The World of Cities

Vidor, Ferenc

The city is one of the greatest achievements of human civilisation. It is more than the mass of its buildings and roads, it is an organised community, an organism and spiritual unit. Not only economic and social conditions but science, technology and art, too, shape its image. The growth of cities into metropolises and beyond, into city regions, creates an increasingly gloomy world. The city itself is a 'world' and as such, requires an approach that sees the entirety to be more than just the sum of its parts and aspects.
The basic functions of a city described by Lewis Mumford can still be found, in a modified form, in the cities of today. The history of urban planning is closely linked to ideas related to the future of society. From the Renaissance onwards utopian ideas have been born that do not take into account real life or the strength of authority and traditions. Modern examples of city planning prove how real life moulds artificial constructions to its shape. The lecture presents the dilemmas of current city planning of Budapest through the examples of the planned Erzsébet boulevard and the group of buildings at Madách square.

About the lecturer