Association: The planned district in Bubny-Zátory is oversized

Prague - The planned neighborhood in Bubny-Zátory in Prague 7 is oversized, there will be little green space, the streets are too narrow, and the railway viaduct is also poorly designed. Representatives of the associations Arnika, Automat, and Platform for Social Housing told reporters today. They criticized the development study commissioned by the city hall. They are also concerned that there are no apartments planned for people who cannot afford to buy their own. Anyone can submit comments on the study until October 15. In the area of 110 hectares, 25,000 people are expected to live in the future.

"The height of the buildings should be reduced, there should be fewer jobs, and the streets should be widened," said Michal Lehečka, head of the Sustainable Urbanism Laboratory of the Automat association. According to him, it would be good to create a transportation study and a study on the number of office spaces to determine if they are even necessary.

"Compared to the existing zoning plan, the proportion of green space is only 30 percent. Green infrastructure is key for climate change adaptation," said Václav Orcígr from Arnika. Greater emphasis should be placed on so-called green roofs, according to him. "In many European cities, this is common practice, for example in Copenhagen. Here, they are not strictly required but only proposed based on technical-architectural recommendations," Orcígr said.

According to the association, the proposed park, which is to cover six hectares, should be enlarged. "Its size seems inadequate for the burden it will carry, with up to 25,000 residents and 29,000 jobs," Orcígr said. He also stressed the need to create areas that can retain water and that the inner blocks should be greener.

Architect Kateřina Vídenová stated that the problem with the study is the capacity of the new construction. Compared to the current zoning plan, a double floor area is proposed. The study allows for the creation of up to 1.938 million square meters of space. However, according to Vídenová, this area cannot support so much, and she also pointed out the low civic amenities; two schools are to be built there.

Representatives of the association also claim that the proposed streets are too narrow, so sunlight will not reach them, and tree avenues will struggle. Air quality will also deteriorate as the streets will not be able to ventilate properly. "The railway viaduct is also poorly designed, as it is impermeable and divides the area. Something like the Negrelli Viaduct should be created so that there can be an active space beneath it," Vídenová said.

Barbora Bírová from the Platform for Social Housing stated that it is important for part of the apartments to be owned by the city or its organizations. Alternatively, the city should negotiate with developers to allocate some apartments for social housing or for professions such as firefighters or nurses.

There is a construction ban on the land. Since 2009, the city has been working on a change to the zoning plan that would allow construction. The plan could be changed next year.