Dilemmas apropos the changing roles of Hungarian town centres after 1945

Abstract

For decades, the centre embodied the identity and spirit of the city, as a witness of historical continuity and the physical and mental elements of the common past, but also catering for the needs of the current city community. Nowadays, along with restructured norms of society and forms of communication, new institutions emerge, which often find their place outside of the historical city centre but at the same time incorporate and influence the living soul of the city community. This is the driving force behind a redefinition of the city centre itself.