Sustainable urban development in the light of EU opportunities

Abstract

In recent years, following the examination of the international dimensions of sustainable development, there has been an increasing focus on the local, local aspects of the issue. What does it really mean to be climate neutral and what makes a city smart? Why should cities be the starting point for this journey at all? How does the European Union relate to this? What are the main contradictions of this initiative? The aim of this paper is to analyse, using the example of Győr and Miskolc, which are in many respects similar, but in many aspects different, whether and to what extent participation in EU programmes such as the "100 climate neutral and smart cities" mission launched in spring 2022 is beneficial for the implementation of sustainable urban development strategies (SDS) of the municipalities. This study seeks to answer the question of the extent to which there are differences between the sustainable urban development strategies (and in particular their practical implementation) of the two cities and how they are implemented in practice.