Shopping centres: Difference between revisions

Three main laws are relevant to the topic of shopping centre construction in the Czech Republic. Firstly it is The Construction Law no 183/2006 of the Code, secondly the Law no 334/1992 of the Code about Protection of Agricultural Soil and lastly the Law no 100/2001 of the Code containing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). These include general principles of the building processes, conditions of use of agricultural soil for other than agricultural purposes and criteria for EIA (for example since 2007, projects with less than 3 000 m2 and less than 100 parking lots can be omitted from the EIA).  Complex regulations concerning specifically big shopping centres are missing though.  

Prague itself as a statutory town has its municipal territory divided into 57 boroughs, therefore establishing a second tier of local governments, which take advantage of the gained partial autonomy in decision making. However they ought to respect two citywide planning documents – The Master Plan and The Strategic Plan. The former is a physical plan that specifies the special arrangement and land use in the medium term perspective, the latter specifies long term priorities of socio-economic development.  

The Strategic plan declares controlled development and coordinated management and decision-making in order to achieve prosperity, healthy and cultural environment and preservation of values, which make Prague one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is an agreement between politicians, specialists, corporate sector representatives and citizens. One of the five pillars focuses on Quality of environment: “Prague endeavours to achieve a high quality of both natural and urban development, while observing the principles of sustainability. It wants to substantially reduce pollution in the city and create balance between human settlement and landscape in order to become a clean, healthy and harmonious city<ref name=Sykora/>.” Besides these two documents, Prague worked on policies according to the EU demands and created a Regional Development Strategy which basically matches the Strategic Plan.

''In this part, a resume of a feedback document - Planning Analytical Materials <ref>http://www.urm.cz/uploads/assets/soubory/data/UAP/UAP_book/kapitoly/04_kapitola_4_uap_2008.pdf</ref>- carried out by the City Development Authority Prague in 2008 is provided:''

The lasting pressure on building new shopping centres and office complexes is seen as a threat to the content of a lively metropolitan structure and to the transport network. New European trends turn their attention to mixed compact construction with lower capacity facilities. Newly constructed and reconstructed big capacities of retail and offices, such as the newly opened Palladium complex, stress traffic because of parking demands and with their 100% built-up land limit areas for new parks or greenery for relaxation of local inhabitants and workers. Due to more interest in investment the survival of existing parks in the Prague city centre is endangered as well.  

The negative trend is low support of the private sector it fulfilling financially less attractive functions of the city, which includes public facilities, greenery and recreation areas. There also exists a disproportion between customer interest in traditional dispersed retail network and the new fashion of travelling to big shopping centres in the outskirts of Prague which generates traffic and so causes damage to the environment.  

A Problem solvable by the Mater Plan is insufficient coordination of store and logistic areas in the city surroundings. What is beyond the competences of the plan however is regulation of retail network in favour of smaller units as well as the pressure of economic land use at the expense of urban aspects and environmental protection.  

The Planning Analytical materials of 2008 recommend that no more land is dedicated to big shopping centres except for newly suggested district centres.