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Mayor Gergely Karácsony said in a Facebook post that the Planetarium, which has stood empty for more than a decade, could become one of several developments helping reverse the park’s long-running decline.
The planned new Transport Museum nearby and a new railway stop under the Southern Circular Railway project could further improve the area’s attractiveness and accessibility, he added.
Budapest has also completed plans for the renewal of Népliget itself. Karácsony said the first step would be the construction of an irrigation system using a graywater pipeline running beneath the park, which he described as a sustainable way to support redevelopment.
The mayor said cooperation with the government would be particularly important because the state also owns property within Népliget.
Karácsony argued that Népliget faces a different problem from Városliget. While the latter has suffered from overuse, Népliget has struggled with low utilization, which he said has contributed to social problems and discouraged further use of the park.
He also recalled that Népliget once hosted Budapest’s largest restaurant, a protected historic building that was demolished about a decade ago in connection with plans for the so-called Fradiváros development, which was ultimately not built.
Karácsony said the current combination of cultural, transport and infrastructure projects could now help break what he described as a decades-long negative cycle affecting the park.
“Why couldn’t Népliget become one of Budapest’s jewels again?” he wrote.
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