Local services
The 2025 budget aims to provide a high quality of life for the people of Debrecen and to make the city recognised both domestically and internationally. The plans include Debrecen implementing innovative, modern, sustainable and environmentally conscious solutions in all areas.
The budget pays special attention to the development of transport and infrastructure, institutions and the economy. In addition, the city allocates significant amounts to support green areas, residential programmes, cultural and health developments, in order to ensure the well-being and safety of the citizens of Debrecen. Deputy Mayor Ákos Balázs presented all of this to the press representatives at the press breakfast called Climate Morning.
SECURITY
The safety of the people of Debrecen is guaranteed by developments such as the operation of the Environmental Monitoring System, the construction of the traffic control unit of the City Management Centre, and the installation of a traffic counter and traffic monitoring camera system. In addition, the adjustable LED public lighting system, the planning of Ecopark with rainwater retention, and water utility developments also contribute to safety. The city is spending HUF 60.8 billion on all of these.
DEVELOPMENT
Development is ensured by the development of the infrastructure, the transport system, and the economy, with a total of HUF 81.3 billion.
WELFARE
As part of the Caring Debrecen programme, welfare and green space developments are being implemented. The environmental renewal of the city centre and Tócóvölgy continues, as well as the development of the courtyards of educational institutions and kindergartens. A running track will be built in the Debrecen-Józsa settlement. In addition, playground development works and the welfare investments of the Civaqua programme will continue. The city is allocating HUF 6.56 billion forints for welfare measures.
City Management Centre
The City Management Centre of Debrecen will be established for the sake of sustainable urban development and modernisation, in line with the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP 2.0) and the Green Codex guidelines. The centre will act as a data centre to monitor and control traffic, track energy data from institutions, ensure public safety with the help of surveillance cameras, and also manage data from the measuring stations of the environmental monitoring system.
The goal is to modernise traffic management, for which a system using dynamic, real-time data is intended to be developed, replacing the old, fixed control programmes. This year, the infrastructure of the City Management Centre will be built, equipment will be purchased, and engineering support will be provided.
Traffic management will be carried out by establishing a new centre, where traffic will be regulated based on real-time data provided by cameras and sensors. The goal is to collect accurate and reliable data that will help decision-making, ensuring the smooth operation of the city’s transport network. As a first step, the computers at the junctions were replaced in 2024 and the traffic lights were replaced with LED light sources. By the end of this year, the physical location of the City Management Centre will be completed, providing 24-hour surveillance. The centre will also monitor the operation of the Green Guard (in Hungarian Zöld Őrszem) and the public camera system.
The city budget provides HUF 365 million for the implementation of the project.
GREEN GUARDS
The Green Guard Environmental Monitoring System strategy was prepared by nearly fifty specialists, including scientists from the University of Debrecen and local experts. The project aims to guarantee the safety of the people of Debrecen by continuously monitoring the state of the environment. The system consists of 16 complex measuring stations and 2 surface water quality monitoring points located in Tócó Stream. The scientific programme was created in cooperation with working groups working along environmental elements, in the fields of soil, water, air and biodiversity, as well as in the fields of IT and legal and financial matters. The scientific work was managed by Professors Péter Nagy and László Stündl.
The Green Watch operates 24 hours a day, monitors the state of the environment, collects data online, and supplements it with laboratory tests performed by physical sampling.
An accredited survey and recording of the baseline state of the environment has also begun to provide a reliable basis for comparison.
The system’s measuring instruments provide reliable data on air, water and soil quality, as well as biodiversity, supplemented by noise measurements, which are evaluated by professors from the University of Debrecen.
The infrastructure of the measuring stations was completed in 2024. The finalisation of the operating protocol, the installation of the measuring instruments, the testing of the IT system and the preparation for continuous operation are underway. The test period has already started, and as soon as the experts indicate that all instruments have been set up, live operation will begin.
The collected data will be made publicly available, and the Faculty of Informatics of the University of Debrecen will develop the IT background and the website, where anyone can access the information.
In addition, Citizen Science programmes will be launched, which will give the city’s residents the opportunity to get involved in the work of the monitoring system, for example by participating in open days or listening to lectures.
The infrastructure will be operated by KER Debrecen Nonprofit Ltd., a joint venture between the Municipality and the University of Debrecen.
The city is providing HUF 400 million from this year’s budget for the operation of the Environmental Monitoring System.
ECOPARK
Debrecen attaches great importance to development opportunities that can help increase the size of the city’s water surfaces. These water developments significantly contribute to improving Debrecen’s air and mitigating climatic conditions.
The city is developing an innovative eco park in Tócóvölgy. An 11-hectare, connected new green public park will be created, including a 3-hectare water surface. These elements will jointly contribute to the creation of the city’s blue and green corridor. The new park will be of outstanding ecological importance for the people of Debrecen, providing active and passive recreational opportunities.
The reservoirs to be developed along the Tócó Stream are the main players in the city’s water retention improvement programme. These “lakes” will also be able to collect large amounts of rainwater that suddenly falls on the city. Preparatory work will start this year.
Water educational trails, playgrounds, sports fields and other facilities will be built in the public park. In addition to active resting places, quieter areas will also be created. The arrangement of the shore of the Tócó will be carried out together with the development of the park, thus creating blue and green corridors. HUF 70 million are available for the planning.
CIVAQUA WELL-BEING DEVELOPMENTS
The aim of Civaqua’s well-being developments is to make proximity to water even more accessible to the people of Debrecen, while offering new, high-quality, nature-based recreational opportunities. It is important for the city’s residents to have green spaces where they can relax, recharge, and enjoy the beauty and richness of nature.
The developments will be implemented at two main locations, at Lake Vezér and at Klastrompart in Józsa. The new areas will be accessible in all seasons, with comfortable walkways and resting areas, but architectural elements, such as benches, paving, pavilions, will appear discreetly, in harmony with the green nature.
Sustainability and security will play an important role: energy-saving, light-pollution-free lighting and surveillance cameras will ensure undisturbed relaxation. The developments are aimed at all members of the family, with comfortable resting places, playgrounds and interactive digital information tools that help to discover the diversity of nature. The main goal of the city is not only to restore the rich flora and fauna along the Tócó, but also to make it visible to visitors.
These developments not only offer new opportunities for people, but also contribute to the creation of a more livable, sustainable living space for the local flora and fauna. The aim of the Civaqua welfare programme is to make the green areas of our city even richer, more livable and closer to nature.
The development is being implemented with a budget of HUF 500 million.
PLANTING ANOTHER 10,000 TREES IN DEBRECEN!
After successfully concluding “We are planting 10,000 trees in Debrecen!” programme, the largest afforestation campaign in the history of our city continues. In the coming years, another 10,000 trees will be planted in Debrecen. Tree planting is one of the best known measures of the Green Codex in Debrecen, as it is the planting of trees that has the greatest impact in increasing urban green spaces and improving the health of the environment. In this way, we help to counteract the negative effects of climate change and the urban heat insulation effect. Planting trees contributes significantly to urban well-being, both physically and mentally.
When selecting planting locations, a fundamental aspect is to create as large, continuous green areas, tree rows and groves as possible, so that the environmental effects of trees (shading, temperature reduction, humidity, air purification, noise reduction) can be maximised.
Since 2019, the 10,000 planted trees have been absorbing 45 tons of dust and 80 tons of CO2 per year, while producing 6.5 tons of O2 and evaporating about 200 thousand liters of water during a growing season, improving the surrounding microclimate. The impact of the “Another 10,000 Trees programme” will double this and further reduce the urban heat island effect!
Debrecen has HUF 73 million available for the programme in its budget. This spring, the planting of 350 large-sized trees will begin, and the procurement of additional trees (about 600 – 1,000 pieces) will be launched.
TREE ADOPTION PROGRAMME
Debrecen residents not only follow the city’s tree planting campaigns, but more and more people want to actively participate in them. In response to these demands, the city is launching a new programme together with the Future of Debrecen movement, called “Adopt a tree!”
The program is open to environmentally conscious Debrecen residents who would like to plant a tree sapling in the public space in front of their residence and undertake to take good care of it. The city will provide the sapling, help with the professional planting, and provide professional assistance with the care of the tree.
More information about the program’s details, application, installation, and participation process will be available soon. This spring, 50 adopters of ornamental trees will be sought.
PROTECTIVE AFFORESTATION
In the protective afforestation program, the city has planted 20 hectares with 40,000 forestry and 1,813 horticultural tree seedlings since 2019. In this large area, the trees provide shade, ensure higher humidity in the air, and a more pleasant microclimate with temperatures 6-8 degrees lower during heat waves, as well as a habitat for thousands of insects, birds, and mammals.
In the continuation of the programme, a green corridor will be created on the axis of the Tócó Stream with protective afforestation in the western part of the city, creating a green belt between the city and the economic zones. To control dust pollution from arable fields, the old field protection woods and tree-lines will be restored on the west side of the city, and the network of existing shelters will be extended in the vicinity of the economic zones. Green corridors will be created by connecting the protective afforestations along the Northwestern and Southern Economic Zones.
The 2025 budget includes an amount of HUF 311 million for afforestation tasks.
Once all protective afforestation plantings are completed, these green belts around the city will grow to an area of 30 hectares and will be able to sequester 150 tons of O2 annually, provide shade, evaporate water, and reduce air temperature during heatwaves. This is a larger area than the approximately 20-hectare Park Forest around Lake Békás.
The entire afforestation program of the two economic zones, the Northwestern and Southern Economic Zones, will be implemented with a total of HUF 1.5 billion. By the end of 2026, 3,000 tree seedlings and tens of thousands of shrubs will be planted in the Northwestern Economic Zone, and thousands more will be planted in the South.
Innovative bicycle racks
Cycling is part of a healthy, active city life. In Debrecen, the length of bicycle paths is already 112 km, and more and more people choose to cycle on a daily basis. By the end of the year, the city will install modern, innovative bicycle racks that can be opened with a mobile phone application in 9 locations. The use of safe, weather-proof closed racks also helps to combine public transport with cycling.
Participants in the press conference:
Ákos Balázs, Deputy Mayor responsible for city management and environmental protection
Dr. Csaba Aradi, ecologist, honorary citizen of the city of Debrecen
Prof. Dr. László Sündl, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Food Sciences and Environmental Management of the University of Debrecen
Prof. Dr. István Szűcs, Institute Director of the Faculty of Economics, Institute of Economics of the University of Debrecen
Miklós Kálmánczi, Strategic Director of DVÜ Ltd.
András Kuhn, Chief Gardener of Debrecen Mayor’s Office
Gergely Pacza, Head of Urban Development Department of Debrecen Mayor’s Office,
Tibor Schwarcz, Deputy Head of Urban Development Department of Debrecen Mayor’s Office
Orsolya Hamecz, Certified Nature Conservation Engineer, Head of Green Space Department of Debrecen Mayor’s Office
Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu
