Opportunities for the development of greenways in Hungary, based on the example of the BudaVidék Greenway

In spring 2007 the BudaVidék (‘Buda region’) Greenway programme was launched by the BudaVidék Greenway Alliance, which is a civil alliance formed through the coming together of associations involved in landscape, environmental protection and community development activities in the Zsámbék Basin. The main goal of the Alliance\u27s work is the designation of a network of routes – also suitable for cyclists – linking the twelve settlements in the Zsámbék Basin. This civil collaboration has set itself the target of organising joint greenway tours, supporting educational initiatives in environmental matters related to the greenway, and encouraging locally produced goods and local service providers. In order to provide specialist support for the programme, in autumn 2008 the BudaVidék Greenway Alliance entered into a collaborative undertaking with the Department of Landscape Planning and Regional Development at the Corvinus University of Budapest. The aim of the work carried out under the Department\u27s direction was, with the aid of final-year students, to identify landscape design tasks linked to greenway development, then collaboratively to develop landscape design analysis, evaluation and proposals within the borders of seven settlements. The Department\u27s work continued the following academic year, with the development of landscape design assignments for the remaining five settlements. This productive specialist collaboration can provide the basis for establishing the landscape design of Hungarian greenways through further research assignments. For this it is equally necessary to carry out evaluation of currently designated greenways in Hungary and the analysis of case studies on greenways outside Hungary. It is essential for the continued existence of already designated greenways and the creation of new ones that greenways be incorporated into regional planning, and later that a legal and technical regulatory system for greenways be developed