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Summary for: Prague is a great place to live – but residents still point to major frustrations“Can’t complain, but…”: that seems to be the general assessment of Prague residents about life in the capital, according to a new survey by the Prague Institute for Planning and Development (IPR).
About three-quarters of residents are satisfied with the quality of life in Prague and consider the city an ideal place to be, IPR has found. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some grievances – and pretty big ones too.
“The survey is conducted every two years, so we can generalize its results and show how the opinions of Prague residents change over time,” explained IPR director Ondřej Boháč.
When compared with other European capitals, Prague continues to perform strongly. According to international survey data cited by IPR, 92 percent of residents rate the city positively overall, placing it among the top twenty best-rated capitals in Europe.
However, the city scores significantly lower in areas such as housing affordability and trust between residents. Here's a breakdown of what the poll revealed.
Transport: Loved by many, drivers not so much
Transport remains one of Prague’s strongest assets. Around three-quarters of residents are satisfied with public transport, and roughly 90 percent rate access to their place of residence and the city centre positively.
However, satisfaction drops sharply among drivers, with only 29 percent expressing satisfaction with car transport. Cyclists and scooter users are moderately positive, with 46 percent rating their experience favourably.
Traffic congestion remains the dominant complaint, cited by 81 percent of respondents. Parking near homes is another major issue (67 percent), followed by the poor condition of roads (62 percent).
- Three-quarters of people are satisfied with Prague’s public transport network.
- Public transport is used daily by half of Prague residents, on top of another quarter who combine it with car or bike trips.
- Less than 30 percent are satisfied with car transport, citing frequent traffic jams, the lack of parking spaces and the condition of the roads as the main issues.
- Cyclists are overall not satisfied with the lack of dedicated bike lanes.
Housing: The elephant in the room
Despite general satisfaction, housing continues to dominate concerns in Prague. While 75 percent of residents say they are satisfied with their current housing situation, affordability is a major issue beneath the surface.
Sixty percent of respondents say they cannot afford their “dream apartment” when renting, and 80 percent say the same when it comes to buying. “That’s quite a high number and reflects the situation on the Prague apartment market,” said IPR analyst Nina Dvořáková.
Housing preferences also reveal a mismatch between reality and ideals. Nearly half of Prague residents live in prefabricated apartment blocks, yet only 14 percent consider them the ideal form of housing. By contrast, while only around one in ten people live in family houses, more than half say they would prefer them.
- Over 70 percent of Prague residents are generally satisfied with the size of their housing.
- But less than 40 percent of people are satisfied with the cost.
- Less than one-fifth can afford to rent their ideal flat.
- Less than 10 percent say they can afford to buy their ideal housing.
- More than 60 percent agree the city should invest more in the construction of municipal flats.
Community: It's complicated
Prague residents generally rate access to basic amenities in their neighborhood positively. Around 74 percent are satisfied with the availability of parks and shops, 65 percent with primary school capacity, and 56 percent with kindergarten places. However, satisfaction with school availability is gradually declining.
Community engagement is also weakening. Only one-third of residents feel part of a local community, and overall participation in community activities is declining.
- About three quarters of respondents are satisfied with their jobs.
- A similar share is happy with the availability of parks and shops.
- Some 65 percent and 56 percent are satisfied with the capacity of elementary schools and kindergartens, respectively.
- Most respondents are unhappy with the lack of natural swimming areas in the city.
- Less than half of respondents say they trust their fellow citizens.
- Only one-third say they feel part of their local community, citing a lack of interest, a lack of knowledge about or inexistence of local events in their area, and time constraints.
Climate: What climate?
The survey also highlights broader social shifts. Interest in climate change appears to have declined slightly: while 72 percent of residents viewed it as a real threat in 2020, that figure has dropped to 55 percent in the latest survey. At the same time, nearly half of respondents still feel that investment in cooling and climate adaptation measures in public space is insufficient.
- Just over half of Prague residents consider climate change a real threat – down from 72 percent five years ago.
- Yet 80 percent of them say they’re willing to change their behavior in favor of climate protection.
- About 20 percent are considering buying an electric vehicle – down from nearly 50 percent five years ago.
Also just recently published, another survey by the STEM/MARK agency found about two-third of Prague residents are happy with their life in the city, but more than half also claim that the quality of life has deteriorated over the past several years. Housing and car transport are, here too, mentioned as the two key problems.
