THE CHANGING POLITICAL-SYSTEM AND URBAN RESTRUCTURING IN HUNGARY

Though their precise impact on the Hungarian social system are as yet unclear, changes in the Hungarian political system have created conditions for urban restructuring. Before describing the first signs of transformation of the Hungarian urban space, this paper summarises how the elimination of private property; emphasis on egalitarian ideals; a slowed pace of economic development; and a centralised, etatistic, and paternalistic political and economic system influenced urban space under 'working' socialism. By contrast, in the post-socialist era the most fundamental conditions for urban restructuring are privatisation and market mechanisms. As a result, Hungarian CBDs are reviving, mushrooming tertiary functions are reshaping housing estates, and residential segration is growing. Particular attention in this article is paid to the increasing tensions caused by a disharmony between the existing, inflexible urban environment and the new demands by and possibilities for people living in it.