VIII. Józsefváros Municipality organized a community reception hour in English for foreign citizens living in the area on Thursday. Daniel Raday, Deputy Mayor of Josefvaros, and Tessa Udvarhelyi, Head of the District Community Engagement Office, gave a brief presentation of the municipality's work and what they are doing in District 8. For foreigners living in the area.
In 2001, VIII. Only 3.7 percent of the region's population were foreigners. In 2011, it was 5.2 percent, and according to the latest census in 2022, 14.2 percent of Józseváros' population were non-Hungarian citizens. The largest foreign community is Chinese with 1,102 people, but there are also 1,056 Ukrainians and 514 Romanians on the 8th. Lives in the area. Among Budapest's districts, Józefvaros has the largest number of foreign citizens, roughly the size of a small city, 9,920.
In terms of population, it is not the eighth. It leads the region, because almost a quarter of the citizens in Terezváros are not Hungarian. Like Josephvarus VI. In the region they also try to inform foreigners about local government affairs, for example in October there is a special offer The local magazine appeared in an English-language issue.
Both Josevaros and Terezvaros have an opposition mayor, the sixth of whom is the mayor. The current mayor of the district is Tamas Soproni, VIII. The region is led by independent András Pico.
At the forum, the difficulties faced by an opposition municipality were discussed several times, but the event was essentially apolitical. The focus was more on informing foreigners living in the region and direct communication. About forty people came, but Mira Haz in Lujza utca still barely accommodates people. They included Italians and English, but also citizens of African and Southeast Asian countries who participated in the reception.
Photo: Istvan Huszty/Telex
Udvarhelyi and Rádai talked about the fact that VIII. The goal of the region's administration is to operate transparently and participate “in this bureaucratic system, which is very opaque even for Hungarians.” Foreigners living here outside current community reception hours Website in English And With newsletter They also try to help.
They also reported that local government elections will be held in June, in which they can also vote. They were encouraged to actively participate in other areas as well. They can share their ideas, for example, about what the programs should be Josephvaros Neighborhood FestivalBut whether They can directly impact the district's budget. Some indicated that they would be happy to do volunteer work.
In the course of the questions, it became clear that apart from one or two problems, foreigners like to live here. First, a man asked the event organizers what they thought of the gentrification taking place in the area. This topic also came up later, a question from a man from Manchester, for example, which was about Airbnbs in the area. Francis, who immigrated to Nepczinhas Street from an African country, wondered why public safety in the area remained so negative, and how that could be changed. He considers Népszínház Street a safe and good place.
Udvarhelyi and Rádai said that the district administration is doing everything it can to stop gentrification, and they do not want to force people who live here to leave Józsefváros. This is why, for example, the social rental housing program was launched. Udvarhelyi said that they deliberately do not advertise how good a place Népszínház utca and the entire region in general is. According to them, this will have the effect of increasing rents and property prices, and displacing people who live here.
