At the turn of May and June, something happened that everyone involved in development or real estate had been waiting years for. Prague City Assembly has finally, after years of wrangling, approved a new Metropolitan Plan, which sets out how Prague will look and grow in the decades to come.
How did the Metropolitan Plan come about?
Work on the new plan for Prague took a full 14 years. Until now, the capital has had to follow a zoning plan that dates back to 1999. With numerous comments and amendments, it has remained in force to this day. The freshly approved Metropolitan Plan will replace it entirely with effect from 1 September 2026.
While pupils and students start a school year like any other, September marks the beginning of an entirely new business era for Prague developers
This is a document that certainly did not come easily. Across three rounds of public consultation, the Prague Institute of Planning and Development had to deal with thousands of comments from affected parties and city districts, of which Prague has 57 in total. That means 57 district assemblies and 57 different agendas, often pulling in direct opposition. That is one reason why building literally anything in Prague has become an extremely complicated matter over the past quarter of a century.
What does Prague's Metropolitan Plan change?
One of the most important consequences of the new plan's approval is the unlocking of several extensive Prague brownfields in the wider city centre. As a result, developers will be able to focus not only on land on the outskirts, but also to make use of attractive plots that are often within walking distance of the centre or close to existing tram and metro stops.
Prague will not only grow outwards, but in some places upwards as well
The Metropolitan Plan also defines key landmarks that are meant to become the heart of newly built neighbourhoods. These are places where quality amenities already exist, or soon will, in sufficient capacity. The aforementioned transport accessibility by high-capacity public transport is a given as well.
Near transport hubs, therefore, residential buildings could go up somewhat more easily than before. In some locations, the existing height limits have been broken for new construction. That is far from meaning that fifty-storey skyscrapers will now rise near every metro station in Prague. On the city's part, it is rather a signal that it is open to discussing the possible height of new residential buildings.
Will it make flats in Prague cheaper?
That is a difficult question, and one that even the authors of the Metropolitan Plan probably cannot answer. In the broader context, an increased supply of available housing units should clearly help push market prices down, or at least slow their growth considerably. This year, meanwhile, prices of new family houses and flats in large cities are rather stagnating, and the double-digit year-on-year growth we have grown used to in recent years is nowhere in sight.
New neighbourhoods will become home to tens of thousands of Praguers
In connection with the approval of the Metropolitan Plan, the Prague Institute of Planning and Development points out that the first larger projects on the newly “unlocked” land will not get under way for at least two years, mainly due to how long it takes to prepare and permit residential developments of this size.
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