Zahlavi

PHOTO STORY: On the outskirts – a walk through the fringier parts of Prague

27. 07. 2023

There are places to explore in cities that urban planners never put on the map, and there are urban beauties that nobody intended to show. There are facets of the city that aren’t part of its official image. In almost every city – Prague being no exception – we can find places that are not exactly appealing at first glance. Why is this space here? How did it appear and what is its purpose? Reflection on such places is offered by the authors from the Center for Theoretical Study run by Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences in their monograph Město naruby – Vágní terén, vnitřní periferie a místa mezi místy (The City Inside Out – Vague Terrain, Inner Peripheries, and Places In Between), published by Academia.

 

Prepared by: Markéta Wernerová, Division of External Relations, CAO of the CAS; Radan Haluzík, Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University and the CAS
Translated by: Tereza Novická, Division of External Relations, CAO of the CAS
Photo: Jana Plavec, Division of External Relations, CAO of the CAS

Licence Creative Commons The text and photos are released for use under the Creative Commons licence.

Radan Haluzík, editor of the book Město naruby, defines terrain vague, or vague terrain, as the seemingly empty spaces of our cities, areas dominated by weeds and bushes. (Pictured here is the lot that stretches between the streets Argentinská and Za Viaduktem and the Prague-Bubny railway station).

Radan Haluzík, editor of the book Město naruby, defines terrain vague, or vague terrain, as the seemingly empty spaces of our cities, areas dominated by weeds and bushes. (Pictured here is the lot that stretches between the streets Argentinská and Za Viaduktem and the Prague-Bubny railway station).

Places, seemingly without purpose, which can ‘idle away’ for years, appear to be unused and forgotten. They can appear and disappear, changing over time. The authors of the book look at these areas through the lens of botany, zoology, ecology, social anthropology, urban planning, and other disciplines. (Pictured here is the lot that stretches between the streets Argentinská and Za Viaduktem and the Prague-Bubny railway station).

Places, seemingly without purpose, which can ‘idle away’ for years, appear to be unused and forgotten. They can appear and disappear, changing over time. The authors of the book look at these areas through the lens of botany, zoology, ecology, social anthropology, urban planning, and other disciplines. (Pictured here is the lot that stretches between the streets Argentinská and Za Viaduktem and the Prague-Bubny railway station).

To divide the city into a centre, the embodiment of order, and a periphery, where chaos reigns, would be reductive. In order for the city centre to remain orderly and tidy, its periphery has to provide the facilities for it. Empty spaces tend to show up in city centres themselves, too. (Pictured here is the lot that stretches between the streets Argentinská and Za Viaduktem and the Prague-Bubny railway station).

To divide the city into a centre, the embodiment of order, and a periphery, where chaos reigns, would be reductive. In order for the city centre to remain orderly and tidy, its periphery has to provide the facilities for it. Empty spaces tend to show up in city centres themselves, too. (Pictured here is the lot that stretches between the streets Argentinská and Za Viaduktem and the Prague-Bubny railway station).

As cities grew, they gradually absorbed their urban fringes. Freight stations, river harbours, and the remnants of industrial activities gradually lost their original purpose and often fell into obscurity. (Pictured here is the lot that stretches between the streets Argentinská and Za Viaduktem and the Prague-Bubny railway station).

As cities grew, they gradually absorbed their urban fringes. Freight stations, river harbours, and the remnants of industrial activities gradually lost their original purpose and often fell into obscurity. (Pictured here is the lot that stretches between the streets Argentinská and Za Viaduktem and the Prague-Bubny railway station).

A former gravel sand silo stands as a reminder of the past on the left bank of the Vltava River in Prague–Holešovice. A typical example of a remnant of industrial activity that has long disappeared. Having been decaying for years, it now constitutes an aesthetic dominant feature of the local area.

A former gravel sand silo stands as a reminder of the past on the left bank of the Vltava River in Prague–Holešovice. A typical example of a remnant of industrial activity that has long disappeared. Having been decaying for years, it now constitutes an aesthetic dominant feature of the local area.

It is only a few hundred metres from the silo to the Libeň Bridge. The concrete monument built in the 1920s in the style of avant-garde functionalism (or cubism), which awaits its renovation, is a gateway to the inner periphery of ‘Rohan Island’.

It is only a few hundred metres from the silo to the Libeň Bridge. The concrete monument built in the 1920s in the style of avant-garde functionalism (or cubism), which awaits its renovation, is a gateway to the inner periphery of ‘Rohan Island’.

View of the Libeň Bridge from the opposite side. Pictured here are tracks that lead nowhere...

View of the Libeň Bridge from the opposite side. Pictured here are tracks that lead nowhere...

The inner periphery can be a haven for those who have nowhere to go. They can seek refuge there, whether it be a makeshift shelter made of plastic or a more permanent hut. However, such places can be precarious, even dangerous... The photograph shows a grove located near Radlická Street in Jinonice, just a few hundred metres from the Galerie Butovice shopping centre.

The inner periphery can be a haven for those who have nowhere to go. They can seek refuge there, whether it be a makeshift shelter made of plastic or a more permanent hut. However, such places can be precarious, even dangerous... The photograph shows a grove located near Radlická Street in Jinonice, just a few hundred metres from the Galerie Butovice shopping centre.

A grove located near Radlická Street in Jinonice, just a few hundred metres from the Galerie Butovice shopping centre.

A grove located near Radlická Street in Jinonice, just a few hundred metres from the Galerie Butovice shopping centre.

The former 1920s provisional shanty town of Slatiny (Na Slatinách) on the border of Michle and Strašnice used to be a refuge for Prague’s poorest residents. Even today, this place has a unique ambiance and life of its own.

The former 1920s provisional shanty town of Slatiny (Na Slatinách) on the border of Michle and Strašnice used to be a refuge for Prague’s poorest residents. Even today, this place has a unique ambiance and life of its own.

The former provisional shanty town of Slatiny – the Slatiny brook flows through here.

The former provisional shanty town of Slatiny – the Slatiny brook flows through here.

Slatiny has also inspired many Czech artists. For example, some of the exterior scenes in the Czech films Obecná škola and Občanský průkaz were filmed here.

Slatiny has also inspired many Czech artists. For example, some of the exterior scenes in the Czech films Obecná škola and Občanský průkaz were filmed here.

The former provisional shanty town of Slatiny. A place with a distinctive ambiance and interesting history.

The former provisional shanty town of Slatiny. A place with a distinctive ambiance and interesting history.

The former provisional shanty town of Slatiny. View towards the railway tracks leading to the former Prague–Vršovice freight yard.

The former provisional shanty town of Slatiny. View towards the railway tracks leading to the former Prague–Vršovice freight yard.

Animals, unlike humans, perceive vague terrain as a potentially habitable space, as a challenge to expand their habitat. A frequent inhabitant of vague terrain is the Roman snail. We found evidence of its presence everywhere we went with our camera: empty shells, and here and there a live specimen that hadn’t managed to hide from us.

Animals, unlike humans, perceive vague terrain as a potentially habitable space, as a challenge to expand their habitat. A frequent inhabitant of vague terrain is the Roman snail. We found evidence of its presence everywhere we went with our camera: empty shells, and here and there a live specimen that hadn’t managed to hide from us.

The Czech Academy of Sciences (the CAS)

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The primary mission of the CAS is to conduct research in a broad spectrum of natural, technical and social sciences as well as humanities. This research aims to advance progress of scientific knowledge at the international level, considering, however, the specific needs of the Czech society and the national culture.

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Prof. Eva Zažímalová has started her second term of office in May 2021. She is a respected scientist, and a Professor of Plant Anatomy and Physiology.

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