Running through the housing traditions for the request of Archtours, Finland
A wide range of housing types can be investigated throughout the city. We looked for a place where the types of different ages make a heterogeneous appearance of the streets, and many types from many ages can be presented within a short walk. Ferencváros, and Józsefváros are two parts of Budapest with many similarities in their past, but the methods of their renewal are different. In these districts we were able to meet the traditional tenement houses of the turn of the 19th-20th century (Lónyai street), and we got to know the official housing policy of the party-state era (Tömő street).
Juxtaposing these districts the most interesting is to compare their rehabilitation processes. A coherent urban rehabilitation process has been going on in Ferencváros for more than 20 years, with houses and public spaces renovated at the same time. We visited one of the first new-built blocks (Tompa street), and then we left for Józsefváros.
The Corvin Promenade project is one of the largest real estate developments in the past few years led by an investment group in collaboration with the district municipality. We were introduced to this project by Gábor Radványi, the chief architect of the development.
We ended our walk in Gólya, where Csaba Jelinek, sociologist, evaluated the urban interventions of the past, and presented the current social rehabilitation methods of the district.
The tour was guided by Bálint Tóth
4th April, 2014.
