The Seven Generations of Budapest Shopping Centers 1976-2017

Abstract

The study overviews the development of the seven generations of shopping centers in Budapest, as the author classified them. (Generation 1: “The dawn of opening”, 1976, Generation 2: “Early golden age”, 1980, Generation 3: “Western style” 1993-1996, Generation 4: “The age of dynamic development” 1997-2000, Generation 5: “The age of rivalry” Generation 6: “The age of stabilization” 2004-2008, Generation 7: “The period of hope” 2009-2017.) Changes in the spatial structure in the capital are also examined with the Voronoi diagram. Types of shopping centers are also reinterpreted. In the primary commercial zone, in the core of the capital malls with different roles and regional function are concentrated, nowadays they are the market leaders (WestEnd City Center, Mammut Bevásárlóközpont, Aréna Plaza, Árkád). To the secondary supply zone of the centers belong local or district type malls (Duna Plaza, Pólus Center, Rózsadomb Center, Rózsakert Bevásárlóközpont, Budagyöngye, etc.). The third zone comprises of retail units which belong to the “Western gate of the agglomeration”, while hypermarkets and outlet centers are located in the fourth zone.