With more and more extreme weather, we are increasingly experiencing the effects of the climate crisis. So we need to be particularly vigilant about keeping our bodies as healthy and resilient as possible. This can be achieved first and foremost by changing our lifestyle and our environment, since first of all these are responsible for our state of health.

Public spaces are a key part of the urban environment and therefore have a major impact on our way of life. Research shows that, all other things being equal, people who live in pleasant surroundings, with plenty of trees and vegetation, where they can walk, meet people and talk, are much healthier than those who live in areas with barren public spaces. Unfortunately, many public spaces in Budapest are more barren than pleasant, especially in the inner districts. Our streets and squares are covered with asphalt, with cars rushing and parked, and with few trees, shrubs and lawns. In this respect, the situation in Budapest is worst in the inner districts (some districts have only one square metre of public green space per inhabitant), but even in the residential areas of the outer districts there are often more cars than trees.

Over the last few years, the hot days have become almost unbearable, especially in these barren parts of the city. Many areas heat up so much during the day that it is difficult to even walk through them, and they cannot cool down at night. The statistics bear this out, with 15-30% more people dying on hot days than on cooler days. And the increase in the number of hot days and temperatures seems unstoppable. On such days, however, vegetation can help a lot. On a hot summer day, an asphalt surface can reach 60 degrees Celsius, and the metal cladding of a car can reach 70 degrees, while the temperature of a shaded, vegetated ground surface rarely exceeds 25 degrees Celsius.

The conclusion is clear: for the sake of our health, we need to break up some of the asphalt and plant trees, shrubs and lawns. Even if this means fewer parking spaces on roads (the first thing to do is to get cars off the sidewalk). Some people will therefore have to give up their cars, and many could do that, since there are many who use their cars for only a few thousand kilometres a year. For these few thousand kilometres, they can choose to travel by other means: public transport in the city, cycling, walking, or for trips to the countryside by train or bus, and if they absolutely have to use their car, they can take a taxi or use car-sharing. Such a change would certainly also bring significant savings for the majority of the car-owners, which is much needed: energy prices are not expected to fall significantly in the coming years. And food prices are likely to continue to rise, mainly as a result of the reduction in harvests caused by climate change.

There are a number of ways in which local authorities can encourage a reduction in the number of cars. These include reducing the number of parking spaces and increasing parking fees. These measures are also socially just, as the value of a public space occupied by a car amounts to millions of Forints per year, for which the car owner currently pays a negligible amount. And the increased parking fees will give the municipality the opportunity to create more pleasant, liveable public spaces and provide more help to those in need. Change must start immediately, we do not have time to wait years or decades.