, Hungary
City population: 1728868
Duration: 2018 – 2023
Implementation status: Ongoing
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: 7000 m2
Type of area: Central Business District / City Centre
Last updated: November 2021

Agora Budapest is a large scale urban redevelopment project initiated by private investors. Besides implementing five high-quality office buildings, the investors aim at creating green public spaces the size of 7000 square metres in order to provide a healthy and vivid working environment. The green surface involves green roofs, parks and tree lines, all which will be irrigated using collected rainwater. The solar panels on the roofs of the buildings are also part of the sustainability plans of the investors. (Ref 1. and Ref 4.)

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Nature on buildings (external)
  • Green roofs
  • Balcony greens
  • Grey infrastructure featuring greens
  • Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
  • Institutional green space
  • Parks and urban forests
  • Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
  • Green areas for water management
  • Sustainable urban drainage systems

Key challenges

  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation
  • Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
  • Economic development: service sectors

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Transformation of previously derelict areas

Project objectives

- Provide a positive work environment; - In accordance with the sustainable development strategy of the private investors, the project puts emphasis on green surfaces in the outside community areas of the office buildings; - Besides the regeneration of the existing green surfaces, new tree lines are planned along with the new buildings (Reference 1).

Implementation activities

The construction of the project started in 2017. As of June 2020, the Agora Tower building has been completed with other buildings also under construction. Offices such as Raiffeisen Bank's office are already in use, and a canteen has also been opened.

Main beneficiaries

  • Private sector/Corporate/Company
  • Other

Governance

Management set-up

  • Led by non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Private sector/corporate actor/company

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Unknown

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

Unknown

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Yes (- Étv. (Építési törvény - Building Code): 1997. évi LXXVIII. tv. 62. - OTÉK (Országos Településrendezési és Építési Követelmények - National Building Regulations): 253/1997. (XII. 20.) Kormány rendelet)
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (- UKVSZ - (Újpest városrendezési és építési szabályzata - Building Regulations of the local government) 20/2014. (VI. 27.) Önkormányzati Rendelet)

Financing

Total cost

More than €4,000,000

Source(s) of funding

  • Corporate investment
  • Commercial banks

Type of funding

  • Loan
  • Unknown

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Water management and blue areas
  • Improved stormwater management
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area

Economic impacts

  • Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
  • Attraction of business and investment

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Unknown

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

1. Source link. (2017). Agora Budapest - épül az új városközpont. [online] Available at: Source link 19.06.2020]
2. Source link. (2017). The Official Website of Agora Budapest. [online] Available at: Source link 19.06.2020]
3. Source link, (2015). Nagyot dobbantott a HBReavis Budapesten. [online] Available at: Source link 19.06.2020]
4. Source link (date unknown) AGORA Budapest. [online] Available at: Source link [Accessed: 03.07.2020]
5. Source link (2019) Agora Budapest - fenntarthatóságból jeles! [online] Available at: Source link [Accessed: 03.07.2020]
6. Source link (2017) AGORA BUDAPEST néven épül az új városközpont az Árpád hídnál. [online] Available at: Source link [Accessed: 03.07.2020]
7. Source link (2017) AGORA BUDAPEST néven épül az új városközpont az Árpád hídnál. [image] Available at: Source link [Accessed: 03.07.2020]
8. Source link. (2019). Agora Budapest’s journey to success: EUR 140 million loan granted. [online] Available at: Source link [Accessed: 03.07.2020]