THE BUDA SIDE LOWER EMBANKMENT CASE, BUDAPEST Tamás Fleischer Institute for World Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences „Le paysage urbain historique et sa gestion” Colloque international, - organisé par l’Observatoire Urbain de Budapest Budapest, novembre, 2008

4 The century-old dream of the sewage collector and the central cleaning plant 4 Changing historical role of the embankments in the life of the city 4 About the planned four lane road to solve the traffic problem 4 The report of the mission of UNESCO and ICOMOS experts 4 The interpretation of the Report of the mission 4 Present perspectives The Buda-side lower embankment case

Paris 2002 Plage at the Seine

Budapest 2004 Plage at the Pest

South-Korea: Cheon

South-Korea: Cheon before and after

Source: P.-M. Tricaud. B. Maldoner. Evaluation of Buda Embankment Wastewater Collector and Road Project March 2005.

Interpretation of the Mission Evaluation 4 I have never heard communicating, what really was the preferred alternative the two authors found best 4 Namely: „removing the road and restoring the former aspect of the embankment” 4 It is true, that the authors correctly added that this solution ‘was not acceptable by the current position of technicians with regards to functional issues’ 4 But, when these technicians referred to the opinion of the foreign experts, it would have been right to quote similarly correctly their statement

Present perspectives

7,5 tonne

Present perspectives

While the new strategy for the lorry traffic in Budapest offers a 3,5 tonne restriction for the whole internal city, different suggestions still try to handle the Danube lower embankments as exception

4 The good news that the four lanes widening of the embankment was abandoned. 4 The bad news that the planners didn’t want to understand the real message: that is a more liveable environment needs calm, less traffic, pedestrianisation, more public space. 4 What is planned now, formally follows the advises about non- widening of the embankment, but still want to send more lorry traffic to the area, maintaining the place for a future tunnel under the lower embankment, -- that is still there is an intention to pressing here the north-south transit traffic of Inner-Buda through. 4 The new construction at the Margit bridge definitely opens the space for the more and heavier lorry traffic on the embankment. Present perspectives

THE BUDA SIDE LOWER EMBANKMENT CASE, BUDAPEST Tamás Fleischer Institute for World Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences „Le paysage urbain historique et sa gestion” Colloque international, - organisé par l’Observatoire Urbain de Budapest Budapest, novembre, 2008 THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION !