Mass housing estate location in relation to its liveability : Budapest case study

The conditions of mass housing estates in post-Communist countries have long been of concern for their inhabitants, while they have also begun to generate research interests. Some authors advocate for upgrading and renewal of these buildings; yet, others see them as a mass of aesthetic and socioeconomic burden reminiscent of the past, centrally planned economy, and therefore propose gentrification and/or urban regeneration to replace them. However, economic realities often dictate the social housing policy of the day. While in most Western European countries mass housing constructed from prefabricated building elements represent about 8-10% of the housing stock, in Central and Eastern European cities, this ratio varies between 15 and 80%. This is the consequence of a complex social, economic and environmental legacy of the previous political system.