Urban Development In Hungary

Sometimes the most impactful changes in urban design are found in the most unlikely of places.

You may not know the town of Pápa, but you may have heard of Eszterhazy Estate, which sits in the center of town. One of many former estates in Hungary, it served as the residence of local noblility until it fell into disrepair during the Communist era. The Eszterhazy Torte is named after this family. Today, the area serves as a tourist destination for people who are interested in Central European and religious history. This is what Google Streetview brings up from 2012 – not exactly a place of Baroque luxury. Despite the beauty of the building today, the city didn’t have the funds to renovate it.

The sidewalk is nonexistent, with pedestrians having to share the road with any passing cars. I must commend, if nothing else, the stoplight placement which is at eye level. The average pedestrian at least won’t have to deal with a driver staring up at the sky failing to see them as the car comes to an intersection. The plaza across the street, where two churches stand, was used as a parking lot for all kinds of vehicles. Today, this is what it looks like.

Change is here:

I visited this city in 2022, and let me tell you things have changed a lot over the last 10 years. The Catholic church which once had a parking lot in its plaza, now serves as a pedestrian only zone. No cars may enter, and so a number of restaurants have taken the liberty to make outdoor seating available to guests. It is common to see people cycling, going for a walk, and enjoying their day in the plaza.

Acros the city, most sidewalks have been improved and now serve as dual pedestrian and bike paths. The street below is being converted for pedestrian and bike traffic. Currently part of it is under construction, but even so. It seems as if the city has come a long way in transit and bike infrastructure to make life without a car possible within the city limits. When renovating, the city didn’t tear down and expand access for cars, they kept the transit and pedestrian-centric smaller street layout.

 The street design overall is narrow, with very few thoroughfares being more than 4 lanes in width. Combine this design with a bus network that operates on 3 to 5 minute intervals and a central bus station only 5 minutes from the Catholic church, you have a recipe for change. The funding for this more than likely came from EU grants, and the national government. This pedestrianized street is less than 30 minutes from the outskirts of the city, and so on days other than Monday, i’m certain this is full of people. It’s comparable to the Main Streets many US towns of similar size once had, with barbers, butchers, the ever-present gelato shops, and bakeries. Yes, there is also Lidl and Aldi, but they aren’t the only game in town.

While much of the central city has seen improvements, other areas remain in need of repair. This local street, where I had a lovely kifli, is one example. Even here however, we can see that the overall improvements needing to be made are visual and not structural. There is a clear separation between the businesses and car parking, for instance.

Society at large often overlook cities in the periphery since not much news comes out of there, not much positive development. Walking the streets, it felt like a very calm and peaceful city, a place where someone could live a few years without a car if they really wanted to. Maybe you won’t have the convenience of Budapest, but you’re only two hours away by train (with a connection in Gyor). It isn’t a place I could spend a week in, but definitely could make for a weekend trip to see the developments taking place from an urbanist viewpoint on a deeper level.

I have a video in the works regarding my experiences in Hungarian resort towns, but I thought I’d take a moment to write this piece on the great things happening in a less talked about region of the country. If you think someone else would like this content, I encourage you to share this around and hit the subscribe button below – it’s free, and I put out pieces like this on a regular basis.

Until next time.

- Janos