Selected developments of the capital city of Prague and adaptation to the effects of climate change

Abstract

The paper examines selected development areas of housing construction in the capital city of Prague (Czech Republic) and their potential for adaptation to climate change, while also evaluating the available planning documents for these areas in terms of prevention against the effects of climate change and also the application of adaptation procedures. The exemplary development areas selected in the territory of Prague are Rohan Island (Prague 8), the Žižkov Freight Station (Prague 3) and the Bubny–Holešovice zone (Prague 7), all of which are already partially planned and under construction. The method will be to compare the conditions for development in all the above-mentioned development areas of the capital and to evaluate adaptation procedures in terms of the likely impacts of climate change on construction in the area. Finally, a comparison of the expected impacts of climate change in these localities – in terms of adaptation and limits of site development in the future – is also presented. The study draws on plans and documents for the individual development areas alongside projections of climate change impacts on the newly emerging city districts. The principal output is an evaluation of how available adaptation technologies and preventive tools have been used to increase the comfort of residents in the city’s planned development areas. A secondary output concerns the extent to which the city, city district, or developers have contributed, or could have contributed, to the adaptation of the territory to climate change. The study also offers insight into the preparation of housing construction projects in accordance with the urban climate change adaptation requirements, and identifies the degree to which the characteristics of each site have been used to improve the local situation in new development in the future. Within the text, a primary comparison of the conditions across the individual selected areas was carried out, alongside a brief evaluation of the quality of the planned residential development in terms of the adaptation measures applied, taking into account that adaptation strategies and plans did not directly affect the development of these localities in practice. At the end of the study, a summary of findings is presented, showing that the worst-performing new development site in terms of adaptation to climate change and response to this topic is the Bubny–Zátory Development, the best area is the Rohan Island Development (without taking into account the risks of above-limit floods), and the Žižkov Freight Station Development has so far shown a medium degree of adaptation. This assessment, however, concerns only the future development of the given areas within Prague.