Regeneration through creativity

Abstract

The last decades in the spatial development of the cities in Eastern Europe can be described as a complex outcome of the institutional and societal changes after the era change in 1989. During this time the economy of these countries was transformed from a central-planning-controlled system based on state ownership to a neoliberal one, where capitalist principles rule. Besides, the political structure also changed entirely because the socialist regimes were transformed into democracies. Through these complex transitions, everybody’s life was affected because regulations, employment and services were reorganised. These processes also had a great effect on the urban fabric and continue to affect the current development of these cities. In my thesis, I collect the post-socialist consequences of the era change to specifically address them through creativity-led regeneration. This type of regeneration can be a catalyst to achieve an integrated design process to positively affect local communities and to reach a larger social impact through which the social and spatial consequences of the post-socialist transition can be addressed at the same time. This is demonstrated through a detailed creativity-led regeneration process in the XXIst district of Budapest, in the underused industrial area of the Csepel Works.