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biological evolutionary origins and inheritance, on the one hand, and our symbolically
structured, socially entangled and technologically shaped lives, on the other” (Stutz
2015). On biocultural evolution, see also Rozzi 2015; Winkelman — Baker 2010.
A Hungarian example: Transition Wekerle
There is a Hungarian community that also joined the Transition Towns Movements,
called Transition Wekerle (Hung. Átalakuló Wekerle). The group is active in the
Wekerle Estate in Budapest (19" district) and comprises private persons and civil
organizations engaged in diverse activities.
In Transition Wekerle, the locality has a specific role, rooted in the history of
the estate (summarized by Longhurst — Pataki 2015: 48). It probably applies to
every Transition Town that no concrete initiative can be understood without a
knowledge of the specificities of the local context. In the case of Transition Wekerle,
the historical background holds special significance: the Wekerle Estate came about
between 1909 and 1926 as part of a suburban movement (See Ebenezer Howard
1902; Skiera 2004; Nagy 1994; Nagy — Szelenyi 2008; Verö-Vallö 2022,) registered
as one of the earliest, most unified and original suburban neighborhoods in Europe.
It was named after Sándor Wekerle,the prime minister at the time, who wished
to solve the housing problem of local workers and office clerks in the settlement.
Adopting the basic principles of the garden city movement of the time, Wekerle
Estate was also designed in a way that would promote community life.
“One of the main conclusions from the historical overview is the significance of an
existing, strongly interlaced community, a village in the middle of Budapest where
everybody knows everybody, and newcomers can hardly avoid becoming members
of the community” (Langhurst — Pataki 2015: 48).
The estate housed 20,000 residents, 50,000 trees, and many fruit bushes. Four
fruit trees per flat (a total of 16 ,000) were planted in the back gardens, hence food
production was a natural part of life in the community. Another significant aspect
of the Wekerle was a vivid social life: the Wekerle Club was founded in 1910. One
of Hungary’s oldest civil organizations, this Club is still active today, and is in
charge of preserving the cultural heritage of the estate.
Over the decades, Wekerle Estate succeeded in preserving its garden-city
character and can set an example for modern urban developments aiming at
sustainability (Miller 2002; cited by Longhurst — Pataki 2015: 49). It is therefore
not accidental that the idea of Transition Wekerle found fertile soil there. Of course,
the whole thing would not have worked without local residents who knew and
practiced grassroots organizations as active citizens with a background of
environmental activism. They organized earlier green projects as well — their slogan
was “Climate-friendly Wekerle, Human-friendly Wekerle". Through these, they
got in touch with the Transition Towns Movement.
Transition Wekerle grew out of the Green Sprout group within the Wekerle
Club. Their paths later diverged, — as revealed by Gyorgy Pataki’s examination — in
culture, dynamism, age, and worldview: the gap between the value systems of the