Search

Urban renewal projects are based on long-term strategies and huge economical resources. It takes a lot of time to successfully regenerate an abandoned area, create a new centre, infrastructure, businesses, communities. It also needs the kind of systematic and conscious focus that we see in Germany and Scandinavia. While Spain was one of the most touched countries of the economical crisis, it still succeeded at presenting interesting urban development initiatives. One example is the follow-up of the Olympic development in Barcelona, 22@Barcelona project. I would like to introduce the ongoing project’s main objectives and processes and elaborate on the most interesting and valuable results from this project to consider for the present strategy of brownfield renewal in Hungary.

Our PhD researches include brownfield revitalization,1 the application of the methods of interim utilizations on greeneries,2 and the formation background and potential of community gardens.3 We compared our systems of criteria in hope of extensive research conclusions. In order to trace the urban development possibilities in Budapest, we analysed brownfield revitalizations where the interim utilizations included allotment gardens, too. We concluded that such developments are likely to create environmental and social added value. Early results of the valorization process are important by themselves, but the perpetuation of interim land utilization holds even greater values.

The problem of brownfields has become an increasingly important issue in Hungary – these urban areas have great potential for reuse, presenting a major challenge for landscape architects. As a landscape designer and urban planner, in this paper I am trying to answer the question why certain rehabilitated site work better than others, what the strengths of one or the other are. In search of sustainability in brownfield rehabilitations, I am analysing 5 selected post-industrial sites, and compare them with the undergoing rehabilitation of the Ózd Steel Works.