Plzen

I'm just returning from an inspirational three days in Pilsen (Plzen) in the Czech Republic after taking part in a British Council project called the Urban Ideas Bakery. The idea behind these 'bakeries' is that it is an opportunity for a group of interesting people with a wide background and range of experiences to come to a city, and come up with ideas for ways to tackle particular issues that city might be facing and work with local people to see the ideas realised. Pilsen is a city of 165,000 people and sits as the first major town on the Berounka river. But one of the main issues that the city faces according to the local people we met is that while the city has these fantastic assets, the people who live there take them for granted and don't make use of the public spaces as much as they could do. And with the city having the title of European City of Culture 2015 within its grasp we were asked to look at some short, medium and long term solutions to freeing up these amazing spaces and inspiring or encouraging them to be used.