Abstract
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.
Highlights
The role of urban green infrastructure or urban green areas is growing in cities as a result of population growth and urban intensification
Urban cemeteries could become an integral part of urban green tourism, as has already been the case for cemeteries abroad, e.g., in Paris and Prague
We identified the potential tourist attractions within each motivation category; through written sources, maps, and field visits, we identified which cemeteries in Budapest have which tourist attractions (Table 3)
Summary
The role of urban green infrastructure or urban green areas is growing in cities as a result of population growth and urban intensification. This study focuses on the role and potential of cemeteries for recreation and tourism. To this end, we conducted a role and potential cemeteries forand recreation andand tourism. Cemeteries and Recreation “Today, cemeteries are more than a place of reflection. They are a place of beauty and a place of history” [14]. A cemetery is a green open area [15], a “garden” with architectural 3 of 28 and sculptural elements It performs an ecological function and it is a permanent element of the landscape. Throughout history history cemeteries have often a secondary causecharacteristics of their characteristics and location, throughout cemeteries havehad often had function in addition to their primary one [17,18]
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