Photo: Róbert Hegedüs
Mariann Őry
27/11/2023 08:00
- What makes a city sustainable?
- Sustainability is a long-term vision. If we want to make a city sustainable, the vision of the city must be clearly understood by the citizens. Of course, in a democratic society, the vision must be fully discussed and accepted through the democratic process. The next step is setting a target and finding out how to reach it. For example, we have a target for the city to reduce the carbon emission by 2050 by 30 percent or to create more jobs.
- How can average citizens contribute to sustainability?
- I think it's not reasonable to ask people to make radical changes in one day or in one month. At the same time, we have to adjust our city life to make a city sustainable. But that's a gradual, slow process.
- Traffic is an important issue when it comes to the liveability of a city. What are the best practices?
- Good public transportation is key. For example, Budapest is much better in this regard than many Asian and US cities. In the US, we have to rely on cars on a daily basis, but in Budapest, if you do not own a car, you still can stay at one place and then go to your workplace using public transportation.
- And what makes a city smart?
- When people talk about smart cities, they emphasize the use of modern technology. But not only that. If we want to make a city smarter, we should try our best to create more opportunity and attract talents to our city. A smart city must be able to attract young people to stay in the city to create their sustainable careers. It's very clear now that younger generations pay more attention to sustainability issues (than the older generations) and are more willing to make a timely change toward the targets of sustainable development. Thus, a smart city will gradually grow and develop into a sustainable city if more and more local, national, and international young people decide to live in a city and work together for their sustainable future. Budapest has this great potential and I'll do my best to help Budapest realize its potential.
The author is managing editor of Eurasia