ABSTRACT

The European socialist countries were formed in the less-developed periphery of the continent, where the rural/urban dichotomy was really sharp. In certain areas, the levelling of rural and urban living conditions seemed to be hopeless within the existing settlement network. In 1971, a long-term “National Settlement Network Development Conception” was passed as a law. The Conception defined the hierarchy of central places, their expected service performance for their attraction zone, as well as the content of basic services for the rural settlements. Rural services constitute the key problem in abolishing the rural/urban dichotomy in contemporary Hungary. It is important to emphasize that differences between urban and rural living conditions have diminished remarkably. This equalization was partly due to huge sectoral and national projects such as rural electrification. The level of public services has great importance in shaping rural living conditions. The rural population may improve the technical infrastructure on its own, but evidently it cannot create public services.