Candidates for the Mayor of Prague agree on development priorities

Prague - Six leaders in the elections for the Prague City Council agree on the priorities for the city's development. They consider the construction of Metro D, the completion of ring roads, and the connection between the city center and the airport to be essential. Residential construction would be directed primarily to brownfields, i.e., currently unused industrial sites. The Association for Architecture and Development (SAR) invited representatives from six groups that are currently represented in the Prague City Council to today's debate. The exception is the communists, who were not invited due to the association's disagreement with their policy.

Candidates for mayor identified the Metropolitan Plan as a crucial document for the city's development, which determines where and to what extent construction is allowed in the city. The plan is set to come into effect from 2023. ANO leader Petr Stuchlík considers its adoption to be necessary. "We have no other alternative to speed up construction in Prague," he said. According to the candidate for mayor from the Prague Sobě group, Jan Čižinský, it is now necessary to address the conditions, even though it is not possible to incorporate all of them, and to adopt the plan. Prague Sobě is currently represented in the city council; its leader, Čižinský, was elected from the Christian Democrats’ list.

The capital city is facing a housing shortage. Every year, at least 6,000 apartments need to be built to meet the demand. However, according to Ondřej Boháč, director of the Institute of Planning and Development, approximately 2,760 apartments were built in 2016, 3,730 last year, and 523 in the first three months of this year. A reason for this is the lengthy approval process, which can take up to ten years in Prague. As a result of the housing shortage, apartment prices and rents are increasing. According to the leader of the Pirates, Zdeněk Hřib, prices are further driven up by Airbnb in the city center. This type of business, according to the Pirates' candidate, should receive clear regulations so that residents living in the building do not pay for the costs incurred by tourists.

The Ministry for Regional Development is preparing a new building law that should simplify the process so that there is only one approval process at one office for one construction, which would then ensure the expressions from other offices itself. According to Deputy Minister Marcela Pavlová, the law could be approved in the summer of 2021. However, candidates for the Prague mayor believe that the process could currently be accelerated through the digitalization of procedures and the creation of a unified methodology. Jiří Pospíšil (TOP 09/United Forces for Prague) believes that Prague should take legislative initiatives and submit the necessary amendments to the building law.

Prague has 22 building offices. According to Pospíšil, there should be a centralized office for large constructions that are of strategic importance. This option is also favored by Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) and Stuchlík. According to the ANO leader, the differing requirements of individual offices slow down the process. Small constructions, according to Stuchlík, should be handled by building offices in the city districts, as they have a closer understanding of the issues.

According to Čižinský, there is a risk with centralization that people in city districts will feel that decisions are being made without them and will oppose the constructions. "Dialogue is important," emphasized Čižinský. Through dialogue in Prague 7, where he is the mayor, he believes that it is currently possible to speed up the process. The candidates for mayor from the ČSSD, Jakub Landovský, and Svoboda consider adherence to deadlines during decision-making to be essential. According to Landovský, a construction ombudsman position should be created at the city hall to help resolve construction disputes amicably. Hřib prefers simplifying the procedures through methodological unification over centralization.

The Pirates and the coalition United Forces for Prague (TOP 09 and STAN in cooperation with KDU-ČSL, LES, and Democrats of Jan Kasl) want to support cooperative housing. The United Forces for Prague propose establishing a guarantee fund that would provide people with guarantees to qualify for a mortgage.

Candidates agree on the need to renovate the city's housing stock. According to Landovský, the city should enter into contracts with developers to obtain apartments in newly constructed projects because it is the city that enhances the value of developers' constructions by providing the necessary infrastructure around them. Čižinský suggests acquiring primarily barrier-free apartments for Prague and repairing the existing ones.

The completion of the Prague and City ring roads, Metro D, and the connection between the city center and the airport should relieve traffic in Prague. They also propose smaller adjustments. According to Čižinský, the waiting time in traffic jams could be reduced by adjusting traffic lights at intersections. Hřib and Svoboda emphasize better coordination of road and bridge repairs so that closures do not cause traffic collapse. According to Svoboda, it is also necessary to develop public transport, as the city is seeing an increase in residents, and transportation is already at the limit of its capacity.

All participating candidates want to protect the Prague Monument Reserve so that it remains on the UNESCO list. "I strongly disagree with the statements of the mayor," said Stuchlík. Adriana Krnáčová (ANO) proposed changing the heritage care law, which would exclude the National Heritage Institute from decision-making. However, according to Svoboda, protecting the historical center should not lead to the city becoming a museum, and on the contrary, new projects of contemporary architecture should emerge in the center.