Faculty of economics and administration Masaryk university
Department of Corporate Economy Project Muniss
Under the auspices of Mayor of the City of Brno Roman Onderka
Agglomeration of Brno
Team 4: Tomáš Klusák, Zuzana Matyášová, Kateřina Olejníčková, Eva Stastná
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Content
1 Introduction............................................................................................................3
2 Suggestion of cooperation......................................................................................4
2.1 Nursery schools.............................................................................................4
2.1.1 The building...............................................................................................5
2.1.2 Children Collection....................................................................................6
2.1.3 Location.....................................................................................................6
2.2 Local farming................................................................................................6
3 Legal form.............................................................................................................8
4 Appendix.............................................................................................................10
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1 Introduction
An agglomeration is an extended city area comprising the central city and surrounding area regardless city borders. Brno agglomeration consists of Brno and about one hundred of surrounding municipalities fulfilling claims accessibility of the city by public and individual transport, intensity of transportation to work and intensity of build-up. In 2009 507 088 inhabitants lived in Brno agglomeration and 73% of them lived in Brno. Brno is centre of agglomeration with large sale of work occasion, mainly in the tertiary sphere. There are many scientific institutions in Brno and it is encourages development of research and science.
The goal of the project is to create the communications platform for meeting representatives of municipalities. The platform is powerful tool for description of problems within agglomeration (urbanisation, transportation, infrastructure) and finding of solutions. The municipalities can share experiences and create unit for developing activities or discussion with superior institutions. The creation of platform is also mentioned in „Program rozvoje Jihomoravského kraje" for period 2010-2013.
We asked mayors in Brno agglomeration about cooperation among municipalities and between municipalities and Brno. We collected views of 42 mayors. Almost every municipality cooperate with surrounding municipalities (especially on leisure time activities, hiking propagation and enhance of area awareness). On the other hand only two third municipalities cooperate with Brno. The collaboration is focused mainly on transportation, canalization and waste domain. Overall 15 municipalities cooperate with Brno any more. Half of mayors agree that cooperation within agglomeration can help to solve their problems. But one third of them afraid of officialdom and loss of identity. The best option is collaboration on transportation, enhance of area awareness and tourism. Half of mayors prefer informal cooperation. Most of them embrace sharing experiences and unit discussion with superior institutions. The municipalities want to build up more playgrounds and shops and 46 % municipalities also infant school.
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2 Suggestion of cooperation
Our object is to suggest projects, which could be meaningful for majority of municipalities. These project could be solid basis of long-term cooperation. We present two different ideas. Frist one is called Nursery school, second one Local farming
2.1  Nursery schools
Cooperation would consist in the action of building nursery schools in municipalities around Brno. These nurseries would solve several problems.
Firstly, these kindergartens would function normally for the inhabitants of the village. Since most villages would not fill the capacity of their kindergartens the second influx of children would be children from Brno. They would be driven in each morning by a bus and in the afternoon the bus would take them back home.
As our survey showed many municipalities have no kindergarten, although they would like to have one. It is clear that building a nursery only by municipal funds for several local children could not be rentable. With this project we would like to resolve the situation and also react to current demographic trends and the demand for this product. Currently, the city of Brno has great demand for nursery schools. The capacity of the existing ones is limited.
Establishing nursery schools in villages near Brno could solve several problems. The municipalities would have kindergartens (often demanded and valued service), parents from Brno would have a greater chance to find a place in a nursery school for their children, and parents of children from municipalities would have kindergarten in their living place. In addition, all children would be in a healthy environment with clean air, which is especially desirable for families living in a city due to frequent high levels of
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airborne dust in the air and the general expansion of various allergies.
Since the project will bring benefits to varied groups, it will be possible to part its cost within multiple parties. For example, communities can provide land for the construction of a nursery school, which is a substantial need without which a school could not be built, but for the community it should not be big expense. More over if project build such building which we suggest it will be able to derive money from EU funds.
Furthermore, the municipalities by its capabilities could provide funds for the building. Another part of the money would be provided by the city of Brno which would pay for the construction. Operating costs and transportation would be funded from current grants and contributions for the operation and contributions of parents whose children attend the school.
2.1.1 The building
Kindergarten itself should not be a simple concrete building, but modern construction, built from renewable resources. It could be efficient building and especially heating costs should be low. The total heat release values should reach values of the passive house.
Kindergartens would be built of wood. Building system would be balloon framing method mostly known like two by four building system. Change from standard 2 by 4 system is, that the wide of exterior walls could meet forty centimetres to make space for solid insulation.
After the rough frame building filling the gaps with insulation would follow. This material would be a straw. The use of straw as insulation material has many advantages. Among basic advantages are certainly great basic insulation and lower cost compared to conventional insulation materials such as glass wool or basalt wool, polystyrene foam, or a number of other industrial insulations. Insulation forty centimetres wide of straw almost alone gets to meet the construction limits for the passive house.
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2.1.2 Children Collection
The commute itself will not cause any discomfort. Like traditional preschool parents escort their children to the nursery in the same way children will be accompanied into the collecting place, where parents pick them up in the afternoon, just as they would had attended a classical school.
Timber kindergarten has many advantages. The main advantages include speed of construction, which allows solving the problem right now, when it is needed. In addition, a pleasant climate and the value of timber structures will allow the children to be in a pleasant and healthy environment.
When current baby boom declines and with it the need to have such a large capacity, the buildings could be further used as cultural centres, libraries or club rooms.
2.1.3 Location
How our research shows it would be possible to locate nursery in Hlína, Otmarov, Domašov, because these municipalities do not have any kindergarten or in Malhostovice, Jinačovice, Moravské Bránice, Holubice, Kobylnice, Cebín, Pozořice, Tetčice, Zelešice, Moravské Knínice, Velatice, Lelekovice, Blučina, Křenovice, Medlov, Holasice, Hostěrádky-Rešov, Ochoz u Brna, Měnín since capacity of their kindergartens is not sufficient.
2.2 Local farming
The situation is that during last ten years the number of people working in agriculture decreased for more than 60 thousands of people. Meanwhile the Czech republic is importing much more of food than it is exporting. Fruit and vegetable create big part of imported staff. At the same time the unemployment rate is globály increasing.
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We bring an clear idea which would solve part of these problems. Our proposition is to create an organisation with legal form of Cooperative, which will get together local farmers and having an advatage of easier sale together.
The idea is simply: Inhabitant from surrounding municipalities of Brno could realize the potential of their own farmland (garden) to start cultivating fruits and vegetables, so they become like farmers. Their harvest would be gathered together and would be sold in form of boxes. This kind of sale is pretty known in western countries as green boxes or organic vegetable boxes. In Czech republic the idea is becoming popular also. In Brno and its surroundings already exist couple of points where you can pick up your boxes, but still there is a big potential to create new farms, especially in smaller towns.
Cooperative is an autonomous association of persons who voluntarily cooperate for their mutual social, economic, and cultural benefit. The legal form of Cooperative has planty of benefits. There is no limit of members and in our case even a person with small production can join.
What as for delivering boxes, there will be a place in the town, where people can pick up their box. Exists much more possibilities e.g. selling it to small shops with healty food, deliver it to institutions etc. Great part of customers buying boxes create parents who wants for their childrens healthy food. This make a connection with proposal of nursery schools.
This collaboration brings benefits to all of collaborating parts. Firtstly for politicians, who are suposed to support this action, can get in contact with politicians from other towns and get higher popularity among inhabitants. Secondly the idea of boxes brings benefits for small agricultors - members of Cooperative who have a potential to earn more money and be a part of community. Last but not least benefits get also customers, who will buy healthy fruit and vegetable for good price and so support local economics.
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3 Legal form
Another issue we discussed in our work is the legal form of cooperation between municipalities.
We summarize the forms of cooperation between municipalities by the Czech law, which are: contract to complete a specific task, voluntary association of municipalities and commercial company. The first two mentioned are explained further below.
Contract to complete a specific task is a public law agreement, where only municipalities can be parties to this agreement, the contract must be in writing and may be subject to the establishment of the entity. We think that this institute can be used for our purposes. Especially in the beginning, based on implementation of any of the projects, it might be motivating for municipalities and might develop long-term cooperation and formalized in the form of Voluntary association of municipalities.
Voluntary association of municipalities is a legal entity and it is a suitable form for long-term cooperation. Only municipalities can be members of this association. Because it is an institutionalized form of cooperation with a set of rules that are contained in the articles of association, we think that it is unlikely that the municipalities were interested in its creation, because of the lengthy negotiations and informal meetings. This form could be however achieved in the long term view.
We chose the French legislation for comparison. The French legislation of municipal cooperation is more comprehensive, provides a legislative framework for 3 different associations, with its own each specifics. One of them is the Community of agglomeration. Financing of association is done, apart from the usual ways, also by a uniform tax on economic activity, which is a compensation of inequality and competition between municipalities. Association of municipalities in France as well as in our country is completely voluntary. Only in France, the state motivates municipalities to cooperate by giving them subsidies.
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French adaptation has many positives, its implementation to the Czech law could be a great benefit, but it is entirely in the hands of the legislators.
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4 Appendix
Municipalities answering in research
Possible visualization of nursery