Budapest re-discovered its banks of Danube 2 decades ago. The banks used to form an organic part of the riverside habitat since the ancient Romans, and the city began to turn its back to the water only during the local government (Podmaniczky Program), the approach to re-discovery is innovative and constructive, while its objective is to identify and implement the adequate bank and water use on the long turn. Recent spontaneous real estate developments partially respond to this demand. These developments include motorway northern bridge, Graphisoft, Infopark, Lágymányosi Bay, Millennium City Centre.
The “Danube Thoroughfare Project” launched by the capital city of Budapest in 2008, plays an active, systematizing role in this process of re-discovery. The project includes a revitalization strategy and development program for the banks of Danube and the adjacent urban areas, as well as an international tender of architectural ideas. The project is placed in international context by the EU Danube Region Strategy of the European Union currently under preparation.