On 27 - 28 June 2018, members of the PURPLE network member regions visited the South Moravian Region. Peri-Urban Regions Platform Europe, abbreviated as PURPLE, is an international non-profit association with scientific and policy objectives that aims to share experience and best practice with each other and with other regions.
Representatives from member regions took part in a workshop focused on combating climate change in peri-urban areas, which was followed by an excursion through the South Moravian Region that aimed to show measures taken by the Region to mitigate the effects of climate change (especially droughts). Guests from the UK, Belgium, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands visited Kozlany and the Rostěnice river. The revitalization of the valley of Rostěnice river was carried out with subsidies for the retention of water in the landscape. Mayor of the village of Kozlany Karel Pospíšil told the guests that the revitalization almost immediately changed the climate in the village and because of the revitalization many wild water birds returned to the river. The next stop of the excursion was the village Hrušky u Brna, where guests visited the municipal kindergarten, where children learn from the very early age how to grow fruits and vegetables, how the composting works and how to look after the crop. The last stop was the company LIKO-S, a.s., that is located in the village Slavkov u Brna. Its office building called LIKO-NOE is fully self-sufficient thanks to sophisticated water management and natural thermal stabilization. The building represents the counterpart to industrial halls that have become an integral part of the village landscape over the past twenty years.
On 28 June, the General Assembly of the PURPLE Network took place in the premises of the South Moravian Regional Authority. In addition to the approval of the 2017 management and economic activities and the new 2018 budget, members of the General Assembly also agreed on the report on the network's activities for 2017 and the action plan for 2018. The program also included presentations on the importance of spatial planning in relation to climate change in peri-urban areas. Members of the General Assembly also discussed the next events planned for the second half of 2018 and progress in implementing the ROBUST project.
South Moravian Region was represented by the RNDr. Miroslav Kubásek, Ph.D., the chairman of the Committee on Interregional relations. More information about the network activities can be found at their website and at the official site of the South Moravian Region (only in the Czech language)
More photos in our photogallery.