The global economic crisis brought significant changes, not only to the lives of people but to that of cities as well. A new approach is needed: fact-based, mindful urban development. Creating a healthy environment for living is of fundamental importance, and enforcing sustainability in urban development is the key to achieving this.
The Municipality's task is to survey, devise and ensure a solid, feasible technical basis for the necessary improvements and then initiate and manage the related development projects. The identification of long-term objectives and the development of the medium-term strategy will be followed by the implementation of specific projects. Improving Budapest's liveability on a human scale is only feasible with the collaboration of the city's inhabitants, non-governmental organizations and the business and science community. Laying the framework for channelling civil energies, external knowledge and resources is one of our most important tasks. Urban development is a joint cause. Let us turn our goals into actions together!
Our vision
„As one of the key members of the network of European large cities, Budapest, based on its potential, conveys impulses stemming from the larger European and global space to other areas of the country, therefore its role and development have an impact on the country as a whole.
Budapest is the leading economic power, an innovation and cultural centre of Central and Eastern Europe, the leader in knowledge and creative economic development, along with the implementation of a sustainable economic model, based on a network of research and development, education and business (market) systems. It is the market leader in the production of low energy consumption but high added value goods and services, and in the attraction of investments into such sectors. In terms of its characteristics and situational potential, Budapest acts as a bridge between the surrounding regions and civilisations and as an ideal meeting point for different cultures, economies and people. It develops its environment cautiously by taking into account the values and the interests of the stakeholders as much as possible. Budapest is a versatile capital city with a unique character, offering a high quality of life and equal opportunities to its residents."
(The future vision of Budapest 2030 Long-term Urban Develepment Concept)
Learn the key urban development documents of Budapest.
The Budapest 2030 Long-Term Urban Development Concept (adopted by the General Assembly in April 2013) is a comprehensive planning document that envisages the capital city’s long-term development for over ten years taking into account its urban characteristics.
The Urban Development Concept consists of three main parts. Firstly, it summarises the results of comprehensive reviews and studies made about the capital in recent years categorised according to particular fields, which presents a kind of status report of the City. These provide the framework for the Concept. Secondly, it defines the general principles which must be enforced in all ensuing plans and decisions. The three principles of the approach are liveability, sustainability and equal opportunities. Thirdly, it outlines the main directions of the period until 2030 through 17 goals linked to particular fields, which include complex tasks and means affecting several areas.
The Urban Development Concept is a guidance document which aims to lay the foundation for medium and short-term detailed development programmes that will attribute specific measures and processes to the objectives to be achieved.
Budapest 2030 – full English version (72 MB)
Budapest 2030 summary – English version (9 MB)
Budapest 2030 synthèse – version française (11 MB)
In harmony with the goals of Budapest 2030, the role of the Integrated Urban Development Strategy, called Budapest 2027 is to determine the city’s mid-term development duties, along with programs for the Budapest City Council. Within this frame, its key project is that assists in the implementation, integrated action plans and basic conditions.
Apart from the integration of city conception analysis, the strategy chooses realisable mid-term goals which harmonise the hierarchical goal system and on this midterm they are able to contribute to its implementation at the highest possible degree.
Budapest 2027 – English version (7 MB)
The Thematic Development Programs (TDP) are strategic documents with an entirely new perspective that is aim at harmonising these development projects with respect to their subjects. The four accentuated themes, prepared in 2014 and 2015, are based on the previously accepted Budapest 2030 Long-term Urban Development Concept.
The Municipality of Budapest, the 23 district municipalities, the authorities concerned and
professional organisations took part in a six-month-long, intensive project that consisted of these
major points. The results were strategic documents with realisable goals, the planning process,
the implementation of programs, and the agreement of the most important brownfield and Danube
area development projects of the next seven years.
The four TDP are the following:
- development of Danube riverside,
- development of brownfield areas,
- social urban regeneration,
- promote economic development and job creation.
Thematic Programs summary – English version (1,5 MB)
Programmes Thématiques synthèse – version française (1,5 MB)
Implementing the smart city vision as a horizontal objective has played an important role regarding documents and projects on the development of the city so far. The vision demonstrates the principles and values of the smart city approach, which will drive the future smart city developments.
The Municipality of Budapest is committed to place particular emphasis on the smart city approach in the development of Budapest, therefore the preparation of a dedicated programme for such urban measures and developments was initiated. The first step of this process is to develop the Smart Budapest Vision which serves as the framework for the smart city objectives.
In previous years several projects and development programmes have been delivered in Budapest applying energy efficient smart solutions of advanced technology with special attention to environmental aspects. This document demonstrates some good practices of these as illustrations of the main topics.
Smart Budapest summary – English version (6 MB)
The Balázs Mór Plan, based on the Budapest 2030 Urban Development Concept, is the transport development strategy of Budapest for 2014–2030, prepared in the spirit of sustainable urban mobility planning.
According to the general goals of Budapest 2030, the transport of Budapest must improve the competitiveness of the town and its region and must also contribute to establishing a sustainable, liveable, attractive and healthy urban environment. The operational goals required for achieving the strategic objectives (liveable urban environment, safe, predictable and dynamic transport services, cooperative regional relations) appear in four areas of intervention: infrastructure, vehicles, services and the governance system, i.e., more connections, attractive vehicles, better services and efficient governance.
The strategy was prepared in line with the EU requirements for the programming of development resources in order to be prepared for applying for EU funds supporting urban transport. The transport development projects of the next two EU financing periods must serve the realisation of these objectives.
The approximately sixty measures that serve the operational objectives, cover all urban modes of transport and sub-sectors (from walking through cycling and public transport to individual transport, also including parking, freight transportation, taxi services as well as technology- and IT-based developments) with a systematic, yet differentiated approach, and also manages complex issues such as the developments concerning the river Danube (bridges, waterborne transport), tourism needs and public space improvements.
Budapest Transport Development Strategy 2014-2030 – full version (4 MB)
