a ‘‘normal’’ (historic) city? How can a city accommodate to the environment? We can state that the fascist city constructions (e.g. KdF-Stadt, today Wolfsburg), and the construction of the socialist towns had similar roots, but the socialist towns—as they had more time to develop—were more completed. The ‘‘socialist towns’’ have unique features—but what have they become 20 years after the systemic change, and how has their environment evolved?

Zs. Huszti (&) Illyés Gyula Faculty, University of Pécs, Rákóczi út 1, Szekszárd, 7100 Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

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2 New Towns in the Twentieth Century in Central Europe Urban planning, the organisation of cities has thousands of years of experience (Uphill 2008). Millenniums ago, however, the location of the settlements was determined by the gods—the ruling power, actually—and the morphology of the settlements was heavily influenced by physical geographical endowments. The Roman civilisation, built on the ancient Greek culture, took military and transportation aspects into consideration when deciding on the location of a given settlement (Vitruvius 1914). In modern times—by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries—parallel to the progress of industrialisation, the main motivation for the modernisation of the towns and cities was to get rid of the unhealthy features of the settlements (Engels 1845). In certain cases, e.g. in Paris, this was manifested in exactly determined urban development factors: establishment of transportation connections, provision of communication channels, creation of urban green areas, heritage conservation, and homogenisation of the city (Carmona 2000). A century later, after World War II modernism and welfare dominated urban architecture in Western Europe, while in East and Central Europe, mirroring the idealistic social orders of the different dictatorships, monumental industrial cities and architectural solutions representing brute power were born, from Germany to the Soviet Union. The roots of this twentieth century urban architecture are to be found in classicism, which was mediated by the Bauhaus and art deco movements to the fascist, in other places to the socialist-realist urban planning. The main construction materials were bricks and concrete. This style is often confused with modern and post-modern styles, although the relationship is not always present. It is even worse that socialist realism as a style is not mentioned even in the most recent literature on architecture (see e.g. Cragoe 2008), probably because this style was missing in the countries of the ‘‘Western block’’. Socialist-realist urban planning goes back to the Soviet Union of the 1920s, and was only adapted in the late 1940s in the Central European countries, after the establishment of the Soviet type state models (Diefendorf 1989). The first cases of socialist urban architecture in this region were Nowa Huta (Poland 1949), Eisenhüttenstadt (GDR 1950), Dunaújváros (Hungary 1950), and Onesßti (Romania 1952). These cities also became flagships of the socialist cities. In addition to the construction of these cities, flagship buildings were also erected in the major cities, a good example for which is the Casa Presei Libere (house of the free press) in Bucharest. The actual construction of the cities ad buildings in many countries took place by having prisoners to work (both common criminals and forced labourers imprisoned for political reasons), as well as employing ‘‘enemies of the system’’ (the former aristocracy, the large bourgeois etc.)—common criminals worked on constructions right until the early 1980s. This was the case not only in city constructions but for all other gigantic, e.g. railway and other infrastructure constructions (Ropeyed 2006) (Fig. 1).

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Fig. 1 Casa Presei Libere (Bucharest) on the back side of the one hundred Lei banknote in 1952 (http://www.allnumis.com/banknote/romania/100-lei-1952-red-serial-670)

3 Location of the Socialist Cities The foundation of ‘‘socialist cities’’ in Central Europe in the twentieth century Academics, adapting the concepts of some authors, quite frequently name the city type described above as ‘‘made towns’’ (Szirmai 1988), although it would be slightly clearer to use the concepts ‘‘modern town’’ or ‘‘newly founded town’’, because otherwise the concepts of urban planning and the foundation of cities are too much intertwined with socialist constructions. ‘‘In the region…..the whole of both the industrial and the post-industrial urban network is the product of the socialist system (thereby of central planning and state property).’’ (Enyedi 2008). Possible ways of socialist industrialisation, urban development are as follows: • • • •

New town for one industry (one aim), New town for several industries (several aims), Re-industrialisation of old industrial city, Industrialisation of old non-industrial city/village.

To name but a few examples in Hungary: the first option usually meant economically mono-centric flagship cities (like Dunaújváros), where further industries were located later on. Option two usually concerns smaller towns that had multiple industrial activities from the beginning (Százhalombatta). The re-industrialisation of old industrial cities involved the strengthening of the industrial city function of the settlements, usually parallel with the modernisation of related infrastructure and the development of the large companies (like in Ózd). Industrialisation of old non-industrial settlements took place by the de-concentration of already existing industry towards the country towns. Making an order of importance and frequency of the location factors of socialist towns, the situation drawn by the respective settlements is as follows:

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1. 2. 3. 4.

Political-economic aim(s), Military aspect, Monumentality, political and industrial power, Local endowments and potentials (social; economical; natural/geology, relief, soil, water, weather/climate, the last were: natural values/), 5. Residential conditions of citizens. The political and economic objectives were set in order to meet the expectations of the planned economy, rarely taking the harmony of the respective goals with the natural environment into consideration. The realisation of the objectives of course could not neglect the military aspect continuously present in the cold war period, accordingly these developments were only located into the border regions in absolutely necessary cases. Socialist ideology was reflected by ‘‘monumentality’’, ‘‘thinking in big’’, which often had a very bad effect on efficiency, but demonstrated the economic, political and social power. The natural, social and economic endowments wee completely neglected in the Soviet Union until World War II, due to the prevalent geographical nihilism. In the post-war situation, in the whole of the socialist camp some attention was already paid to possibilities and the natural and social integration of developments. Despite the fact that physical geographical rationale was frequently overwritten by more important aspects, the choice of the location of developments was satisfactory on the whole. Like in the principles of Le Corbusier, also in socialist ideology there is the individual living in the society, with no basic needs for large private living space. This is why spaces with large population density but also with large community spaces and a substantial number of community establishments were created among the houses. Population moving into socialist towns was rather mixed; these settlements, due to their selected positions in the national economies, offered better social conditions of living than the average settlements of the socialist countries did. Accordingly, it was especially the socially more mobile persons or others cast away by socialist society elsewhere who moved into the cities (Miskolczi 1980) (Fig. 2). In socialist cities, on the other hand, natural environment practically had to be totally recreated after the city constructions, because the original landscape and the natural endowments could only rarely be preserved, due the negligence of the natural factors.

4 Ways to be a ‘‘Normal’’ Settlement The ‘‘made cities’’ have experienced three roles, actually three periods determined by their positions in the national economy of the respective countries:

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Fig. 2 Downtown of Dunaújváros (former Sztálinváros, ‘‘Stalin City’’, Hungary) on a postcard cca. 50 years ago (http://sztalinvaros.uw.hu/sztalinvaros5.php)

1. Before the political transformation (-1988/1991): In the socialist decades it was monumentality and flagship role that mattered, the national economy depended on these towns to a large extent, even if their local economies produced deficit for the state (Enyedi 1992). In addition, aspects of nature and nature protection were practically absent in the lives of the cities and the local economies. What was created, on the other hand, was the socially open socialist city with strong workers’ culture and mixed traditions (by the mixed population) (Fig. 3). 2. During the transformation (1991–2004): Parallel to the political transformations, considerable changes occurred in local economies and local societies as well. This was especially detrimental for socialist towns because they lost their privileges, and the potential state supports. This led to confusion in the local societies, in several places factories went bankrupt, replaced by environment polluting investments, only, if replaced by anything at all. The closed down industrial sites left many brownfield areas behind. In addition, the ‘‘ex-socialist towns’’, together with their inhabitants and the economic units operating in them, became subjects of prejudices. The relatively rapid political change was followed by prolonged socioeconomic transition. This brought about several problems and troubles. While the will for the political transition was there, members of the society and a part of the economic companies were ‘‘waiting for a miracle’’ and refused to acknowledge the real circumstances of the market economy. This had a mark on the local economic and administrative system and also on the personal and social relations, in fact, on affairs within the families.

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Fig. 3 Eisenhüttenstadt, East Germany, 1960 (Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz/Gerhard Kiesling)

The systemic change brought to surface problems unsettled, not mentioned by anyone before in the socialist towns, including the huge volume of industrial pollution in these settlements, and the health problems of the local societies living in unhealthy environments. 3. After the transformation (2004-): Depending on the location, the local physical geographical endowments and the social activity of the socialist (former socialist) towns and on how much they preserved their special image, either they became successful and dynamic, prosperous again after gaining new development momentum, or the crisis perpetuated after the stagnation and the towns were extremely deteriorated, slums emerged in them. The development path of the socialist cities could be changed by two critical factors, determining the way to follow for the respective settlement. In market economy, the most important factor is money, manifested in this case in investments, and the creation of new jobs. The other factor is the birth and activity

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Fig. 4 Urban green areas and garden city structures: Nowa Huta (Poland) (http://www.buero-kopernikus.org/de/press/7/19)

of a local society built on local patriotism, with development policy aims, which in certain cases may have promoted the reorganisation and development of the settlements.

5 Integration into the Natural Environment The integration of the cities into the natural environment theoretically also depended on planning. The political transitions, however, brought about changes in this respect, too. The question is how much these transitions burdened the natural environment, whether the green areas have been built up and the rustbelts of the settlements are utilised (Fig. 4). In addition, the decrease of the scales of pollution (by modernisation), or its complete elimination (after the bankruptcy and closedown of factories) was a new development for the cities. The latter can even be positive for the settlements, but the cities paid an immense price: the improving environment cost a prolonged crisis and enormous unemployment (Table 1). The question is what it takes to use the opportunities. It is money of course in the first place, but the city has to be invented again, for which new strategies

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Table 1 Environmental SWOT analysis Strengths • lot of (planned) green areas • lot of public spaces • enough sporting and social welfare facilities Weaknesses • industrial contamination, contaminated environment • health problems of the society Opportunities • renewal of the parks, • concentration of the urban functions (new downtowns), • city reconstructions/renovations/, reconstructions • industrial modernisation Threats • effects of permanent contamination will last 50-100 years • new greenfield investments (instead of the use of brownfield areas) • persistent industrial contamination of the cities • impacts of blending of the functional belts

Fig. 5 The first monument of socialist realist style: Dózsa Cinema, Dunaújváros, Hungary (Photo by Gábor Pilise, 2010, from wikipedia.org)

and new city marketing is necessary. Of course the sustainability of the industrial sector, the making of industry environmental-friendly (as much as possible) cannot be avoided, either. However strange it may seem, now we can talk about some nature-related heritage of these settlements. Hard elements of this heritage include architectural memories (the buildings themselves and the way cities are built up) and the managed urban green areas. Soft elements are the insistence of the local citizens on their settlement and their environmental sensitivity which makes them protect the natural values, no matter how insignificant they are. It is partly also an external factor if a town has managed to integrate into the urban network in time (until the transitions), because that may be a great advantage for the position of the geographical environment and for the preservation of the natural and built environment.

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If we ask whether made towns are able to integrate into their original environment—the answer is yes. There are conditions for that, on the other hand. The new built environment needs time to stabilise itself; as regards natural environment this means that the trees need time to fully grow and the fauna also needs time to adapt to the new situation. This may take 30–50 years (Fig. 5). Also, it is not recommended to shock the already stabilised new environment with new factors (see chapter ‘‘Changes in the Urban System of Romania, and Their Possible Effect on the Future Administrative Reform of the Country’’), and it is good if the openness of the local society is not gone—although the population of these settlements changes, their dedication to the preservation of the environment should not. The specific atmosphere and the natural environment of the former socialist towns are worth preserving.

References Carmona M (2000) Haussmann: his life and times and the making of modern Paris. Ivan R Dee, Chicago 2002:149–166 Cragoe CD (2008) How to read buildings. Iwy Press (Penguin Group), Lewes, p 256 Diefendorf JM (1989) Urban Reconstruction in Europe after World War II. Urban Studies 26(1):128–143 February 1989 Engels F (1845) Die Lage der arbeitungen Klasse in England. (Hungarian issue) Szikra, Budapest 1954:61–112 Enyedi Gy (1992) Urbanisation in East-Central Europe: social processes and societal responses in the state socialist system. Urban Studies 6:869–880 Enyedi Gy (2008) Kiril Stanilov (ed) The Post-Socialist City (Springer, Dordrecht, 2007. 490 o.): Bookmark. Tér és társadalom 22(4): 229-233 Ropeyed K B (2006) :ekepyse lopoub UEKAUa. Me;peuboyakmyaz o,oecndeyyaz opuaybpawbz « Ropgyc by;eyepod gyneq coo,oeybz » , Cayrn-Genep,ypu Miskolczi M (1980) Város lesz csakazértis (It will be a city, at any price). Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó, Budapest, p 416 Szirmai V (1988) Csinált városok (Made towns). Magvet}o Kiadó, Budapest, p 240 Uphill E (2008) Egyptian Towns and Cities. Oxford, Shire Vitruvius P (1914), Tíz könyv az építészetr} ol (The Ten Books on Architecture, Hungarian issue), Zagora 2000 Kft. 2009, p 262

Industrial Areas and Their Transformations in Hungary Tamás Csapó and András Balogh

1 Industrial Areas and Their Characteristics Before the Political Transition The functional structure of the Hungarian towns and cities, and the areas (zones) of different functions within the settlements were first examined in Hungary by Tibor Mendöl between the two World Wars. He distinguished four functional belts, moving from the centre to the outskirts (Mendöl 1936) Urban core, which is the central business district (CBD) in the cities, and also the first belt of workplaces. Mendöl’s examinations only proved the existence of this zone in Budapest at that time. Inner, in other words first residential belt. Industrial belt, which is the second belt of workplaces, with factories requiring substantial space, in some places also with smaller workers’ residential blocks. Outer or second residential belt, in which the workers’ quarters, the villa quarters and the slums may even make separate sectors. Before World War II a few settlements, apart from the capital city only the big cities and some industrial towns had major zones of industrial activity. In most of the Hungarian towns and cities this zone only meant a few factories, railway or other transport areas; in the smaller towns of the Great Hungarian Plain it was restricted to one single factory per town. These factories were located on the edges of the towns, almost exclusively along the rail lines and in the vicinity of the railway stations in most cases, as the main means of transportation was railway. T. Csapó (&)
A. Balogh Geography and Environmental Sciences Human Geography, West Hungary University, Károlyi Gáspár Square 4, 9700 Szombathely, Hungary e-mail: [email protected] A. Balogh e-mail: [email protected]

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After World War II, following the shift to socialist planned economy, an intensive, so-called socialist industrialisation started in Hungary. The disproportionate development of heavy industry was given a priority, a number of factories were established, industrialisation of the countryside towns and construction of the socialist towns started. This resulted in the growth of the size and proportion of industrial zones within the respective settlements, in several cases (heavy industrial and socialist towns) they made up one-third of the total urban area, in extreme cases up to half of that (e.g. in Dunaújváros or Kazincbarcika). The industrial plants usually still followed the railway lines, but it did not necessarily mean the surroundings of the railway station; the larger factories were often given their own rail tracks. Settlement morphology studies revived, looking at the image and the structure of the Hungarian towns and cities (Wallner 1958; Lettrich 1973; Erd}osi and Lehmann 1974). The functional zones of the towns and cities of the time were categorised by József Becsei during his researches conducted in the Great Hungarian Plain. Although his methods were different from those of Mendöl, the findings were the same. The urban zones, moving from the centre to the outskirts, are as follows in Becsei’s view: • • • •

Urban core, urban centre, Inner residential zone, Industrial zone, Outer residential zone (Becsei 1983).

Socialist industrialisation naturally brought about the significant increase in the population of the urban settlements; in Hungary the urbanisation process led to an urban boom, a very intensive quantitative urbanisation. As a result of this, a number of housing estates were built for the incoming population. The built-areas of the urban settlements grew and expanded, integrating several industrial plants that formerly had been on the outskirts of the settlements; these factories remained in the inner residential zones as enclaves. At the same time, the new factories, plants were built on the edge of the towns and cities again. In the socialist era the industrial zones primarily involved industrial production plants and, as previously, also transport (railway) areas with large demand for space and public utility establishments of technical-communal services functions.

2 Situation of the Industrial Areas After 1990 After the economic and political systemic change the situation of the industrial areas was primarily determined by two processes occurring parallel to each other. One of these is ‘‘de-industrialisation’’ typical in the developed countries, as a result of which post-industrial economy became typical. This process usually coincided with the decline, disappearance and/or functional transformation of industrial areas in towns and cities. The other process is regeneration aiming at complete or partial

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renewal, and the maintenance of the old industrial areas (Kiss 2009). As a result of these processes the size of the industrial areas and their share from the total urban area usually decreased in Hungarian towns and cities. This statement, however, hides considerable disparities. The significant decline in the industrial areas in Hungarian cities (especially in Budapest), where industrial plants are being gradually pushed to the edge of the settlement(s), is usually the consequence of the spatial expansion of the central business districts (CBD) and the transformation of the old industrial areas in the inner residential zones. To the contrary, the size and even the proportion of industrial areas within the built-area of the settlement grew in several towns (especially in Transdanubia) that had been less industrialised formerly (Szombathely, Sárvár, Zalaegerszeg, Esztergom, Pápa), and also in a few towns with significant industry before (Komárom, Székesfehérvár, Nagykanizsa). In these settlements and regions, belated industrialisation took place, especially in the 1990s, which meant a large number of new, green-field investments, often in the framework of industrial parks. These days the term ‘industrial areas’ denotes in most of the European countries, including Hungary, several city parts established at different times and with different functions. Three basic types of these areas can be distinguished (Zehner 2001): Area of large-scale industrial plants, used to specify classic heavy and/or light industry plants that were created in most of the cases at the time when capitalism was built out. These factories, plants are definitely of production character, they are connected to railways and other traffic routes as well as to other technical infrastructure (Sukopp and Wittig 1993). Classic industrial parks, whose past goes back to over a century: the first industrial park was created in Great Britain, Stetford, a suburb of Manchester, in 1896 (Hommel 1983). The function of these areas is similar to those of the previous category areas, but the concentration of basic production utilities is stronger here, their establishment was more systematic. More recent industrial parks are those newly established industrial parks which, in addition to production facilities, also accommodate industrial services, other service companies and usually also a logistic centre. These parks have several generations now in the developed world.

3 Transformation of the Industrial Areas The scale of the transformations occurring in the industrial areas in the last two decades has varied in space and time, and still varies, as the process is not finished yet. The scales of the transformation depend on the size of the settlements, the relative geographical and transport geographical positions of the settlements, the location of the industrial areas within the respective town or city, the ownerships of the industrial sites, and also the attitude of the local policy (passive or active urban development). The transformation is the strongest in the capital city,

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Photo 1 Hunguard—glass factory, Orosháza, Source Photograph by Csapó

it is significant in some big cities, whereas it has hardly started or has even been opposite to the general tendencies in other settlements. The industrial areas (may) have undergone the following changes:

3.1 Still Existing in an Almost Unchanged Form This is typical of the towns that are home to relatively recently constructed largescale industrial plants, e.g. Kazincbarcika, where the Borsod Chemical Group plc. (BorsodChem), Dunaújváros, where the Danube Ironworks (Dunaferr), or Tiszaújváros, where the Tisza Chemical Group plc. can be found. These large industrial plants are up-to-date, their products are in demand now as they were in the past, and they are profitable. Their production has been considerably modernised in several cases, but the profile of the plants has not changed, e.g. in the nuclear power plant in Paks. This type also involves, in addition to the types mentioned above, the major public utility companies and usually the areas of transportation. There are also industrial areas, however, which have also remained in an almost unchanged form and with maintained functions, but where no modernisation has taken place. These areas are run-down, although not to the same degree; both production volume and the number of employees have significantly decreased. This is typical usually in the less competitive industrial areas of smaller settlements (Karcag, Barcs, Törökszentmiklós, Orosháza etc.) (Photo 1).

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3.2 Still Existing, but Changed and Renewed to Some Extent In this case it may happen that the profile has not changed at all, but production has been renewed or reorganised, which was visible in the outfit of the buildings and in land use as well (like in the southern industrial areas of Debrecen, or the western industrial zone of Szolnok). In most cases, however, non-industrial activities have appeared in the industrial areas, creating areas of mixed use (with industrial and tertiary functions) from former industrial zones. It is typically warehouses, communal services and repair companies that are located here, usually working as small and medium-sized enterprises (eastern industrial area of Szombathely, and the northern industrial area of Nagykanizsa). In very many cases there is an industrial park behind the renewal. These are the reconstructed industrial parks which use and renew the infrastructure and the building of existing and operating industrial areas. We find many examples for this in the Hungarian towns and cities (Sopron, Gy}or, Komárom, Bélapátfalva, Szekszárd etc.). The best example, however, may be the case of the former pig farm in Budapest-Nagytétény, where everything except a few beautiful old buildings and towers of industrial monument character was demolished, and instead of the pig farm we now find a modern industrial-logistics park called Harbor Park.

3.3 Empty, Run-Down, Derelict Areas These are often called the ‘‘rustbelt’’, because the former industrial use of the areas has ceased to exist or declined drastically (and is struggling to survive). Main characteristics are derelict industry areas and run-down industry buildings. Such areas can be found in relatively many places, most typically in the cities with significant old industrial functions and potential (Miskolc, Ózd, Salgótarján, Szolnok, Pécs), or in less industrialised small and middle towns that have not really been able to renew their economies to date (Hajdúböszörmény, Abony, Nagykálló). In these settlements the local leadership has not been able to sell a part of the old industrial sites, which are precious reserves for potential developments. By now the size and number or ‘‘rustbelts’’ have considerably decreased, and this tendency is expected to continue after the improvement of the economic conditions (Photo 2).

3.4 A Change of Functions has Occurred by the Re-use of the Old Industrial Sites The re-use of industrial areas may happen in two basic ways. In the first case old industry buildings continue to exist, they are renovated, i.e. the buildings are adjusted to the new function. In the second case the old buildings are completely

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Photo 2 Run-down, 100-year-old industrial site in Miskolc. Source Photograph by Csapó

pulled down and buildings of brand new functions are constructed in the empty area, with a completely different look compared to the old ones. This kind of re-use of the industrial areas brings about striking changes in the cityscape too, so it is called urban renewal (Cohen 1998). The re-use of the industrial sites may take place in the following ways: The establishment of commercial and service function is a relatively frequently applied method of re-use, being the dominant tool in the capital city of Hungary in the 1990s, and in the countryside cities after the millennium. The new function can be born by the partial utilisation of the old industry buildings (Budapest, Váci road), or in the territory of the former factories, instead of the former buildings that have been torn down (Duna Plaza in the place of the former shipyard). This type of functional shift has definitely been the most typical in the capital city, but a number of examples can also be seen in countryside cities. In Eger, the building of the old tobacco factory is now home to the Agria Park, in Szolnok the paper factory was replaced by service companies, in Szombathely the Savaria Plaza was built where smaller factories used to operate, in the western industrial zone of Nagykanizsa the Kanizsa Plaza was built, in Sopron the Alpha Park was established in the south-east industrial area of the city (Photo 3).

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Photo 3 Transformation of industrial buildings into an OBI department store (Budapest, District XIII.). Source Photograph by Csapó

The establishment of office functions in industrial areas is not that frequent, and it is usually typical in Budapest. The capital city is home to several new, modern office buildings established in brown-field areas (MOM Park), or to so-called ‘‘loft-office buildings’’ created by the use of old industry buildings such as the Dorottya Court in District XI. (Picture).There are such examples in large countryside cities as well, e.g. in Pécs where the old tannery was transformed into office buildings (Photo 4). Establishment of residential functions in industrial areas: This, too, may happen in two ways: by the transformation of old industry buildings, these are the so-called ‘‘loft-homes’’, most of which can be found in Budapest (old textile factory in Óbuda, Gizella Mill in Ferencváros), but countryside cities are also home to such developments, see e.g. the transformation of the gloves factory in Pécs (Photo 5). A more frequent way is the construction of brand new homes in old industry areas, primarily in the form of residential parks. This type of functional shift has also been the most frequent in Budapest, especially in Districts IX and XI, but it has also happened in some countryside cities (Debrecen, Kecskemét, Szeged, Miskolc). A quite frequent form of transformation both in the capital city and in the countryside is the appearance of warehouse, logistics functions. It is especially typical in areas with good accessibility. The old buildings usually survive the shift of function; they are only slightly transformed, adjusting them to their new functions. It is very frequent, especially in the run-down industrial areas, that a

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Photo 4 Office building from an industrial site. Dorottya Court in District XI, Budapest. Source Photograph by Csapó

Photo 5 Residential building from a textile factory Budapest, District XIII. Source Photograph by Csapó

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substantial part of the new warehouses is empty, with no tenant. Many transformed areas like this can be found in Kelenföld, K} obánya and Csepel (districts of Budapest), Miskolc, Pécs, Szolnok, Nyíregyháza and Gy}or. Cultural, educational and entertainment functions relatively rarely appear in old industrial areas for the time being, although there are examples for this phenomenon both in Budapest and other cities. The most significant of this type of functional shift has taken place in District II of the capital city, where the Millenáris Park was built. In Pécs, the Zsolnay Quarter is just being transformed into a cultural and educational district in the framework of the ‘‘European Capital of Culture’’ project. In Szombathely the old foundry was transformed into an entertainment and fitness centre by a private sector investment. In these cases transformation may happen by the use of the old buildings (Pécs—Mill), or the construction of a brand new building (Millenáris—District II in Budapest). Finally, the old industry areas can be given other functions, although this is not frequent type of functional shift, either. In such cases the old industrial areas are usually tidied up, and parking facilities, parks or other recreational areas are constructed in the cleaned area. An example for this is Dunaújváros, where a sports field was created around the old Vasm} u (Iron Work) street. Another example, though rather unique, is the demolishing of the whole of the old and polluting industrial area, its burial into a sarcophagus, and creating a green area on the hill erected above it. This has happened in Nagytétény in the place of the former Metalkémia industrial plant.

4 Establishment of New Industrial Areas in New Sites This is the odd man out; in this case it is not the transformation of an old industrial area that takes place but the growth of the size, expansion of industrial areas. The overwhelming majority of the new industrial areas were established in the industrial parks appearing in Hungary in the first year following the systemic change. In 2009 Hungary had a total of 211 official industrial parks in 145 settlements, of which 29 are villages (Csapó and Németh 2010). Until the late nineties reconstructed industrial parks were more frequent, later the utilisation of brown-field areas was more typical, or new industrial parks were built in so-called green-field investments. The latter dominates now; approximately two-thirds of industrial parks belong to this category in Hungary. In Hungary now we can see examples for all functional types of industrial parks (classic, logistics, science and technology parks). The non-production parks do not resemble old industrial areas in their image; they look attractive, and have large recreational green areas (Rakusz 2007) (Photo 6). Instead of rail transport, the majority of industrial parks are now built on road transportation, accordingly the parks have mostly been built along trunk roads and speedways running out of the cities, or ring roads passing large cities—and not in the vicinity of railway stations or rail lines.

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Photo 6 Jabil global services, Claudius Industrial Park, Szombathely. Source Photo by Csapó

5 Industrial Areas in the Structure of Hungarian Towns and Cities After the systemic change, research on settlement morphology revealed considerable structural transformations in Hungarian towns and cities. The former four functional zones were replaced by the following five zones: centre • centre – central business district, – peripheral shopping centres—sub-centres, • inner residential zone • industrial areas – Old industrial areas, – Classic industrial parks, – New type industrial parks • Outer residential zone • Urban green areas (Csapó 2005). After the social-economic changes of the last two decades, industrial areas now do not only mean classic industrial production sites and the related (or non-related) traffic and transport areas (railway stations, marshalling yards), or areas used by

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Fig. 1 Huge contiguous industrial area in Kazincbarcika. Source Edited by Csapó

communal services necessary for the operation of the settlements (remote heating, water management, waste management other utilities), but also parks with mixed (industrial and service) functions, and even parks with pure logistics, services, business and other tertiary functions (Csapó 2004). A general tendency is the disappearance of old industrial areas from the inner residential zone. The function of these former industrial areas has changed in most of the settlements. The new industrial areas are built farther and farther from the city centres, often along the ring roads in agglomerating regions. On the whole, the proportion of industrial areas in the total urban territory has decreased to one-sixth, or in the better case one-fifth of that, but in Budapest this proportion is now only one-tenth. There are only a few towns and cities with a large size and proportion of industrial areas; these include the old socialist towns where industrial areas make almost half of the total area (Fig. 1). The proportion of industrial areas is also significant in cities with strong secondary functions and several industrial parks, such as Gy}or, Székesfehérvár, Miskolc, Szolnok, Kecskemét, Paks or Komárom, and a few big cities, mostly in West- and Middle Transdanubia (Szombathely, Zalaegerszeg), in a middle-town, Mosonmagyaróvár, but also in Sárvár, a small town, where major investments have been implemented, mostly in the industrial parks. In these cases the size (proportion) of industrial areas within the settlement often reaches one-third. In most of the Hungarian small and medium-sized towns, however, industrial areas usually make less than one-tenth of the total urban area. Industrial areas, as we have seen, are linked to transport tracks in Hungarian towns, meaning that their location within the respective settlements is peripheral. Old-established industrial areas, used by one single giant company are usually located in single blocks, mostly in the part of the cities that is opposite to the

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Fig. 2 Belts of industrial areas in Kecskemét. Source Edited by Csapó

Fig. 3 Scattered industrial areas in Tapolca. Source Edited by Csapó

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direction of the prevalent wind. This is the case in Gy}or, Dunaújváros, Szombathely, or Kazincbarcika. In other cases the industrial areas form an almost complete belt around the central business district and the inner residential zone; this is typical in larger towns of the Great Plain (Kecskemét, Debrecen, or Nyíregyháza) (Fig.2). In smaller towns with insignificant industrial role (in Tapolca, Tolna, Törökszentmiklós, or Karcag) the share of industrial areas is smaller too, and in addition, they can be found scattered within the urban area (Fig. 3).

6 Summary In Hungary, after the political systemic transformation, the location, extension, and in a sense also the function of industrial areas transformed considerably, the reasons for which are the shift to market economy, the birth of post-industrial society and the transformation of economy. The size and, even more so, the proportion of industrial areas decreased from the built-up areas of towns and cities, primarily due to the functional transformation of the old industrial sites. In these predominantly brown-field areas flats, commercial and services establishments, offices, cultural and educational institutions, warehouses, and finally logistics and other (recreational) areas were made. Many new, often green-field industrial areas were also established, often in the form of industrial parks. They are almost exclusively located along trunk roads and speedways coming out from, or ring roads surrounding the towns and cities, changing the location of industrial areas within the respective settlements. Now we have a collective term ‘industrial area’ used for zones formerly named ‘areas of industrial activity’, but we have to note that the industrial areas accommodate less and less activities that are truly industrial activities by sectoral classification; in addition to or instead of industry, services have a growing share, together with logistics and miscellaneous business activities. This is most evident in the case of the new type of industrial parks.

References Becsei J (1983) Békéscsaba, Békés, Gyula és tanyavilágának településmorfológiája (Settlement morphology of Békéscsaba Békés Gyula and the scattered farms belonging to them). Aka-démiai Kiadó, Budapest, p 208 Cohen P (1998) A transforming San Francisco industrial landscape. Pacifika, Fall, pp 7–12 Csapó T (2004) A hazai városok bels} o szerkezetének az átalakulása különös tekintettel a munkahelyek és az intézmények térbeli elhelyezkedésére (Transformation of the inner structure of the Hungarian cities, with special regard to the spatial distribution of jobs and institution). In: Barton G, Dormány G, SZTE (Eds) Magyar Földrajzi Konferencia Szeged, pp 282–295 Csapó T (2005) A hazai városok településmorfológiája. Savaria University press, Szombathely, p 201 Csapó T, Németh S (2010): Industrial parks in Hungary: In Csapó T, Kocsis Zs (eds): Topical Issues in the urban geography, Szombathely, p 482

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Erd}osi F, Lehmann A (1974) Mohács földrajza (The geography of Mohács). Városi Tanács VB M}uvel}odési Osztálya, Mohács, p 501 Hommel M (1983) Die bedeutung der industrial estates als ent-wicklungs- und planungsinstrument für industrielle problem-gebiete. das beispiel schottland (Significance of industrial estates as a development and planning tool for problematic industrial areas. the case for scotland). Padernborn, 144 S. Bochumer Geo-graphische Arbeiten, p 41 Kiss É (2009) Budapest ipari területei az utóbbi évtizedben (Industrial areas in Budapest in the recent decades). Tér és Társadalom, Gy} or-Pécs, vol XXIII. évf. 2. sz. pp 69–87 Lettrich E (1973) Kecskemét, legnagyobb tanyás városunk (Kecskemét, the largest hungarian city with scattered farms). Földrajzi Közlemények, Budapest, vol 1. sz. pp 1–17 Mendöl T (1936) Alföldi városaink morfológiája (Morphology of the towns in the Great Hungarian Plain). Közlemények a Deb-receni Egyetem Föld-rajzi Intézetéb}ol, Debrecen, p 132 Rakusz L (2007) Ipari parkok fejlesztése, foglalkoztatás (The development of industrial parks, employment). Ipari Parkok Egyesület, Budapest, p 96 Sukopp H, Wittig R (1993) Stadtökologie (Urban ecology).Stuttgart, Jena, New York, p 402 Wallner E (1958) Paks településképe (Cityscape of paks). Földrajzi Értesít}o, Budapest, vol 1. sz pp 193–209 Zehner K (2001) Stadtgeographie (Urban geography). Klett-Perthes, Gotha und Stuttgart, p 239 S

Analysis of Dimensions and Mosaic Pattern of Urban Green Areas on the Example of Several Hungarian Cities Gábor Baranyai and Sándor Németh

1 Introduction Two, contemporary very fashionable phrases motivated the author in making this study. These phrases are liveable city and changed ecological attitude. The high number of previous studies indicates the complexity of the former one; meanwhile the latter is rather a question of human ecology, where man makes the phenomenon subjective and even more complicated. The bottom line is that the quality of our living space is valued highly. While certain functional areas of cities can easily be typified with direct methods (e.g. economical values), those with recreational purposes can hardly be valued by financial means. Green surfaces/green areas are of high importance from environmental protection, environmental-health, ecological, aesthetic and utility points of view. They contribute to numerous attributes of a liveable city such as microclimate, comfort, well being of citizens, quality of urban environment and urban aesthetic features. For instance, above green belt areas relative humidity increases, thus rise in temperature is moderated through the cooling effect of evaporation. Such imbalance of temperature generates breeze that can bring to life a natural air conditioning in crowded cities. Green areas of floodplains protect the soil against erosion and deflation. They have a significant function from environmental point of view as floodplains are home for a wide range of flora and fauna. Also, they act as a natural filter against dust and noise. G. Baranyai (&)
S. Németh Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of West Hungary, Károlyi Gáspár tér 4, Szombathely, Hungary e-mail: [email protected] S. Németh e-mail: [email protected]

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The goal of this study cannot be the qualification of urban environments due to the complexity of this issue, but based on available data it will attempt to group and typify Hungarian big cities.

2 Data and Methods According to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO) in 2009, the population of Hungary was somewhat more than 10 million. Thirteen percent of the population lived in the 10 biggest cities; the current study does not include Budapest, the capital. Data on the size of green areas in cities are available from last HCSO census (2001). Current attributes of green areas are gathered from the official website of local governments/councils. In some cases direct contact with the most competent departments (head gardener, urban development and city maintenance) were necessary in order to access sufficient information. During the long process of gathering data a big problem surfaced—among local governments no standard definition was applied in the typifying process of urban green areas therefore the comparison of relevant information could not be thorough. To overcome this problem, local governments were given the HCSO definition of inner park area; emphasis is placed on inner as cities in the Great Plain area of Hungary traditionally possess large outer green areas, which do not have recreational function and are hard to access. Based on previous research (Nagy 2008; Heinrich and Hergt 1995), if a green area is farther than 15–20 min travel, it looses its recreational function. Thus mosaic location pattern of such green areas is the most ideal in order to make them accessible for the largest number of people (Baranyai and Balogh 2010). The application of the Google Earth program provides updated information on the location and the function of urban green areas. It is worth noted that several local governments do not maintain updated information on their green areas, therefore this study uses a common year, 2007, for which data were provided by all examined cities.

3 Types and Functions of Green Areas The definition of green surfaces/green areas is not uniform. For instance, on Wikipedia (obtained from Ormos I 1967) the following description can be found: ‘‘Green areas can be differentiated by their profiles, locations, utilisation and relevant developments. These types are not always easy to define. Most common profiles are flower-gardens, holiday parks, children’s parks, esplanades, culture parks, sport parks, gardens of public buildings, gardens of estate buildings, urban forests, botanical gardens, camps, graveyards, forests, horticultural and agricultural parks.’’ (http://hu. wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%B6ldter%C3%BCletek_fajt%C3%A1i).

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Based on the definition of the National Urban Planning and Building Requirements (NUPBR) a green area is an area permanently covered with vegetation (public garden, public park). Based on the utilisation of the green areas one can distinguish between: • public green areas (public gardens, public parks, promenades, residential public gardens, playgrounds, etc.); • restricted public green areas (graveyards, baths, botanical gardens) Green areas are determined in the local urban planning framework, which is authorised by the local government. Green areas exclusively belong to the core wealth of the settlement; they are not negotiable (No. 253/1997. (XII.20.) Gov. Edict) According to the simple definition of HCSO green area is an area designed to improve the micro-climate and the geographic structure of the settlement; provide recreational area for residents; and it is mostly covered with vegetation including manmade garden surfaces. According to Csapó (2006), urban green areas are associated with sport (sport grounds, swimming pools, baths and ski ranks) and recreational activities (recreational parks, forestry sport grounds, areas of natural waters, camping and sanatoriums). Graveyards are defined as an individual category. Based on Csapó‘s research, green areas in western country cities reach 50% of total inner urban areas while in cities of Hungary it is mainly less than 25% (in cities possessing minor central functions it is less than 10%). In his book (Urban Ecology) Nagy (2008) applies a refined definition of urban green surfaces as a general category and urban green areas as priority urban planning category with significant importance. It is clear that the definition of green area is quite complex if all important parameters are included. This study operates with HCSO definition and data provided by local governments based on HCSO definition of public green areas such as public parks, urban gardens, promenades, playgrounds and play gardens.

4 Results 4.1 Dimensions It is safe to say that in our cities there is a close connection between the rate of green areas and the size of per capita green area. In cities with bigger green areas, the size of per capita green area is bigger too; that means higher correlation (Table 1). Based on statistical data, the dimensions (size) of inner urban green areas did not grow between 2001 and 2007 in Hungarian cities. In some cases, where a decrease was significant, the following reasons were articulated by local councils:

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Table 1 Rate of green areas in Hungarian big cities Rank of Hungarian big cities, rate of inner Rank of Hungarian big cities, dimensions of per green areas (%) capita green areas (m2) Gy}or Miskolc Szombathely Pécs Székesfehérvár Szeged Debrecen Kecskemét Szolnok Nyíregyháza

16.4 12.1 8.2 7.6 7.2 5.1 5 4.9 3.9 3.6

Gy} or Miskolc Szombathely Pécs Székesfehérvár Szolnok Szeged Debrecen Nyíregyháza Kecskemét

63.9 41.2 30.5 30.4 26.6 19.3 16.2 14.6 13.9 13.9

Source http://www.ksh.hu, http://www.gyor.hu, http://www.miskolc.hu, http://www.kecskemet.hu

• ranking of green areas had changed over the examined period (2001–2007) • inaccurate census data recording in 2001. Although the size of green areas decreased in Debrecen, Szeged, Nyíregyháza and Székesfehérvár, what is more interesting is the rate of such decrease by 2007. While it is only 2.5% in the biggest regional city, the same parameter is only on 79% in Nyíregyháza, 68% in Debrecen and on 61% in Székesfehérvár compared to the 2001 census values. In the case of Szolnok, no change can be noted in terms of green area dimensions, whereas several cities achieved growths; 60% (Szombathely), 48% (Pécs and Miskolc), 39% (Gy} or) and 29% (Kecskemét). In absolute terms, the biggest growth is recorded in Miskolc and Gy} or, approximately 230 acres each. The significant increase in the case of Szombathely can be explained with the very low baseline values from 2001. Pécs, as the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2010 was determined to renovate its public parks and make them more functional (Fig. 1). Changes can be captured even more clearly by examining the change in size of per capita inner green areas (Table 2). A bigger growth in per capita green area size relative to growth in population is more favourable.

Fig. 1 Dimensions of total number of parks in cities (2001, 2007, acres)

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Table 2 Change in size of per capita green area, between 2001 and Population Population Change Size of per (2001) (2007) (%) capita green area 2001

2007 Size of per capita green area 2007

Change (%)

Debrecen Miskolc Szeged Pécs Gy}or Nyíregyháza Kecskemét Székesfehérvár Szombathely Szolnok

14.6 41.2 16.2 30.4 63.9 13.9 13.9 26.6 30.5 19.3

-2 60 -34 52 39 -20 22 -37 66 3

206,564 183,987 163,699 159,794 129,287 117,002 107,267 104,059 81,818 77,248

205,084 171,096 167,039 156,664 128,808 116,874 113,116 101,755 79,300 75,008

-1 -7 2 -2 -0.5 -0.1 5.5 -2 -3 -3

14.9 25.8 24.4 20 45.9 17.4 11.4 42.4 18.4 18.7

Source http://www.ksh.hu, http://www.gyor.hu, http://www.miskolc.hu, http://www.kecskemet.hu

Only two cities, Szeged and Kecskemét obtained growth in population. Although such increase to a minimum extent counterbalances negative values of per capita size in Szeged, in the case of Kecskemét a positive overall trend is seen, because the increase of per capita green area size is even more dynamic than growth in population. On the contrary, the biggest decrease in population is associated with Miskolc, which change most likely have contributed to the outstanding growth in size of per capita green area. Cities with shrinking population and per capita rates are in the worst situation (e.g. Székesfehérvár and Nyíregyháza). In sums, based on growing values of both size and rate of urban green areas, Gy}or, Miskolc, Pécs and Szombathely are more liveable places compared to other cities of the country.

4.2 Mosaic Characteristic/Pattern The size of inner green areas of cities is not an absolute measure in terms of liveability. Apart from its original function of maintaining fresh air, filtering noise and providing living space for ecosystems, green areas are important spots for sport, family leisure and other recreational purposes for urban population. From this point of view, accessibility is crucial. Previous research show that such function of urban green areas is optimised in a 15–20 min accessibility distance. People are not willing to spend more time on reaching a green area closest to them. That is the main reason why the mosaic pattern of green area localisation is key in urban planning. Big green areas on the periphery of the city will mean no use for a great amount of people. In such cases statistics do not provide reliable data.

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Fig. 2 Mosaic pattern of inner green parks in Gy} or

With satellite photos and their analysis such data can be refined. Graveyards are not part of current study as they are not utilised for recreational purposes and some of them are not publicly open. Four categories can be distinguished in terms of mosaic pattern of urban green areas: 1) 2) 3) 4)

big size—mosaic; big size—block; small size—mosaic; small size—block.

Based on satellite photos, cities cannot entirely be grouped by these divisions. The location of urban green areas are usually determined by geographical/morphological factors e.g. by river bank in the city. The relativity of size is also an important factor in analysing localisation. Therefore, the top 5 cities in Table 1. belong to the big size—mosaic and big size—block categories. The major representatives of these two categories are discussed below. Gy}or has typical big size—block green areas along the river Danube (floodplain forests and Püspök-forest). Mosaic pattern can also be spotted to some extent (Fig. 2). A big size continuous green belt can be found in the western part of Székesfehérvár, however there are no major parks or any other recreational green areas in other parts of the city. The eastern quarter is built in with houses with private gardens thus the absence of public green areas does not mean significant disadvantage for this suburb (Fig. 3).

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Fig. 3 Mosaic pattern of inner green parks in Székesfehérvár

The location of the city has a determining role in the characteristics of green areas in the case of Pécs and Miskolc; the majority of green areas stretches along the hillside of surrounding mountains, Mecsek and Bükk. The last member of the group, Szombathely has no mountains or riverbanks that could determine the characteristics of urban green areas, but thanks to efficient urban planning, the mosaic pattern of green areas is easy to spot. Representatives of the other two categories (small size—mosaic and small size—block) are located in the Great Plain, the biggest flat area of the country; no mountain or other morphological factors can be counted for in the dimensions of green areas. However, it is important to note that these cities are in a favourable position from per capita values point of view. In the case of Szeged, lakes of different sizes along the border of the city increase the mosaic characteristic of green areas. On the contrary, in Szolnok, the absence of such lakes results in an enhanced block aspect (Figs. 4 and 5) Green areas occupy space in bigger blocks in Debrecen and Kecskemét, again thanks to some forests (Nagyerd} o and the area of Szabadid}opark-ArborétumCsónakázótó) around the cities. Nyíregyháza is in a unique position in the small size—block category as there is a big size—block of green area in the northern part of the city plus several small green spots on the outskirts. For this reason it can be described as mosaic although the peripheral position of such areas means they have less optimal public access.

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Fig. 4 Mosaic aspect of inner green areas, cities of the Great Plain I.—Szeged

Fig. 5 Mosaic aspect of inner green areas, cities of the Great Plain II.—Szolnok

5 Summary Based on the findings of this study it can be stated that in terms of dimensions and mosaic pattern of urban green areas, Hungary falls behind the Western part of Europe. Cities with favourable morphological features such as surrounding

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mountains or riverbanks are in a better position. However, in settlements lacking such natural values, the mosaic pattern of green areas must be a top priority in urban planning in order to make them more liveable.

References Baranyai G, Balogh A (2010) Zöldül} o (?) települési környezet Magyarország vidéki nagyvárosaiban (Analysis of the extension and position of urban green areas on examples of hungarian towns). In: Csapó T—Kocsis Zs (eds) A településföldrajz aktuális kérdései (Topical issues in the urban geography), pp 459-466 Csapó T (2005) A magyar városok településmorfológiája. Savaria University Press, Szombathely, p 201 Csapó T (2006) Az alföldi városok településmorfológiája. In: Blahó J, Tóth J (eds) Tanulmányok Mendöl Tibor születésének 100. Évfordulójára, Orosháza-Pécs, pp 58–85 Heinrich D, Hergt M (1995) Ökológia–SH atlasz. Springer Hungária Kiadó Kft, Budapest, p 284 http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%B6ldter%C3%BCletek_fajt%C3%A1i Nagy I (2008) Városökológia. Dialóg Campus Kiadó, Budapest-Pécs, p 336 Other sources 53/1997. (XII.20.) sz. Korm. rendelet www.ksh.hu www.gyor.hu www.miskolc.hu www.kecskemet.hu Zehner K (2001) Stadtgeographie. Klett-Perthes, Gotha-Stuttgart, p 239

Health Related Quality of Life and Its Local Differences in Budapest After 1990 Éva Izsák and Annamária Uzzoli

1 Introduction Health and quality of life are notions that are tightly interconnected and complement each other, therefore, health conditions of the human resources have an essential role in economic and social processes. Low educational qualification, unfavourable labour market position, low income and unemployment go together with deteriorating living conditions and quality of life, consequently it results risk situation in people’s health. The primary objective of our study was the examination of factors of healthrelated quality of life (HRQOL) and its local differences in Budapest. In the empirical chapter of our essay we looked for answers to the following questions: • Which districts of Budapest can be typified with the best and the worst index of health-related quality of life? • In what ways has socio-economic environment affected the changes in healthrelated quality of life in the capital? • What are the underlying socio-spatial reasons for the development of the marked inequalities in health in Budapest? According to most examined statistical health indicators, the regions with the most favourable general state of health in Hungary include the north-west of

É. Izsák (&) Department of Regional Science, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. stny. 1/C, 1116 Budapest, Hungary e-mail: [email protected] A. Uzzoli Centre for Regional studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Teréz körút 13, 1067 Budapest, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

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Transdanubia and Budapest, while the most disadvantageous area can be found in north–east Hungary. Budapest in general has favourable values regarding the examined mortality indicators, nevertheless it has a bad reputation for the mortality rates caused by malignant tumour. The general state of health is good in Budapest by Hungarian standards, however the health of the population in the districts of the capital show marked differences. Even more articulated are the spatial inequalities of health within the boundaries of the capital than those of the country itself. The difference between the average life expectancy at birth of the Hungarian counties of the best and the worst values is only 2.5 years, while in the capital it is meaning a 10-year difference between the most and the least ‘‘healthy’’ districts.

2 Methods and Data The most important aim of the paper is to interpret the correlation of the local differences of quality of life and the state of health. This paper intends to analyse the supposed relation between living conditions and run of life chances with the help of mortality indicators and bibliographical references. We used in our analysis Human Development Index (HDI)—on the examining level of Budapest’s districts—for the measurement of the quality of life. It is based on the taxable income per capita, the average life expectancy at birth and percentage of the population with tertiary level education completed. These indicators (Census 2001) were aggregated, and HDI was calculated according to the well-known HDI form applied to Budapest’s circumstances. These components were life expectancy at birth (years), percentage of the population aged 25 and above with tertiary level education completed (%), and taxable income per capita (thousand forint). Besides applying HDI, we also calculated an own made Aggregated index to measure the differences of quality of life in Budapest. The objective factors of this Aggregated index (as in Fig. 1) based on the data of census 2001 and all of them were classified into three groups: • The Factors of Socio-Economic Situation: e.g. taxable income, population with tertiary level education, percentages of unemployed people, employers and physical workers etc. • Environmental Factors: as housing environment (e.g. percentage of occupied dwellings without amenities, persons per room, living area etc.) and natural environment (e.g. the proportion of public parks and green areas in the residential area). • The Factors of Health Status: e.g. average life expectancy at birth, infant and adult mortality rate, socio-demographic factors (as ageing rate, percentage of never married men and women etc.). We previously decided in the case of each single examined index that the low or the high values can indicate the more favourable status, and we ranked the

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Fig. 1 Determinants of quality of life source: Izsák et al. 2010. p. 39 (The components of our aggregated index are printed in bold.)

districts from more favourable values to the unfavourable values. Thus, all districts could get a ranking position by the examined factors, which showed more advantageous position at the top levels of the ranking list (e.g. 1., 2., 3. etc.), while the bottom levels of this ranking list indicated the more disadvantageous position of the district (e.g. 21., 22., 23.). Finally we totalised all of these ranking positions and we obtained the aggregated index of the examined district. The lower values of this aggregated index could indicate the higher socio-economic status, or the more valuable housing environment or the better health conditions of the examined district, i.e. the more favourable quality of life on the whole. At the end of this calculating we categorised all values of 23 districts into five groups, thus on the scale—between the most favourable and the most unfavourable values—we could examine in detail the local differences of the quality of life in the capital. The other important aim of this paper was to interpret the general state of health of the capital. In these statistical analysis we focused on the changes of life chances and applied the index of average life expectancy at birth, which determines life chances in a complex way, since it is determined by death rates. In order to describe tendencies, we analysed historical data after 1990, while to prove local differences, we tried to obtain the most recent data from 2008 or 2009. The level of examination of the statistical analysis was the district (Budapest has 23 districts).

3 The Determinants of Urban Quality of Life The study of Quality of Life (QOL) has attracted an ever increasing interest over the past three decades, particularly in the areas of medicine, as well as in social studies, but also in social geography and urban studies. The study of quality of life is an examination of various impacts upon the goodness and meaning in life, as well as people’s happiness and well-being (McCall 1975). Recognising both the

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objective and the subjective dimensions of quality of life is a key to understanding what parameters/attributes can be used to measure it (Gillingham and Reece 1979; Williams 1999; Allardt 1993). Objective quality of life is about fulfilling the societal and cultural demands for material wealth, social status and physical wellbeing (Nordenfelt 1993; Egedy 2009), while subjective quality of life is about feeling good and being satisfied with things in general (Argile 1996). Thus, quality of life is a descriptive term that refers to people’s emotional, social and physical well-being, and their ability to function in the ordinary tasks of living (BergerSmitt and Noll 2000). Recent initiatives emphasise the importance of environment in urban quality of life (Egedy 2008) and share an interest in the ways people’s satisfaction with their lives are influenced by the local social and physical environment (Giannias 1998; Mohan and Twigg 2002; Izsák and Probáld 2001; Izsák and Nemes Nagy 2001). This environmental context of quality of life resulted in an increased effort to find objective appropriate social indicators to measure the ‘‘reality’’ of the living environment (e.g. Stover and Leven 1992; Sufian 1993; Rogerson 1999) in this respect, the term quality of life is being used to characterise the relation to the shared environment in which people live (Helburn 1982). From our perspective, quality of life may be defined as objective measure of welfare which largely depends on the different environmental conditions in urban areas. According to the multidimensional model underlying to this study (Fig. 1), quality of life is the product of the interplay among socio-economic, health, personal and environmental conditions which affect human and social development (Izsák et al. 2010). The approach to the measurement of the quality of life derives from the position that there are a number of attributes influencing actual living conditions, thus, contributing to one’s overall assessment of the quality of life. These factors are due to the multivarious relationships between the individual and his/her physical and social environment.

4 The General State of Health in Budapest Budapest in general has favourable values regarding the examined health indicators in Hungary, nevertheless it has a bad reputation for the high mortality rates caused by malignant tumours. The general state of health is good in Budapest by the Hungarian standards, however the health of the population in the districts of the capital show marked differences (Uzzoli 2008). The very bad health conditions in some districts of Budapest could result health recession from the beginning of the 1990s for those social groups who are most affected by unemployment and poverty. According to the latest available data, the average life expectancy at birth in Budapest is 75.3 years, for males is 71.9 years and for females is 78.7 years (2009). The fall in life expectancy in 1990–1993 has been largely due to a sharp rise in premature mortality of the middle-aged male population. The

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Fig. 2 The average life expectancy at birth (years) in Hungary and in Budapest, 1990–2009 Data source Hungarian Demographic Yearbook 1990–2009

moderation of mortality rate after 1993 resulted that the life chances could increase again over 70 years in Budapest. While males’ average life expectancy at birth increased with 2.1 years between 1980 and 2009, till that of females could increase with 4.0 years during this period (Uzzoli and Szilágyi 2009). Life expectancy of Budapest was at least 0.5–0.7 years better than the Hungarian average in the last 20 years and this difference was 1.3 years in 2009 (Fig. 2). The difference between the average life expectancy at birth of the districts of the best (2nd district) and the worst (8th district) values is approximately 10 years in the capital (Józan 1998. By the average of 2001–2004 the best values of life expectancy (between 75.1 and 78.9 years) can be experienced in the districts of Buda where the social environment is the most favourable in the capital (Fig. 3). Life chances are common in the outer districts of Pest where the urban environment has advantageous features like greenbelt areas with detaches houses. The inner city districts of Pest concerned by the segregation (6th, 7th, 8th and 9th districts), or the most depreciated industrial areas after the transformation (e.g. 10th district) are in the most harmful situation. The lowest values (between 70.7 and 71.6 yeras) of the average life expectancy at birth are in the 8th, 9th, 10th and 20th districts. Infant mortality rate is an important measure of the well-being of infants, children, and pregnant women because it is associated with a variety of factors, such as maternal health, quality and access to medical care, socio-economic conditions, and public health practices (Howe 1997). The strong reduction of infant mortality in Hungary was experienced in the second half of the 20th century, which was influenced by the well-organised mother and infant welfare service. This reduction was conspicuous in the capital mainly in the last 25 years, thus during the last 10 years the rate of the moderation was more than 19 percentage. Now the value of the index is above 7% in the 8th, 10th, 15th and 21st districts which is about twice as high as the average of the European Union (Fig. 4).

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Fig. 3 The average life expectancy at birth in the districts of Budapest, in the average of 2001–2004 Data source Central Hungary Demographic Atlas 2007

Fig. 4 Infant mortality rate (years) in Budapest, 2007 Data source Budapest Statistical Yearbook 2007

The epidemiological crisis was the deepest in Hungary in 1993 with the increase of death rate to 14.5 per thousand (Józan 1991). The mortality situation has become better since the middle of the 1990s and the tendency in Budapest was similar to that. In 2009 male death rate was 1.4 times and female death rate was 1.3 times higher in Budapest than the EU average. This is true even if the general rate of mortality has decreased by 9.5% in the capital since 1980. The highest mortality rate (more than 16%) can be experienced in the 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th districts while the

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Table 1 International statistical classification of diseases and Revision Version for 2007 (per 100,000 inhabitants), 2008 Region II. IX. Diseases X. Diseases Malignant of Circulatory of Respiratory neoplasm system system

health related problems, 10th XI. Diseases of Digestive system

XIX. External causes of injuries and venenations

Central Hungary Budapest Central Transdanubia Western Transdanubia Southern Transdanubia Northern Hungary Northern Great Plain Southern Great Plain Hungary

317.9 349.9 295.6

621.4 660.3 641.2

54.2 59.2 57.1

90.4 90.3 92.8

66.4 67.2 70.8

295.6

636.0

49.3

80.6

60.8

329.0

656.2

66.6

88.8

74.3

310.7 296.2

730.5 664.0

79.0 60.2

69.5 72.0

82.6 73.4

316.7

693.1

75.0

73.8

89.4

310.6

660.9

62.4

85.8

75.4

Data source Hungarian Regional Statistical Yearbook 2008

lowest (less than 11%) were in the 3rd, 4th, 16th, 22nd districts (2009). Due to large number of elderly population, Budapest has relatively bad death rates in Hungary: the unfavourable age structure could result the higher mortality rate than the national average. The examination of the sexual distribution of mortality rates between 1990 and 2009 reveals that male mortality was higher. If we divide mortality rate by age groups, the changes are the most dramatic in the middle-aged groups. After 1990 there was a slight increase from 5.6 per thousand to 6.1 per thousand only within the age group of 40–49. In the classification system of diseases, 95 percent of the deaths may be listed into five causes of death (Table 1). The leading categories of the causes of deaths in Budapest correspond to the national tendencies. According to the data of 2008, the majority of deaths, 50.1% were caused by cardio- and cerebrovascular troubles. The second most frequent cause of death is related to cancer problems (24.6%) and the share of this category is increasing continuously. With regard to its ratio, the third set of reasons is made up by diseases of the digestive system. Its share of all deaths cases is 7.5% which does not exceed the national level. The share of the external causes of morbidity and mortality (accident, intoxication, assault, injuries, suicide etc.) on the fourth place is around the Hungarian average (6.1%). The share of the diseases of the respiratory system (e.g. chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases—COPD) on the fifth place (2.5%) is below the national average (3.5%). Budapest has an inconsistent position in the health spatial structure of Hungary. In comparison with the national averages the best or better values of mortality and morbidity statistics can result favourable characteristics of the capital in the

276 Table 2 The list of death causes of malignant tumours for males in Budapest, 2007

É. Izsák and A. Uzzoli Cause of cancer death

Ratio per 100,000

Tendency in the past 10 years

Lungs, trachea, bronchial Colon Prostate Oral and lips Lymph nodes Pancreas Stomach Liver

2,432 1,180 592 503 490 405 397 302

0 + + 0 0 -

Data source Central Hungary Demographic Atlas 2007 Legend: ? increased, 0 stagnated, - decreased

country, but the unfavourable features arise form Budapest’s higher rates of malignant neoplasm cases. The worst situation by cancer diseases and deaths can be experienced in Budapest where the mortality rate of malignant neoplasm is the highest in Hungary (it was 349.9 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2008). Mortality from malignant neoplasm tends to be higher in the 4th, 7th, 8th and 9th districts, and tends to be lower in the 15th, 16th, 18th and 19th districts. The standardised mortality ratio (SMRs) for malignant neoplasm in Budapest is also one of the highest in Hungary. Particularly, the cancers of digestive system, pancreas and breast are 25% more frequent in Budapest than in the country. The malignant tumours of the trachea, the bronchial and the lungs are the most frequent causes of cancer death among males and females, too. Smoking, particularly cigarettes, is by far the main contributor to these types of cancers. Generally, smoking is estimated to account for 87% of lung cancer cases (90% in men and 85% in women). Nowadays, smoking rate and lung cancer rate is actually increasing among females, which is the opposite of the Western-European trends. The second leading death cause of malignant tumours is the cancer of colon among males, and the cancer of breast among females (Tables 2, 3). Among females the cancer of colon is on the third place, and for males the cancer of prostate is the third most determinative death cause among malignant neoplasm cases. The suicide rate in Hungary has shown a steady decline from 45.9 per 100,000 in 1984 to 31.7 in 1997 which means a fall of more than 30%. This decline was greater after 1990 when the rate was 39.9 per 100,000 and when the political and economic changes in Eastern and Eastern Central Europe began (Rihmer and Appleby 2000). Unfortunately, Hungary still carries high suicide rate and has not moved away from ranking fifth in the world in suicide rates over the past five years. ‘‘Unemployment does significantly affect suicide rates, but in a way that varies for income: In a positive manner for high-income countries, but in a negative manner for low-income countries’’ (Noh 2009). This relationship is true for regions or micro-regions within countries, because the most unfavourable region in Hungary by suicide is southern Great Plain with its higher unemployment rate. At the same time Budapest with the Region of Western Transdanubia has the most advantaged position in the country by unemployment rate and also suicide rate (Fig. 5).

Health Related Quality of Life and Its Local Differences in Budapest After 1990 Table 3 The list of death causes of malignant tumours for females in Budapest, 2007

277

Cause of cancer death

Ratio per 100,000

Tendency in the past 10 years

Lungs, trachea, bronchial Breast Colon Pancreas Cervix Stomach Oral and lips Liver

1043 892 661 272 202 199 157 117

+ 0 0 0 + -

Data source Central Hungary Demographic Atlas 2007 Legend: ? increased, 0 stagnated, - decreased Fig. 5 Suicide rate per 100,000 in the average of 2003–2008 Data source Hungarian Medical Statistical Yearbook 2008

Health state may be evaluated on the basis of the morbidity rates as well but with a significantly higher unreliability since the most of the diseases are not presented in the statistics or in the registration of the family doctors, outpatient services, welfare centres and hospitals. On the basis of the registration of family doctors it was found that the proportion of patients suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure in Budapest is lower than the national level. The incidence of coronary-diseases is very common. The ratio of the patients suffering from active TBC registered in the welfare centres is one of the highest in Central Hungary (in Budapest and in Pest county, too) in comparison with the other regions: 36.2 patients per 100,000 inhabitants in the registered and new patients’ relation. This situation is mainly caused by homelessness, because app. 10,000 homeless people can be found in the capital.

5 The Objective Evaluation of Health Related Quality of Life The urban environment insures special life conditions that influence the local population’s quality of life and life chances. The local differences of quality of life based on HDI (Fig. 6) prove unambiguously Buda’s favourable, while Pest’s unfavourable position. In Buda the most

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Fig. 6 The values of HDI in Budapest, 2001 Data source Census in Hungary 2001

advantageous residence environment among all Budapest districts can be found in Budapest’s historical castle quarter (the 1st district), and also in the highland quarters (the 2nd and 12th districts) with its local population’s better life circumstances. The situation is more differentiated in Pest. In the inner city districts (the 6th, 7th and 8th districts) live the mostly affecting poor and vulnerable social groups with its worse labour market position. At the same time the city of Budapest (the 5th district), by way of the block rehabilitation much or less affected 9th. district, or the 14th district in the greenbelt and the 17th district with detached houses, or the ‘‘investment-friendly’’ 13th. district are in more favourable situation in Pest (based on HDI). On the other hand this more favourable situation is relative, because HDI values in a considerable measure lag behind Buda’s districts. The values of Aggregated index (Fig. 7) can give a more sophisticated face about Budapest’s quality of life and health-related quality of life because it is based on many health, environmental and other socio-economic factors. By regressing HDI value against Aggregated index, a strong correlation could be revealed (Fig. 8). In comparison with Figs. 6 and 7 the spatial structure of quality of life in Budapest is similar by the Aggregated index and by HDI: the higher values of HDI follow the very advantageous position of Buda districts, while in the centre of Pest the lower values of HDI and the very disadvantageous position of its districts can indicate the typical social and environmental problems of this area of Budapest. By the objective factors of the Aggregated index we can see that the highest level of quality of life can be found in those district of Buda where from more viewpoints the most favourable housing and living conditions resulted the highest life expectancy at birth (Fig. 3) in Budapest. The run of life chances in these Buda districts were the most favourable after 1990 and we can say the best values of health indicators can be experienced in this area of the capital.

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Fig. 7 The values of the aggregated index in Budapest, 2001 Data source Census in Hungary 2001

Fig. 8 Correlation between aggregated index and HDI, 2001 Data source Census in Hungary 2001

We made additional regional analyses on the exploration of the correlation system of the socio-economic environment and the quality of life. As an example we experienced close relationship between the economic development (based on taxable income/per capita/per district) and the life expectancy at birth: the value of the Pearson’s correlation coefficient is R2 = 0.81. Considerable similarities are found between housing conditions (comfort based on the scale) and life expectancy (R2 = -0.75). The life chances that we recorded, regarding (determining indicator) neonatal infant mortality, fundamentally depends on the mother’s educational level (R2 = -0.63). We recorded another interesting result based on an intensive examination on the statistical data.

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The Hungarian Central Statistical Office’s examination results showed that women 2.7 times more likely than men to suffer from alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver in Budapest. This shows that this cause of death is in line with occupation (i.e. physical worker) and housing conditions (i.e. living conditions) (R2 = 0.65 and R2 = 0.77). Our results are suitable for the evaluation the burden of disease, and for using them in health economic and other health political analyses. We highlighted the role of the socio-economic factors affecting the quality of life through the context of our analyses. We emphasise that trying to reduce health inequalities does not merely belong to the public health system but is an extended task for social politics.

6 Conclusions In examining health-related quality of life, a particularly important issue is to explore social problems linked to well-being. In exploring related social problems regarding prosperity and quality of life linked to health not only in scientific life but also in every day one realises the notion that in the interest of societies’ sustainability regarding quantities, prosperity being aimed at the satisfaction of material needs, we must also consider prosperity in regard to immaterial concerns. We have attempted to present the methodology and the application of an own made Aggregated index based on objective factors in this study. The consideration of physical features in the health conditions encountered during this examination, although we emphasise that besides of these physical components of health there is a need for evaluation of the broader dimensions of mental health factors. The urban environment presents continual challenges: one needs to adapt to the different life situations which can change very quickly. Life conditions and life chances always change. This is the main reason for adapting to the modern life conditions being particularly socially defined (Kopp et al. 2000). The underprivileged social groups’ adaptational disturbances can result the worse health situation with higher rate of chronic illnesses and lower life expectancy. At the same time the more favourable socio-economic situation does not lead to a factor change in all cases. The continuous improvement of these life conditions is translated reversely in many cases in more developed countries as the people’s/nation’s subjective well-being and mental health conditions. The Progressive Paradox means that well-being (in the material, objective and technical sense) pairs up with feeling of unhappiness and dissatisfaction, which is a risk indicator for future health conditions (Easterbrook 2003). Health conditions influence the quality of life fundamentally; therefore the current task is to interpret the inequalities of the health-related quality of life within Hungary, for example among micro-regions. The information and the

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statistics found carry huge future implications for the national health policy. In Hungary the relevant epidemiological challenge is to increase life expectancy and to improve the qualitative parameters of healthy life expectancy.

References Allardt E (1993) Having, loving, being: An alternative to the Swedish model of welfare research. In: Nussbaum M, Sen A (eds) The quality of life. Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp 88–94 Argile M (1996) Subjective well-being. In: Offer A (ed) Pursuit of the quality of life. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 172–187 Berger-Smitt R, Noll H (2000) Conceptual framework and structure of a European system of social indicators. EU Reporting Working Paper, 9. ZUMA, Mannheim, 234 p Easterbrook G (2003) The progressive paradox. How life gets better while people feel worse. Random House, New York 400 Egedy T (2008) The expected impact of the rehabilitation of Mátyás square on the local community and the quality of life. In: Alföld Gy, Kovács Z (eds) Urban Green Book—Városi Zöld Könyv. ÉTK Kft.—MTA FKI—Rév8 Zrt., Budapest, pp 122–146 Egedy T (2009) Current trends, strategies and socio-economic implications of urban regeneration in Hungary. In: Yildiz HT, Guney YI (eds) Revitalising built environments—Requalifying Old Places for New Uses. IAPS—CSBE Housing Networks, Bancesehir University Istanbul Teknik Universitesi, Istanbul, CD-ROM Giannias DA (1998) A quality of life based ranking of Canadian cities. Urban Studies 35. Sage, London, pp 2241–2251 Gillingham R, Reece WS (1979) A new approach to quality of life measurement. Urban Studies 16. Sage, London, pp 329–332 Helburn N (1982) Geography and the quality of life. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 72. Wiley, New York, pp 445–456 Howe GM (1997) People, environment, disease and health. A medical geography of Britain throughout the ages. University of Wales Press, Cardiff 364 Hungarian Central Statistical Office (1990–2009): Hungarian Demographc Yearbook. HCSO, Budapest CD-ROM Hungarian Central Statistical Office (1990–2009) Hungarian Regional Statistical Yearbook. HCSO, Budapest, CD-ROM Hungarian Central Statistical Office (2007) Central Hungary Demographic Atlas. HCSO, Budapest, CD-ROM Hungarian Central Statistical Office (2008) Hungarian Medical Statistical Yearbook. HCSO, Budapest, p 423 Hungarian Central Statistical Office (1990–2009) Budapest Statistical Yearbook. HCSO, Budapest, CD-ROM Izsák É, Nemes Nagy J (2001) The Changing hungarian cityscape in the 1990s: A survey of four sample cities. In: Meusburger P, Jöns H (eds) Transformations in hungary essays in economy and society. Physica-Verlag A Springer-verlag Company, Heidelberg, pp 317–328 Izsák É, Probáld F (2001) Recent Differentiation Processes in Budapest’s Suburban Belt. In: Meusburger P, Jöns H (eds) Transformations in hungary. essays in economy and society. Physica-Verlag A Springer-verlag Company, Heidelberg/New York, pp 291–316 Izsák É, Probáld F, Uzzoli A (2010) Examining the factors of quality of life—A case study in Budapest. In: Butnaru G (ed) Banat’s J Biotechnol 2010/1. Agroprint, Timisoara, pp 37–47 Józan P (1991) The epidemiological future. In: Kesteloot K, Cleemput I, Oortwijn W (eds) Health Policy 19. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 19–32 Józan P (1998) Some features of mortality in Hungary between 1980 and 1994. In: Bak J, Király BM (eds) Atlantic Studies on Society in Change. Social Science Monograps, New York, pp 111–138

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Kopp M, Skrabski Á, Szedmák S (2000) Psychosicoal risk factors, inequality and self-rated morbidity in a changing societis. In: Annandale E (ed) Social Science and Medicine 51. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 1350–1361 KSH 2007 Census in Hungary 2001. HCSO, Budapest, CD-ROM McCall S (1975) Quality of life. Social Indicators Research 2. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 229–248 Mohan J, Twigg L (2002) Sense of place, quality of life and local socio-economic context: evidence from the survey of English housing. Urban studies 44. Sage, London, pp 2029–2045 Noh Y-H (2009) Does unemployment increase suicide rates? The OECD panel evidence. In: Hölzl E, Kirchler E (eds) Journal of Economic Psychology (30), 4. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 575–582 Nordenfelt L (1993) Quality of life. health and happiness. Atheneum Press, Newcastle upon Tyne 415 Rihmer Z, Appleby L (2000) Decreasing suicide in Hungary. The British Journal of Psychiatry (177), 84., BMJ Journal, London, pp 375–386 Rogerson RJ (1999) Quality of life and city competitiveness. Urban studies 36. Sage, London, pp 969–985 Stover ME, Leven CL (1992) Methodological issues in the determination of the quality of life in urban areas. Urban Studies 29. Sage, London, pp 737–754 Sufian AJM (1993) A multivariate analysis of the determinants of urban quality of life in the world’s largest metropolitan areas. Urban Studies 30. Sage, London, pp 1319–1329 Uzzoli A (2008) The mortality situation and its spatial dimension in Hungary. Czech Regional Studies 2008/2. Czech Regional Sciences Association, Prague, pp 41–50 Uzzoli A, Szilágyi D (2009) Life expectancy and its regional inequalities in Hungary. In: Lazac L. (ed) Geographica Pannonica 2009/4. University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, pp 127–136 Williams A (1999) Why and how to measure quality of life? British Medical Journal 291. BMJ Journal, London, pp 326–329

The Relationship Between Sports and Urban Structure Through the Example of Hungarian Regional Centres Gábor Kozma and István Süli-Zakar

1 Introduction As a result of the increasing significance of sports, which can be observed in recent decades (e.g. European Commission 2007), researchers in the field of the urban geography have also begun to pay more attention to the relationship between sports and urban structure. Even though this phenomenon can be best examined in the case of larger events (e.g. Olympic Games), in addition, I contend that analyses on smaller scales can also yield valuable results. This paper deals with the location of sports facilities within Hungarian regional centres, and can be fundamentally divided into three parts. The second chapter deals with international literature on the given topic; the third chapter describes the development of the sports facilities in the Hungarian regional centres from the early twentieth century to our days, and then the fourth chapter draws some conclusions and provides an outline of the similarities and differences between the international and Hungarian trends. In the context of this paper, a sports facility shall be understood as a facility that either played an important role in the competitive sports scene of the given city, making it possible for the local sports associations to compete in regional and (especially after the 1960s) national championships, or provided a venue for the practice of several branches of sports.

G. Kozma (&)
I. Süli-Zakar Department of Social Geography and Regional Development Planning, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary e-mail: [email protected] I. Süli-Zakar e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_21,  Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

283

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Table 1 Changes in the locations of the home stadiums of the teams in the four most important North American sports (NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL) between 1965 and 1997 (with percentages in parentheses) 1965 1985 1997 City centre (downtown) Within the city Edge of the city/Suburbs Total

24 (42.1) 28 (49.1) 5 (8.8) 57 (100.0)

38 31 29 98

(38.8) (31.6) (29.6) (100.0)

58 (51.3) 26 (23.0) 29 (25.7) 113 (100.0)

Source after Newsome and Comer 2000

2 Review of the International Literature on the Topic According to researchers, three categories can be identified with respect to the location of sports facilities within cities (Thornley 2002): • location in the city centre or its close proximity; • location within the city; • location on the edge or suburbs. The first type primarily emerged due to historical reasons, since in this case the facility was located on the edge of the settlement being formed in the past; however, due to the growth and spatial expansion of the settlement, the location of the facility can be regarded today as central. One of the most beautiful examples for a sports facility located in a city centre, which is at the same time almost unique in Europe, is the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the predecessor of which was originally built in the late ninteenth century, on the edge of the settlement at the time, and which has obtained its current form in 1999 after several transformations. On the other hand, from the early 1990s, due to the importance of the renewal of the deteriorated inner city economies, primarily in the United States of America, this option came to the foreground once again (Turner and Rosentraub 2002; Nelson 2007). The results of the most detailed survey (Newsome and Comer 2000) on this topic supply evidence for the change in a very convincing way (Table 1): by 1997, more than 50% of all sports facilities could be regarded as centrally located, and in two sports (handball, ice hockey) this proportion was even higher. The advantages of this type include good accessibility by public transportation, the abundance of available accommodation and entertainment facilities, which can contribute to the formation of a real tourist city. Among the disadvantages we should mention that in many cases significant events may need to be secured by the operations of police forces, and this, combined with the behaviour of the spectators arriving to these events, may occasionally cause inconveniences. Suburban or edge-of-the-city locations became very popular in the United States of America in the 1960s and 1970s (Table 1) due to several reasons (Bale 2003; Barghchi et al. 2009). Firstly, due to the difficulties inherent with the expansion/modernisation of existing facilities, an obvious option arising in the

The Relationship Between Sports and Urban Structure Table 2 The territorial location of stadiums constructed since 1990 in a new location and having a seating capacity of at least 30,000 (the table does not include facilities constructed on the sites of demolished old stadiums)

Germany Great Britain Spain Italy Portugal Other countries Total

285

City centre

Within the city

Suburbs/edge of the city

0 1 0 0 0 1 2

2 6 1 1 0 1 11

5 1 3 2 3 6 20

Source http://www.fussballtempel.net/uefa/listeuefa.html and the websites of stadiums

1960s, also in line with the decentralisation of cities, was the construction of facilities on cheap suburban plots, and the economic efficiency was further enhanced by the fact that the property on which the previous facility was located could be sold at very favourable prices. Secondly, these facilities were constructed in areas close to motorways, and thus had excellent accessibility, and it was not a concern either that the spectators would disturb the people living nearby. Thirdly, these areas at the time had a more positive image than the inner city areas, and this was also an important factor. In addition, there were opportunities in the vicinity of the sports facilities to carry out other developments (e.g. hotels, shopping malls, conference centres), which further enhanced the attractiveness of the given complex (and the availability of shared parking areas was an advantage). A disadvantage of these locations was, on the one hand, that accessibility was in most cases possible by way of cars only; on the other hand, in urban planning increasing attention is given to the stopping of the further sprawl of cities. With the exception of Great Britain (Bale 1994), the suburbanisation of sports facilities (mainly football stadiums) in Europe could be observed for a long time, and from the early 1990s it received fresh impetus due to the following two factors. On the one hand, due to the increasing popularity of football, the existing facilities proved to be small, and in order to increase their revenues, clubs set as an objective the construction of larger facilities. On the other hand, as a consequence of the tragedy that happened in Hillsborough in 1989, increasingly strict requirements were implemented with respect to the technical standards of stadiums. The demands that arose could not be satisfied in most cases in the existing location, and as a result the suburban or edge-of-the-city location emerged, which was further reinforced by the first and second reasons also mentioned in connection with the United States of America. The processes described above are evidenced by the data in Table 2 according to which more than 50% of the stadiums built since 1990 are located in the suburbs (e.g. Allianz Arena—München, Amsterdam Arena). There may be several factors behind the increasing popularity of locations still within cities but at a certain distance from the current city centres (Barghchi et al. 2009). On the one hand, it may be due to the fact that the necessary modernisation/ expansion of the facility is not possible on the previous location (see above); at the

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Fig. 1 Location of Hungarian regional centres studied

same time the team, partly in order to keep its base of supporters, does not want to move to a larger distance (cf. the new stadium of Arsenal, constructed in 2006 at a distance of approximately 500 yards from the earlier facility). The above phenomenon was particularly frequent in the 1990s in Great Britain (Table 2) where, according to the Taylor report issued after the Hillsborough tragedy, only seated spectators could be allowed in the stadiums of teams in the Premier and the Championship Leagues. On the other hand, in case of newly constructed, larger sports facilities (e.g. developments related to the Olympic Games), there is more emphasis on locations within the city that are easily accessible by way of public transportation. In both cases, facilities are frequently built on previously industrial, currently deteriorated neighbourhoods in the hope that the new facility will play a leading role in the renewal of the given part of the settlement. In the opinion of researchers, in certain countries of Europe (e.g. in Scandinavia), the changes in the location of sports facilities within cities frequently leads to the gradual segmentation and concentration of the sports facilities, which results in entire urban zones concentrating on sports (Bale 1994).

3 Sports Facilities and Hungarian Regional Centres The study of Hungarian regional centres (Fig. 1: Debrecen, Gy}or, Miskolc, Pécs, Szeged, Székesfehérvár, Veszprém) is fundamentally justified by two factors. On the one hand, these settlements count in Hungary as development poles to

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Table 3 The cities of the first league winner teams in most popular team sports in Hungary in the first decade of the twenty-first century A B C D E F G H Regional centres Budapest Other cities Total

5 4 1 10

10 0 0 10

5 2 3 10

0 0 10 10

6 0 4 10

0 10 0 10

9 0 1 10

35 16 19 70

A football (man), B handball (man), C handball (women), D basketball (man), E basketball (woman), F water-polo (man), G ice hockey (man), H total Source websites of different sports associations

Budapest, and even the National Regional Development Concept, adopted in 2005, considered it necessary to create an attractive residential and recreational environment, a complex cultural offering, as well as the organisation of regional, national and international events in the settlements concerned, which to some extent also includes sports. On the other hand, in the first decade of the twenty-first century, in contrast with the earlier period when the predominance of Budapest was very clear, the sports clubs of the cities examined played a very important role in the team sports that are the most popular in Hungary (Table 3). In the course of the research project, I have examined 88 sports facilities from among which only 67 serve the purpose of sports, while the rest—in line with the trends that can be observed in Hungary—have been decommissioned and are currently used for other purposes.

3.1 The Most Important Characteristic Features of the Development of Sports Facilities In the regional centres examined, several stages in the development of sports facilities can be separated (Table 4). An important characteristic feature of the period before the 1920s was that due to the important role that gymnastics played as a form of physical exercise, gymnasiums were constructed in several cities across the country (Debrecen, Pécs, Székesfehérvár, Veszprém); however, these were not yet suitable for accommodating large numbers of spectators. On the other hand, due to the increasing popularity of football and athletics, there were 2–3 stadiums built in each city; however, the level of equipment in these (for example, serving the convenience of the spectators) was very low in this period (with the sole exception of the stadium of the Szeged Athletic Club constructed in Újszeged in 1912, which was financed by one of the founders of the sports association— Photo 1). The first important period in terms of the development of the sports facilities was between the two world wars, when several important investment projects took place: on the one hand, facilities serving several new branches of sports (e.g. football, athletics, rifle shooting, tennis) and providing a higher level of services to

288 Table 4 Stages in the development of sports facilities in the cities examined

G. Kozma and I. Süli-Zakar

Before the 1920s Between the world wars Mid-1940s to mid-1960s Mid-1960s to mid-1980s Mid-1980s to late 1990s Since the late 1990s

New facility

Significanta modernisation of existing facility

12 17 13 37 2 7

0 2 3 3 6 11

a

Significant modernisation: erecting a roof over the facility (e.g. skating rink) or expansion of the number of spectator facilities (sports hall, football stadium)

Photo 1 Bástya stadium, Szeged

both the spectators and the participants of sports were built (e.g. Debrecen— Photo 2, Gy}or, Miskolc, Szeged), and on the other hand there were also significant efforts for the modernisation of existing facilities. As regards the financing of the developments, there were two major groups. First, a major role in providing the financial sources for the developments was played by the Hungarian State Railways (Debrecen, Miskolc, Szeged, Székesfehérvár), which can be partly attributed to its financial strength, as well as to the fact that the company tried to keep its workers away from the labour movement by way of supporting sports (Filep 1988; Thékes 1994; Varga 2004). The other important source was industrial companies (Posch et al 2003, Papp 2005) whose financial situation has been solidified as a result of the preparation for World War II (Gy} or: Wagon Factory; Miskolc: Diósgy}or Ironworks; Székesfehérvár: Shotgun Cartridge Factory). As far as the other sports facilities

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Photo 2 Nagyerdei stadium, Debrecen

are concerned, the picture is much more complex: in case of the more important stadiums, in Debrecen it was the local government (Szegedi 2005) and in Szeged a private entrepreneur of considerable capital who financed the construction, while in case of the other, much smaller facilities the development was realised as a result of the donations and work of the members of the sports associations. The 15–20 years after World War II (basically until the middle of the 1960s) were characterised by a small-scale development of sports facilities, which was fundamentally due to two factors. On the one hand, as a result of the developments between the two world wars, the existing facilities were able, for the most part, to satisfy the demands arising. On the other hand, the resources available in this period were primarily devoted to economic development as well as for infrastructural projects more directly serving the needs of the population, and therefore, there were hardly any funds left for developments of larger financial needs (and in addition, the construction of the Stadium of Budapest in the 1950s used up the decisive majority of the funds available for sports). The sports-related developments in the given period were basically concentrated in three areas. First, the construction of larger stadiums took place in this period in two cities, which was due to special factors. In Pécs it was the Hungarian State Railway (Gáspár 1999), which had had no major facility before, that constructed a new football stadium in 1952 (although the plans for the construction of the stadium were first drawn up during World War II), while in Veszprém it was the absence of a major football stadium that was behind the development in 1960 (Horváth 1987). Secondly, in the period after World War II, there was an increase in the popularity of several branches of sports that had been less known before (e.g. handball, basketball, volleyball), and as a result, the necessity of the construction of

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new, basically smaller and lower-cost, open facilities, as well as in the case of basketball also sports halls accommodating spectators and gymnasiums (e.g. in Miskolc, Pécs, Székesfehérvár) emerged (Posch et al. 2003; Varga 2004). Thirdly, in some cities the local football teams qualified to NB 1, the premier league of Hungary, and this led to the need for the modernisation of the stadium they were using (e.g. Debrecen, Miskolc, Szeged). The next great period of the development of sports facilities was between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s, which can be explained by several factors. Firstly, in the mid-1960s the state and party leadership also recognised that the material conditions and facilities of sports were inevitable (Bakonyi 2007). Secondly, as a result of the economic development in this period, there were one or two large companies in most cities which, embracing the cause of sports associations, not only provided sources for their operation but, when necessary, even carried out major infrastructural developments for them. Thirdly, the local authorities had increasing financial resources, which they partly spent on developments satisfying the requirements of the population (including sports-related developments). As a last major incentive it should be mentioned that the international standards of certain branches of sports have also become stricter (e.g. it was required in an increasing number of ball games they be played indoors), which made further developments necessary. Sports-related infrastructural developments can be placed in several categories. From the second half of the 1960s—with the development of handball—there were several open-air handball stadiums with a seating capacity of several thousand spectators built in a number of cities (Debrecen, Pécs, Székesfehérvár, Veszprém), and until the end of the 1970s they counted as the local basis of the sport. Secondly, in the cities examined (with the exception of Székesfehérvár and Veszprém) there were larger municipal sports halls with a seating capacity of 2–3,000 built, which could serve as a venue for various team sports as well as for certain municipal events. Thirdly, financed in the largest part by companies, new stadiums were built (e.g. speedway stadiums in Debrecen and Miskolc, ETO stadium in Gy}or) or the existing facilities were modernised (Debrecen, Miskolc, Székesfehérvár). Fourthly, in the absence of municipal sports halls, or sometimes in addition to them—certain large companies sometimes built smaller (with seating capacity of max. 1,000–1,500) sports halls (Debrecen: Gábor Oláh street sports hall, Szeged: DÉLÉP sports hall, Székesfehérvár: KÖFÉM sports hall, Veszprém: the VÁÉV sports hall on 15th March Street, which also functioned as a school gymnasium), in which the teams supported by given company played their home matches. Outdoor ice skating rinks, which were still for the largest part used by the population belonged in the fifth group, while multi-sport facilities (Debrecen, Gy}or, Miskolc, Székesfehérvár) satisfying the sports-related needs of the local population and of students belonged to the sixth. In the last group we have developments related to water sports, which were mostly characteristic of cities located along rivers (Gy} or, Szeged).

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There was a major drop in the field of the development of sports facilities between the mid-1980s and the late 1990s, partly due to the developments of the earlier period, which were fundamentally suitable for satisfying the needs arising. On the other hand, as a result of the economic crisis accompanying the political changes, neither the central government, nor the local authorities or other economic stakeholders had the financial resources that they could devote to this purpose. The developments that took place in this period can be placed in three groups: first, the increase in the student numbers of two university towns (Szeged, Pécs) made it necessary to carry out a significant expansion of their sports facilities; secondly, roofs were constructed over the previously outdoor ice skating rinks of Szeged and Székesfehérvár. Thirdly, the modernisation of sports facilities commenced in connection with specific sporting events held in various cities (Pécs: modernisation of the sports hall in connection with the women’s basketball European Championship held in 1997; Szeged: due to the blockade against Yugoslavia, the team Cverna Zvezda of Belgrade played some of its European Cup matches here, and the Municipal Stadium had to be modernised in accordance with UEFA standards; Szeged: the upgrading of the Maty-ér regatta course before the kayak-canoe World Championship of 1998). Another big wave could be observed in the field of the development of sports facilities from the end of the 1990s. In the background of this development we can find, first of all, the increasing demands toward these facilities, which means that international sporting events (e.g. UEFA Champions League, World and European Championships) can only be organised in facilities providing a high standard of services. Secondly, the governments in power from the late 1990s (especially the Orbán administration, which was in power between 1998 and 2002) devoted special attention and significant resources (e.g. Stadium Modernisation Programme, Sport XXI Facility Development Programme) for this purpose, the background of which was provided for by economic growth. Thirdly, to a certain extent as a result of the economic development, the growing interest of the private sector can also be observed, which was manifested—in addition to the financing of sports associations—also in infrastructural developments (e.g. Gy}or: complete reconstruction of the ETO stadium). In the first large group of developments we can find the modernisation of football stadiums financed by the above mentioned programme, from which Debrecen, Szeged and Veszprém were left out (the first was due to partly organisational and partly political reasons, while in case of the latter two it was the poor performance of the football teams that played a role). In the second group we have upgrading projects that were necessary because of the limited capacities of the existing facilities (Szeged: expansion of the Municipal Sports Hall, Veszprém: expansion of sports hall on 15th March Street) or in the interest of ensuring the high-standard organisation of a significant international sporting event (Debrecen: reconstruction of the István Gyulai Athletic Stadium—2001; Szeged: new phase of the modernisation of the Matyi-ér regatta course–2005). Finally, in the third group we can find new projects, including new sports arenas (Debrecen: F}onix

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Photo 3 Veszprém Aréna

Hall, Gy}or: Unihall University sports hall, Veszprém: VeszprémAréna—Photo 3), swimming pools (Debrecen: Debrecen Indoor Sports Swimming Pool, Miskolc: Dénes Kemény Sports Swimming Pool) and indoor skating rinks (Debrecen, Miskolc).

3.2 The Types of Locations of Sports Facilities and the Factors Influencing Them The location of sports facilities within cities and the factors that influence that spatial configuration are closely linked to the stages of developments described above, as well as to the types of those sports facilities. Before the World War II, in case of gymnasiums constructed, the most important factor was accessibility, and due to this reason, as a result of the low level of public transportation available, the typical location was within the city or in the city centre. By contrast, when deciding on where football stadiums would be built, preference was given to locations on the edges of cities, in the background of which there were several different factors. The first of these factors was that vacant land area of significant size was needed for these developments, which was typically available on the edge of the settlements. The second factor was the fact that a significant part of the developments, as discussed above, was financed by Hungarian State Railway or some other large companies whose premises were on the edge of the city, and since these facilities also served the purpose of providing recreational opportunities for employees of these companies, it was obvious that they should be built in close proximity.

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The third factor concerns a similar relationship also in the case of universities: a sports complex satisfying the needs of students was constructed in the direct vicinity of the universities of Debrecen and Pécs, both of which were developed after World War I. By the period between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s, a duality in terms of the selection of the location of facilities could be observed. On the one hand, in case of football stadiums, due to the above mentioned reason, the availability of vacant land areas, locations on the edge was still typical, which choice was further reinforced in Pécs by the vicinity of the premises of Hungarian State Railway. On the other hand, in case of handball and basketball courts, locations in the city centre, or within the city, were given preference, which can be explained by the need of smaller land area in case of these facilities, as well as by the fact that his way the easier accessibility of these facilities could be ensured. The tendencies between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s were partly identical with and partly the opposite of what could be observed earlier. Three of the four large stadiums constructed in this period (speedway stadiums in Debrecen and Szeged; Rába ETO stadium in Gy} or) and some of the youth sports complexes (Debrecen, Székesfehérvár) were still characterised by a location on the edge of the city, while the youth sport complexes in Miskolc and Gy}or were located within the city in order to be close to the users. In case of smaller facilities, different processes were taking place. First of all, in the course of the development of new open-air handball stadiums, municipal sports halls and ice skating rinks an effort was made to choose locations within the cities that would be well accessible by public transportation. As a result of vacant lots close to the city centre no longer being available (a constraint) and the development of the system of public transportation (an opportunity), there was a tendency for new facilities to be located farther away from the city centre. As a second factor, concerning the development of sports halls linked to companies, the location on the edge dominated, which was due to the fact that in addition to satisfying the demands of professional sports, these facilities also served the purpose of amateur sports of companies, and this made it necessary to build them in such a way that they would be located close to the premises of the given companies. A third factor was that the intention of ensuring a better management of the available properties first appeared in this period as a new consideration in the location of facilities, which meant that a part of the new developments took place on the areas that had been earlier used for the purposes of sports already (pl. Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc). In the last major stage of the development of sports facilities, as also shown in Table 4 an important role was still played by the modernisation/upgrading processes that had started in the earlier period. The newly constructed facilities were primarily located within the city (with the exception of VeszprémAréna in the city of Veszprém and the Dénes Kemény Sports Swimming Pool in Miskolc), which is related to the types of facilities (they did not include football stadiums, which required much larger plots), the requirement of good accessibility, and the intention to link these facilities to the existing ones.

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Table 5 The location of sports facilities within cities at the time of their building (A) and today (B) (%) A B Larger facilities Smaller facilities gymnasiums, sports halls open-air handball and basketball courts other sports facilities Total

1

2

3

1

2

3

0 10 9 27

28 54 57 55

72 36 34 18

0 0 0 0

71 75 78 100

29 25 22 0

0 6

50 42

50 52

0 0

64 73

36 27

1 city centre, 2 within the city, 3 edge of the city/suburbs

4 Conclusions Having examined the temporality of the development of sports facilities we can conclude that until the early 1920s we could mainly observe an increase in terms of quantity, while in the period between the two world wars a bigger emphasis was placed on quality. The second great wave of development took place between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s, and then the new millennium brought another big upsurge; however, at this time an important role was already played by the modernisation/upgrading the facilities constructed earlier. An analysis of the temporality and quality of the developments on the cities examined, we can observe that Székesfehérvár and Veszprém was falling behind in the period before World War II, in the background of which was the lower population number and weaker economic situation of these two cities. After World War II, and especially from the 1960s, however, Székesfehérvár significantly improved its position, which was related to the economic boom in the city, while the fact that Veszprém was falling further behind was well indicated by the fact that unlike the other cities it had neither a real sports hall or an ice skating rink, and the quality of its football stadium was also very low. The biggest winners of the developments in the new millennium were Debrecen, Gy}or and Miskolc, while in Pécs and Szeged it was only smaller modernisation projects that took place. As regards the location of the sports facilities within the cities, in case of the establishment of facilities requiring larger plot areas (stadiums, sports complexes), these were mainly located on the edge of cities or in suburbs (Table 5), which is very much in line with the trends that we can also observe across Europe. By contrast, in case of smaller facilities—with the exception of those mentioned earlier (e.g. sports halls linked to companies)—a bigger role was played by locations within the city boundaries. At the same time, the spatial development of the settlements also caused certain changes (Table 5): a significant part of the facilities constructed before World War II would rather count today as being located within the city boundaries.

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Fig. 2 Location of sports facilities and sport-related hotels in the north-eastern part of Debrecen 1 Sport-complex in Gábor Oláh street (sports hall, football stadium, ice skate rink, Gyula István Athletic Stadium), 2 Great Forest Stadium, 3 Imre Hódos Municipal Sports Hall, 4 F}onix Hall, 5 Debrecen Indoor Sports Swimming Pool, 6 Sport Hotel, 7 Hotel Campus, 8 Hotel Nagyerd}o, 9 Hotel Aquaticum, 10 Hotel Divinus

As regards the factors influencing the location of sports facilities within the cities, an important role was played, of course, by the location of available land areas. From among the factors that played an important role in the earlier and the entire examined period, mention should be made, on the one hand, of the importance of accessibility (a significant part of the facilities were located on properties that were easily accessible by way of public transportation), and on the other hand by their closeness to the main users (e.g. the facilities of teams belonging to the individual companies, the sports complexes located in the proximity of universities). At the same time, from the mid-1960s, an increasingly important role was also played by the need for linking new facilities to existing ones, which means that the new developments were carried out on plots that had been earlier used for the purposes of sports, or in their close proximity. Consequently, in several cities a spatial concentration of sports facilities emerged (with the only exception of Székesfehérvár), which can be observed in continental Europe; the best example for this is the city of Debrecen (Fig. 2). The tendency, which can be primarily observed in the United States of America, but also to a lesser extent in Western Europe, that sports facilities constitute a part of a larger complex also including shopping and entertainment

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Photo 4 ETO-Park in Gy} or

centres and hotels, has so far only appeared in case of a single development in Hungary, which is the ETO Park of Gy} or (Photo 4). In the background of this is the fact that such developments are primarily linked to football stadiums; however, in the course of the stadium reconstruction works that were implemented in Hungary, the opportunities for such developments did not arise due to the shortage of financial resources.

References Bakonyi T (2007) Állam, civil társadalom, sport. Kossuth Kiadó, Budapest, p 179 Bale J (1994) Landscape of modern sport. Leicester University Press, Leicester, p 211 Bale J (2003) Sports geography. Routledge, New York, p 197 Barghchi M, Omar D, Aman MS (2009) Cities, Sports facilites development, and hosting events. Eur J Social Sci 10(2):185–195 European Commission (2007) White paper on sport. Office for official publications of the European communities, Luxembourg, p 21 Filep T (1988) A football-tért} ol a nemzeti bajnokságig Fejezetek a DVSC és a Bocskay történetéb}ol. Csokonai Kiadó, Debrecen, p 243 Gáspár G (1999) A nyolcvan éves PVSK. Pécsi Szemle, Pécs, pp 84–92 Horváth J (ed) (1987) VTC-VSE—75 év Veszprém sportjáért. Veszprém, p 391 Nelson SL (2007) Sports facilities: From multipurpose stadia to mixed use developments. Paper presented at American real estate society conference, San Francisco, p 13 Newsome TH, Comer JC (2000) Changing intra-urban location patterns of major league sports facilites. Professional geographer, Routledge, Colchester, pp 105–120 Papp Gy (2005) ETO 100: a Gy} ori ETO centenáriumára. Gy}or Megyei Jogú Város Sportigazgatósága, Gy} or p 152 Posch E et al (2003) A fehérvéri sport aranykönyve. Lénia 2 Kft. Székesfehérvár, p 348 Szegedi P (2005) Pozíciók és oppozíciók: a futballmez} o kialakulása, struktúrája és dinamikája. PhD-értekezés, Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem, Budapest, p 286

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Thékes I (1994) Hetvenöt éves a szegedi vasutas sport egyesület. Délmagyarország, Szeged, p 107 Thornley A (2002) Urban regeneration and sports stadia. Europen Planning Studies, Routledge, Colchester, pp 813–818 Turner RS, Rosentraub MS (2002) Tourism, sport and the centrality of cities. Journal of urban affairs. Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, pp 487–492 Varga L (2004) A Miskolci Vasutas Sport Club története, 1911–2004. Miskolc, p 170

On the Vulnerability and Reliability of Towns and Cities Attila Horváth and Zágon Csaba

1 Introduction The statement that the people of modern age use incomparably more technical devices or use certain services much frequently than they could have used 20 years ago, seems to be a banality. The achievements of the post-modern age are not utilised in people’s individual life purely, but also used inevitably in the community interactions such as political, administrative, economic, financial, social and cultural forms and functions of the public life. By the majority of the people, the reliability and continuity of infrastructure services are considered as unquestionable and granted. Until something unpredictable happens to them, such as a simple power-cut can be, the average citizen would not recognise how vulnerable the networks he or she uses every day, are. It is widely accepted that the competitiveness of cities are determined mainly by the state of development of their own infrastructure. The question therefore is that: have we bothered enough with the reliability of the infrastructural services such as energetics, traffic networks, telecommunication, financial, economic, social and others? Those sorts of questions never loose their actuality. There are many good reasons why it is necessary to deal with this scope of problems. One of them is that one half of the global population live in towns and, according to certain estimates this proportion will grow up to 75% until 2050

A. Horváth (&) Department for Traffic Engineering, Military Logistics Institute, Zrínyi Miklós, Bolyai János Military Technical, National Defence University, Budapest, Hungary e-mail: [email protected] Z. Csaba Zrínyi Miklós National Defence University, Budapest, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5_22,  Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

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(Graham 2010). Another good reason arises if we consider the urban infrastructure as a network of interlinked networks. In this case the vulnerability of any of its elements may affect the whole system, influencing one element system to another as a chain. It is not an overestimation to assume a domino effect paralysing all aspects of everyday life and vital functions of the urban communities. Even if the malfunction starts locally it may provoke a snowball effect quickly resulting in global challenges.

2 Vulnerability of Cities and its Reasons The elements of urban infrastructure are forming a complex network, therefore it needs a complex approach to be able to control it. Not surprisingly the critical infrastructure protection plans in the United States and in the Member States of the European Union focus on securing and maintaining such urban services like health care, trade, catering, freshwater supply, financial services, energetics, communication, transport networks and so on.

2.1 Complex Approach Various systems have physically connected to each other at many intersections; the continuous functioning of infrastructural subsystems, however, may not be entirely guaranteed, because of the nodal contacts solely. The interdependency of different services has increased in many aspects, for instance energetics depends on traffic networks, pipelines and vice versa, while all these depend on communications networks such as satellites. The disturbance of any of them may affect the proper functioning of the others. A potential loss may cause serious consequences in other networks as well (Little 2010). According to experts, infrastructural systems have the most exposure to the electric power anomalies. A good example would be the power cut in London, 28 August 2003. In the early evening a failure happened in the electric power supply that was fixed within 30 min, however it had serious secondary consequences in the urban transportation systems, especially in the suburban and rail systems. The chaos paralysed the traffic all over Greater London for hours (Greater London Authority 2004). The technological development and complexity may be the cause of difficulties in keeping reliable and safe operability. The spread of modern technical achievements in different systems may accumulate possible sources of errors and therefore, it is a risk for the reliability (Luke 2004). Another good reason for the complex approach of the problem—referred to as ‘‘critical infrastructure’’—is that many entities (e.g., companies, contractors, individuals etc.,) take part in keeping them operable. The higher the number of entities we have, the more possible operators may have any influence on the quality, continuity, and availability of the

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services. The number of such entities and their role however differ from city to city, country to country. On the other hand, one thing is common everywhere in these infrastructures: national political decision makers, local governments, designers, investors, operators, proprietors, tenants, users of the services etc., all have certain influence on the operability of the whole system. The development of urbanisation was much faster than the improvements of means guaranteeing reliable operability. This fact has significant influence on the vulnerability of cities as well (Coward 2009). This contradiction has not been resolved, especially not in the underdeveloped countries. Paradoxically, the problem is more visible and besides, more intensive in large cities, where a rapid growth has recently happened due to a sudden prosperity. Before discussing the causes of such vulnerabilities, it is important to state that the approach how to identify them may vary from discipline to discipline and from country to country.

2.2 Natural and Human Relations of the Reasons The authors reflect five possible sources that may cause the vulnerabilities of cities: • • • • •

natural disasters, civilisation-related catastrophes, sabotage, terrorist attacks, armed conflicts.

Due to length limitations we turn here to the terrorist attacks only, however driven by the intention for better understanding we considered these categories as props that make orientation easier. The various alignments all indicate natural phenomena and human-born reasons (both generated individually and in groups) in the background of the catastrophes that may cause errors/unavailability in functioning of infrastructural systems. Modern urban sciences, architecture and constructional achievements could reduce the predicted results of a future catastrophe, but it has proven during the last decade that the effects of natural disasters may not be entirely excluded (Little 2010). International sources vary in appreciation of human-origin catastrophes and their reasons. Without a detailed source analysis we mention here some typical reasons of catastrophes with human origin—accidents, derangements, malfunctions, technical breakdowns, sabotage, fire, terrorist attacks, armed conflicts etc., Their risk of them has not decreased. Due to the selective attention of the media, average people receive much intensive impression from terrorist attacks although accidents, malfunctions and similar functional errors happen more commonly (Luke 2004).

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Not all civilisation-related catastrophes and human-caused errors are caused by technological reasons or conscious sabotage. Most of the accidents have so simple reasons like negligence and inattention. For instance, the reason of the abovementioned power cut happened in London, 2004 was a wrong capacity fuse-box in a transformer. That very transformer fuse was replaced during maintenance works in 2001 which also means it remained undetected for three years (Greater London Authority 2004) Inattention can be the most challenging factor for the security of cities especially in the operability of urban systems and traffic networks. We should not forget about the risks having natural characters and the challenges of global warming. According to the different international and national researcher’s forecasts, extreme phenomena of meteorology may cause serious catastrophes increasing the security risks in the towns, cities and influencing significantly their vulnerability (Busby 2007). Disasters that happened in 2010 seem to prove the corresponding forecasts. Extreme weather conditions happened in many areas. Just to set a few examples from the long list of catastrophes: floods blasted in Europe (Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Germany) and series of slides followed floods in China. Russian forests were in flames in large territories resulting smog and unbearable heat all over the country. Natural disasters and man-evoked catastrophes easily result in secondary effects on services, which, until that time, has not already been damaged by the original event. Not wanting to jump to the result analysis part yet, it is still necessary to mention here that the complexity of urban vulnerabilities is that one system’s malfunction causes difficulties for other systems. Jerusalem at the end of 1990 can be an example to illustrate this, where the wave of terrorist attacks increased the risk of an epidemic outbreak (Savitch and Garb 2006).

3 Characteristics of Terror Threats in Cities The vulnerability of cities may not be analysed properly without a cross-cutting analysis of urban-related terrorism. For length limitations, we cannot provide detailed analysis here; we emphasise here some sources of threats that had the most considerable global impact in recent decades.

3.1 Threats Having Impact on Cities Globally Terrorist attacks may result very similar effects in urban spaces to natural or civilisation related catastrophes. It is an additional good reason to go into details of terrorism and its methodology. Assignments for prevention and restoration have all political, security, social, and economic elements that independently from the origin of the damages concern a good portion of similarities. In case of terrorist

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attacks, tasks of military, law enforcement and security services gain certain preference, supplemented with specific legal task elements. The threat of terrorism focuses on those metropolises primarily, where the risk for the urban life is the most significant. If we analyse terror attacks worldwide, it is easy to point out that urban spaces are much more frequent scenes of attacks than rural areas. The focus of security may differ from place to place according to risk perception. Therefore, flood protection and animal-born epidemic prevention stands in the focus of security in the north–eastern part of England, and terrorism related issues in London (Coaffee et al. 2009). Metropolises do not provide simply ideal circumstances and opportunities for such organisations, but allow numbers of soft targets at the same time. Metropolises therefore considered as Paradises for terrorists. The reasons are also well known: political, administrative, economic, tourism and public entertainment institutions and their infrastructure are concentrated there. The high degree of built-up area and the high density of inhabitants there mean also enormous numbers of possible targets. Thus, neither the possible target groups, nor hiding their own staff causes such great difficulties as elsewhere. The density of people supports terrorists’ efforts to remain undetected by law enforcement. This may facilitate their routine assignments and also the preliminary steps for terrorist attacks such as scene plotting, undercover surveillance and the preparation for the routes to/from the attack site, and so on (Horváth 2010). In most of the cases leaving the attack scene is not a serious problem for the terrorist group members, neither it is to find hiding places. The same claim can be made about finding/ recruiting supporters and to provide the background logistics. The terror threat of cities is not necessarily connected to al-Qaeda. Terrorism and urban warfare has caused headache for governments and sociologists since the early 1970s. Some, even referred to the phenomena as an urban revolution (Karber 1971). Since the end of the 1960s, the security of cities in Latin American, North American, Western-European, Middle–Eastern countries as well as metropolises in Japan have been threatened mainly by left-wing extremist and nationalist terrorist groups (Neumann and Smith 2008). We should not forget about right-wing extremism however. In Italy, for instance, from the end of the 1960s till the early 1980s, ideologically motivated neo-Nazis and left-wing/anarchist terrorist groups threatened the security of Italian cities and sometimes the constitutional system of the state (Rimanelli 1992). This was followed by the second and third waves of leftist attacks, which would have calmed down till the end of 1980s, but the cities of Western Europe were not relieved, due to the increasing activity of Middle–Eastern terrorism. These measures grew far beyond the reach of the Palestine Liberalisation Organisation (PLO). New and even more radical organisations were established, such as Abu Nidal Organisation (ANO), and others being supported from the Middle East, like the Committee for Solidarity with Near Eastern Political Prisoners, Hezbollah and so on. The majority of terror attacks focused on cities in France (60), however other cities in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey,

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Germany, Austria and Switzerland were amongst the frequent targets as well. Between 1980 and 1989 in 16 European Countries 415 terrorist attacks were committed by Middle–Eastern terrorist organisations (Pluchinsky 1992).

3.2 State-Sponsored Terrorism Interestingly enough, these terrorist organisations were not active in the Eastern Block. There are two strands of answers that emerged from the documents of Eastern-European Archives. On the one hand, it seems that the strictly controlled socio-political system of these countries rendered the proliferation of any homegrown terrorism far too difficult. On the other hand, the Soviet Union and its satellite countries supported directly and also indirectly Middle–Eastern terrorist operations in Western Europe. It was the time when the category of ‘‘State Sponsors of Terrorism’’ was introduced into our vocabulary and became an unfortunate part of our life. Libya, Lebanon, South Yemen, Syria, Iran and Iraq were the most likely starting points for terrorist attacks in Western European cities and now we have evidences suggesting that they enjoyed strong support from the Eastern Block as well (Pattern of global terrorism 1987). The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of bipolar world did not bring about the victory of democracies at once for which intellectuals committed for the democratic values had awaited for so long. The same claim can be made about terrorism. Although in the early 1990s the number of urban terrorist attacks dramatically decreased, the problem had not been solved, for in the meanwhile, the characteristics of international terrorism changed significantly. It is difficult to sum up all the characteristics, except for one, which became absolutely visible for everybody. This is the increasing number of suicide attacks. Hezbollah introduced suicide attackers in the early 1980s that became a mainstream tactic by the end of 1990s. Between 1998 and 2001 solely, 186 suicide attacks were registered worldwide (Martin 2010). This method did not become common solely in the urban spaces of Israel, for the numbers increased in many other countries such as Lebanon, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Turkey, Russia, and the United States. The above-mentioned examples demonstrate that the main focus of urban terrorism shifted from France and the United Kingdom to the cities of other great powers such as the United States and Russia (Kliot and Charney 2006). Russia for instance, gained priority attention from the extreme Islam terrorist groups due to the armed conflicts in Chechnya and Northern Caucasus mainly. The expanse of the religious extremism in the Caucasus region was sharpened by demographic peculiarities and by the role Russia played in the region. The United States in turn, have been threatened by terrorism directly and indirectly during the last few decades. Robert Oakley the former head of Office for Combating Terrorism in the State Department considered 7 terrorist attacks a serious security challenge, which happened in the United States in 1985 (Grosscup 2002). Interestingly enough,

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contrary to the fact that very serious terrorist plots were committed in the 1990s in the United States—we may recall the bomb attacks against the World Trade Centre in 1993 or the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995–, US Government was even more sensitive to international than US-related and US-bound terrorism. It is the time when al-Qaeda appeared on the horizon as a new enemy, and gained more power step-by-step. The terrorist organisation started to build up their bases in Yemen, Sudan and Afghanistan and proved its capabilities by bomb attacks against American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania as well as against the destroyer USS Cole while being at the anchorage of the Yemeni Port of Aden. These incidents were just forerunners of 9/11, provoking ‘‘War on Terror’’ (Bobbitt 2009).

3.3 Characteristics of Post 9/11 Terror Threats of Cities There is no doubt that 11 September 2001 opened a new era in terrorism and in the same time in anti-terrorist activities as well. The well co-ordinated and arranged attacks by the al-Qaeda highlighted the weak points of the cities and the core relevance of the critical infrastructure protection. It is meaningless to contest the fact of the change of paradigm and the introduction of a new terrorism (Neumann and Smith 2008). An urban-operating terrorist unit has its own priorities in target selection; conversely it goes far beyond a routine assignment, because targets have symbolic relevance. Most of terrorists’ targets symbolise the subject that certain terrorist organisation would fight against. It is not accidental that the left-wing extremist terrorists killed or kidnapped businessmen, diplomats, politicians, high-ranking law enforcement and military officials in the 1970s (Martin 2010). New-type terrorism change the tactics applied in the cities just as the targets they attack. Al-Qaeda for example, strives to maximise the number of casualties in attacks against soft targets crowded with high number of civilians usually (Neumann 2009). After 9/11, al-Qaeda succeeded in 12 attacks resulting with more than 100 casualties worldwide until 2007 (Bobbitt 2009). Among these were two scenes of non-Islamic environments, both in Western Europe. Madrid, 2004 caused 191 fatalities and 1400 injured, London, 2005 52 fatalities and 700 injured. Without any doubt, very high price was paid. Middle–Eastern terrorism preferred mass transportation targets already in the 1980s and their urban intersections such as airports, bus/coach stations, railway stations and terminals, and also crowded urban spaces like markets, malls, restaurants and bars, hotels and discos (Pluchinsky 1992). These open public spaces became frequent targets of terrorists in Israel, Lebanon, Egypt and elsewhere in the 1990s and later on. The threat was increasing upon the introduction of al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden the Saudi terrorist leader. This target pattern was taken over by other organisations e.g., the Tamil Tigers.

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The question may occur: what are the features that characterise urban-related terrorist attacks in recent past and what are the most frequent methodologies applied? Urban spaces are an ideal target for traditional military-like attack operations, bomb attacks against citizens and/or urban infrastructure, or even for hijacking mass transportation means such as planes, vessels, trains, coaches and other vehicles (Kliot and Charney 2006). The most regular method of terrorist attack is to explode bombs, that may be taken as a basic tactic of al-Qaeda (Martin 2010). The number one priority in the selection of attack scenes is to maximise the number of casualties. A crowded public place is ideal from this point of view. This fact was proven in many cities unfortunately. These were for instance Madrid, London, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Kabul, Colombo, Moscow and number of metropolises in India. As many fatalities, injuries as possible: this is the aim, however in a peculiar way this influences the tactics and the equipment too. However, a bomb attack today is not as shocking (in a strange manner) as it was in 1998 when PIRA exploded their bomb in a shopping centre in Omagh resulting in 29 dead and 200+ injuries (Dingley 2001). It is not even rare that terrorists attack hospitals as happened in India, known as the ‘‘Mumbai siege’’, in 2008. Another strand of risk derives from the multicultural nature of metropolises. From the 1960s onwards, an increasing number of Islamic immigrants from Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Pakistan and Turkey settled down in Western Europe and the United States (Khosrokhavar 2005). Their social integration and sometimes assimilation into the local society fuels political disputes engaging wide ranges of the society in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Germany and elsewhere.

3.4 Possible Threats One of the main threats is deeply coded in the network structure. Franchise-like expansion methods are spread amongst terrorist organisations, and al-Qaeda is not an exception. More and more terrorist groups want to be integrated into al-Qaeda’s body, their integration, however, is not entire and complete. They respect completely al-Qaeda’s leadership and the principles of operations, but they join their network on an ad hoc manner. The network in Northern Africa led by Osama bin Laden could integrate almost all Islam terrorist organisations under an al-Qaeda umbrella (Bobbitt 2009). This method provides mutual advantages. Al-Qaeda, for instance, can easily deploy a sleeping cell in Western Europe or elsewhere. Security services and individual experts estimate the number of such covered al-Qaeda cells for 5000–10,000 in 60 countries worldwide (Neuhold 2006). The changes in organisational structure, tactics, and means of their equipment has been continuously developed. That does not simply mean better weapons and advanced explosives; certainly these are real threats. Experts have developed theories and analysed possible scenarios, what if once terrorists deploy weapons

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of mass destruction (WMD). They can attack vulnerable hot spots of cities damaging or even destroying for instance their system of food and water supply. Terrorism experts warn about the possible means of delivery that can include logistical networks e.g. mail-order services, or maybe sea containers (Landree et al. 2007), that most of the security procedures can filter out only when the ‘‘package’’ is already delivered. The history of counter-terrorism pointed out too many times, such warning messages have to be taken seriously.

4 Possibilities for Defence The post modern epoch—in sociological terms from the 1960s onwards—brought about an increasing pace of technological evolution. The accelerated economic, social and technological development and overpopulation had an ambivalent effect on nature. On the one hand, it has increased protective capacities, but on the other hand, the ecological footprint of societies began to challenge sustainability. It is not surprising that the notion of ‘‘sustainability’’ become a hot issue, after the influential global report of the Club of Rome (1972, Limits to Growth) and the Bruntland report (1987) of the UN were published. The massive social, technological and economic development in Tokio (Coaffee et al. 2009) allowed and required higher standards in earthquake protection. At the same time, the ecological consequences of this evolution considerably increased flood risks, regardless of the fact that flood prevention technologies went through a remarkable evolution. In this field, the effects of shrinking floodplain areas or the deforestation in water catchment areas cannot be balanced out by technological means.

4.1 Definitions for Critical Infrastructure One possible approach to this complex problem is to define and protect the ‘‘critical infrastructure’’. The general public learned this notion when President Clinton announced the 63rd Presidential Decision Directive in 1998. This Directive entailed remarkable changes in institutional and organisational terms (Moteff 2008). It was only the 9/11 terror attacks that raised similar attention to the protection of key public infrastructure services within the European Union (Précsényi and Solymosi 2008). In this particular case, the typically exhausting and long-lasting bureaucratic decision-making processes, which are normally characterising the EU, gathered speed, due to the suicide-bomb attacks in Madrid and London. In these days, we may claim that except for those countries that were lagged behind in these terms, all EU members have an institutional and organisational framework in place. Reacting on Madrid attacks, on the European Council asked for the preparation of an overall strategy to protect critical infrastructures. In response, on 20 October 2004,

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the European Commission adopted a Communication on critical infrastructure protection in the fight against terrorism, which put forward suggestions as to what would enhance European prevention of, preparedness for, and response to terrorist attacks involving critical infrastructures. The definition of European Critical Infrastructure (ECI) lasted until December 2008, when the Council Directive of 2008/114/EC was introduced ‘‘on the identification and designation of European critical infrastructures and the assessment of the need to improve their protection’’. This defines two overlapping categories. Once it interprets what the Directive considers as ‘‘critical infrastructure’’. This ‘‘means an asset, system or part thereof located in Member States which is essential for the maintenance of vital societal functions, health, safety, security, economic or social well-being of people, and the disruption or destruction of which would have a significant impact in a Member State as a result of the failure to maintain those functions.’’ And at the same time, the Directive develops a new category called ‘‘European critical infrastructure’’ or ‘‘ECI’’. That means ‘‘critical infrastructure located in Member States the disruption or destruction of which would have a significant impact on at least two Member States. The significance of the impact shall be assessed in terms of cross-cutting criteria. This includes effects resulting from cross-sector dependencies on other types of infrastructure.’’ The roots of the notion of critical infrastructure however, go far beyond its inception in the 1990s, when it appeared in the terminology, in the US Notions like ‘‘break’’, ‘‘crisis’’ or ‘‘rupture’’ are familiar to all post-modern citizens, when referring to different sorts of risks (Luke 2004). To develop an effective protection for our cities, we have to include a historical approach as well, apart from technological, economic and political considerations. The history of mankind is strongly connected to the natural and artificial environment as a scene. Organised society could develop where natural environment provided the necessary resources and, at the same time, people were ready to set up infrastructures in order to improve their living conditions. The quality of sociopolitical and economical actualities highly depended on how people could use and save their environmental resources. The potential of a nation’s and the rank position of a country rely highly on how they can use and protect their own resources respectively their politico-social and technical development and known environment (Horváth 2010). Therefore it has key relevance that natural capabilities and factors as well as quality of life be taken into consideration (Izsák et al. 2010).

4.2 Research Results in the Western Countries and in Hungary The critical infrastructure protection belongs to the direct responsibility of the state, however owners and the maintenance of the infrastructure must be involved. Governments and scientists have, however, important roles in working out and developing the necessary methodologies and procedures in it.

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In an international comparison it seems more than useful to examine the specific literature dealing with the protection of the critical infrastructure and urban infrastructure. If we look at the Hungarian literature in Western European and United States context, we will find that this topic is shockingly underrepresented in Hungary. Journals such as Urban Affairs and Urban Studies, or other periodicals discussing urban issues in the United States, United Kingdom or for instance in Germany, regularly discuss security issues in relation to urban infrastructures. Several articles, published in highly ranked journals, numerous governmental reports and assessments are available on this topic, as well as analyst reports compiled for decision makers and even monographs.

4.2.1 Open or Classified It is also interesting to see the selection of sciences represented by journals, periodicals, Internet pages etc., that are sensitive to the topic of security of cities. While in Western countries, we can find very often, that two or more experts representing different disciplines publish their research results together; nevertheless in Hungary experts in security studies are over-represented amongst the authors of urban-related security and terror threat assessments. Due to the complexity of the above-mentioned problem it is more than desirable to develop an interdisciplinary approach in order to analyse the issue of urban security. What is the reason for such enterprises and groups of analysts not having occurred in Hungary? A possible answer may be transparency. It is not common in Eastern Europe that reports from disasters, catastrophes, accidents, terrorist attacks are openly discussed in public or even to allow access to primer data (e.g., reports, assessments etc. written by government experts) for researchers. Perhaps it is strange to understand why, but a very exclusive circle of experts have had access to the ‘‘official’’ background assessments reports written about the Danube and Tisza flood in 2006 or the August 2006 fireworks panic in Budapest. In the UK, however these reports are available for the public. Researchers and practically anybody can read these assessment reports about the power cut case in London for instance, and even the suicide terrorist attack against the London underground and other metropolitan transport services on 7 July 2005. This practice would be beneficial not only for the researchers, but it would enhance the relationship between the civil society and the government. In order to change the situation in Hungary in this matter it would be important to promote the British (Western) approach to urban security issues. In the United States, governmental and legislative authorities hire senior experts (often university professors, researchers) to analyse theoretical questions in critical infrastructure protection. Based on these theoretical researches, theoretical and practical experts can develop defence programs and plans. Parts of the theoretical background and the defence programs are public, while certain parts, describing specific infrastructure elements and their detailed rules of protection are classified.

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This approach has proven records in the United States already and is considered as efficient and cost-effective. An effective defence model and development of protective means may be created on the basis of complexity and mutual efforts of the experts, researchers, decision makers, owners, who were involved in it representing their own approaches and points of view.

4.2.2 Modelling Scenarios to Manage the Crisis There is a strong need to set up models based on risk analysis being able to demonstrate both real and possible situations. The necessary computer capacities are already available in wide ranges to develop 4D models, scenarios if needed. There is no reason to be afraid from using them—even if they are programmed to simulate real urban spaces, buildings etc., generally known as high priorities to be protected (Landree et al. 2007). Crisis management and within this concern, risk analysis became substantive research areas. Both have massive role in the restoration of damage caused by natural and civilisation-related catastrophes, sabotage and terrorist actions. In the spheres of risk analysis it has core relevance: not only the real (frequent) risks have to be considered and analysed, but the possible risks too. International experience may be used successfully here, especially because no catastrophe has to be left without detailed assessment and their lesions need to be properly disseminated (Coaffee et al. 2009). The means introduced based on experience aim at reducing the chances of occurrence as well as they must to provide additional results to the security of cities. That might make the city more liveable and probably the inhabitants would indicate their feelings somehow positively. An example for that may be London where citizens reacted quickly on the attacks of PIRA (Coaffee et al. 2009) urging the government and law enforcement to take effective measures against it.

5 Conclusions Urbanisation and its associated socio-economic and technologic development cause side-effects on the vulnerability of cities unwillingly. The risks of the possible threats and the reliability of the urban systems do not raise security questions solely. Preventive and reactive tasks on the challenges of catastrophes either natural or civilisation related ones, sabotage and terrorist attacks, armed conflicts that harm the cities, have to be planned ahead and rolled out continuously. There is no insignificant risk for which it would be unnecessary to be prepared. The risk is simply low at the moment that any catastrophe might occur in case of adequate circumstances. The risk of terrorist attack is currently low in most of the Eastern European cities. According to statistics, there number of terrorist attacks in nil or almost nil in this region (Tálas 2010). Despite these facts, little threat is still threat to be taken seriously. In that

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region there are EU and NATO member countries or others, decided to participate in certain operations which terrorist organisations are strongly against or even consider them as casus belli. Afghanistan is the most known example, however there are many others of curse. Risk, and in case damage occurs, damage reduction are important questions for the society point of view. It is not easy to announce for the public if serious casualties/damages occurred due to the reasons of not being prepared, having no planned scenario or reactive units simply malfunctioning. It would be more than inconceivable such episode happening without any impact in parliamentary democracies. Security is important, but not like ‘‘business as usual’’.

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Subject Index

A Administrative Administrative Administrative Administrative

reform, 25, 37, 242 structure, 17, 19, 20 systems, 27, 30–31, 38 towns, 209

F Foreign property purchasing, 176, 181–182, 187 Functional urban areas, 48, 52–53, 56–57

B Brownfield regeneration, 137, 140, 143 Built heritage, 161–162, 164, 167

G Gentrification, 121–123, 125, 127–133, 151, 155–157

C Countryside, 4, 65, 69, 103, 106, 153, 184–185, 246, 250–251 Critical geographic concepts, 122 Critical infrastructure, 300, 305, 307–309 Cross-border suburbanisation, 194–196, 201, 204

H HDI, 270, 277–278 Health state, 277 Historical city generations, 25 History of Bratislava, 196–198, 204 Hungarian historical towns, 161, 163–164, 169

D Deindustrialisation, 137 Demographic tendencies, 107 Depopulation, 4, 16, 42, 52, 105–107, 111–113 Development strategies, 146, 150–151, 153

E Ethnicity, 70, 197, 201–202, 228 Ethnic diversity, 226–227

I Industrial areas, 245–246, 251, 253–255, 257 Industrial park, 84, 247, 249, 253–255 Institutional policy, 17

M Metropolitan area, 36, 55–58, 124, 133 Motivations of suburbanisation, 219

N Neo-liberal urban policies, 124, 133 Niche concept, 178, 180–181

T. Csapó and A. Balogh (eds.), Development of the Settlement Network in the Central European Countries, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20314-5, Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

313

314 P Polycentrism, 3, 5–6, 8–11, 45, 60 Post-socialist economies, 123

Subject Index Tourism, 60, 64, 69, 98, 124–125, 127–128, 130–132, 161, 167, 172, 175–188 Transformation of industrial buildings, 251 Types of suburban settlements, 216 Typology of villages, 113

Q Quality of life, 269–272, 277–280

R Regional development, 3, 5, 8, 16, 47, 49, 51, 92, 99, 103, 107, 113, 115, 149, 287 Residential mobility, 155–156, 201 Rurality, 103

S Segregation, 69–70, 125, 129, 155, 273 Settlement development, 16, 23, 103–105, 107 Settlement hierarchy, 235 Settlement policy, 64–65, 67 Socialist cities, 236–238, 240 Spatial development in some European countries, 99 Spatial plans, 8, 43 Sports facilities, 283–295 State regulation, 3–4, 10 Suburbanisation, 207–208, 210, 217, 219–221

T Terror threats, 302, 305 Theories of spatiality, 138

U Urban development, 193, 204, 226, 283, 285–286 Urban ecology, 261 Urban functions, 3, 5–6, 10–11 Urban green areas, 236, 242, 254, 258–266 Urban morphology, 162, 172 Urban planning, 236–237 Urban regeneration, 145–150, 153–156, 158–159 Urban renewal, 162–165, 167, 169 Urbanisation process, 35, 42, 208, 219–220, 222, 227–230, 246 Urbanisation tendencies, 223, 227, 230

V Vulnerability of cities, 299–302, 310

W Western European analogies, 80, 88