About this challenge
Hungary
Challenge description
Budapest’s 18th District faces increasing challenges related to urban heat, flooding, and declining surface permeability due to urban densification and changing precipitation patterns. Climate change has intensified the frequency of heatwaves and heavy rainfall events, making nature-based urban water management a priority. The challenge is to move beyond pilot projects and develop a coherent, district-wide strategy that combines rainwater harvesting, local cooling, and public engagement in a sustainable and scalable model.
The District has already implemented successful pilot projects under the UPSURGE initiative, introducing rain gardens and vegetated swales (“fás árkok”) in multiple neighbourhoods. These small-scale, vegetated depressions collect, absorb, and filter stormwater, while also reducing local heat stress and improving biodiversity. Pilot sites include the Szálfa Street green swales and the demonstration rain garden at the Tomory Lajos Museum. The results have shown that even modest interventions can significantly improve microclimate conditions, support ecosystem services, and enhance community well-being. Building on these local experiences, the District now seeks to expand the concept and create an integrated network of rain gardens that link climate adaptation, public education, and participatory green infrastructure planning.
As a result of the City-to-City Exchange, Budapest’s 18th District will develop a comprehensive Local Rain Garden Strategy that scales up the existing pilots into a district-wide system of interconnected, community-maintained rain gardens. This approach will enhance local climate resilience, mitigate heat stress, and strengthen ecological connectivity across the district. Beyond the physical outcomes, the project will promote a stronger culture of environmental stewardship and co-creation among residents, schools, and municipal staff.
The District has already implemented successful pilot projects under the UPSURGE initiative, introducing rain gardens and vegetated swales (“fás árkok”) in multiple neighbourhoods. These small-scale, vegetated depressions collect, absorb, and filter stormwater, while also reducing local heat stress and improving biodiversity. Pilot sites include the Szálfa Street green swales and the demonstration rain garden at the Tomory Lajos Museum. The results have shown that even modest interventions can significantly improve microclimate conditions, support ecosystem services, and enhance community well-being. Building on these local experiences, the District now seeks to expand the concept and create an integrated network of rain gardens that link climate adaptation, public education, and participatory green infrastructure planning.
As a result of the City-to-City Exchange, Budapest’s 18th District will develop a comprehensive Local Rain Garden Strategy that scales up the existing pilots into a district-wide system of interconnected, community-maintained rain gardens. This approach will enhance local climate resilience, mitigate heat stress, and strengthen ecological connectivity across the district. Beyond the physical outcomes, the project will promote a stronger culture of environmental stewardship and co-creation among residents, schools, and municipal staff.
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This city is looking for
Through the City-to-City Exchange, the 18th District aims to learn from European cities that have advanced in the field of nature-based stormwater management and urban cooling. While Athens’s Cooling Havens project focuses on large-scale, water-powered cooling infrastructure, Budapest’s 18th District intends to complement this approach by developing community-driven, small-scale rain gardens that are embedded in neighbourhood environments such as schoolyards, public parks, and residential courtyards. The Exchange would therefore allow the District to refine its technical, ecological, and participatory methodologies, ensuring that nature-based cooling becomes both effective and inclusive. The District is particularly interested in exploring best practices in sustainable design, water retention technologies, and long-term maintenance frameworks for rain gardens and other blue-green infrastructure. It also seeks to learn how peer cities have institutionalised nature-based solutions within municipal planning processes, including interdepartmental coordination, citizen participation, and co-funding schemes. Furthermore, the District aims to integrate environmental education components into the rain-garden network, turning each site into a small “learning landscape” for schools and community groups. Peer support would thus focus on technical guidance, participatory planning models, and impact assessment tools to measure environmental and social outcomes.
City size
Towns (< 50,000 inhabitants)
Author
David Szebeni
Hungary
president
Hungarian Urban Development Association
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