Hist.Urban – General Plan of the Development of the Central Part of the City of Pilsen
Hist.Urban = "Revitalization of Historical Towns To Promote Sustainable Development"
Depopulation of cities, few grassed areas, automobile traffic and a lack of parking lots in the city centre – these are the problems bothering not just the City of Pilsen. That is why these problems are the basic topic of the Hist.Urban Project (Integrated Revitalization of Historical Towns to Promote a Polycentric and Sustainable Development). It is a joint project of cities and institutions of Germany, Austria, Greece, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Moldaviia.
There had been long-term preparations for this project. In the first half of 2005, the City of Pilsen was contacted and asked for active participation in the project by the leading partner of the Hist.Urban Project, which is German Association for Housing and Urban and Spatial Development from Berlin. On the basis of an application submitted within the fourth appeal of the Interreg IIIB Iniciative, Pilsen succeeded in getting financial support for the realization of the project.
Each project partner will work on its part of the project and make a report on its process to the leading partner in given periods. The project partners will share their experience at conferences, academies and workshops.
The first meeting of project partners took place in Pilsen on 6th and 7th June, 2006. Representatives of both public and private institutioins discussed planning and management of revitalization processes, their integration and implementation, and social-economic, urban and environmental aspects of the revitalization in historical towns.
In November 2006, second meeting of project participants took place in Regensburg. The main topic was revitalization of historical cores of the towns. The project partners had an oportunity here to share their first experience with the project and also to cooperate actively when trying to find solution of multinational problems. At the same time, housing and culture projects already realized in historical town centres were introduced within thematic excursions and met a great response from all project partners.
Hist. Urban Project is under way from 2006 to 2008. The only Czech partner taking part in the project is Urban Planning and Development Institute of the City of Pilsen. Total budget of the Czech part of the project is 65 750 EUR (ca 1 885 000 CZK), out of which 75 % (49 312.5 EUR) will be covered by already mentioned European Fund of Regional Development. We succeeded in getting an amount of 235 632 CZK from the State Budget of the Czech Republic, which is 12.5 % of total costing of the project.
Project partners are both public and private institutions from countries of CADSES and also from Moldavia and Romania.
Germany: German Association for Housing (lead partner); Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning of the City of Kaufbeuren, Wismar; Regensburg; Austria: Salzburg Research Ltd.; the City of Graz; Greece: Xanthi Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Italy: Sviluppo Marche; cities of Faenza, Verona, Teramo; Poland: the cities of Sopot and Sanok; Czech Republic: Urban Planning and Development Institute of the City of Pilsen; Hungary: Centre for Regional Studies of Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Romania: cities of Arad and Oradea; Moldavia: Plai Resurse
General Plan of the Central area of the City of Plzeň
Hist.Urban Project consists of two parts. General Plan of the Central area of the City of Plzeň is a fundamental project which is supposed to be financed from its budget. The second part of Hist.Urban Project is Historical Footpath which was partly realized in the form of a map in the summer of 2007.
The main task of the general plan is to create a complex project of sustainable development of the historical town core (in order to improve conditions for housing, tourism, traffic etc.). First, it was necessary to analyze current state and needs of the area, to consider real problems of the central area of Pilsen, and to define the pilot project and the way of its realization. The picture of Pilsen in both domestic and foreign information sources and a public opinion survey should not be forgotten either. Its results are respected by the general plan. In projects concerning city development in general, the role of media is important as well. If targets of a project are fulfilled and this opinion is shared with the media, the realization can result in a higher popularity of the city centre with both tourists and citizens. General Plan of the Central area of the City of Plzeň partly follows the Pilsen Development Programme, in which a lot of projects were defined. These projects are supposed to improve the situation of the City of Pilsen.
Central area of the city really has a lot of problems. These include not just commonly discussed problem of parking, but also e.g. building on vacant lots. Pedestrian precincts are going to be extended in other streets which are also closely linked to the lay-out of public area. The project is trying to find solution to such weak points.
Partners meet regularly to discuss not just the General Plan of the Central area of the City of Plzeň, but also other activities of project partners of Hist.Urban. They share experience with their own projects at regular conferences and academies. Although each participant of Hist.Urban Project operates in different conditions, the results are new ideas for solutions of situations which sometimes have to be a compromise.
Historical Footpath
"What shouldn´t you miss so that you can say you have seen historical city of Pilsen" – this is the main idea of the project of the historical footpath in the city centre. At the beginning of 2007, there began negotiations of an expert team consisting of represenatives of monument preservation institutions, division of promotion and marketing, Pilsen Brewery and others. It emerged from the meetings, which objects will be included in the footpath and how the footpath will be marked. The project also takes account of a new map in three language versions (Czech, English and German). The map complemented with drawings of objects introduces the basic route and something for more exacting visitors as well. There is a supplemental line available and it enriches the basic one. In the future, the historical footpath is going to be marked directly in the terrain by means of metal "pins" which are a common motive of marking in the map and in reality. The path begins in the Republic Square by the Townhall where it finally ends as well. Urban Planning and Development Institute of the City of Pilsen cooperated with Institute of Art and Design of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen on the map elaboration.