ERD, Hungary -- In the hills surrounding Erd, the grassy lots between new houses are likely to stay vacant for a long time.
On June 28, the mayor of Erd -- a town of some 75,000 people just south of Budapest -- announced that, from July 15, construction projects already under way will be able to be completed but no new constructions would be permitted in the city.
"I decided to take our fate into our own hands and deploy a 'nuclear weapon' for the local construction industry: a ban on changes," the mayor wrote in a Facebook post that attracted fierce discussion and hundreds of comments.
This means that permits for construction cannot be requested or given until the new local building regulations have been adopted, he said. There is no indication when the new building regulations will be completed, with the mayor saying only that this "will take a lot of time."
Erd Mayor Laszlo Csozik (left)
Erd has seen its population nearly double since the 1980s. In contrast, Hungary's national population has steadily declined over the same period.
Csozik told local media that "too many people have moved in, and the city's infrastructure cannot handle so many residents." He cites the supply of drinking water to new developments as the most pressing issue, but adds, "Transportation is also becoming difficult due to the number of cars. There won't be enough nursery and kindergarten places if this continues."
The center of Erd photographed in the early afternoon of July 12
Levi, a student in Erd, says the town is attracting people emigrating from other regions of Hungary who want to work in the capital but dislike the noise and chaos of Budapest.
"The transport connection is very good because this was one of the first railway lines to be built out of Budapest," he said while taking the half-hour train ride to the capital's Deli Station. "With my student card I pay 200 forints (around $0.60) for a return trip, so it's very easy."
Apartment prices in Erd are not significantly cheaper than Budapest, with medium-sized apartments selling for the equivalent of around $185,000.
Houses under construction on the outskirts of Erd on July 12
Csilla Mihalicz, a freelance journalist in Erd, told RFE/RL that reactions to the drastic measure have been mixed. Many locals feel "the city got full," she says, while others "approved the goal [of slowing development] but considered the tool too radical and arbitrary."
Locals in the town who are supportive of the plan cite gridlocked streets and apartment blocks rising above quaint older properties, but several cases of people being significantly impacted by the construction ban have come to light.
Bence Barocsai was just days away from submitting a construction plan in Erd that is now on ice. He responded to the mayor's announcement by saying, "We now have a 90 percent completed plan and building material worth tens of millions of forints, with which we cannot do anything. What do you suggest we do? Shall we patiently wait? Unfortunately, we can't wait, because as I mentioned before, we and many other people had plans that will impact our jobs and our personal lives."
Workers at a construction site in Erd on July 12
Another Erd local who works in the construction industry responded to the mayor by saying that, from July 15, due to the halt on new construction projects, "my opportunity to work will be terminated, so my nearest job opportunity would be 40 kilometers away. I hope these temporary problems will be solved as soon as possible. With respect, Arnold Rostas, who voted for you!!"
In a more recent announcement, Csozik acknowledged he had received several complaints from families who had been caught off guard by the shock construction announcement and said, "Let's look for the right legal solution for them, because the purpose of the ban is to stop endless condominiums, not to deprive families. Please be patient, I will provide the details soon."
Mihalicz says there has been significant interest in the construction ban in other rapidly expanding towns around Budapest. "Other settlements are expecting their leaders to follow this ban," the journalist says, largely in response to illegal construction projects by unscrupulous developers.