Landscape Cabinet

Gastromigration, fur dilemma, fairy tale trees, innovative newcomers. We want to change the stereotypes about the Lake Balaton Uplands. We seek out, collect and present old and new values, practices, lifestyle patterns and future-shaping initiatives. These are the elements of the real needs of the local population and visitors who want to discover the landscape and help preserve and develop sustainable perspectives for the cultural landscape of the Balaton Uplands. This is what we mean by "intelligent use of the landscape", a new concept that constitutes the framework of the TÁJTÉKA (AREATHEQUE) project.

TÁJTÉKA’s aim is to initiate dialogue on intelligent land use in the Veszprém-Balaton-Uplands region, connecting and assisting residents, decision-makers and entrepreneurs, newcomers and recreational visitors interested in this topic.

We have launched the largest-ever comprehensive qualitative and quantitative research in the region to compile a toolkit. It will be used to organise events, development programmes and collaborative initiatives with local communities from the autumn of 2022 to the end of 2023.

During the entire TÁJTÉKA program, we will work with local people and professional partners to develop model projects based on experience - with the intention that they continue to work building on the strength of the local communities beyond 2023.

We will produce locally interpretable, practical proposals and a toolkit for people who live here or recently moved here and for visitors alike. These will show how to connect to a historic landscape today and to develop sustainable and regenerative lifestyles and community landscape practices.

1. The Vision of the Balaton Uplands: exploring the region's vision for the future by examining the impacts of the past, current processes and good practices

2. Welcome to the Balaton Uplands: a "welcome pack" – a user's guide to the cultural landscape with practical advice for residents, recent arrivals and visitors

3. Good practices of the Balaton Uplands Cultural Landscape: How can we make the local community conscious of the landscape?

The first element of the toolkit, the “Vision of the Balaton Uplands”, was published in September 2022 in both print and online versions and is freely available to the public. (in hungurian)

https://tudastar.kek.org.hu/publikacio/index.php?s=a-balaton-felvidek-jovokepe

Once the vision has been established, we will develop an action plan that builds on the real needs of the community and local practices to help develop partnerships and share knowledge and experience. Through workshops we will work with the professional community, decision-makers, active entrepreneurs in the area, organisations and communities involved in the cultural sector to help us think together and understand and synthesise different perspectives.

2023 is really about learning and trying out community practices based on the Contemporary Architecture Centre’s methodology and building on local resources. We will organise building camps, discovery walks, educational programmes for children and value tours with local people. We do all this intending to work with local communities to learn about the landscape that embraces our lives and the processes that take place in this landscape, to understand its phenomena – and to learn to shape its future with a shared sense of purpose.

The priority for the TÁJTÉKA is to ensure the sustainability of programmes and partnerships so that the running processes continue beyond 2023. The results and methodologies of the events will be made public and transparent to facilitate and support their adoption and continuation.