Dr. Alexandr Nováček, Assistant Professor at the Department of Human Geography and Regional Development at our ERASMUS+ partner University in Ostrava (Czech Republic), visited our Department from May 20 to 22, 2025.
During his stay, he led an interactive workshop titled "Urban Planning in Action: Play, Plan, Decide!", which offered ten Bachelor and Master students a hands-on introduction to urban planning. Through a role-playing board game, participants took on different roles—such as mayors, citizens, and business owners—to collaboratively negotiate and shape the future of a fictional city. The session provided valuable insights into the complexities of urban decision-making and participatory planning.
Nováček also gave a guest lecture as part of the “...mittwochs im GIUB” series. His talk, “Child-friendly cities as a solution to urban shrinkage”, focused on the challenges faced by families in the shrinking post-industrial city. Drawing on survey data from 2020 and 2025, he examined the expectations of young families and discussed how child-friendly urban planning could help reverse demographic decline.
We thank Alexandr Nováček for his engaging contributions and look forward to further academic exchange with the University of Ostrava.
