The city of Prague has managed to update its construction regulations with a version that leaves out the ‘sunlight’ clause. For years, anyone building a new structure in the city was forced to ensure that it wouldn’t block direct sunlight from existing residential flats. This was judged by whether the sun’s rays would cover one-third of a flat’s floor area for a period of at least 90 minutes on March 1. The rule often forced architects into bizarre designs using strangely shaped buildings in order to avoid encroaching on their neighbors’ place in the sun. Prague councilors from the Ano party (including mayor Adriana Krnáčová) vote for the change, along with deputy mayor Petr Dolínek, but the Green party warned that the new law could encourage more people to get involved in trying to block construction permits.
