The Ratio of Biologically Vital Areas as a Measure of the Sustainability of Urban Parks Using the Example of Budapest, Hungary

Abstract

Biologically vital areas (BVAs) indicate regions with ecological functions within cities. Their presence in green spaces helps to counteract the negative impacts of built-up areas and impermeable structures on urban environments and city dwellers. The main objective of this study was to examine the level of sustainability of urban parks based on their real ratio of biologically vital areas (RBVA). The preliminary research was conducted in 2021 on six randomly selected parks in Budapest, Hungary, which are examples either of site rehabilitation or of new designs based on a sustainable approach. The areas of the main types of landcover with ecological functions, such as greenery planted on the ground, green roofs, permeable pavement, and water reservoirs, were measured and compared to the area of hard structures as well as the entire area of each park. The results show that the RBVA was below 50% in four of the six studied cases (ranging from 22.97% in MOM Park to 44.13% in Millenáris Park) and above 50% in two cases (51.52% in Graphisoft Park and 79.31% in Nehru Park). This diversity resulted from the need to reconcile ecological and social functions in urban parks; however, the implementation of sustainable solutions should be increased in further development.