Car-free day in Debrecen – a successful small-scale action

In the first phase of the two-stage project, the URBACT Local Group (ULG) was set up, which, in addition to the Municipality of Debrecen, includes representatives of institutions, entrepreneurs, public authorities and multinational companies.

The main “output product” during the second stage of the project is the Integrated Action Plan, that should have been the result of a broad social consensus from the very beginning, and to this end it is essential to consult stakeholders and take their suggestions into account in the decision-making process. Unfortunately, the pandemic situation did not allow for large-scale meetings, therefore the EDC Debrecen team carried out the involvement through personal interviews and thematic small group discussions. The action planning process included a small-scale pilot action to test a temporary solution among the citizens to promote sustainable transport modes in the action area.

During the action planning process, a consensus was reached in consultation with ULG on the appropriate part of the action area in the city centre of Debrecen to continue the extension of the pedestrian zone.

For many years, the public transportation company of Debrecen called DKV Inc. organizes the Car Free Day during the European Week of Mobility. Following the choices of location made in recent years, DKV Zrt. chose the section of the main street (Piac Street) for the location of the Car Free Day, which coincided with the area considered by ULG members to be the most suitable for the extension of the pedestrian zone. This provided an excellent opportunity for the project to give the selected section of the road a dedicated function for one day.

Together with the ULG members, including the Municipality of Debrecen, the DKV Inc., DERKE (Debrecen Regional Transport Association) and the local organisation of the Hungarian Cyclists' Club, we defined the pilot action to be implemented within the project: we covered the parking spaces on the closed road section with artificial grass on an area of 700m2, imagining Piac Street as a green oasis, a picnic area.

The aim of the pilot action was twofold: on the one hand, to raise awareness of the possibility of using our public spaces in a different way from the current usual functions (parking, car traffic, etc.) and, on the other hand, to test the attitudes of the public towards the action.

At the Thriving Streets booth, the project team of EDC Debrecen invited the visitors on historical sightseeing; we showed the pedestrian zone developments constructed in the last two decades to the residents through gamification. For example, we made puzzles from historic and new pictures, to show the evolution of the public spaces as time goes by, the children had the opportunity to redesign the action area by sticking the pictograms of the desired functions on the picture of the action area. Our idea box was popular too, almost a hundred ideas were written and thrown into about the future of the main street.

During the event, we also launched a public opinion poll to find out what the residents think about the closure experienced on the Car-Free day, which functions are suitable for the city center instead of parking lots, or how are the people imagine the future downtown of Debrecen.

One of the most important added values of the SSA is that the ULG members were not only co-designers but co-creators too. It was a huge success, that using the SSA, the problems identified by the ULG were validated by the public. A significant part of residents has welcomed the pedestrian zone developments, realized in the last two decades, they have experienced an improvement in the quality and quantity of local services. (e.g. events, hospitality) They are happy with the functions available, although they see the opportunity to expand them. (e.g. playgrounds).

If the closure would be confirmed, the citizens would like to use the area in various ways, but green areas are essential. The establishment of green spaces is unavoidable, as more than 80% of the residents would like to see it. On the contrary, the demand for free parking lots in the city centre is still high, which creates a conflict of interests, and which poses a major challenge for future urban planning ambitions.