Jihlava has valuable historical centre and we need to save this treasure

Karolína Koubová, Mayor of Jihlava, shares what made the Czech city a top place for doing business

Karolína Koubová studied Theatre Management at JAMU. She has systematically developed her managerial skills with subsequent management training. She also gained international experience through a study in Finland at Mikkel University of Applied Sciences, with Business Management profile. Since 2009, she has devoted herself to the DIOD theatre, for which she has prepared a production plan and which since its opening in 2011 she led and successfully developed. In her spare time, Karolína devotes herself to her family, the De Facto Outside theatre ensemble, and the scarf acrobatic course.

Koubová has  gained political experience for the first time in 2014, when the Jihlava Forum had a historic success in the municipal elections and for the next two years it became part of Jihlava City Council. Her main objectives are professional, active and dynamic city management, the promotion of women in politics, support for families with children, and the helpful approach of the town hall to the citizens.

Ms Koubová, you have the honour of being the first female mayor of Jihlava, that became statutory city almost two decades ago. What responsibilities are related to this title?

Responsibility depends on each mayor's decision; it changes every four years after election. I decided to take care about Economics of city, Tourism, Communication and PR, my field is also Municipal Police. It reflects my goal to improve the area of Tourism and Communication, which was managed really poorly previous years, it was not a priority for former leaders of the city. The main challenge leads up to mark of the city, improving the marketing in the entire extent. Jihlava has nice places around the city, really valuable historical city centre which is based on mid-age silver mining, but buildings around the square dilapidate and we need to save our treasure.

Jihlava has risen to the top of cities for business in Czechia, as testified by the second place it takes in the regional section of the national comparative research City for Business 2018. Could you tell us more about what makes your city so attractive to investors?

Jihlava is on the top for several years and we are really proud of it. Last year we have risen from 3^rd to 2^nd place in that competition, and the reasons were the well-developed public transport in the city and very high level of e-communication of the Municipality.

The Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan of Jihlava has been presented in February. Please describe in what ways innovations and practices will lead to smarter and more sustainable mobility within and around the city?

Mobility in the city will get smarter, for example, thanks to the construction of parking field P+R which shall reduce the traffic in the city centre, preference of public transportation, implementation of express lines (acceleration, motivation for use, reduction of the individual transportation) and also construction (interconnection) of cycling paths and construction of paths to support the active mobility.

Your coalition has recently introduced a new post to the local administration. Can you tell us what justifies the establishment of a City Architect Department and what positive changes do you expect to derive from it?

The unit of urban architecture will have consultative authority in all the territorial decisions in which the city is legally obliged to be the participant. This unit will be the pillar of urbanistic quality not only for the investors, but also an assistant for the compliance with quality public area and at the same time it will ensure functional and aesthetic urban development.

What are the most important initiatives and projects that you have planned for the rest of the year?

We will continue in our big investment projects as new Ice Hockey Hall, new bus and train station. Both of those projects also hit the whole territory around, what is exactly the main goal of the Unit of Urban Architects.

Our next project is start to work on new strategic plan of the city, also the new EU programming period is coming - which are closely connected. The strategic plan will contain our development till 2030.

Finally, how can a portal like TheMayor.eu, which aims to keep the citizens informed about the latest developments in local policies and to showcase the best practices from the European municipalities, be of use to your administration?

I think that TheMayor.eu should continue in settled status quo, I see high quality of provided services.