BUDAPEST'S DELICATE BALANCING ACT

The fate of Budapest after the fall of the communist regime and the invading of capitalism is an good example of the future of all cities. Cities are still booming and they are still the main space for living but they face enormous problems. Pollution, traffic, suburbanization and segregation are the main problems. Everywhere the exodus of the richer people is beginning and urban life will change in future to the cyberspace.

Budapest, Hungary's cosmopolitan capital, has often been described as the "Paris of Central and Eastern Europe". The comparison is generally apt. This city of two million people on the banks of the Danube is an architectural treasure chest, with a vibrant cultural scene that makes it much more than a museum of faded glories.

In many respects, Budapest is a city of contrasts and paradoxes. While its transportation system is rightly ranked as one of the world's best, the streets are becoming so choked with automobile traffic that Budapest is now rated as one of Europe's most polluted cities.

Of all the cities in Europe, Budapest can be said to be truly Central European. Physically, it is at the very heart of Europe, roughly midway between London and Moscow. Culturally, it has long served as a bridge between east and west. Economically, Budapest straddles the fault line separating the richer, developed nations of the north from the poorer, Mediterranean countries.

History

Budapest's very nature is somewhat dichotomous. The city did not evolve as a single entity but is rather the amalgamation of two cities (Buda and Pest) and a small town (Obuda) in 1873 when the Habsburgs decided to develop the capital of the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, a country which then held sway over twenty million inhabitants. Despite the reduction in Hungary's size by two-thirds and the loss of a third of its population after the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, Budapest retained and even increased its lead and rank as a great European city. Between the two world wars it was the seat of government and of the entire central administration. Furthermore, it was the only important business center in Hungary in addition to being the most important factory town.

Throughout its history, Budapest has been drawn and repelled by myriad forces. This is due, somewhat, to Hungary's failure at reconciling a cosmopolitan, intellectual, urbane entity with a surrounding countryside that is traditional, conservative, and rural. Consequently, the strain caused by such diverse elements has left the city with a pervading quality, leaving different impressions on different sorts of people. Short term visitors, seduced ny Budapest's charm, depart with a sense of satisfaction that the city has finally "arrived", and taken a deserved place in the Western world. Meanwhile, many life long residents evince a social neurosis brought on, in part, by the rapid transition from austere communism to consumerist democracy.

Prior to its merger with Pest, Buda was mainly a resort and contained a few villas, which were the houses of civil servants and clerks. An old-fashioned town, it served as an administrative center, not as a commercial or industrial hub. Today, the old part of Buda, atop Castle Hill, is mostly commercial and attracts plenty of tourists, while the rest of the western bank is home to both the "old" and "new" rich. Pest, by contrast, has long sprawled eastward from the Danube in a layered fashion: fashionable hotels and cafes near the river, a dense commercial quarter behind them, and a dreary working class section toward the outskirts. Pest is now the economic heart of the city, filled with banking, insurance and foreign-trade companies.

Due to its status within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Budapest inevitably took on many of the attributes of its sister-city, Vienna. The most fascinating is the Art Nouveau architecture from the turn of the century. In keeping with the city's character, Budapest ended up integrating its Art Nouveau architecture with building styles emblematic of other parts of the empire, such as Transylvania. The result is a unique and eclectic look that seldom fails to dazzle visitors.

All segments of society agree that this legacy came to an abrupt end by the 40 years of communist rule. Stalinism and the subsequent "goulash communism" of the less repressive Janos Kadar were clearly not respectful of the city's fabric. Many small houses in Obuda, formerly one of the most beautiful districts on the Buda side, were torn down to make way for monolithic and uniform tower-blocks. At the same time, turn-of-the-century buildings were neglected and often allowed to become badly dilapidated.

It is easy to attach blame to the communists for the run-down state of many of the old buildings around the city, especially if one adopts a "before" and "after" approach akin to those used by weight loss and hair tonic commercials. It must be kept in mind, however, that the Second World War exacted a heavy toll on the city. At war's end, Budapest was the second most devastated city Europe, so the task of rebuilding what was left was enormous. The present administration is only now beginning to realize the immensity of such a task as they pursue similar objectives.

At the same time, the bulldozing of sections of the city to make way for modernity is not something exclusive to the communist period. In the "glory days" of "historic Hungary" of the 19th century, Buda was a small, typical German-Hungarian town. It composed of the old Royal Palace, the Cathedral, and the winter palaces of Hungarian nobles. It also contained a quarter which was the home of Serbian merchants. A lot of this was demolished at the turn of the century, with the exception of the Cathedral; the new Palace (which now overlooks the city) along with most of the new government buildings and ministries were subsequently built there.

"Americanization

The demolition continues to this day. With restoration now the responsibility of private owners, much necessary work is not being carried out. Before, the city's Historical Monuments Inspectorate attempted to force the various councils - who owned the buildings - to renovate their properties. Naturally, this was achieved with limited success. At present, no one has the money to undertake such work. Consequently, many old buildings have been bought up by big business who renovate them to suit their needs. American fast food outlets (such as McDonald's) are the most notorious examples of this process.

American-style fast food outlets are scattered all over Budapest. At the turn of the decade, when Central and Eastern Europe was undergoing its transition from communism there was only one, located in the fashionable shopping district in downtown Pest. And while American-style franchises have mushroomed, Budapests's once numerous cafes have almost disappeared from view.

In addition to altering the facades of beautiful old buildings, big business - with the flashing lights and the chimera of getting rich quick - has enticed many to become conspicuous consumers. As a result, billboards, which previously were quite rare, now line the streets, advertising the western lifestyles to be had.

This "Americanization" of Budapest is perhaps most apparent through the recent trend of building huge shopping malls. Recently, a mammoth shopping plaza called the Polus Center was opened in Budapest, which contains a mixture of stores, cinemas, ice rinks and an amusement park. The megamall was completed in less than 11 months and covers 56,000 square meters, with parking space for 2,200 cars. The center has 47 service units, 111 retail outlets, including 56 clothing stores, and 19 restaurants, beer cellars and buffets.

Ecological problems

Along with the building of megamalls, the city is being overrun by cars. With such an efficient and reliable public transport network one wonders why cars are used at all. The problem is that the use of cars is on the increase, literally swamping the city during the day.

Apart from the traffic and difficulties for pedestrians that the increase of cars has led to, the most obvious problem facing the city is pollution. An estimated 600,000 tons of pollutants fall on Budapest annually, with three-quarters of that total being generated by motor vehicles. Emissions 27 times the acceptable level have been measured on some streets, a condition that would compel authorities in western countries to order people to stay indoors. Indeed, air pollution is the main cause of the asthma afflicting 40 percent of the children who live in the city center.

Most of the city's pollution has been blamed on the trabant which, as one foreign ministry official wittingly put it, is a "mobile chemical weapon that ought to be tabled at the Geneva talks on chemical weapons disarmament". However, although these inexpensive but poorly engineered two-stroke cars from East Germany are rapidly disappearing from the streets of Budapest, pollution remains severe due to the huge increase in the number of western cars in use in the city. To own an Opel or Ford Escort is regarded as so desirable that many people sacrifice necessities, including their health, in order to obtain one of these status symbols.

Budapest's environmental problems are, however, not limited to air pollution. Sulfur and lead caused by industrial waste is up to ten times the permissible levels. Meanwhile, arsenic and mercury flow freely in the Danube, which is now a turgid shade of brown, and they also contaminate the drinking water as well. In addition to this, because of the Buda hills in the west and the industrial factories of Pest in the east, the city is highly susceptible to temperature inversion and is frequently covered in a blanket of smog that at times is so dense it is impossible to see across the Danube to the other side of the city.

Most residents are aware of - but resigned to - these problems. One reason is because people have become saturated with the facts. The second reason is that many have been equating environmentalism with recession. For this reason, people are willing to sacrifice environmental concerns for the sake of economic security. Budapest's leaders are so anxious to attract investment that they regularly ignore its environmental costs.

This economic insecurity has little basis in reality. Budapest's unemployment rate is under 10%, compared to the countryside where it gets as high as 40%. Despite the availability of jobs, many people are forced to move away from the city center because of pollution. The temptation to leave is augmented by artificially high real estate prices, inflated by corporate demand for prestigious office space.

As a result, the Art Nouveau treasury is being looted by architectural vandals who slap a uniform commercial face, complete with neon signs, on historic structures. In addition to this, the city is being divided into economically segregated areas, with the affluent occupying Buda's R¢zsadomb (Rose Hill) and workers consigned to the drab high-rises on the outskirts in the east.

Aside from the socio-psychological consequences of such a polarization, culminating in an overt display of Budapest's increasing disparity of wealth, urbanization is becoming a problem. In the past 30 years Buda's population has doubled. Consequently, Buda is being rapidly developed as those who can afford to build lofty mansions and villas in the hillsides. Many of these houses are like small torrented fortresses, angering many of the "old" rich whose own modest homes and panoramic views are slowly becoming overshadowed.

The Writing on the Wall

From being the most livable communist city within the East Bloc, Budapest has now become one of the most frustrating cities within the capitalist world. This change is reflected in the increasing amount of graffiti that mars the city.

For those foreigners who had lived or visited Central and Eastern Europe prior to the socio-political changes of 1989, arrival in Budapest for the first time tended to leave a strange impression. Only after returning to a large, western city did the feeling which had lingered comes to light: the buildings of eastern Europe's large cities were uncannily free of graffiti.

Today, graffiti in Budapest seems to follow a pattern that is similar to other large cities of the region, such as Prague. Illicit drawings or etchings on the walls are more common as one moves away from the city center. In conjunction with this, illustrations and inscriptions steadily degenerate from high-minded communication to piddling scribble, with a higher degree of racism and obscenity.

It is of no coincidence that this pattern mirrors the architectural layout of the city. The center is filled with a cluster of historic buildings designed in the Art Nouveau and baroque styles. It is less likely to see these buildings, especially those in good condition or newly renovated, with graffiti on them. Modern edifices that are in good condition are more likely to be covered with graffiti than the most run-down Art Nouveau relic.

This is because Hungarian youth attach aesthetic value to their cultural heritage with a passion. Art Nouveau is still highly regarded because of its ability to unite all art forms, creating a treasury of motifs, forms, and stylization which is able to transform the most banal themes out of triviality. Hence, this appreciation of art and beauty was able to manifest itself during the communist era by targeting those buildings with graffiti which represented the impotency of Stalinist realism. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that on the outskirts of town predominated by monolithic tenement blocks and wasted, old factories, graffiti resembles that which is common in the ghettos of most western countries. Slogans are far more racist and there is a distinct absence of color. Much of it is etched on the steel walls of elevators and doors, and windows on the ground floor entrances are equally scurrilous - if not broken. Gypsies are the favorite targets for slander. Racist captions such as "gypsies out" are almost always defaced in the city center, but in the suburban housing estates the anarchist "A" and the occasional "fascist swine" is few and far between. Thus, nationalists have a secure outlet for their xenophobia.

Regardless how polluted or stressful it has become through decades of communist rule and years of democratic transition, Budapest nevertheless has been able to retain, as one author put it, "a certain majesty and quiet beauty" that has long since disappeared in the west. Although new office space clashes with the Art Nouveau relics of the old city, an attempt has nonetheless been made to not make the contrast so sharp. In the center of the city most new buildings try to blend in with their surroundings, adopting a similar size and shape.

Still, many in Budapest have begun to regret at leisure what in haste they have allowed themselves to be committed to. Residents are longing for a way out but do not have the will, nor the courage, to take a decisive step.

Unable to return to the past, Budapest really has no choice but to move forward. How it will do so - and whether it will even acknowledge this imperative - is far from certain. What is certain is the longer it hesitates the worse the situation will grow, for irreconcilable differences are pulling the city fiercely in opposite directions, leaving Budapest with a shattered soul.