During the spring, we moved on to collect the last part of the interviews with the project. We are collecting them in the so-called new housing estates in Prague and Brno. In Prague, we are focusing on the area on the border of Hloubětín and Vysočany. To get to know the area better, we decided to go there on an urban walk, from which we present a short photo report.
This development area on the border of Hloubětín and Vysočany covers an area of over 200 hectares and, according to current estimates, should house between 30 and 40 thousand inhabitants after completing all construction. The new construction is being built on the territory of former industrial complexes such as Frey's Sugar Factory, ČKD, Aero, Avia, Praga or Tesla.
New residential development started to develop at the beginning of the new millennium. Around 2000 a large-scale zoning study was even created for the entire area to serve as a basis for the then zoning plan. However, after a few years, this study was removed from the master plan.
In the 1950s, extensive horticultural colonies were also established here, but only a small part of these have survived to the present day. The church acquired this in restitution, but it was sold a few years ago to a property developer, JRD, and there are plans to develop it.
Several development companies have projects in the development area. If we go chronologically, the first residential project built was Nová Harfa (Finep), followed by Zahrady nad Rokytkou (BCD) around 2008, and in 2016 the construction of the "Finnish Quarter" by YIT (Suomi, Lappi Hloubětín) began, and in 2020 Nová Elektra (Finep) was built. Towards Kolbenova, the Emil Kolben and Vivus Kolbenova districts are being built. In the direction of Klíčovské sady we can find CPI, AFI City and Tulipa City projects.
You can read more about the development areas of Hloubětín and Vysočany in an overview article by Arnika and you can find lots of up-to-date information on the Facebook page of the local association Rokytka žije.