Újpalota

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Újpalota is a neighbourhood in District XV in northeast Budapest, next to Pestújhely.

In 1969 a new suburb was created north to the old Pestújhely, near the Szilas-patak (Szilas Brook) that was named Újpalota (lit. "Newcastle"). This was one of the biggest housing estates of Budapest with a population of 60.000. Today only 40.000 people live here and there are serious social problems. The tall, prefabricated housing blocks are typical of the socialist era but the rich vegetation made the district more friendly in the past decades. The biggest Chinese shopping plaza in Hungary, the huge Asia Center was built on the bank of the Szilas Brook in 2003.