Volume 18, Issue 1, 2026
Authors: Bálint Zoltán Tóth, János Balázs Kocsis
Energy Efficiency Measures and Social Composition In District-Heated Large Housing Estates of Budapest
In Hungary, ‘Panelprogram’ was the most prominent support scheme for renovating prefabricated large housing estate buildings erected in the socialist era. Despite the perceptible results, a considerable share of these buildings remains without thermal insulation. The study explores whether there is a relationship between the social composition of district-heated large housing estates in Budapest and the occurrence and complexity of energy renovation projects implemented in their buildings. It also seeks to understand the nature of these relationships and identify which aspects of social composition and renovation activities are linked. The analysis utilises quantitative data by combining physical attributes of buildings with census-derived socio-demographic indicators and employs correlation analysis to address the research questions. The study reveals that window replacement is less common where municipally owned flats are prevalent, while longer residence positively influences renovations. The results indicate that lower socioeconomic status of new residents moved in between 2000 and 2009 had a negative impact on certain building-level refurbishments. Despite the significant findings, the relationships identified are not always straightforward. This may be attributed to the highly complex decision-making processes within large housing estate buildings, where local or institutional factors may partially override the influence of the variables examined.
https://doi.org/10.37043/JURA.2026.18.1.5