Beyond the Western Metropolis: A Research Agenda for the Spatial History of Urban Crime in Budapest throughout the “Long” Twentieth Century

Abstract

This paper outlines a comprehensive research agenda for the spatial and social history of urban crime in Budapest from the city’s unification (1873) to the end of the communist regime (1989). While historical criminology has extensively analyzed the metropolises of Western Europe and North America, the distinct urbanization trajectories and spatial dynamics of deviance in East-Central Europe remain largely underexplored. Moving beyond traditional political and state-centric narratives, this study proposes a robust theoretical and methodological framework to investigate the localized realities of both the organized “underworld” and everyday criminality. Central to this agenda is a four-factor localization model that systematically analyzes the crime scene, the residence and origin of offenders, and the spatial attachments of victims. By integrating quantitative official records with qualitative egodocuments and media representations, the proposed framework captures the lived experience of urban space. Furthermore, it highlights how macro-historical crises fundamentally reshaped the geography of metropolitan crime.