This research confirms that forty and fifty big or middle town is ably to form knowledge bases. These cities might have regional guiding role, and 8-10 centres are even more exceeded, here the concentration of functions, the network of institutes for those, the connecting power from the aggregation of themselves and their neighbourhood, the size of the influenced and the attended markets is important. Because of these, they can lead regions they can clamp bigger areas and can form their speciality. The cities outside this circle do not get a leading role. The most functions are amending bigger centres in some cities only a few effects can be realized.

With the European integration the Hungarian network of cities have new challenges to solve. The competition of the cities is getting wider mostly at the borders the surrounding cities in other countries are big rivals for Hungarian cities. Above this the ability of getting new (development concepts) and the adequate forming (programs, managements) might be the most important factor.

The forming networks and their actors have to be integrated to the forming, in the future the urban development more generating European system, and by taking part actively at the race and building on a consensus of local policy and system of action (management), the cities can become leading parts of regional fields.

Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre for Regional Studies
János Rechnitzer (director), tel. +36 72 523 800

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/09/2004

János Rechnitzer

research

Urban Policy