Landscape architecture in Hungary
In spite of Hungary’s relatively small size, there
are multiple and varied challenges for Hungarian
landscape architects. The country has a mosaic
landscape structure which spreads from sub-alpine
mountains to sub-Mediterranean regions and to the
plains which have a continental climate, but seem
to be getting warmer and drier as a result of global
warming.
Furthermore, as a result of historical forces, there
is a huge contrast in the economic situation and
development of various regions. The generally
more-developed western part of Hungary includes
Transdanubia, the central region with many towns
and cities, including the capital, as well as tourist
regions and recreational areas which have devel-
oped dynamically from the 1970s. The eastern part
is moderately developed on the whole. It includes
regions and counties where the crisis of industry
and agriculture penalises both landscape and inhab-
itants – partly as a consequence of natural causes,
partly because of poor economic decisions taken in
the past. The traditional west–east axis of develop-
ment is varied and influenced by features of the
landscape and geography. Stagnating regions with
small villages are also to be found in Transdanubia,
while significant developing cities with prosperous
administrative and cultural centres emerge from the
Hungarian Great Plain.
Urbanised areas transformed rapidly and drastically
after the fall of the communist regime in 1989.
Because of the forced industrial development
under communism, which neglected the country’s
natural endowments, the great industrial centres
collapsed and huge areas became brown-fields
requiring costly remediation, planning and rede-
velopment. Large tracts of agricultural land have
become sites for building or reserves for further
development, particularly in proximity to large cit-
ies. The renewal of historical city centres, delayed
for decades, must not be postponed any longer,
if we are to halt the migration to the metropolitan
agglomerations. Urban open spaces are becoming
more valuable; their significance is growing from
the social, aesthetic, urban ecological and eco-
nomic points of view.In Budapest, where the bulk of administrative and
cultural institutes are situated and one-fifth of the
country’s population lives, even greater expecta-
tions are placed upon open spaces. On the one
hand, there is a measurable social need for parks,
public squares and various urban open spaces,
while, on the other, the downtown districts are
less able to bear the expanding traffic and park-
ing needs. Thus, one of the proposed solutions is
multiple land use. Due to these opposing require-
ments, open space is a common challenge for the
urban designer, architect, landscape architect andHungary
Kinga Szilágyi