Mayor Péter Niedermüller’s reelection program
Home to fifty thousand citizens, Erzsébetváros is an inexhaustible treasure trove of diverse cultural traditions layered on one another. A unity in diversity. A site of many tragic and uplifting stories and an admirable ensemble of impressive monuments and rickety tenement buildings having witnessed human fates and fatelessness galore. It is the abode of large families and solitudinarians alike, children and the elderly, believers and the disheartened, and those in pursuit of their faith. The district belongs to us all: native Erzsébetváros inhabitants, young people moving in, and strangers from far-flung corners of the world having chosen the district as their new home. It is the colourful pageant of a genuine metropolis.
Erzsébetváros is the district of tolerance and dialogue. We are proud of our religious traditions and temple monuments and we lay store by the civic role of church denominations. We support the daily service of congregations and civil organisations and count on their cooperation and help in turn.
Fostering traditions and safeguarding values is our common cause, which serve for our old and new residents as the foundations for shaping the Erzsébetváros of the 21st century.
Needless to say, the situation and development of Erzsébetváros are intertwined with the future of the capital overall. The urban cores of metropolitan cities of the world are undergoing a change and renewal of great consequence. This also necessitates a structural overhaul: these cities are simultaneously becoming hubs of community cooperation, centres of a comfortable and pleasant life as well as focal points of innovation and creativity. A renewal similar to that of Budapest, and Erzsébetváros within it, can be witnessed in the metropolitan cities of Europe, seeing as they share both similar urban structures and cultural and architectural traditions. The most important conclusions to be drawn from Western and Central European urban rehabilitation policies are as follows:
Budapest and Erzsébetváros which is part thereof, have all the necessary means to implement such complex regional development policies as will see to the improvement of life quality and attract talented young individuals and innovative enterprises and activities at the same time. All my development policies are based on existing historical cultural and traditions. My programme has 5 cornerstones:
The good news is that the Municipality of Erzsébetváros has the assets to continue and complete the projects in the works: a sizeable real estate portfolio, substantial financial savings, clear objectives and, not least of all, detailed schemes ready to be put into practise.
The cohesion of the district as a community, the support of those in need and the prevention of middle-class impoverishment are not merely slogans, but a conscious choice of values.
The population of the district is aging, with a lot of pensioners barely making ends meet. Providing for the elderly, ill and vulnerable are top priorities for the municipality. Provision of care is also a statement that the members of our community are not left alone, they can always count on us. It is important that those in need have personalised access to the support and physical care they require.
We operate a complex care system offering diversified support to all in need of the help of the community. Social care is not regarded as a form of subsidy, but rather as a means of weaving a social safety net that goes beyond mere financial support and can intervene in a timely manner and offer customised solutions to those in need.
Our social care system strives to prevent grave or irreversible conditions and endeavours to offer support in most difficult life situations.
These tasks are not performed solely through the Municipality’s own network of institutions, but also in assistance with civil and ecclesiastical initiatives participating in the provision of social care. This is particularly true for homeless care, which, in many respects, is a practical problem, but also a fundamental humanitarian responsibility not to be neglected even despite the difficulties, discomfort and conflicts it may entail, and the disproportionately high burden it imposes on the municipality.
By way of reinforcing social cohesion, we prioritise on the integration of those in a difficult financial situation. The further development, extension and the launching of new programmes aimed at improving foreign language and digital skills and adult retraining courses are imperative. In the name of acceptance, we have launched a Hungarian language course for foreigners settling in our district.
The current plight of the middle class and especially those raising children calls for customised help. For us, a family is a family. We do not differentiate between families, patchwork families, single parents or any set-up of parenting. We offer support in the form of early development, motion therapy and school integration programmes; the purchase of musical instruments and sporting equipment, coaching, scholarships, arrangement of holiday programmes, as well as the organisation of extracurricular activities aimed at relieving parents.
Our well-appointed nurseries and kindergartens are continuously being developed, which is yet another argument for young families to live in the district. English-medium sessions are now available.
Due to high real estate prices, for many, purchasing a property is beyond their means, and they are forced to resort to other housing arrangements, such as market rentals. We offer an equivalent rental housing scheme to those who cannot afford to purchase a flat of their own or are unwilling to take on the decades-long burden of paying mortgage instalments. One that promotes residential mobility and one that offers everyone the opportunity to work up the housing ladder in due course. I am putting forward my proposal to relieve housing problems under the cornerstone entitled Developing Erzsébetváros.
The past decades have brought uneven development to the district. While the outer parts of Erzsébetváros such as the areas bordering Városliget and the middle of Erzsébetváros have seen slow-paced development (with some areas having achieved spectacular improvement) the processes having taken place in inner Erzsébetváros were highly contradictory. In absence of a well-devised urban rehabilitation scheme, isolated and carelessly executed private real estate development schemes were realised, which failed to bring on the overall renewal of the district. Our already accomplished, ongoing or proposed interventions are built on one another in such a way as to create a seamless urban pattern over time.
A prosperous and increasingly populous Erzsébetváros can only be achieved through a comprehensive housing scheme. Due to the proximity of numerous universities, boosting college dormitory capacity is essential, whether it be through municipal or private investments. As such, young people are given the opportunity to step on the lowest rung of the housing ladder, which leads from college dormitories through studio apartments catering to the needs of young couples all the way up to municipal rental housing, and which attracts new inhabitants in great numbers.
In an attempt to counteract the housing crisis and stall the depopulation of the district, we are creating rental housing accommodation for young couples under our scheme called the “First Key” project, the rental rights of which can even be earned by applicants having no permanent registered address in the district.
It is our essential objective to improve the quality and increase the quantity of municipal rental housing apartments. Concurrently, we are working out the foundations of a sustainable and financeable municipal rental housing system. The construction of new apartments is indispensable. The development of a pleasant and more liveable urban milieu is also instrumental in increasing the population.
In Erzsébetváros a number of large-volume private and state investments are being planned or already under way. The fact that the Municipality has little influence on the way these investments are realised allows for little leeway. The options on hand include substantive dialogue with the construction entrepreneurs and the conclusion of zoning agreements that serve the interests of local inhabitants, in which the developers enter into a financial commitment to implement amendments of the construction serving public interests.
Part of a pleasant urban experience is an orderly streetscape. One of the drawbacks of the housing privatization taking place at the end of the eighties and early nineties is the fact that condominiums often do not have sufficient savings to restore turn of the century buildings having fallen into a state of disrepair.
An adequately motivating competition system should be in place to continue the overhauls of facades, staircases, doorways and hanging corridors, which should tie in with household energy upgrades and door and window replacement schemes. The protection of fin de siècle architectural values should be a priority when effecting façade repairs and door and window replacement schemes.
Creating an orderly cityscape also involves well-designed shop premises, terraces, shop windows, nameplates, advertisement spaces, which should all conform to the architectural values of the area. Municipal grants are also assigned to enforce the aspect of uniformity.
In the context of urban conditions, environmental sustainability is not restricted greening and planting, but it also involves a major change of point of view and lifestyle, since climate change also significantly affects urban lifestyle.
All our actions and plans ready to be implemented react to climate change from the greening of public spaces and energy efficiency investments through the harvesting of rainwater for irrigation.
The humanisation of public spaces extends to the protection, or in cases the prioritisation, of pedestrian traffic, the placement of street furniture, and greening to the extent made possible by utilities and traffic conditions. When drawing up such plans different aspects need to be considered, such as:
There is little to be done to mitigate the parking problems in such a densely built-up downtown area. However, car sharing is becoming increasingly popular which will entail the reduction of car ownership in the future.
Klauzál tér will become the central park and public space of inner Erzsébetváros by autumn 2024, equally suited for recreation, sports and dog running. In the corner of the square a memento will be erected to commemorate the victims of the Budapest Ghetto.
To improve the quality of the public spaces of the district, a detailed greening plan has been drawn up.
At the end of 2022 an energy efficiency and climate protection fund was set up in response to two current issues: the drastic increase of energy prices and the climate crisis.
We continue issuing municipal tenders promoting the green transition of the population and condominiums with the insulation of buildings and doors and windows, upgrades and electric retrofitting of cooling and heating systems, as well as the improvement of energy efficiency.
Our residents’ feeling of well-being is greatly affected by how clean and safe their environment is. We have reorganised city operation and huge resources have been allocated to make our public spaces more beautiful and liveable.
It is our conviction that more intensive use of public spaces entails more responsibility. We have therefore come to the agreement with the union of merchants and hospitality entrepreneurs that they operate a quick-response cleaning brigade and personally see that contaminations are cleaned up from late evening to dawn.
Care is taken to ensure that everyone feels safe in our district. Our goal is to eradicate phenomena that contravene the rules of social coexistence in the years ahead, in cooperation with the police and the population.
Our law enforcement officers act in a number of matters including maintenance of traffic order, towing away illegally parked electric rollers and issuing fines for illegal deposit of waste. In addition to routine patrolling, they step up controls with increased staffing during the tourist season, in particular with a view to fending off alcohol consumption, breach of peace and breach of sanitary rules.
Erzsébetváros is home to culture, creativity, innovation and design. This is by no means just a slogan or wishful thinking. In this spirit a number of domestic and international cultural projects have materialised over the past years. Our actions so far bear witness to the fact that we wish to reposition the “party district” as a “cultural district” by means of cultural urban development schemes, instances of which have been seen in Berlin, Amsterdam, or Barcelona for that matter. My objective is to put Erzsébetváros on the international map of creativity and fine and applied arts. The new image and content can be achieved by the simultaneous and orchestrated development of two fields:
It is a top priority for the municipality to phase out forms of disorderly conduct, and to mitigate the negative effects of tourism by eliminating noise pollution, littering, and wilful damage. The above is achieved through the regulation of already operating hospitality premises and the consistent enforcement of regulations in partnership with the hospitality operators.
The functions to be introduced are concerned with the realm of innovation, digital development, the start-up ecosystem, applied arts, handicrafts, design, creativity, the arts and culture.
The mostly young, well-to-do entrepreneurs will avail themselves of the services of the service providers and businesses of the neighbourhood, setting higher demands for hospitality units than the clientele of partygoers. Some of those working here will even move into the district, especially if the attractive ambience is complete with adequate public services and a liveable neighbourhood.
In case of real estate development over which the Municipality has control (for instance real estates in our ownership) it is necessary to create a real estate stock comprising the following:
I wish to retain our high-value monuments permanently in municipal ownership and assign them a key role in introducing new functions to the district. In these buildings, drawing on private capital, hubs of innovation, design and art are being created and operated. The new functions have a favourable effect on the neighbouring houses and streets since the existing functions attract further service providing businesses, based this time entirely on private capital.
Successful tourist cities make extraordinary efforts to operate their basic functions to the greatest satisfaction of local citizens and the visitors alike. I endeavour to develop the quarter in this spirit, a prerequisite of which is that local citizens should not endure tourism, but be a part of it. They should have a stake in maintaining tourism and thereby feel the improvement of their own life quality. Broadening the list of quality cultural offerings is both in the interest of Budapest citizens and visiting tourists.
In implementing the cultural district concept, Erzsébetváros should radiate an attitude that is capable of attracting innovative enterprises through creating an authentic physical, cultural and economic environment where creativity, sustainability and heritage protection are in an equilibrium. Locally operated institutions should be able to tap into international networks.
We are introducing the Future7 platform enabling residents to do their purchases at discounted rates and avail themselves of services at the shops and service providers of the district.
The online issue of parking permits is a success that speaks for itself: over half of those eligible have already applied for the permits. Encouraged by this, we are further developing the digital administration system of the municipal office. Our aim is to ensure that most administrative matters can be handled online from home, while we also maintain the opportunity for in-person administration for those wary of, or unable to use, digital solutions.
The approval of all development schemes should be subject to the provision of substantive information and social dialogue with the residents and entrepreneurs of the district concerned. The forms and forums of negotiation must be established in which the key responsibility is carried by the municipal representatives. They are the democratically elected representatives tunnelling in the interests of those they represent.
However, it is important to create and ambiance of public confidence in which discussions about developments are meaningful and substantive; where the loudest groups do not suppress the voice of those less capable of representing their interests.
Erzsébetváros must also set an example in democracy.
