Experiences of Segregation and Urban Regeneration in the 8th District of Budapest

Absztrakt (kivonat)

This thesis explores theories and actual experiences of residential segregation and urban regeneration, using the 8th district of Budapest as a case study. A number of sociological approaches to poverty and social exclusion are summarized, among them the ’culture of poverty’, welfare dependence, the underclass discourse, and structural theories of economic, discriminative, and institutional causes. A short history of residential segregation in Budapest is presented, along with that of the formation of an inner city ghetto area during the last decades of Socialism. Regeneration measures, which were based on structural theories and were applied in the 2000s in the 8th district are described – ’hard’ ones, such as Corvin promenade, involving demolition, and ’soft’ ones, the Magdolna programmes, preserving the existing building stock. Evidence was gathered through six individual interviews, both with professionals and inhabitants, and an extensive summary of these conversations is provided. The main findings are that renewal measures have improved physical conditions and invigorated local communities to a certain extent, but their future in the long term is unclear. Certain problems that threaten the success of renewal are the prospects of the country’s economy, its system of local governance, relatively low level of state involvement in renewal measures, and a political climate which does not apply measures of citizen empowerment.