The representatives approved the assignment of a new urban plan for Prague

Prague - Prague can begin drawing up a new territorial plan. The representatives of the capital city approved its assignment, according to which the so-called metropolitan plan will be created. It will address the development of Prague up to the year 2050, and the City Development Authority (URM) will now start working on it.
    The approved assignment is a summary of tasks for the contractor, said Mayor Tomáš Hudeček (TOP 09) at the council meeting. The contractor is URM.
    The city received 1,600 comments regarding the territorial plan. "We have addressed all of them. A larger portion of the comments was directly related to specific proposals," said Hudeček.
    The metropolitan plan will primarily address Prague as a whole, rather than individual small areas. The capital city consists of 57 city districts and 22 administrative districts.
    Some opposition councilors opposed the assignment. According to KSČM council member Petr Šimůnek, the assignment helps developers. It is said to simplify the bureaucratic path to construction. ODS councilor Ondřej Pecha then stated that it is an "egoistic attempt to build a monument," a "attempt by a group of academics detached from reality," and "sloppy." Mayor Hudeček rejected this.
    Another objection was that city districts could lose some of their powers. However, according to Hudeček, these are determined by building law and therefore will not be limited.
    The new territorial plan differs from the old one, for example, in that it defines urban locations. These identify specific areas and places within the city districts that are protected from insensitive construction. For instance, when characterizing an area as a villa development, high-rise buildings cannot be constructed there.
    The second feature of the new plan is that it will be layered. The old plan precisely defined what could be constructed on a given area. The new one does not do this, only characterizing the acceptable load for the given territory. The city also plans that a more detailed territorial plan will be developed for selected locations.
    The plan aims to emphasize the development of already built-up areas rather than planning further expansion of construction onto vacant land. The goal is also to increase the share of park, recreational, and sports areas.
    The new territorial plan is set to replace the territorial plan approved in 2000.