Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem - Építészmérnöki Kar

Lecturer: Dr. BENKŐ Melinda habil PhD, and some guest scholars
From 2026, UH will be a "hybrid" English course with international and Hungarian students
double lessons on every second pair Tuesday 16.15-19.00
in 2026 on Feb 24, March 10, 24 April 14, 28 May 12
grading: semester mark / 2 credits (attendance and a small individual task)
attendance: min 70% so 4/6 double occasions are mandatory

The objectives of this optional course are to introduce you to thinking critically about contemporary mass housing issues and solutions, to have an international comparison of the urban housing situation, and to understand the complexity of mass housing development. As students arrive from different countries, the seminar enables them to learn from one another and explore and compare various case studies. The lessons are differentiated by geopolitical position and key topics:

Introduction to urban housing 
Budapest and Hungary / legacy and contemporary challenges
Post-Socialist Central and Eastern European Countries / small and large housing estates
Western European Countries / contemporary alternative housing solutions
Urban walk in Budapest
Outside Europe / high-rise living & gated communities  
...

The seminar is related to the activity of the Urban Housing LAB of the BME Department of Urban Planning and Design: http://urb.bme.hu/urbanhousing/

Bibliography:
Benkő, Melinda & Kissfazekas, Kornélia (Eds.) (2019): Understanding Post-Socialist European Cities: case studies in urban planning and design. Budapest: L'Harmattan
Urban, Florian (2012): Tower and Slab: History of Global Mass Housing. London: Routledge
Homy: coliving, cohabiter (2018)