We didn't ask for this

An unprepared observer could feel quite depressed. Recent proposals concerning the long-dragging work on Prague's new zoning plan that should set the basic perspectives of the Czech Republic's only big city look like a mad architect's dream. Prague district town halls that are sending their proposals for zoning changes in the districts they are responsible for would like to have new houses everywhere. Flats and offices should cover Rohanský ostrov and most of the city's garden colonies should be closed, the mayors suggest. Construction is planned for the area of Nákladové nádraží Žižkov and the Bubny train station, new houses will replace the park in Kavčí hory, and the romantic area near Prokopské údolí known as Dívčí Hrady may also become a target of the planned construction boom.

Urban developers sitting at town halls argue it is better to build in the city centre than to promote urban sprawl and hence car traffic. They say the flies fast and the ugly glued-together nonsensical buildings in garden colonies must give way to modern housing. The arguments look rock solid: Prices of flats in Prague keep growing and investors are willing to pay astronomical sums (a 20-hectare plot on Rohanský ostrov offers earnings estimated at CZK 4 billion).

Such arguments should be taken seriously. But there are also many arguments against. The desire to build is not stifled only by the…