People were thinking of ways to improve life in Jižní Město

Prague - Three teams of five people from Jižní Město on Friday brainstormed at the cultural center Zahrada on how to improve the quality of life and enhance public space. They agreed that the best solution would be to build a complete skating track that would connect all the local green spaces. Two proposals involved the establishment of some sort of natural center for the city district, Jiří Sulženko from Zahrada told ČTK today. This took place as part of the workshop Future City Game, whose methodology was developed by the British Council.
    Three teams of five people, from students to seniors, participated in the game. According to Sulženko, the city district provided them with maps and materials related to the zoning plan. The aim of the game is to create the best possible proposal to improve the quality of life in cities or their parts, or to solve a specific problem they face.
    "It fits perfectly into our mosaic," said Andrea Wolfová, spokesperson for Prague 11, to ČTK. According to her, the local government in Jižní Město is trying to communicate with people and meet their needs. All proposals will reportedly be taken into account. She would like to implement one of them, perhaps on the occasion of 11 days of Prague 11, a traditional September celebration of Jižní Město's anniversary with a cultural program. Last year, the event cost the city district one million crowns, with 250,000 covered by sponsors.
    "Cities have a single key resource - their inhabitants and their creative potential," said urbanism theorist Charles Landry. According to the UN, by 2030, 75 percent of the world's population is expected to live in cities. The project will take place in 14 European countries by 2011. In the Czech Republic, it started in Plzeň in mid-2008, and according to Sulženko, has been held at five different locations so far. The game has reportedly produced a variety of ideas, from neighborhood picnics to the construction of a cultural center.