During the summer, Vachova will become a pedestrian-only zone in the middle of the city centre.
The WINDOW POP project was proposed and coordinated by designer Veronika Rút from the non-profit organisation Naše kultivovaná města (‘Our cultured cities’), which has been dedicated to improving public space in the Czech Republic for a long time.
Local entrepreneurs and the Brno-střed district supported the initiative, financially investing in seating, greenery, and the cultural program.
“We carefully consulted with local businesses and residents and modified the project according to their requirements. I hope that we will be able to create a lively, comfortable, and safe street for everyone,” explained Rút. “The intervention focuses on families with children. We want to show the space as a safe zone where children can play. In addition, each participating business offers a different product range, which takes the trend of soft drinks into account.”
The Brno-střed district contributed furniture from the property of the municipality to be installed in the street, and assured the coordination and technical security of the project.
“Cooperation with local entrepreneurs and restaurant operators is the key to creating an attractive and functional urban space,” said the Mayor of Brno-střed, Vojtěch Mencl. “We emphasise quality restaurant gardens, comfortable furniture, plenty of greenery, and safe pedestrian zones. This cooperation will allow us to create a pleasant environment on Vachova that will serve the needs of the residents and contribute to the further revitalization of the city centre.”
This strategy draws from the principle of so-called “tactical urbanism”: with the help of small interventions, the use of public space will change, and the city administration will collect and evaluate feedback from the public. The data will be collected and processed by students from Masaryk University, and will serve the municipality in the future management and improvement of streets and squares in the city centre.
