Czech Republic

Introduction

In the Czech Republic, the settlement structure and its hierarchy distinguishes greatly from the rest of the EU countries, as it is highly fragmented. There are more than 6,250 municipalities, out of which the majority have population of less than 500 inhabitants.

In addition to that, there are other specificities to the settlement structure:

• There are a relatively small number of cities with population of more than 100,000 inhabitants and Prague is the only city with population of more than 1 million;
• There are a large number of small and medium-sized cities;
• Mountains along most of the state border enclose the area of the Czech Republic and limit the influence of the Czech metropolitan areas across the border.

Relevant documents

• Regional Development Strategy of the Czech Republic 2014-2020

-        Greater emphasis on functional regions-influential metropolitan areas and their surroundings.

• Principles of Urban Policy of the Czech Republic (2010)

-        Principle 1 The regional nature of urban policy

-        Principle 2 Polycentric development of the population pattern

-        Principle 3 Strategic and integrated approach to urban development

-        Principle 4 Promotion of the development of towns as development poles in a territory

-        Principle 5 Care for the urban environment

-        Principle 6 The deepening of cooperation, the creation of partnerships, and the exchange of experience in sustainable urban development

Current issues

• Unemployment levels vary widely by region.
• In terms of long-term economic performance, Prague significantly overshadows the other regions, whilst there are minor differences in the performances of these regions.
• Economic development is in some areas limited by the transport network that is either insufficient or of a bad quality.
• Increasing number of areas affected by social exclusion.
• Negative impact of demographic changes.