JUST Nature series: Episode #3 - Szombathely
with Agnes Győrffy, City of Szombathely & Viktor Bukovszki, ABUD & TUM
For this new episode in our What’s That Green? x JUSTNature special series, we took a virtual trip to Szombathely, Hungary, a city that might not be on everyone’s radar, but that taught us one of the most powerful lessons in this series: transforming a place isn’t just about the landscape but also about people, trust, and time.
We sat down with Agnès Győrffy from the Mayor Office, City of Szombathely and Viktor Bukovszki from ABUD, and together, we dove deep into their journey of creating two green pilot sites through the JUSTNature project. What made this conversation stand out was the candidness, the clarity, and the very real sense that these interventions were as much about healing institutional habits as they were about planting trees or installing benches.
A political shift and a new beginning
Back in 2019, environmental concerns weren’t exactly a priority for Szombathely’s local government. As Agnès shared with us, the city leadership at the time lacked both interest and internal knowledge on climate and sustainability issues. But things changed after a local election brought in new people who wanted to do more.
When ABUD came knocking with an invitation to join a European project on nature-based solutions, Szombathely said yes, without really knowing where the road would take them. “We were not experts on co-creation,” Agnès admitted. “We learned by doing.”
And so begins the story of how two overlooked urban spaces, a crumbling school courtyard and an overgrown riverside green patch, became lively, community-loved green spaces.
Two sites, Two challenges
The courtyard belonged to a primary school that hadn’t been refurbished in decades. Its concrete expanse and lack of shade made it an unwelcoming space for children, particularly in the summer.
The riverside plot, on the other hand, was what Agnès called a “blind spot”, so forgotten that most locals didn’t even know it existed. Full of neglected trees and dense bushes, it didn’t feel safe, much less inviting.
But now? The same children who once rushed through the schoolyard are tending raised garden beds and learning about climate adaptation through new sensory paths and green walls. The riverside “jungle” is now a beloved meetup spot with a Miyawaki microforest, rain gardens, and flowering meadows, all designed to address urban heat, stormwater runoff, and biodiversity loss.
As Viktor explained to us, what sets these transformations apart is their design and their intentionality. “The difference between a green space and a nature-based solution is intentionality and participation,” he told us. “If people don’t buy in, they won’t use it, and then it deteriorates.”
The art and effort of co-creation
This is where co-creation comes in. And not just one kind, but two parallel processes that needed to be entirely adapted to their audiences.
With the school, workshops were designed especially for kids, think group drawings, collaborative imagination, and hands-on exploration. Meanwhile, for the park, they invited neighborhood residents, NGOs, urban planners, and even the local water authority to weigh in.
Some sessions were more creative and open-ended; others were structured “peer reviews” of different design alternatives developed by landscape architects.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. One of the most honest and moving parts of our conversation came when Agnès shared the memory of a workshop where just two people showed up. “We had everything prepared…and only two people came.”
It was a tough moment, but one they chose to learn from. They started calling people directly, crafting more personal invitations, and, most importantly, being very clear about why each person was being invited, what would be expected from them, and what the workshop could offer in return.
Building trust, slowly but surely
Through these trial-and-error moments, the team not only built better workshops, they also built trust.
As Viktor noted, participation was easier after the interventions were visible. “In Hungary, people don’t believe it until they see it…” But once they did, there was joy, enthusiasm, people wanted to be part of it.
What also stood out during our conversation was the level of institutional collaboration. The relationship between the municipality and ABUD wasn’t a typical top-down contract; it was a genuine partnership.
“We don’t just work next to each other…we work together.” And from Viktor’s side, this partnership was just as valued. “You’re my favorite municipality to work with…You filter our utopias through the reality of local governance, and that’s what makes them possible.”
Collaboration as a pathway to green cities
Towards the end of our episode, we asked both Agnès and Viktor why co-creation is especially relevant when it comes to green infrastructure. Viktor put it beautifully:
“Municipalities have shrinking budgets and exploding responsibilities. The private sector isn’t incentivized to create public green spaces. So the only way we can re-nature our cities is through collaboration.”
In Szombathely, this philosophy is starting to take root, through policy and through actual communities of practice. Viktor calls them “nature-building communities.” They’re the groups that now care for the new spaces, continue the momentum, and might even expand the model elsewhere in the city.
They were built by identifying what relationships already existed, and nurturing them with time, care, and the occasional mistake.
Message to other cities
We wrapped the episode with a simple but powerful question: what advice would you give to other cities wanting to do the same?
“Don’t be afraid to fail,” said Agnès. “But learn from it. Even a small budget or a simple trip to see what others are doing can make a big difference.”
Viktor added a reminder that hit home for us:
“Nature-based solutions mean different things to different people. For city managers, it might be about heat reduction. For citizens, it might be about pride, beauty, and belonging. We have to value all of it equally.”
Something to definitely keep in mind while greening more of our cities.
The JUSTNature project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101003757.
Host and writer: Fanny Téoule
Guest: Ágnes Győrffy & Viktor Bukovszki
Audio editor: Karl Dickinson
Music composer: Jenny Nedosekina
Graphic designer: Julia Micklewright
Missed the previous episode?
How can a city turn a road designed for vehicles into a climate street? And more to the point, how can urban transformations be introduced in a way that builds trust and enthusiasm? In this second episode of What’s That Green? 's collaboration with JUSTNature, Nele Janssen walks us through the co-creation...