Prague ranks as second most sustainable city in Central and Eastern Europe
Prague is the second most sustainable city in Central and Eastern Europe after Vienna, suggests the Sustainable Cities Index, put together by international consultancy company Arcadis. In comparison with major cities around the world, it has placed 23rd. The index, which is put together every two years, describes the Czech capital as a “balanced innovator.” I asked Jan Jurčíček, head of marketing at Arcadis, to explain what that means in more detail:
“It means the city has scored in all the assessed criteria, and is developing further in all the three pillars that were assessed in our index. In general it includes the top 25 cities that ranked in our report.”
In which areas did the Czech capital score well?
“Prague scored well in two of the three assessed pillars. One of them is people, which includes, health, crime levels, broadband accessibility etc,.The other one is profit, including tourism, employment and economic factors such as GDP.
“It is evaluated as a city with good work and life balance.”
And on the other hand, where do you see space for improvement?
“Certain space for improvement is in the last pillar, which is called planet. It includes specifically transportation infrastructure, support of electric cars and bikes or the limitation of CO2 emissions.”
Based on your index, what are the biggest challenges for the newly elected leadership of Prague?
“As I have already mentioned, the biggest issue is transportation in general, extending the infrastructure, such as the Prague ring road and interconnection of the transportation with public transportation system, where Prague has scored fifth in the world in our recent mobility index.
According to your index, would you say the quality of life in Prague keeps improving?
“From our point it is. Prague has scored 23rd, while comparable cities in the region have scored between 50th and 60th place. Prague is developing according to all the assessed criteria. And although there is room for improvement, I would say it is a good place for living.”
How do you actually carry out this survey?
“This index is based on approximately 60 indicators, compiling data from credible sources, like WHO, World Bank etc., compiling data that have similar ranking system for all the cities in the world.”
Who is it intended for and what purpose does it actually serve?
“Arcadis intended this report for both the general public and professionals in our sector in order to fairly assess the levels of sustainable development of all the cities and metropolises in the world.”
