Kocsis János Balázs - Főutcák üzletutcák - Megújulás and fejlesztés

There wasn't, isn't, and won't be a village, district, or city without a main street. Spontaneously or by design, a longer or shorter route becomes a main street, shops and institutions find it, and its existence becomes one with the city. However, its physical condition, use, and atmosphere are not only a reflection of the place, but also of the age. The book describes some of the ones that are being renewed, the physical and social environment, and the results of the transformation process. Among others, we visit Budapest, Madrid, Łódź, New York, Berlin, Edinburgh, Vienna. they are shown, they are revived, they can be revived always and everywhere.

Melinda Benkő
architect-urban planner, head of department
BME Department of Urban Studies

There are roads and city paths that we walk every day, and there are streets that we rarely visit. Deep in our thoughts, we don't always see what's around us. But there are moments when, for some reason, one marvels at the streetscape, at the houses, we feel the spaciousness or the narrowness of the space, we notice the hustle and bustle or that life on the street has come to a standstill. Suddenly the street starts talking, we notice how our environment communicates with us. We notice the new, the transformation, or the forgotten suddenly shows itself. In this case, a person understands his environment and himself in it. The studies in this volume are guides that help the reader in such moments of wonder and understanding.

Gábor Hamp
communication researcher, head of department
BME Department of Sociology and Communication

About the author:

János Balázs Kocsis is an urban sociologist, associate professor at the BME Department of Sociology and Communication, founding member of the Center for Social and Spatial Research. He completed his studies in sociology in Budapest and urban history in Leicester (England). At the University of Applied Sciences, he teaches subjects dealing with cities in the economist, architect and communication courses; Between 2004 and 2010, he was acting head of the Regional Economics and Urban Development specialization of the BME's economics and management course, and in 2014-15 he was a visiting professor at Indiana University (Bloomington, USA). His main research areas are: urban development, urban renewal, gentrification, urban sprawl, suburbanization, urban management, housing policy, local societies, modern Central European urban history.