The new Prague zoning plan has come into effect, it aims to facilitate construction

Prague – A new zoning plan has been in effect in Prague since yesterday, replacing the document from 1999. According to city representatives, the metropolitan plan, prepared for more than a decade, aims to facilitate planning and construction in the capital. Some organizations and politicians have criticized the approved form of the document, while developers welcome it.

The metropolitan plan includes height regulation, and there are several locations where buildings up to one hundred meters can be constructed. According to city information, there is room for the construction of 350,000 apartments, primarily on current brownfields. Thanks to more flexible delineation of the functions of individual areas, the existing practice of numerous plan amendments, whose approval took years, is also expected to change.

In some areas, the plan conditions construction on so-called planning agreements regarding investor contributions to public infrastructure. According to city representatives, the document includes and accelerates major transportation projects, such as the completion of both ring roads or high-speed rail lines.

Among the critics of the new document are local groups, the non-profit organization Arnika, and some Prague councilors, including Deputy Mayor Jana Komrsková (We Are Prague, formerly Pirates). Critics claim that the document does not sufficiently reflect the comments submitted by the public, threatens green spaces, favors development companies, and densifies construction without addressing necessary civic amenities.

The main author of its original proposal, architect Roman Koucký, also criticized the plan, stating that during discussions it lost the flexibility that was to be its main asset due to the incorporation of comments, primarily from state organizations and ministries.

According to a survey by the Association for the Development of the Real Estate Market among its members, representatives of the Prague real estate market rather welcome the plan. "The results show a relatively strong conviction among our members that the new plan is a step in the right direction for the development of Prague. At the same time, the responses indicate that an immediate effect cannot be expected upon its enactment," stated the association's president, Zdenka Klapalová.

She added that the new plan will significantly reflect in the development of Prague in about four years, according to market representatives. They also find the height regulation somewhat lacking in ambition, which, according to them, should allow for even larger vertical construction.

The preparation of the Metropolitan Plan was approved by the council in 2012, a year later, the councilors approved its assignment, and in 2018 the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) published the first draft. This was followed by a so-called joint meeting where comments were mainly applied by ministries and authorities. In 2022 and 2025, there were two public comment sessions and city districts. The final form of the document was approved by the councilors at the end of May this year.