Corvin Promenade Project / Corvin Sétány Projekt
Budapest, 2000-2015

The Corvin Promenade as catalyst for change in Budapest 8th District / Erasmus University Rotterdam, through its institute Euricur, conducted a study focusing on the Corvin Promenade in the 8th district of Budapest. The study analyses the redevelopment of the Corvin area and the rest of Budapest’s 8th district. The Corvin Promenade is one of the largest urban renewal program in Central Europe and started in the 1990s. It is one of the key projects within the urban renewal plan for the 8th district. The nature of this district is ambiguous, as it is characterized by substantial social problems on the one hand, and a strong knowledge infrastructure on the other.
Based on a theoretical framework the research team analyzed the governance and major drivers and barriers in this redevelopment process, and the integration of the Corvin area in the rest of 8th district and the wider Budapest region. Results suggest that the area seems to be managed well by a public-private partnership of a developer and a public development body (Rev8 Plc.) with a development plan that is generally supported among all key stakeholders. The major drivers that have speeded up the redevelopment process include the deeply rooted problems in the area; the strategic location of the area; special laws and safety regulations; the presence of the developer and Rev8 Plc in the area and the mixed-use character. Moreover, the study shows that the area has the potential to develop further as a knowledge location due to various strongly linked knowledge institutes at walking distance and the willingness among many stakeholders to develop a science park. However, there are also a number of factors that hinder and slow down the development, such as a lack of concrete social-economic program; gentrification; the negative image of the area; the global credit crunch and political barriers (including competition between district governments and the struggle to find new governance structures in the post-socialist period). Especially the latter two make it hard to find funding to realize the plans.
The case has been published as an IHS-Euricur Working Paper and will be submitted to a number of academic and professional journals. Finally, the study has been used as lecture material in a number of courses at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. [Erasmus University Rotterdam, 2012.03.27 http://www.disc-network.eu/node/265]

Corvin Promenade is the ongoing regeneration of 54 acre (22ha) within the center of Budapest, at the core of what was once considered the city’s most troubled and dilapidated district. The urban design and lifestyle program vision are coupled with a sound 15-year public/private partnership strategy led by developer. That strategy has yielded a vibrant, thoroughly mix-used neighborhood with approximately 4000 residents, more then 4000 workers, and a retail leisure area that attracts 8 million visitor a year. Although it is only 55 percent complete Corvin Promenade has already created a new civic heart to the city’s Eighth District and has been a stabilizing force for the surrounding area. It has sought to promote a truly urban, healthy and low-carbon lifestyle through programmatic diversity, human scale, and incorporation of renewable energy sources. The authentic character of the neighborhood is protected and emphasized by the enhancement of existing local institutions and through the incremental building process, which engages a variety of local architects. Corvin Promenade is based on a philosophy of synthesizing the well-being of people, and protection of the planet, along with economic viability. [ URBAN LAND, The magazine of the Urban Land Institute, May/June 2015, urbanland.uli.org, ISSN 0042-0891, pp:78-79]

http://ujrev8.epiteszforum.hu/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Corvin_Szigony_Project_tender_2002.pdf

https://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanlandinstitute/sets/72157648468818350

http://uli.org/press-release/2014-global-awards-excellence/?utm_source=ULI&utm_medium=Carousel&utm_campaign=2014GAEWinners

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUFjQzix7RI&feature=youtu.be

Urban Planner & Manager of the Municipality / Önkormányzati Várostervező és Projektmenedzser: Rév8 Zrt,
Lead Planner&Manager / Vezető tervező, menedzser: Alföldi György
Planner, Developer, Manager Team of Rév8 / Rév8 Tervező, Fejlesztő, Menedzser csapata : Sárkány Csilla, Csete Zoltán, Tóth Kornél, Faragó Csaba
Fejlesztő, Beruházó / Developer and Investor: FUTUREAL Group
Client / Építtető: Budapest VIII. Kerület Józsefvárosi Önkormányzat
Project area / Projekt terület: 220 000 m2
Project cost / Projekt összköltség: 500 mEuro
Building cost of the Municipality/ Önkormányzati költség: 50 mEuro
Photos: Kapsza Enikő, Tóth Kornél, Kolossa József, Alföldi György