v city, transformed GYŐR How to compete with capital cities Éva Gerőházi Iván Tosics city, transformed GYŐR 1 GYŐR How to compete with capital cities Éva Gerőházi Iván Tosics Győr: How to compete with capital cities © European Investment Bank, 2019. All rights reserved. All questions on rights and licensing should be addressed to
[email protected] The findings, interpretations and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Investment Bank. Get our e-newsletter at www.eib.org/sign-up pdf: QH-04-18-863-EN-N ISBN 978-92-861-3887-4 doi:10.2867/026239 eBook: QH-04-18-863-EN-E ISBN 978-92-861-3885-0 doi:10.2867/62510 4 city, transformed GYŐR Located between three European capital cities, Győr has to work hard to attract investment and jobs. The Hungarian city has set itself up to attract innovative companies, creating new urban values such as education-based innovation, a high-quality urban environment and a lively cultural sphere. Here’s how a “secondary city” builds on its industrial past even as it breaks away from its dependence on it. Győr is a Hungarian “secondary city” close to Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. These three capital cities attract most of the development potential in the area, making it difficult for smaller cities such as Győr to attract the headquarters of international companies or to develop large-scale new urban areas. Győr’s response has been to focus on “smart specialisation” in line with its broader innovation-based development concept.