SMALL TOWN DEVELOPMENT IN PERIPHERAL AREAS

Abstract

The objective of the study is to examine the correspondence between city status and city identity and the factors explaining the spectacularly large number of small cities in Hungary. A further aim is to explore thepositive or negative impacts of the acquisition of city status on the development of the urban network. Thestudy, using a historical approach, aimed to identify the key enabling factors of the transformation of smalltowns into cities. This was achieved through the qualitative assessment of specific properties of the urbanmicro space, the presentation of various life stories and a review of the main milestones of the developmentpath. The elements of local government capacities of peripheral small towns in the region are assessed onthe basis of operational and efficiency aspects. The lack or reduced mobility of these elements has negativeimplications on local government functions, the delivery of public services, the availibility of localresources and the vitality of the local economy.The recently launched Hungarian Village Program categorizing small towns with less than 5,000inhabitants as villages may fuel further reflections on the development policy and governance relevance ofthe research. The analysis of developments planned and undertaken in the framework of the project and themonitoring of the implementation of the Modern Villages and Small Towns Programme will constitute thetasks of the next phase of the research