
Urban Policy in the Czech Republic, by Josef Postránecký
Growing attention has been paid to the problems of urban development in the last decade. Today the existence of specialized tools such as strategic conceptual documents and urban policy is highlighted besides the use of standard ones such as physical planning and regional policies. Within the European Union and its member states, this trend is connected to the dominant, and increasingly important, role of cities and urbanized zones in the European economy and the enforcement of its competiveness.
Analysis of the Current State of the Building Code and Physical Planning, by Vladimír Voldřich
In May 2010 the Czech government entrusted the Ministry for Regional Development with the analysis of the state of the Building Code and physical planning. The analysis was submitted to the government in October this year. Having taken the analysis into account, the government charged the Ministry to carry out an annual questionnaire survey and submit updated analyses every three years to the government.
The Workers’ Colonies of Ostrava, by Regina Kuchtová
The structures of urban settlements have undergone many changes in the last few decades. There no longer exists a city distinctly separated from the surrounding territory. This process has brought a variety of problems, especially for municipal authorities. Attention is distracted from the existing built-up areas of towns and cities. A specific phenomenon of industrial towns is the existence of former employers’ colonies, which represents development potential in current built-up zones.
Guide to 3D Modelling in Urban Planning, by Petr Tomášek
This article describes possibilities for the use of 3D models in urban planning. Various kinds of models, options for their use and types of input data are listed in the introduction. The following part describes how models are made with the use of video recordings and CAD, which are considered to be the most efficient procedures. Finally the article deals with prospective elaboration of urban environment models in virtual reality.
The Challenge of Shrinking Cities in the Czech Republic, Europe and the World, by Karel Schmeidler, Hana Jiříčková and Petr Zámečník
Approaches of traditional urban planning continue to relate the development of a town or city to its enlargement, growth and expansion. Recent demographic change, suburbanization and substantial shifts in economic structures have led to a reduction of the size of cities and changes in their quality. This phenomenon, called urban shrinkage, brings new challenges to the theory and practice of European urban planning. Are we ready to accept them? To cope with the consequences of the processes of demographic, economic and physical shrinkage, and learn to design considerably smaller but inhabitable cities, is one of the most difficult tasks European urban planners will have to solve in the near future.