Hungary’s Border Sections After the Schengen Opening: Integration Potential in the Context of Population Concentration and Urban Gravity

Szilágyi, Ferenc and Pénzes, János and Horeczki, Réka (2026) Hungary’s Border Sections After the Schengen Opening: Integration Potential in the Context of Population Concentration and Urban Gravity. MODERN GEOGRÁFIA, 21 (4). pp. 111-132. ISSN 2062-1655

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Abstract

With Croatia’s accession to the Schengen Area in 2023, followed by Romania’s in 2025, Hungary’s border regions have once again come to the fore. The expansion of the Schengen Area has created a new spatial context in which population concentration in border areas and the gravitational pull of nearby urban centers indicate varying levels of integration potential across different border sections. This study provides a bilateral comparative analysis of Hungary’s border sections based on population concentration in border areas and the urban gravity of nearby centers. The analysis draws on NUTS 3-level population data, the Border Population Concentration Index (BPCI), and the gravitational weight of nearby urban centers located on both sides of the border. The results show that Hungary’s border sections exhibit considerable differences in terms of integration potential: in regions with larger urban centers, denser opportunities for spatial linkages emerge, whereas along sections characterized by weaker urban networks and lower population concentration in border areas, the spatial conditions for integration are more limited. These differences suggest that the possibilities and anticipated directions of cross-border cooperation vary significantly across border sections. An important question for further research is which territorial and institutional instruments may help strengthen linkages in less favorably positioned areas.

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