Urban Renewal in the Inner City of Budapest: Gentrification from a Post-socialist Perspective

After the political and economic changes of 1989–90, the concept of gentrification inspired many urban researchers in central and eastern Europe (CEE). Despite the growing number of papers, there is still a substantial empirical gap concerning the transformation of inner-city neighbourhoods in the CEE. This paper is based on empirical data regarding the physical and social upgrading of neighbourhoods in inner Budapest. The paper argues that gentrification in its traditional sense affects only smaller areas of the inner city, mostly those where demolition and new housing construction took place as an outcome of regeneration programmes. At the same time, the old housing stock has been less affected by gentrification. This is mainly due to the high share of owner-occupation and the social responsibility of local governments. Thanks to renovation and new housing construction, a healthy social mix will probably persist in the inner city of Budapest in the future.