Tanulmányok Budapest Múltjából 30. (2002) – Az ötven éves Nagy-Budapest – előzmények és megvalósulás
Sipos András: Városi agglomerációk és közigazgatási határok Közép-Európában, 1850-1950 : Nagy-Bécs és Nagy-Berlin kialakulása 49-91
Sipos András Városi agglomerációk és közigazgatási határok... András Sipos Urban Agglomeration and Boundaries of Public Administration in Middle Europe 1850-1950 From the middle of the 19 th century on, the expansion of the boundaries of public administration became general concomitant and component of the growth of cities. It bulked in Germany mainly after 1885 whereas between 1900 and 1910 it affected almost the two-thirds of medium- and large-size German cities. The study surveys the formation of the bonndaries of public administration in Vienna and in Berlin, the major stages of annexing the outskirts. (Vienna: 1850, 1890,1904,1938, and narrowing the borders in 1945, Berlin: establishing an alliance 1912, Greater Berlin 1920). The manifestation and bulking up of annexing the neighbouring settlements as an important means of urban development can be derived from three factors, being in close relationship with one- another appearing with a time shift: the formation of agglomeration areas, the role of bureaucracy in urban- management, and the birth of modern urban planning. The existence of the three proved to be insufficient in the case of capital cities. Nationwide political pecking and interests were interwoven with the problems of local development within the cities to such an extent that long-awaited resolutions could be made only in exceptionally favourable political instants. If they were missed for any reasons, (inproper understanding of the circumstances etc.) it could put back further development for decades. At the same time an integration that would keep up the self-government in the outskirts was considered a half-way measure, a compromise. It was the general approach that public administration should match spatial organization of economy by extending its boundaries - the cluster of settlements growing into a unit of economy „naturally" requires central planning and management. The central notion of development in economy was the increasing predominance of large scale industry and rationalizing. In Middle Europe where the responsibility and the role of the state were regarded „naturally" distinctive, it generated the dominance of the approach saying that consequently it is rationalizing and industry-like efficiency that are the main commands of the age for the administration. In the period between the world wars this notion was linked up with a special emphasis on the social responsibility of the state that set balancing regional ^inequalities in purveyance and in maintenance of the poor as a task. Compared to this, notions like clarity of public affairs for the average citizen, opportunity of participation in decisions affecting his immediate living area, caring about local identity and local binds stimulating all, and the resources stemming from them were de-emphasised. 91
