The document summarizes information from a survey on the VIII district of Budapest, Hungary. It finds that the district has a relatively young but poorly educated population, with high levels of poverty and unemployment. The housing stock is old and dilapidated. Urban renewal programs have aimed to regenerate the area through gentrification, but have had mixed success in improving living conditions and social cohesion, and in some cases have pushed social problems into other areas or delocalized residents. The challenges for local policies include urban renewal, social cohesion, living conditions, economic recovery, and reducing crime.

1. Comments on the VIIIth district of
Budapest
Krisztina Keresztély
kerkrisz@gmail.com
EVALUATE Energy Poverty workshop, June 16 2015, Budapest

2. What is confirmed by the survey:
- Relatively young population in Bp
- Low education level: (~27% max primary school, at certain
areas like Magdolna, up to 35%)
- Poverty, large part of inhabitants are beneficiairies of social
care system. Unemployment
- Heterogenous society, multi-cultural population, Roma
community  specific image of the area
- Old housing stock a large part dates back to the pre-war
periods  strongly dilapidated, need of regeneration
- High percentage of public owned dwellings (end of 1990s:
40%, 2010: ~15% face to 6% in Budapest )
- High number of tenants with rent arrears...
(Survey of REV 8 on the socio-spatial situation in Magdolna and
Orczy neighbourhoods: 2007 and 2010)

3. Heterogenous district
Orczy
neighbourhood
History:
Traditional differences
between sub-areas
Socialism: from a rather
multicultural
neighbourhood to a
ghetto?
Image in the 1990s:
„crime”„Roma ghetto”
Since 2000s:
reintegration as the
main challenge

4. Main challenges for local policies
- Urban renewal, re-integrating the disctrict into the city
- Social cohesion
- Living conditions
- Economic recovering
- „De-criminalisation” ...
Territory-based urban renewal policy : 4 main programmes
- Palace neighbourhood
- Corvin neighbourhood
- Magdolna neighbourhood
- Orczy neighbourhood
All of them gentrification oriented even if discourses and
methods are different.

5. Corvin project
Complete demolishing of a run-down neighbourhood next
to the city centre and the construction of a high rise
residential area with shopping and service functions.
→22 hectares, 12 500 inhabitants (1,7 million in Budapest)
→Public housing stock had been important: 40%
→2500 housing concerned by the project: 1100
demolished, 1400 maintained
→500 families were relocated: 230 were tenants, 370
owners
→Relocations of inhabitants to buildings next to the project
area, Negotiations with the tenants. No follow-up with
delocalised tenants.

6. Magdolna Neighbourhood Programme
Socially integrated urban renewal
Phase 1: 2005-2008
Phase 2: 2008-11 (ERDF)
Phase 3: 2013-15 (ERDF)
Impacts on social cohesion in the area?
- Weak participation of inhabitants (renewal of housing by
tenants, limited participative planning)
- No improvement of muncipal housing conditions, renewal of
facades and common parts o the buildings, not flats (claims of
inhabitants)
- New bordering processes, delocalisation of the social
problems (drug use, poverty, people with arrears) into one or
two streets
- Phase 3: an attempt to push „probelmatic population” out of
the area: crisis buildings

7. Orczy Neighbourhood
Municipality+state
National University of Public Services
University Campus, renovation of the main buildign of
Ludovica Royal Staff College closed down after WWII
Dormitory
Renewal of Orczy parc
Housing is foreseen for students
No social elements
Further delocalisations are possible in Diószeghy street

8. Thank you for
your attention !