Prague expected to add 400,000 residents by 2050: What can be done to ease its growth?
According to a forecast from the Institute of Planning and Development, Prague is expected to have 400,000 more residents by 2050. If this projection is underestimated, the result could be a sharp increase in housing prices, as demand would outstrip supply by thousands of units each year. So, what can be done?
Czechia's government has set an ambitious agenda when it comes to housing, with a clear focus on ensuring that Czech families have access to affordable, quality homes. This is reflected in the ongoing discussions around the Affordable Housing program,a piece of legislation that is currently working its way through the political process.
The bill is designed to address the housing challenges faced by lower-income regions, and it holds the promise of significantly improving access to affordable housing for many.
Though the bill is still in the parliamentary stage, discussions are already centered around how best to target these initiatives to ensure that the assistance reaches those who need it most. This includes determining how many apartments could be managed by these centers and how to make the process as efficient and accessible as possible for families struggling to find a stable living situation.
People in cities across Czechia are continuing to struggle with this. As mentioned, the capital city will probably have 400,000 more inhabitants by 2050 than it does now. So, prices for housing and renting will naturally increase without adequate housing. But what else? The sociologist Daniel Prokop sat down with Czech Radio to discuss some of them:
“The commuting radius to Prague will increase. So it won't just be from Benešov, but from Rakovník and so on. So there will be a big circle of commuting. People will move to those places around Prague where the infrastructure and education is not enough.”
Prokop went on to explain that it's important to consider that as the population ages, there is an increasing number of single pensioners and smaller households. This creates a growing demand for smaller apartments. The solution, naturally, is to boost the housing supply through both new construction and municipal housing initiatives.
So, rather than focusing all resources on one central hub, it's crucial to develop regional centers in places like Liberec, Plzeň, and České Budějovice as well. Prokop points to a neighboring Visegrád state, which is doing much better in this regard:
“Why is it that in Poland, if you look, there are already a lot of these thriving regional centers. And we need those people to move to those secondary centers too, not just to Prague and Brno.”
In all of this, Prokop points to building more housing as an important area to improve on. But it must move beyond the largest Czech cities and into the regions:
“So, the expenditure on these contributions is growing, and at the same time, spending on rebates, mortgages, and tax funds is also increasing. Policy can't just focus on these measures, which we refer to as "sugarcoating" the demand side; it must primarily address the supply side to ensure there is enough housing. It also needs to focus on regional development to prevent everyone from migrating to Prague, ensuring that there are strong economic centers in other regions.”
