Industrial Areas in Budapest Compared with Tokyo at the End of the 20^th Century

Abstract

Abstract: By the beginning of the twentieth century, Budapest had become a modern city with large and significant industrial areas. After 1989, when radical political change opened the way for economic and social reforms, these old industrial districts have become the most important scenes of changes. Based on the surveys and interviews carried out in Budapest and Tokyo, the main purposes of this study are to describe the most important structural and functional changes in the industrial areas of Budapest during the last decade and to compare them with the changes in the industrial areas of inner Tokyo. The emphasis is primarily on how industrial restructuring affected the spatial structure of industry, the urban space and the land use. In spite of the significant differences between the two cities there are also similarities in the development and prospects of industrial areas of Budapest and Tokyo. Not only do the urban structure and functional division of the cities transform but also the local society and urban landscape.