Geomorphological tasks in planning the rehabilitation of coal mining areas at Pécs, Hungary

Abstract

Large areas of Pécs are affected by the remains of mine excavations and spoil tips from former hard coal and uranium mining and also deposits of fly-ash and slurry from Pécs power plant, which was coal-fuelled but is now converted to biomass technology. In 210 Pécs, with Essen, becomes Cultural Capital of Europe, and this has given impetus to clean up its industrial legacy of derelict land. This paper reports on the activities of the academic part of a research consortium that has been established to promote land reclamation. It aims to support urban development planning by reconstructing the history of landscape transformation and by comparing current conditions and pre-mining using Geographical Information Systems; by geomorphological evaluation of the new artificial landscapes created by reclamation; by the identification of pollution hazards and by converting wastelands near built-up areas into green space available for new uses.