Quality of life: Ostrava’s success in the international ranking
Ostrava ranks among the European cities with the most visible improvement in quality of life – and it’s also a hotbed for startups.
Magistrát města Ostravy
Prokešovo náměstí 8
729 30 Ostrava
On the non-urgent green line you can 24 hours report troubles or damages on public beneficial devices, f.ex. damaged benches, ticket automats, timetables, street lights out of order or traffic signals on crossings, troubles with distribution or water nets, impassable pavements, untreated green. Citizens can report black dump, found dead animals and other things there, too.
Ostrava ranks among the European cities with the most visible improvement in quality of life – and it’s also a hotbed for startups.
The City of Ostrava is selling land at the Mošnov Small Development Zone to the developer Panattoni for a total sum of 286 million CZK (excl. VAT). The sale was approved by Ostrava’s City Assembly at its December session, when deputies chose between the two bids that had been submitted.
A total of six projects have now been completed as part of the City of Ostrava’s programme focusing on improvements in public spaces with the involvement of local communities. A further three projects are close to completion. The project coordinators have received almost 2.5 million CZK from the City during this year.
Although many of Ostrava’s schools have benefited from the City’s programme supporting digital learning and some have also received subsidies from the Ministry of Education enabling them to buy new computer technology, online learning still remains a problem for some children.
The City Spatial Planning and Architecture Studio presented the result of its year-round work. It is the Vision of Ostrava’s Spatial Development, a tool based on the city’s strategic plan, which will help implement key city projects.
The new campus for the University of Ostrava will occupy a site of almost 4 hectares in the heart of Ostrava’s city centre. The site – which is currently vacant – is located at Černá Louka (Black Meadow) near the Ostravice River. The development will create a brand-new sports centre and facilities for art and music teaching.
Nine prominent buildings in Ostrava will be revitalized by September 2021 thanks to a City of Ostrava programme which is providing subsidies totalling 5 293 900 to the buildings’ owners.
“Stolpersteine” – a German word meaning “stumbling-stones” – are brass plates the size of a street cobble (10 x 10 cm) which bear the names of Holocaust victims, plus the dates of their birth and their death in the Nazi concentration camps. More of these memorial cobbles were installed in Ostrava’s streets in early October.
The City of Ostrava is planning a unique project to revitalize a former housing scheme at Bedřiška in the Hulváky district. This once-problematic area will be transformed into a modern residential complex offering an excellent quality of life. Existing buildings will be completely renovated, and new apartment blocks will also be built.
Fourteen of the world’s top twenty women tennis players will be coming to Ostrava in October for a WTA tournament – the Ostrava Open.
The first national museum to set up a branch in Ostrava is the National Museum of Agriculture in Lower Vítkovice. The new branch was opened to the public on Thursday 17 September.
High-quality new developments in currently vacant lots improve city life and enhance the urban environment – Ostrava has released another attractive city centre plot for development.
Eco-friendly, featuring timeless design and packed with the latest technologies – that’s why the prestigious Architizer magazine recently ranked Ostrava’s planned new concert hall among the top 10 most interesting architectural projects in the world today. New York-based Steven Holl Architects – working in conjunction with Prague studio Architecture Acts – have now completed the project study for the new hall.
Moody´s, the international rating agency, confirmed Ostrava’s historically highest Aa3/stable credit rating. Ostrava has once again received the highest possible score, identical to the rating of the Czech Republic.
Ostrava seeks an investment partner for the Nové Lauby project – a brand-new residential development in the city centre.
Studio of world-renowned architect Eva Jiřičná to design proposed reconstruction of Ostrava’s “skyscraper” in Ostrčilova St.
A new emergency measure (no. 15/2020) in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic now applies to the entire territory of the Moravian-Silesian Region. The new measure again makes it compulsory to wear mouth and nose coverings in all indoor spaces, in public transport, and in motor vehicles (including taxis and employee buses).
A unique plot of land in the heart of Ostrava next to 28. října St. – a plot known as the “Ostrava Teardrop” because of its shape – is being sold by the City to an Ostrava-based company which plans to build a commercial and office development incorporating a hotel and apartments.
The deadline for submitting offers is 31 July 2020 for both sites.
Postponing rent due date, remission of rent, fast financial aid up to CZK 20 000 or a grant programme up to CZK 100 000. These are the possibilities the City of Ostrava is now preparing for small entrepreneurs who cannot carry out their business activities as the consequence of the government emergency measures related to COVID-19.