Urban planning in the Czech Republic
Urban planning in the Czech Republic has a long history, however can be broadly categorised into the time periods before, during and after the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic between 1948 and 1989.
Early planning (pre-1948)
The 1886/1889 Bohemian Building Order required that geographic plans were to be submitted to municipalities before development.
Socialist planning (1948–1989)
Planning agendas of the socialist government
Under the
Housing estates and equality
Despite the nationalization of all property and maintenance in the first decade of communist rule, little investment was made in new development or urban improvements, and by the 1960s; Czech cities experienced a severe housing shortage, and declining quality of buildings and sanitary conditions.[3] This combined with a sense of insecurity within the government around the time of the Prague Spring. In response, the central government embarked on a large construction scheme, in which it built new, extensive residential areas in the form of prefabricated concrete, high-rise ‘New Towns’, which now ring the peripheries of many Czech cities and towns, [3][2] colloquially known as Panelák.
Communist planners succeeded at accommodating nearly every Czechoslovak family in a dwelling with hot water, central heating, private bath, toilet, and kitchen. Large construction firms turned out massive quantities of concrete modular units in a handful of shapes that were fit together to form gray blocks of high-rise apartment buildings. A young couple with one child could expect to obtain an apartment of only approximately 250 square feet, including living room, two small bedrooms, kitchen, and bath.
— Rubenstein & Unger,1992.[5]
The waiting time to get a state-owned apartment was often over ten years in some cities, with preference given to some groups like politicians, police and army, while other Panelák were devoted to large factories to house their workers.
State-led industry and environmental concerns
A fundamental planning goal in Communist Czechoslovakia was state investment in large manufacturing enterprises .[5] Factories led to the degradation the environmental conditions, [5] mostly in the form of soil contamination,[9] and in Prague, air pollution in the confined valleys became a problem for many years. [2] The tenement Panelák houses were often built at high densities close to the source of this pollution. [2]
Heritage buildings
There was a contradictory attitude of the communist party toward the protection of urban heritage, which was at once both a symbol of individualistic wealth and an expression of man’s triumph over nature.[2] This led to a general neglect, inertia and gradual deterioration of many historical monuments and buildings in the country, but is widely attributed as the reason the Czech Republic has been able to retain and accumulate so many historical landmarks today.[2]
Post-socialist planning (post-1989)
Immediate changes – private ownership
Following the
Devolved government and no strategic coordination
After the
Social concerns of new urban planning
The
Free-market effects
Today, the
Tourism
Tourism rose to become a key industry in the Czech Republic’s economic recovery during the 1990s, with up to 300 000 tourists visiting Prague each day.[3] Tourism infrastructure is evident in, and has begun to reshape the centre of Prague’s historical city, as residential zones are converting to commercial use to service the tourist trade.[3]
The symbols of a tourist city are manifest in Prague, with Versace, Benetton, Marks and Spencer and Burger King, all totems of more homogenised brands of tourist accoutrement, adorning the city centre.
— Cooper & Morpeth, 1998.[12]
A delicate balance between transforming the urban form for tourism and preserving the heritage sections of the city now exists, because such complete, preserved historical architecture and monuments are the reason many tourists are attracted to Prague in the first place.[2] This is recognised by the city’s current master plan, which explicitly refers to this balance, and points to other heritage sites outside the centre of Prague to ease the tension on the centre.[6]
Motorisation and the mall
Similarly, the rate of
Scepticism of planning
There is a significant cultural reluctance of many
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Maier 2000.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Hammersley & Westlake 1996.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Cooper & Morpeth 1998.
- ^ a b Hague & Prior 1991.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rubenstein & Unger 1992.
- ^ a b c d e f g Simpson & Chapman 1999.
- ^ a b c d Newmark, Plaut & Garb 2004.
- ^ Sykora 1993.
- ^ a b c d e Duží & Jakubínský 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Lux, Kahrik & Sunega 2012.
- ^ Maes, Loopmans & Kesteloot 2012.
- ^ Cooper & Morpeth 1998, pp. 2262.
- ^ Turkington & Wood 1995.
References
- Cooper, C.; Morpeth, N. (1998). "The impact of tourism on residential experience in central-eastern Europe: The development of a new legitimation crisis in the Czech Republic". Urban Studies. 35 (12): 2253–2275. S2CID 154903653.
- Duží, B.; Jakubínský, J. (2013). "Brownfield Dilemmas in the transformation of Post-Communist Cities: A Case Study of Ostrava, Czech Republic". HUMAN GEOGRAPHIES – Journal of Studies and Research in Human Geography. 7 (2): 53–64. .
- Hague, C.; Prior, A. (1991). "Planning in Czechoslovakia: retrospect and prospects". Planning Practice and Research. 6 (2): 19–24. .
- Hammersley, R.; Westlake, T. (1996). "Planning in the Prague Region: Past, present and future". Cities. 13 (4): 247–256. .
- Lux, M.; Kahrik, A.; Sunega, P. (2012). "Housing Restitution and Privatisation: Both Catalysts and Obstacles to the Formation of Private Rental Housing in the Czech Republic and Estonia". International Journal of Housing Policy. 12 (2): 137–158. S2CID 17235989.
- Maes, M.; Loopmans, M.; Kesteloot, C. (2012). "Urban Shrinkage and everyday life in post-socialist cities: Living with diversity in Hrušov, Ostrava, Czech Republic". Built Environment. 38 (2): 229–243. .
- Maier, K (2000). "The role of strategic planning in the development of Czech towns and regions". Planning Practice and Research. 15 (3): 247–255. S2CID 154545081.
- Newmark, Gregory L.; Plaut, Pnina O.; Garb, Yaakov (January 2004). "Shopping Travel Behaviors in an Era of Rapid Economic Transition: Evidence from Newly Built Malls in Prague, Czech Republic". Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 1898 (1): 165–174. S2CID 56204241.
- Rubenstein, J. M.; Unger, B. L. (1992). "Planning after the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia (The Czech Republic)". Focus. 42 (4): 1.
- Simpson, F.; Chapman, M. (1999). "Comparison of urban governance and planning policy: East looking West". Cities. 16 (5): 353–364. .
- Sykora, L (1993). "City in transition: the role of rent gaps in Prague's revitalisation". Tijdschrift voor Econ. En Soc. Geografie. 84 (4): 281–292. .
- Turkington, R.; Wood, C. (1995). "Prague planners wrestle with a city in transition". Planning: 1120.