Metropolitan region building and territorial development in Budapest: the role of national policies

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of national policies in the process of metropolization and metropolitan region building in Budapest. In the long term, the example of Budapest clearly shows the twists and turns of national policy-making between concentration to increase competitiveness and equal distribution designed to enhance social integration. The geographical and geopolitical position of Budapest has altered significantly since the collapse of communism. From the periphery of Moscow, the city and its hinterland became a political, economic and cultural centre of Central Europe. Therefore, it is an intriguing question if national policies actively build on the role of Budapest as engine of economic restructuring and a gateway to the global flows of capital and innovation. The paper provides a critical analysis of current policies with special attention to the process of metropolitan region building. As research findings show, policy-making in Hungary has not focused on metropolisation and metropolitan region building in the last two decades. Policy-making has had a clear follow-up character and decision-makers from the administrative side could not efficiently contribute to metropolisation and enhance the competitiveness of the metropolitan region.