The third study visit was organised by EDC Debrecen, Hungary in a hybrid way, when the local stakeholders physically met, and they shared their good practices online to the foreign partners. Debrecen is the second largest city in Hungary by population (202,214 people) and it is the economic, cultural and knowledge centre of the Eastern part of Hungary with a fast-growing economy. The area of the city is 461.7 km2 of which 169 km2 are woodlands, 194 km2 are agricultural lands and 100 km2 are urban lands.
During the study visit the following good practices were presented:
Based on remote sensing technology developed by Envirosense Hungary Ltd., the GIS system supports fact and data-based policy decision making to get an accurate picture of the state of green areas, urban spatial structure, building density, road networks etc. of a city.
The company is establishing a green wall is a good way to increase green spaces in the inner urban areas and it provides healthier living conditions of the citizens. The Municipality of Debrecen used this technology to increase green spaces in the new open-air bath and at bus-stops in different parts of the city.
The Hortobágy National Park is an exceptional surviving example of a cultural landscape constituted by a pastoral society and maintains intact and visible traces of its traditional land-use forms over several thousand years and illustrates the harmonious interaction between people and nature. This outstanding universal value was acknowledged by UNESCO in 1999 with inscription of the site in the World Heritage List. Hortobágy has several cultural and natural values; managing/maintaining these values and touristic attractions will contribute to natural heritage protection and to promote regional attractiveness.
Zsuzsi narrow gauge railway is a good practice for transforming an existing brown infrastructure to another type of using, in this case for (eco-)tourism. Now it is used for awareness-raising purposes among the visitors (primarily for young pupils) in order to draw their attention to the natural values of Debrecen’s woodlands.