The park on II. János Pál pápa tér is one of the most exciting, open and diverse green spaces in Józsefváros. The park is one of the most beautiful and most popular parks in Józsefváros, one of the most beautiful and most open spaces in Europe. The Municipality of Józsefváros would like to gradually renew the park in cooperation with its owner, the Municipality of Budapest. Our aim is to assess the needs of the different user groups – children and adults, the elderly and the young, the poor and the better off, dog owners and non-dog owners – as best we can, and then to coordinate them to create a park where everyone feels at home and where people in Józsefváros can do the activities they like, respecting each other and the space, and protecting the green spaces. To this end, the renovation has been preceded by a public consultation to assess the experiences and needs of the current users of the space. The public consultation, held in May and June 2023, consisted of several elements.
The central element of the public consultation was a questionnaire survey of needs, available in adult and children’s versions, as well as in English and Hungarian, between 5 May and 5 June 2023. The adult questionnaire was completed by 404 adult respondents. Of these respondents, 397 were Hungarian and 7 were English speakers. The questionnaire for children was completed by 19 respondents. There was a roughly equal split between respondents under 6 years old, 6-10 years old and 6-14 years old.
In addition, a public forum was held in the square in mid-May 2023, where the rules of use for the park were discussed with around 30 participants.
During the period of the needs assessment, we also conducted a so-called traffic count to determine which parts of the square are most frequently used and which days and times of the day are used more or less.
During the needs assessment, we have continuously advertised the possibility for residents of the district to join the II. János Pál pápa tér Resident and Expert Working Group. A total of 22 residents applied, 10 of whom were able to attend the three dates on which the working group meetings were held. In addition to the residents, the working group was attended by the relevant experts from the district and the Municipality of the capital, also about 10 people in total. The working group met for three 3-hour sessions and worked on these three topics: 1) reviewing and categorising the results of the needs assessment 2) prioritising the development needs of the space 3) developing square use rules.
On the basis of the needs assessment and the needs, priorities and suggestions of the working group, the Office of Community Participation staff will prepare a set of proposals for the development of II. János Pál pápa tér, which will be submitted to the decision-makers of the two municipalities, after the public working group and the district and metropolitan authorities have given their opinion, and on the basis of which they will be able to make financial decisions on the interventions in the park and their timing.
Additional information: The public toilet planned for the autumn of 2023, which was voted for by the people of Budapest in the 2020 participatory budgeting. The first phase of the grassing of the square and the construction of the necessary irrigation system is also planned by the two municipalities for the second half of 2023 and is a prerequisite for the square to be used as an integrated park.
You can read the summary of the needs assessment survey in Hugarian here >>>