ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the theoretical debates concerning participation and urban democracy and discourses of the post-socialist social and political context of Budapest. In the post-socialist context, a low level of citizen involvement and the influence of party politics in the civil society are typical. The Inner-Erzsebetvars became very dilapidated during the state socialist era. The case of post-socialist gentrification highlights the importance of the social embeddedness of the gentrification process and the commodification of inner city housing. The chapter describes the context of inner city changes in Budapest and discusses conflicts of urban investments, gentrification and functional change in different parts of the inner city, showing how the interests and rights of the residents were neglected. It presents long-term ethnographic research of various urban rehabilitation projects in Budapest, and shows that besides the market rule, post-socialist political power and property relations are also at odds with the ideas of 'urban democracy'.
