Budapest was among the first cities to develop a city-wide curbside concept, which was designed by Mobilissimus. The curbside is the area between the traffic lane and the sidewalk, where parking is currently the most common use in Budapest, but which also includes, for example, rows of trees. The curbside zone is one of the city’s most valuable yet least managed public space resources, which has now become an overburdened, neglected, and unmanaged area.
The first phase of the project involved a review of Budapest’s fundamental documents, followed by the development of an international benchmark. This revealed that Budapest’s curbside concept is a pioneering initiative even on a global scale. An analysis of the functions of the curbside zone, a review of the regulatory situation, and an examination of current management practices laid the groundwork for the second phase, during which a comprehensive curbside planning methodology was developed; the main steps of this process are illustrated in the following figure. Finally, as a last step, the BKK’s curbside design guidelines were reviewed.
Budapest's Grand Boulevard
Photo: András Ekés
Based on the curbside design guidelines developed, we designed the curbside for the section of the Grand Boulevard between Nyugati Square and Boráros Square. A central element of the Grand Boulevard’s renovation is the creation of a curbside zone that supports urban life along the boulevard. The goal was to create a multifunctional curbside zone that places great emphasis on ensuring service for businesses along the Grand Boulevard (loading facilities) and introducing forward-looking functions (parking for shared vehicles, short-term parking, place for recycle bins of apartment buildings etc.).
The curbside areas along the Grand Boulevard were not designed solely for today’s needs; their functions and character were guided by the requirements of at least the near future, but more so those of the medium term. At the planning level, this manifested in the re-evaluation of functions that have since undergone fundamental changes (such as the taxi stand), and new features were introduced (such as the 30-minute waiting area), for which regulations do not yet (fully) exist, but we are planning ahead rather than reacting to current conditions.
Client: Budapest Centre for Transport (BKK)
Years of fulfilment: 2024-2025