The predecessor of our Department was established in 1984, when the Centre for Regional Studies was founded in Budapest. Initially, the focus of the research was on theoretical issues, but as the number of staff increased, the research of the department became more diverse. In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of regional science, the research staff of K\u00c9TO is drawn from the social sciences: cultural anthropologists, geographers, ethnographers, economists, sociologists, historians, etc.<\/p>\n
The time since its creation has seen many changes. After the change of regime, 1989, until the mid-2010s, there was a relatively strong emphasis on applied research, spatial and urban development. In the last decade, however, research on different dimensions of socio-spatial inequalities has become increasingly prominent. Traditionally, there has been a strong emphasis on studying the transformation of rural economies and societies, and on exploring the inequalities associated with different spatial categories – small rural and farm areas, medium-sized towns, agglomeration zones, intermediate and urban areas – and their dynamics over time. In recent years, the emergence and interconnection of different forms of social and spatial exclusion (segregation) and the varying intensity of the role of public and civil (ecclesiastical) institutions in social inclusion have become important research issues in our Department. Research on the perception of spatial and social mobility and migration and climate change, and related factors influencing mitigation and adaptation, is a relatively new area of research. The research of the Department’s staff is typically not limited to the settlement level, but follows the geographical scale at which people live and work, i.e. focusing on processes at the level of (micro)spaces, neighbourhoods, neighbourhoods, or even segregated settlements and (small) areas.<\/p>\n
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