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2009:3 Problem Neighbourhoods in Cities and the Regeneration Policies That Target Them – A Case Study of Prague |
Tomáš Kostelecký, Věra Patočková, Michal Illner |
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In cities where the differences between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ neighbourhoods are so great that they clearly affect how the city functions as a unit, the spatial differentiation of the social space within the city becomes a subject of interest in local politics. This study presents an analysis of regeneration policies in the City of Prague, which serves as one out of a series of case studies conducted as part of a large international comparative study of regeneration policies in sixteen cities in nine different countries in the developed world. Based on the study of documents and interviews with actors involved in regeneration at the city level and in two selected model neighbourhoods some more general conclusions are formulated about the spatial policies of regeneration in the City of Prague.
The research reveals that the City of Prague has no policy that could exactly be called a ‘policy of regeneration of problem neighbourhoods’. The main reason for the absence of any such explicitly formulated policy is the fact that in Prague there are no neighbourhoods that could unequivocally be described as ‘deprived’, neighbourhoods where all kinds of problems converge and are exacerbated by their negative reinforcement. Individual regenerative policies are implicitly present in the ‘departmental’ policies of the city, but are not part of any city policy targeting specific territory. In practice a distinction tends to be made between physical and social regeneration. Regeneration policies constitute a series of uncoordinated and disconnected policies, programmes, and measures. The tools of physical regeneration are primarily market oriented. The tools of social regeneration are primarily directed at building up and expanding the services provided to the inhabitants.
Keywords
Prague, city boroughs, problem neighbourhoods, physical and social regeneration
Summary
In many cities, especially large ones, the differences between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ neighbourhoods can be so great that they clearly impact the way in which the city functions as a unit. In such cases, spatial differentiation of the social space moves into the purview of local politics. When local politicians try to address the problem of extreme socio-spatial heterogeneity, it is most often by focusing on transforming problem neighbourhoods, i.e. by improving their physical condition and the social and economic situation of the inhabitants, or by focusing on how to prevent such neighbourhoods from emerging. Although the basic strategies are similar in every town, a study of the real application of such strategies reveals a number of differences in the way individual towns proceed.
The study at hand focuses on an analysis of regeneration policies in Prague. It is one case study from a series of case studies conducted in a large comparative study, which, under the direction of Prof. Clarence Stone, examined the regeneration policies designed for problem neighbourhoods in sixteen towns in nine different countries in the developed part of the world. After a brief introduction to the theoretical background of the research, the concepts used, the structure of local public administration in Prague, and the division of responsibilities between individual components of public administration, the study goes on to analyse the socio-spatial structure of the territory of Prague. Out of this, two Prague city boroughs are selected. In these two boroughs special field research was conducted that included the study of documents and interviews with the actors involved in local regeneration policies. The core parts of this study are the fourth chapter, which provides readers with a detailed outline of the regeneration policies used in the selected model neighbourhoods of Žižkov and Jižní Město, and the final chapter, where some more general conclusions are formulated about spatial regeneration policies in the City of Prague.
Analyses of the documents and of the interviews with actors involved in regeneration policies in the two selected model neighbourhoods and at the city level revealed that the City of Prague has no policy that could exactly be called a ‘policy for the regeneration of problem neighbourhoods’. There are no special budget sections that bear this title or similar title. The regeneration of problem neighbourhoods is almost entirely non-existent as an important theme in Prague’s citywide policies. The main reason for the absence of the explicit formulation of such a policy is the fact that objectively no such neighbourhoods exist in Prague that could be unequivocally labelled as ‘deprived’, neighbourhoods where typically there is a converge of all kinds of problems that are exacerbated by their negative reinforcement. Some urban neighbourhoods have bigger problems than others, but the scale of the problems is relatively small compared to the ‘citywide average’. Spatial concentrations of wealth or poverty in Prague occur within more spatially compact localities that usually encompass no more than several buildings or blocks.
Given that in Prague no easily identifiable ‘deprived urban neighbourhoods’ exist, it is understandable that the City of Prague has no explicitly formulated and territorially targeted strategies for their regeneration. In its documents the City of Prague makes mention of individual regeneration policies, but usually they are implicitly present in the ‘departmental’ policies of the city and are not part of any territorially targeted city policy. The documents usually distinguish between physical regeneration and ‘social regeneration’. The main strategy of physical regeneration is usually defined as the aim to improve the physical condition of the housing stock and infrastructure as a precondition for improving the living conditions of inhabitants. The main strategy of social regeneration is the aim to prevent the formation of socially excluded localities and the need to maintain the social heterogeneity of each neighbourhood and of the city as a whole.
Regeneration policies tend not to take the form of a coherent, coordinated system of measures, but rather make up a set of individual policies, programmes and measures. The actual policy tools vary, as do the individual policies. There are fundamental differences between the tools of physical regeneration and those aimed at social regeneration. The tools of physical regeneration are primarily market oriented. In the case of physical regeneration, the City of Prague and its individual boroughs deliberately try to combine the participation of both the public and private sectors. Social regeneration tools are mainly directed at boosting and expanding the services provided to the population. In social regeneration the City of Prague and its individual boroughs try to draw on a mixture of efforts from ‘professional’ institutions founded, run, and financed by the city, its boroughs, and the state, together with the support of NGOs working in the sphere of social issues. The actors involved in regeneration policies in Prague do not make up a unified, connected network. Simply put, there are two networks – one network of actors around physical regeneration, and another network of actors around social regeneration, and the two networks are not very interconnected. The top political representatives of the city and its boroughs form a bridge of sorts between these two networks, because they exercise influence in both spheres.
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2009:5 Social Capital in the Czech Republic and in an International Comparison |
2009:4 The Gender Segregation of the Czech Labour Market. A Quantitative and Qualitative Image |
2009:3 Problem Neighbourhoods in Cities and the Regeneration Policies That Target Them – A Case Study of Prague |
2009:2 Czech Religiosity at the Start of the Third Millennium. Results of the ISSP 2008 – Religion |
2009:1 The First Elections to the Senate. An Analysis of the 1996 Elections to the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic |
2008:5 The Perception and Construction of Social Distance in Czech Society |
2008:4 Social Distances and Stratification: Social Space in the Czech Republic |
2008:3 Evolution and Determination of Educational Inequalities in the Czech Republic between 1955 and 2002 in the European Context |
2008:2 Actors of Local Development - Orlicko |
2008:1 The Political Awareness of Citizens: Theories, Measurements and the Role of Political Awareness in the Study of Political Attitudes |
2007:11 A Permanent or Temporary Change? The Arrangement of Gender Roles in Families with Fathers Participating in Childcare |
2007:10 Participation and Partnership in Local Public Administration |
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2007:8 The Political Impact of Suburbanisation |
2007:7 Fathers, Mothers and Caring for Children after Divorce |
2007:6 The Foreign Migration of Scientists and Researchers and the Tools for Influencing Migration |
2007:5 The Representation of Different Forms of Family and Working Life in Women’s and Men’s Magazines |
2007:4 Czech Labour Market: Changing Structures and Work Orientations |
2007:3 The Relationship between Changes in the Labour Market and Private, Family and Partnership Life |
2007:2 The Institutional Background of Czech Sociology before the Onset of Marxism |
2007:1 Educational Aspirations in a Comparative Perspective. The role of individual, contextual and structural factors in the formation of educational aspirations in OECD countries |
2006:14 Work and Family Roles and How They Are Combined in the Lives of Czech Parents: Plans versus Reality |
2006:13 The Representation of Parenthood and Childlessness in Selected Women’s and Men’s Magazines |
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2006:11 Science as a public matter: science policies and the media |
2006:10 The Issue of Minorities in the Czech Republic: Community Life and the Representation of Collective Interests (Slovaks, Ukrainians, Vietnamese, and Roma) |
2006:9 Social Standing and Lifestyle in Czech Society |
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2006:5 Non-Marital Fertility in the Czech Republic after 1989: The Social and Economic Context |
2006:4 The Phenomenon of Childlessness in a Sociological and Demographic Perspective |
2006:3 Participation, Democracy and Citizenship in a European Context |
2006:2 Autonomy and Cooperation: Effect of the Municipal System Established in 1990 |
2006:1 Socio-economic Values, Policies, and Institutions in the Period of the Czech Republic’s Accession to the European Union |
2005:06 Civil Society in the Regions of the Czech Republic |
2005:05 Civil Society and Civic Participation in the Czech Republic |
2005:04 Work/Life Balance in the Czech Republic: Policy, Time, Money, and Individual, Family, and Company Practices |
2005:03 Regional Elites 2004 |
2005:02 Political Behavior in Metropolitan Areas in the Czech Republic between 1990 and 2002 – Patterns, Trends and the Relation to Suburbanization and Its Socio-Spatial Patterns |
2005:01 Measuring Value Orientations with the Use of S.H. Schwartz’s Value Portraits |
2004:11 The Formation of Group Mentalities in the Czech Republic after 1989 |
2004:10 Hierarchy as the Strength and the Weakness of Communist Rule. The Legacy of Communist Rule IV: A Volume of Papers from the Seminar Held in Prague on September 11-12, 2003 |
2004:9 Czech National Identity after the Break Up Czechoslovakia and before Accession to the European Union |
2004:8 Life Strategies of Businesswomen and Businessmen at the Turn of the Millennium |
2004:7 Attitudes towards Marriage, Parenthood and Family Roles in the Czech Republic and in Europe |
2004:6 Life Satisfaction: Family,Work, and Other Factors |
2004:5 What Faith? Contemporary Czech Religiosity/Spirituality in the Perspective of Qualitative Sociology of Religion |
2004:4 Structural Tensions in the Interface between the Labour Market and Social Policy in the Czech Republic |
2004:3 Metropolitan Areas in the Czech Republic – Definitions, Basic Characteristics, Patterns of Suburbanisation and Their Impact on Political Behaviour |
2004:2 International Violence Against Women Survey – Czech Republic/2003: Sociological Research on Domestic Violence |
2004:1 Elections to the European Parliament in 2004 – An Analysis of Electoral Participation and Party Support in the Czech Republic |
2003:12 Hierarchy as a Strength and Weakness of Communist Rule |
2003:11 How the Czech Public Views the Elites the Political and Economic Elites |
2003:10 The Reconstruction of Communist Rule at the End of the 1980s |
2003:9 Women’s Civic and Political Participation in the Czech Republic and the Role of European Union Gender Equality and Accession Policies |
2003:8 Pre-election polls, election results, and validity of measurement before the 2002 elections |
2003:7 Party Preference Surveys, Their Application in Society and the Issue of Quality |
2003:6 The Transformations of Czech Socio-economic Values at the Turn of the Century |
2003:5 Objective and Subjective Assessments of the Financial Accessibility of Housing in the Czech Republic during the 1990s |
2003:4 Entry into Marriage and Unmarried Cohabitation in the Czech Republic since 1989 in Connection with Education |
2003:3 Work and Job Values in CEE and EU countries |
2003:2 Intergenerational Biographic Configurations of the Inhabitants of the NISA Euroregion |
2003:1 Structurally Generated Growth of Inequality |
2002:13 Public Opinion Surveys – Theoretical Aspects and Practical Application |
2002:12 Group Mentalities |
2002:11 The World of Hierarchies and Real Socialism. The legacy of communist rule II: volume of contributions investigating of social hierarchies |
2002:10 Social Context of the Lives of Women Working in Management Positions |
2002:09 Parties in the Parliament. Why, When and How do Parties act in Unity? |
2002:08 Life strategies of women managers: case study |
2002:07 Region and Politics |
2002:06 The World of Hierarchies and Really Existing Socialism |
2002:05 Housing Careers in the Czech Republic 1960 - 2001 |
2002:04 Re-emigrants and Socially Shared Values |
2002:03 Satisfaction with Housing among the Czech Population |
2002:02 The Family Origin on the Evolution of Educational Inequalities in the Czech Republic after 1989 |
2002:01 The Rise and Evolution of the New Elites in the Czech Republic (from the end of the 1980´s to the spring of 2002) |
2001:12 Who´s afraid of Hierarchies? The Legacy of the Communist Government |
2001:11 11th September. International On-line Communication Research |
2001:10 Fertility and Family Differentiation in Europe |
2001:09 The rise or decline of political regionalism? Changes of voting patterns in period 1992 to 1998 - the comparison of the Czech Republic and Slovakia |
2001:08 Cross-cutting Cleavages in the Czech Republic. A Comparison of the National Level with a Specific Regional Example |
2001:07 Roma Issues: An Obstacle to Entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union? |
2001:06 ISSP- The Environment |
2001:05 Distribution of Earnings and Income in Transitional Czech Republic |
2001:04 The Bearers of Development of the Cross-Border Community on Czech-German Border |
2001:03 Rent Subsidies in the Czech Republic: A Comparison of Selected Models |
2001:02 The Role Of Political, Social and Cultural Capital in Secondary School Selection in Socialist Czechoslovakia, 1948-1989 |
2001:01 Income maintenance policies, houshold characteristics and work incentives in the Czech republic |
2000:07 Work and Family Experience of Young Female Doctors |
2000:06 Development of the Czech Social Structure in the Years 1988-1999 |
2000:05 Party identifikation in the Czech republic |
2000:04 What makes inequalities legitimate? An International Comparison |
2000:03 Religion and Supernature in Society |
2000:02 Transformation and Modernization of Society on Examples of Selected Institutions |
2000:01 The Housing Policy Changes and Housing Expenditures in the Czech Republic |
1999:11 Geografic Analysis of the Czech Republic Borderland. |
1999:10 Rise and Decline of Right-Wing Extremism in the Czech Republic in the 1990s. |
1999:09 Perceived and fair inequalities: development in the nineties and further coherences |
1999:08 The Czechoslovak citizens' attitudes towards democracy in 1968 |
1999:07 The Czech Middletown Citizens |
1999:06 A Man in a Family – Democratisation of Private Sphere |
1999:05 Development of the Policy of Equal Opportunities of Men and Women in the Czech Republic within the European Integration Context |
1999:04 Actors of Over-frontier Community Development in the Czech - German Borderland |
1999:03 Acquaintances of Local Political Leaders |
1999:02 Housing Market, its Regional Differences and Relations to Social Structure |
1999:01 The Fluctuation of Public Opinion between Years 1990 and 1998 |
1998:06 Modernizační kontext transformace, strukturní a institucionální aspekty |
1998:05 Deputies of the First Czech Parliament (1992-1996) |
1998:04 |
1998:03 Transformation of Czech Family |
1998:02 Results of a Czech-Slovak Comparison: Actors of Social Transformation and Modernisation. Attitudes of Individuals an Institutions to Social Transformation |
1998:01 Trh s bydlením a jeho sociální souvislosti - situace v Praze a Brně |
1997:08 The Family and Change of Gender Roles |
1997:07 The territorial dimension of public administration reforms in East Central Europe |
1997:06 Czech Women in the Labor Market Work and Family in a Transition Economy |
1997:05 |
1997:04 Mass Privatization, Distributive Politics, and Popular Support for Reform in the Czech Republic |
1997:03 |
1997:02 |
1997:01 Political, Organizational and Policy Transformation at the Municipal Level: The Case of Liberec |
1996:12 Osidlování českého pohraničí od května 1945 |
1996:11 Individuální kontakty obyvatel na česko-německé hranici |
1996:10 Socio-Economic Changes in the Czech Republic with an Appendix concerning the 1996 Elections´ Results |
1996:09 Národní identita |
1996:08 Politics, Skills and Industrial Restructuring. Introductory Findings on Local Institutions of Human Resources Development in Czech Machinery Indrustry |
1996:07 Subjective Mobility and Perception of Life Chances in Eastern Europe. Empirical evidence against a Marxist view of relationships between subjective and objective mobility |
1996:06 Zpráva o vývoji sociální struktury české a slovenské společnosti 1945-1993 |
1996:05 Tripartita jako model prostředkování zájmů v politickém systému České republiky |
1996:04 Národnostní a etnické vztahy v českém pohraničí - obraz Čecha, Němce, Rakušana a Roma ve vědomí obyvatel |
1996:03 The Making of Post-Communist Elites in Eastern Europe. A comparison of political and economic elites in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland |
1996:02 Sudetoněmecká otázka v názorech a postojích obyvatel českého pohraničí |
1996:01 Demografické chování obyvatelstva České republiky během přeměny společnosti po roce 1989 |
1995:08 Česká republika v roce 1994. Politická ročenka |
1995:07 Problém normativity a policejní represe v předlistopadovém Československu |
1995:06 Industriální vztahy a sociálně politické orientace českých dělníků a manažerů |
1995:05 Rozdíly v chování regionálních populací a jejich příčiny |
1995:04 Women, Work and Society |
1995:03 Trh práce a jeho potenciál |
1995:02 Etnické a národnostní vztahy v pánevní oblasti severních Čech (s důrazem na romskou problematiku) |
1995:01 In Search of Explanations for Recent Left-Turns in Post-Communist Coutries |
1994:09 Česká republika v roce 1993. Politická ročenka |
1994:08 Large-Scale Privatization: Social Conflict and Consensus |
1994:07 Economic Inequalities Old and New: The Czech Case |
1994:06 Prostředky kauzálního modelování v sociologii. Shrnující pojednání o postupech a přehled základních pojmů |
1994:05 Regionální diferenciace sociálních problémů v České republice |
1994:04 A Historical Comparison of Social Structures in the Czech Republic in 1984 and 1993 |
1994:03 Přeshraniční souvislosti sociálních změn v oblasti české části euroregionu Chebsko |
1994:02 Social and Political Transformation in the Czech Republic |
1994:01 Lotus Organizátor. Uživatelská příručka |
1993:09 Sociální a mzdové problémy zaměstnanců malých a středních soukromých podniků |
1993:08 Sociální postavení rodiny jako základního činitele a adresáta sociální pomoci |
1993:07 Changing Conditions - Changing Values? Changes in the position and perception of education during the post-communist transformation: the case of the Czech Republic |
1993:06 Perceptions of Justice. Principles of Distributive Justice in Comparative Perspective |
1993:04 Revolution for Whom? Analysis of selected patterns of intragenerational mobility in the Czech Republic |
1993:04 Revolution for Whom? Analysis of selected patterns of intragenerational mobility in the Czech Republic |
1993:03 RODINA ´89. Determinanty ekonomického úspěchu v první fázi postkomunistické transformace. Česká republika 1989-1992 |
1993:02 RODINA '89. Determinanty ekonomického úspěchu v první fázi post-komunistické transformace. Česká republika 1989-1992 |
1993:01 Microsoft Word verze 5.5. Uživatelská příručka |
1992:09 Historical Comparison of Social Stratification Types in Czechoslovakia 1967-1991 |
1992:08 Rodina '89. Úloha mentálních schopností a sociálního původu ve formování vzdělanostních aspirací |
1992:07 The Zero Generation of Small Business Owners in Czechoslovakia |
1992:06 Time Use of Small Business Owners. Results and Methodological Comments |
1992:05 Perception of Changing Inequality in Czechoslovakia |
1992:04 Vybrané kapitoly z uživatelské příručky Microsoft Word verze 5.0 |
1992:03 Politické strany a hnutí v Československu |
1992:02 Politische Partien und Bewegungen in der Tschechoslowakei |
Prague in the New Central Europe. International conference 2-4 June 1990 |
1991:09 Vybrané kapitoly z uživatelské příručky Microsoft Word verze 5.0 |
1991:08 Nultá podnikatelská generace |
1991:07 Rodina '89. Zdroje vzdělanostních nerovností |
1991:06 Hodnotové orientace československé mužské mládeže a jejich vztah k obraně vlasti |
1991:05 Gender and the Employment of Higher Education Graduates in Czechoslovakia |
1991:04 Územní vztahy, územní a státoprávní uspořádání České republiky v názorech obyvatel |
1991:03 Social Problems of Participation in the Changing Czechoslovak Economy |
1991:02 K postavení žen v československé společnosti |
1991:01 Socialist Czechoslovakia - System Error and Premises for Change |
1990:06 Názory na rozvoj soukromého podnikání |
1990:05 Growing interest in informal work - consequences for time use research. XIIth World Congress of Sociology, Madrid 1990, Thematic Group 1, Time Use Research |
1990:04 Value-satisfaction Model and the Value of Innovation |
1990:03 Who Gains and Who Loses in a Socialist Redistribution |
1990:02 Ženy a volby '90 |
1990:01 Beyond Educational Inequality in Czechoslovakia |
1989:02 Československá varianta Mezinárodní standardní klasifikace zaměstnání (ISCO) |
1989:01 Family Effect on Educational Attainment in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Netherlands |
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