The world’s population and the proportion of it living in cities and urban areas has exploded in recent decades. In the European Union, 62% of the population lives in urban areas and 80% in suburban areas, and these proportions are projected to increase further in the coming decades. It has long been researched and proven that ‘urban greenery’ can play a major role in mitigating the so-called urban heat island effect, and during the COVID-19 pandemic the role of daily recreation has come to the forefront. The combined memorial, recreational, and touristic use of cemeteries can help to ensure their economic management, and thus the long-term preservation of their value. In international tourism the model of managing cemeteries as tourist attractions already exists; however, this is not yet part of conventional practice. In addition to traditional cemetery tourism (e.g., visiting the graves of celebrities or enjoying artistic treasures and values), cemeteries are used as venues for events and sports activities. In Western Europe forest and park cemeteries have been established since the 19th century, and their large green areas and open spaces are a prerequisite for their use as public parks. Thus, the use of cemeteries as public parks is a common if quite specific practice. Our aim with this article is to identify the green space values of Budapest’s cemeteries, in addition to their well-known cultural and architectural significance, as well as to define the potential and means of their involvement in tourism-related activities. Another aim of our study is to raise awareness of green cemeteries within the tourism profession as potentially wider tourist attractions. We consider it important to draw the attention of decision-makers to the significance of the greenspace values when preserving or reusing closed cemeteries. Based on our work, other major cities in Hungary can identify and exploit the touristic and green space potential of their cemeteries.

Cemeteries, like urban public parks, are an important part of the urban ecosystem, providing semi-natural habitats for many plant and animal species as well as a wide range of ecosystem services: they improve air quality, reduce the urban heat island phenomenon and provide aesthetic and recreational value. This paper explores the role of the cemeteries in the green infrastructure network beyond their sacred and memorial role and their importance as a habitat for urban flora and fauna. In our study, we compared two large public cemeteries of Budapest (Nemzeti Sírkert/National Graveyard and Új Köztemető/New Public Cemetery) with the Zentralfriedhof Wien (Central Cemetery of Vienna), the latter of which has been forward-looking in terms of green infrastructure development and habitat creation in the past years. Our goal was to determine which maintenance technologies and green space development methods are most beneficial in terms of sustainable habitat creation and the use of appropriate plant species in public cemeteries.

Climate change significantly affects the well-being of urban populations. Thus, there is an increasing need for public green spaces in cities, as biologically active surfaces play a critical role in modifying the urban climate—cooling temperatures and providing shelter. Some institutional gardens, like cemeteries and hospital gardens, are hidden treasures: they are open but excluded from citizens’ mental maps, while usually having a rich green mass. This article aims to explore these hidden green surface elements, presenting their advantages and disadvantages by measuring their local climate effects. Three institutional gardens located in different urban environments were selected for analysis in the sample area of Budapest to explore how the surrounding built-up areas of the city modify the urban climate. The climate analyses were prepared with the ENVI-met climate simulation program. In the case of both hospital gardens and cemeteries, our studies show that their green spaces have great potential to increase the sense of comfort for both users of the green spaces and inhabitants of the neighborhood. In densely built-up urban areas, it is particularly important to involve institutional green spaces in public use, because with appropriate development they can contribute to cities’ adaptation to climate change.

Parasztkertjeink a magyar kultúra sajátos szegmensei. Generációkon át öröklődő hagyományok lenyomata a kert, mely egyszerre őrzi a múlt értékeit és tükrözi a jelen kihívásait, meghatározó szemléleteit. Népi kertkultúránk vizsgálata, a jellemző növényfajok feltárása mind örökségvédelmi, mind ökológiai szempontból hozzájárulhat a tervezői eszköztár és a tájépítészeti alkotásokban alkalmazott növényszortiment tudatos bővítéséhez. Vizsgálatunkban az ökológiai nézőpontból különösen érzékeny Homokhátságon található Fülöpszállás népi kert- és virágkultúráját tárjuk fel. A felmérés célja képet kapni a település kertkultúrájáról, különösen a hagyományos kertek növényalkalmazásáról.