Great Plain Research Department of Kecskemét

The history of the Kecskemét research group of the Institute for Regional Studies of the Centre for Economic and Regional Studies began in 1982. The predecessor of our group was the Settlement Research Group, initially organized by György Enyedi and Bálint Csatári within the Hungarian Institute of Geography of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Shortly after its foundation, the Kecskemét research group (together with the research group of Békéscsaba) integrated into the research network of the Centre for Regional Studies of the HAS in 1983. After the political and economic transition, together with the Szolnok and Debrecen Groups founded in 1992, the four units were reorganized into the Great Plain Research Institute of the Centre for Regional Studies. 

After the reorganization of the institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2012, the former Great Plain Research Institute continued its work as the Great Plain Research Department of the Institute for Regional Studies of the Centre for Economic and Regional Studies. The Great Plain Research Department currently operates with two research groups in Kecskemét and Békéscsaba. The department has been incorporated into the Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH) since September 1, 2019.  

Bálint Csatári was responsible for the leadership of the Kecskemét research group from the beginning until 2010 (as institute director until 2008). Éva Perger took over the management duties from 2011 to 2020 and also was the director of the Institute of Regional Studies between 2013 and 2015. Currently, József Lennert is the team leader of the Kecskemét research group from April 15, 2020.  

Main research directions 

Studying the formation of new villages in the Hungarian Plain was the first topic of the recently founded group. This research direction successfully connected the Kecskemét Group to the state-of-the-art rural research discourse and led to fruitful global collaborations. The adverse processes following the political and economic transition once again placed the issue of the Great Hungarian Plain at the forefront of interest. The Kecskemét Research Group played a crucial role in carrying out the Hungarian Plain Research Programmes, which investigated the matter with a regional and interdisciplinary approach. To this day, the group pays special attention to some key issues of the Hungarian Plain, e.g. the transformation of the scattered farm network and the social and environmental processes of the Sand Ridge. The group expanded its research focus to answer the new challenges and utilize the new opportunities. Studying climate change, urban sprawl, and spatial modeling not only provides novel approaches for rural research but also serves as horizontal research directions for the Kecskemét Group. 

Key research activities from the last decades 

1st Hungarian Plain Research Programme (1991-1994) 

2nd Hungarian Plain Research Programme (1997-1999) 

Research of the scattered farm network of the Sand Ridge (2004-2006) 

Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia programmes: INNOAXIS (2010-2011), LOLAMAR (2013-2014) 

Complex rural research programme (2012 – 2013) 

Scientific background for the revision of the spatial categories of the National Development and Spatial Development Concept (2013 – 2014) 

NAGiS – Long-term socio-economic forecasting for Hungary (2015) 

Research activities connected to the further development of the National Adaptation Geo-information System (2017-2018) 

Exploring future labor demand and educational requirements of the firms of Bács-Kiskun County (2017-2019) 

Background research for the preparation of local planning and development documents 

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