Expand Prague? Yes or no? Experts cannot agree on the development of the metropolis
The metropolis will no longer grow in width, the development will be denser and taller. The draft Metropolitan Plan envisages such a variant. “Expanding the city is unecological and uneconomical. Prague is one of the most sparsely populated cities in Europe, with 25 inhabitants per hectare, although we know that the city is starting to function best at 100 inhabitants per hectare. In such cities it is efficient to run public transport, shops and restaurants thrive. In addition, people meet and like to walk. This is called the city of short distances, “explains Marek Vácha, a spokesman for the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR), explaining the current form of the plan.
Apartment prices will rise
However, the proposal also met with a number of critics. One of them is Petr Ryska from the Prague Unknown association. “If we take a continuously built-up area, then Prague is comparable to European cities with the same population. Therefore, by thickening the inner parts of Prague, we would reach higher values than comparable cities, and there has been a significant deterioration in the quality of housing, “says Ryska.
According to him, there is a danger that the halting of the city’s natural growth will continue to rise in real estate prices to the extent that they are unattainable for the population. Whoever wants to live in their own will therefore have to choose places outside the borders of Prague, which will bring traffic jams and problems with parking on the outskirts of the city. By moving the population beyond the city limits, Prague also loses tax revenues.
Change brownfields
However, with the transformation of brownfields according to IPR, Prague offers plenty of space in development and within its current borders. “Brownfields are well connected to transport and technical networks and are close to the center,” Vácha opposes. Brownfields that will change in a residential area over time include the Žižkov, Ruzyně, Smíchovské nádraží or Rohanský ostrov freight stations.
However, the lawyer from the Arnika Vendula Záhumenská association warns against over-thickening the places. “Most people in Prague today suffer from excessive traffic, noise and air pollution. The metropolitan plan cannot just bring thousands of new inhabitants to a certain area, “thinks Vendula Záhumenská and points out that the plan does not define specific areas for schools, medical facilities or parks in these areas. In addition, he fears that further construction in the center and its surroundings will not move with apartment prices, as these locations are attractive for short-term rentals and speculation.
There is interest in the edges
However, not all Praguers want to live in the center and its wider surroundings; on the contrary, the number of inhabitants in Štěrboholy, Měcholupy or Březiněves has increased in recent decades. According to Petr Ryska, the city should therefore set aside additional areas on its edge for new construction. “As I recommend the development area, it seems to use the whole area between the Stodůlky metro station and the Prague ring road, Sobín, Holyně area, Slivenec, Lochkov. The area of Křeslice, Kolovrat, the area between Písnice, Cholupice and Točná, from Lipence to the border of Prague, is suitable for family houses. On the eastern edge of the territory of Běchovice, Újezd nad Lesy, Kolodějí, Dolní Měcholupy and Dubče, “Petr Ryska lists. According to him, this could prevent the expansion of satellite construction, for example in the Elbe region, where houses are replacing fields with quality land.