B-TEAM PROJECT BROWNFIELD DAYS DEBRECEN HAJDÚ-BIHAR BROWNFIELD POLICY IMPROVEMENT TASK FORCE
GENERAL INFOS ABOUT THE CITY DRESSED IN THE SUN DEBRECEN By car: M35 highway connects Debrecen with the capital city Budapest, enabling to cover the 220 km distance within 2 hours. By rail: Debrecen, the largest railway junction in Eastern Hungary, lies on the trans-european railroad connecting Budapestwith Moscow. By air: Debrecen has an international airport complying with the Schengen criteria. Favourable location in Central Europe, close to East European markets, Available qualified labour fource at reasonable costs as compared to Budapest or other Western Hungarian cities, Available industrial parks and industrial areas with high capacity public utilities, Debrecen has the second largest university in Hungary with more than 32,000 students, Operational costs lower than in Budapest or Western Hungary, Supportive attitude of the local municipality.
GENERAL INFOS ABOUT THE - Debrecen is the 2nd largest city in Hungary, 200 000 inhabitant - the city is the one of the regional centres for higher education - being a dynamically developing and one of the best managed provincial Hungarian cities, it has become an economic, logistic, educational and tourist centre of Eastern Hungary - due to its historic and cultural heritage, Debrecen is one of the primary touristic destinations in Hungary. In addition, the city offers a great variety in health, wellness and conference tourism. The thermal water of the Debrecen Medicinal Baths attracts visitors even from abroad. CITY DRESSED IN THE SUN
IMPRESSIONS - 24 participants from partners - 1 study site - 3 groups - 3 facilitators - external experts - many questions regarding regeneration - 40 degrees
GOOD EXAMPLES REGENERATION OF FORMER MILITARY SITES former military headquarter, used as university campus
GOOD EXAMPLES REGENERATION OF FORMER MILITARY SITES the soviet heritage the reconstructed and newly built terminal buildings
LOCATION - the study site is situated in the s - outh-west part of the city - former function: military airport and facilities for soldiers - some of them has been reused as a result of joint activity of central and local government, economic actors and civil organistaions, but a few works are still necessary
HISTORY OF THE AIRPORT The first official regular flight carrying mail took off from Debrecen Airport in 1930. From 1930 domestic passenger flights from Debrecen to Budapest and to other major cities in Hungary were operated. During World War II it was the base of a Hungarian bombing squad. Between 1945 and 1990 it served as a Soviet military airport. Between 1946 and 1968 Debrecen Airport functioned also as an emergency airfield for Budapest Airport. In 1991 the Soviet troops vacated the airport and handed it over to the Hungarian State. In 1994 Debrecen Municipal Government purchased the airport, and started to develop it.
1. REGENERATION OF THE RESIDENTIAL AREA OF FORMER SOVIET MILITARY AIRPORT 2. REGENERATION OF THE TERRITORY OF DEBRECEN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AS AN INDUSTRIAL & SERVICE AREA 3. ENVIRONMENTAL AND REHABILITATION PROJECTS IN THE AREA OF DEBRECEN AIRPORT THREE MAIN TOPICS
RESIDENTIAL AREA - north of the runway, served as a lodging for the soldiers operating the airport - buildings with different functions remained in a very bad condition after soviet army has left them - buildings which were in a relatively good condition now are used as social housings, the former primary school operates as a primary school, the former cultural centre serves economic purposes - some of the empty lodgings were reutilised, number of people living here is increasing - accessibility has also developed here, but not enough - scarce community cultural opportunities - swot analysis of the signing station and the airport residential area
RECOMMENDATIONS Signing station: - the possible developments should complement the existing landscape - residential purposes, open spaces, landscaping could increase the visual and aesthetic value of the site - link to the strategic plan of the airport Next to the airport - multifunctional uses - capitalise the assets already in place - showcase, hub for green technology and innovations
INDUSTRIAL AND SERVICE AREA - total area of the international airport is 385 hectares, but for the operation of the airport only ca 245 hectares is needed - the surrounding area has been lacking service and retail facilities, though the residential area is developing - some of the old out-of-use buildings were demolished, but there are still some hangars on the site - cargo basis has already been started to develop - close to the airport there is an industrial park - the airport is connected to the main railway station, but the line is out of use at the moment
RECOMMENDATIONS - encourage the consultation and close cooperation - knowledge valley - improve public transports, good access while taking into consideration the environmental protection regulations - intermodal cargo basis - attract SME s role of the local authorities - restoration of old hangars with new functions - find sources for infrastructure projects
ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE - after soviet army left Hungary, significant environmental damage was discovered (the relative thickness of crude oil pollution was more than 200 cms) - different actions has been started to recontaminate the site - aim of the project was to investigate the possibility of agricutural utilisation of the area - after 3 years of investigation it can be stated that the utilization of the plants for energy production and chemical industry is prospective
RECOMMENDATIONS - possible temporary uses on the site nr 1: short rotation forestry (low cost, energy production, extendable to entire area, high social acceptability) - possible temporary uses on the site nr 2: experimental showcase (permanent experimental site and demonstration site for citizens, EU, schools) - possibility of green technology site (business incubator for green technologies, potential link to universities) - improved intermodal transport link - further environmental work is needed - temporary uses in the short term could improve the environment and the economic potential of the site - business incubator for green technology - intermodal transport connections
SUMMARY Effects of B-TEAM project in Debrecen, Hajdú-Bihar - local authorities and public administrative organisations on county level became familiar with brownfield regeneration process - policy makers on different levels, faculties of the university and entrepreneurs started a co-operation and stated their intentions through Letter of intents and Co-operation agreements - dissemination of project results on county level (wide range of target groups, such as politicians, architects, planners, chambers, development agency, etc)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!