The flexible city solutions for a circular and climate adaptive Europe

Up until the beginning of the nineteenth century, Prague was a stony exception nestled between fields
and wooded areas with thriving biodiversity, unhindered by the effects of industrialization or urban
sprawl. During the nineteenth and twentieth century, Prague’s borders kept expanding with light industry
and housing. Prague’s green infrastructure was broken in its most extreme form during the Communist
regime (1948-1989). The regime built a ring of new satellite settlements called ‘sídliště’ in the greater metropolitan area of Prague – Jižní, Severní and Jihozápadní město. Open nature was replaced by large panel housing blocks separated by poorly maintained green spaces. While the interruption of the green belt around Prague was not completely devastating, it did have a lasting impact on the area’s biodiversity.
Outside of the city, collectivization and large-scale farming caused a decline in biodiversity due to the
ploughing of field borders, the use of fertilizers, pesticides and further expansion of agricultural land.
This contributed to the loss of habitat of wild fauna and flora.
Current Situation
Being aware of the poor condition of its biodiversity, the Czech Republic intensified its efforts by legally
adopting the Convention on Biodiversity in 1999. On top of that, Prague is currently developing the New
Metropolitan Plan that proposes a greater protection of open green spaces by stabilizing the border
of the built city, preventing further urban sprawl by earmarking dilapidated plots within the city for development and increasing the ecological stability. By mapping the territorial system of ecological stability (územní systém ekologické stability’ – ÚSES), the plan connects biocentres and a biocorridor to enchance the blue-green infrastructure around the city.

source:
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