Writing Task. Informal Housing in Peri-Urban Budapest (english)

For the Hungarian version of this task check here.

Description : Since the turn of the 20th century, informal peri-urban housing has played an important role in Budapest’s metropolitanization and the reproduction of its economy’s labour needs, providing cheap housing and commuting opportunities for workers moving into the capital. The following sources (documentaries, studies, and newspaper articles) provide information on informal settlements in Budapest’s District XXI. The first group of sources presents the context in which the informal settlement of Lakihegy was established during the socialist era (which is now a formal residential area), while the second group of sources describes the transformation of the former allotment gardens of the Csepel-Háros neighbourhood, along with the processes and conflicts surrounding its transformation into a residential area.

Dwelling in allotment gardens. Southern Transdanubia, Hungary. Photo by András Vigvári, 2019                                                                        Dwelling in allotment gardens in Budapest functional urban area, Hungary. Photo by András Vigvári, 2021

Dwelling in allotment gardens. Southern Transdanubia, Hungary.
Photo by András Vigvári, 2019

 

Dwelling in allotment gardens in Budapest
functional urban area, Hungary. 
Photo by András Vigvári, 2021


Sources :

  • Documentary: Lakihegyiek. Világváros határában: (rendező: Berkovits György és Lugossy István). 

 


Task : Through a thorough analysis of the sources, learn about the history of the informal neighbourhoods of Lakihegy (established during the socialist period) and of Csepel-Háros (having urbanised after 1989-90). As you read through the sources, answer the following questions by describing these points:

  • How did/does the concentration of capital and population around the capital city influence the urbanisation of these areas?
  • What kind of urban housing processes have contributed to the urbanisation of the two areas?
  • What was the typical housing mobility background of the households moving into these areas?  
  • How did/does the local state relate to the residential use of these areas?
  • What are the perceptions of the residents about their own neighbourhood?

Teamwork : Students should form groups and fill in the table below using their knowledge derived from the above sources. Each group should discuss one of the aspects in detail, and then the groups should report to each other on the aspects they selected and discussed.

The Lakihegy case

Aspects

The Csepel-Háros case

 

The influence of the concentration of capital and population around the capital city on the urbanisation of these residential areas

 

 

The influence of the capital city’s housing processes on the establishment of these residential areas

 

 

The housing mobility patterns of the households moving into these areas

 

 

The relation of the local state to the informal settlement of these areas

 

 

The perceptions of the residents about their own neighbourhood

 

 

 

Last modified: Wednesday, 12 October 2022, 11:50 AM