Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce a Central-European perspective into the international discussion of the participatory place-making. The research focuses on the renewal of the large prefabricated housing estates, dominant type of urban housing in the area where after the privatisation process resident-owners own only a so-called floating plot under their block. In total, 80 per cent of the land of the whole neighbourhood remains public. The question is how participatory place-making works in this specific urban, social and cultural situation? Design/methodology/approach By introducing the topic from a theoretical point of view, the study is based on research conducted in Budapest’s Újpalota Housing Estate. Fieldwork, project analysis and interviews uncover the complexity of this Hungarian case where appropriation of residents, municipality and European social regeneration projects are simultaneously present with different types of participatory methods. Findings The majority of real changes in Újpalota – as well as in housing estates of post-Communist countries in general – are led by individual or common appropriation that sometimes becomes convincing participation. This informal transformation of the built or natural environment can create a small sense of place everywhere. At the same time, it can work against the architectural and urban character of a neighbourhood or a building, rendering a feeling of disorder. Originality/value The paper based on this Hungarian case shows that the real culture of participatory place-making is still missing in post-Communist context, and despite some good examples, the majority of people are inactive, waiting for changes to be made by leaders.
The research hypothesis is that housing estate renewal demands a complex approach on the urban scale, a design which focuses on the ground floor area and the relation between interior and exterior space. The study analyses the stock of Hungarian tower blocks to create a typology-first, in terms of space limits (closed, translucent, transparent); and second, in terms of openings at the ground-floor level (entrance, window, balcony, gate, display window, technical installation opening, passage). The ground floor is a fundamental space layer, important for inhabitants and visitors alike. Nevertheless, it was neglected both at the time of construction and during the contemporary reconstruction process. Most technical and aesthetic solutions do not affect the ground floor; thus, the typical problems (space usage, poor subjective sense of security, and avoidance of common spaces) still remain. The paper summarizes the inherited architecture at the ground floor level of tower blocks, describes usage problems, and draws attention to the importance of the ground-floor area in the renewal of large prefabricated housing estates.
While, in practice, the rehabilitation of prefabricated housing estates has mostly focused on the buildings, a comprehensive concept, which is able to revalorise this problematic housing stock has become increasingly relevant. The specific, holistic proposal of the revalorisation demands an interdisciplinary approach, based on urban planning principles of SUN (sustainable urban neighbourhoods), that can reconceptualise housing units on the different scales as plot, patch and part of a city or town. To find proper methodology, this paper attempts to adopt an approved evaluation tool used in the field of property development. Property development strongly adheres to various certification systems. These apply not only to buildings, but on the urban scale, neighbourhoods can also achieve good qualification in systems like LEED Neighbourhood. This study argues that the requirements of LEED Neighbourhood can be adequately applied in the case of existing housing estates; as a result of which, they could become less isolated and could be more easily integrated into the neighbouring urban network as sustainable parts of cities and towns.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.