Local resource-based development potential as reflected in waste management/circularity transition: Governance barriers in Hungary

Abstract

Waste as a local resource is a development opportunity for resource owners as waste may act as a foundation for bottom-up development at local levels. This paper presents the most important governance challenges that hamper a paradigmatic change in resource efficiency, a transition towards circular economy in the case of Pécs (Hungary). In recent years waste management infrastructure has evolved to provide resource potentials for recycling and reuse, this is a first step towards a (circularity) transition, however, the centralisation of power is hampering local transitions. The article concludes by arguing that in Pécs (Hungary), the transition towards a local resource-based development is impeded by a myriad of legal, institutional and administrative obstacles created by recent efforts towards institutionalisation.

Heterogeneous Planning Micro-Regions? The Effect of Spatial Dependence and Resource Availability of Settlements on the Rural Development Projects in the Southern Transdanubian Region (Hungary)

“…The local resource-based economic development concept endeavours to use all local resources as efficiently as possible. The multi-layered efficiency of the development policy depends not only on the economy of scale but also on the governance capacities, its social embeddedness, complexity, and its open or closed, hierarchical or horizontal nature (Varjú et al 2020). According to the followers of local resource-based (rural) development (earlier: Capello 2011, Stimson et al 2011, Camagni 2017, and neo-endogenous: Biczkowski 2020, Cejudo and Navarro 2020, Pollermann et al 2020, the development goals, priorities and strategies are supposed to be based on the resources that can be allocated, and they are identified as either comparative advantages or uniform development goals.…”

“…However, due to the heterogeneity of the administration configuration, the spatial governance or the planning systems of the EU, regional development on this spatial scale raises challenges (Cotella et al 2021). Besides, there are numerous on-going discussions on the ideal territorial scale for the development policy, including local economic development (LED), where the interactions of local stakeholders and the mobilisation of internal resources are taking place (Varjú et al 2020).…”

Local Resource Clusters of Southern Transdanubian Settlements

“…According to the followers of local resources based development (earlier: Capello, 2007;Camagni, 2009 andneo-endogenous: Cejudo &Bavarro, 2020;Pollermann et al, 2020;Biczkowski, 2020), development goals, priorities and strategies, concepts are supposed to be based on the resources that can be allocated, and are identified as either comparative advantages or uniform development goals. Resources are considered as factors that constitute the set of opportunities and provide value to developers (G. Fekete, 2013;Mezei, 2018;Varjú et al, 2020). The project absorption capacity of settlements also depends on the availability of local capital (e.g.…”