The Amazing Urbanism of Prague
A fun diversion as I'm working on the next video. I finally found a use for the collection of images and photos I saved over the years.
Big thanks to mestemnakole.cz/ for sending some more my way!
If you like my stuff, consider supporting me on Patreon: / adamsomething
My second channel: / adamsomethingelse
The two videos from Prague Hates Cyclists:
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The audio is from this video by@DrWhite
• THIN YOUR PAINTS
(I asked for his permission in advance, no need to @ hbomberguy)
Пікірлер: 791
Originally, these cities were designed for pedestrians and animal-drawn carts. Then bicycles became a thing. Then public transportation was added. Then cars took over the streets. Then, apparently, a murderous psychopath took over Prague and thought "what if I make them all crash into one another?"
@PROVOCATEURSK
4 ай бұрын
Havel?
@AlexC-ou4ju
4 ай бұрын
were cars that widespread before successive Soviet leaders ruled prague?
@morrisse0_088
4 ай бұрын
For real man. Sometimes I feel like we are living in a simulation controlled by a bored teenage god-alien that just needs a vent.
@alface935
4 ай бұрын
@@AlexC-ou4ju It was the U.S.A that Popularized the Car Centric Infrastructure in the Citys in the 1950s By the end of the Cold War and Victory of the U.S.A all the entire World was Effected by this and now everywhere is getting problems because of this Luckily some places like the Netherlands are trying to resist the Car Centric Infrastructure Mindset Key Word here "Trying"
@janelantestaverde2018
4 ай бұрын
@@GH0STST4RSCR34MEven hotter take: we're not in a simulation and this is somehow all real
This is one of the urban plans of all time
@slavar6868
4 ай бұрын
Truly timeless design
@Hungary_0987
4 ай бұрын
Immortalised by politicians
@alexeyvolkodav5059
4 ай бұрын
I like the moment when he said "It's Pragueing time" and Pragued everyone
@zagreus5773
4 ай бұрын
More like ur ban(ed) from taking the bike. . . . I'll see myself out.
@Drace90
4 ай бұрын
Can't wait for people to get tired of that joke format.
Makes sense for Prague to have Kafka-esque urban planning.
@TheoEvian
4 ай бұрын
It actually isn't too bad, at least from my experience, it is fairly walkable, however I wouldn't describe Prague as friendly to bikes, it fucking sucks in that regard to be frank. But public transport here is mostly pretty good. What is trully Kafka-esque about Prague is the amount of tourists you have to deal with tho, and the nicely walkable historical area feels pretty dodgy at night due to... all the drunk tourists and shady people.
@SeSmokki
4 ай бұрын
There's even a street named after him.
@epicow_1973
4 ай бұрын
You misused the word kafkaesque though.
@WeItenspinner
4 ай бұрын
I am so proud of my self, that I understood that. :D
@mollusckscramp4124
4 ай бұрын
@@epicow_1973 Misusing "kafkaesque" is truly the only proper way to use it
Prague in pictures: Very pedestrian friendly and lively teeming with pedestrians Prague in real life:
@wileysneak
4 ай бұрын
this video is literally a compilation of Prague in pictures lol
@JustAnotherNamelessGuy
4 ай бұрын
By American standards
@enochlee3601
4 ай бұрын
@@wileysneak by pictures I meant the ones that get plastered all over social media and advertising because no way are they showing the real pictures
@sol5038
4 ай бұрын
It's fairly pedestrial friendly, public transport is great. And then there's the car traffic. Good luck surviving on a bike.
@enochlee3601
4 ай бұрын
@@JustAnotherNamelessGuy the same could apply to a lot of cities of the former Eastern Bloc. In short better than American and Canadian cities but pale in comparison to their fellow Europeans and East Asia even
Me expecting a 20 minute interesting video on real issues at play with Prauges' urban planning Adam: ...
@herczy
4 ай бұрын
I think this video sufficiently summarized everything needed.
@thearousedeunuch
4 ай бұрын
Adam: "A fun diversion as I'm working on the next video. I finally found a use for the collection of images and photos I saved over the years."
@soundscape26
4 ай бұрын
He already did some videos on Prague.
@RobertStoll
4 ай бұрын
Why say more than you need to when you can just show it?
@faolitaruna
4 ай бұрын
He made one already. I wished to see one about Budapest, Berlin, Vienna...
If you cannot imagine a 6 year old biking down a bike lane safely, it is INADEQUATE.
@laurencefraser
4 ай бұрын
Probably need to add the word 'safely' in there...
@itzi7868
4 ай бұрын
inadequate? I would sooner describe it as life threatening, or a bad parent's idea of a late abortion.
@dougritchie9548
4 ай бұрын
A 6 year old on a bike will be killed by adult on bikes who are so entitled that they slow down or move over for no one
@Paladiea
4 ай бұрын
@@dougritchie9548 And how many times has that actually happened? I've heard of lots of kids who got run over by cars though.
@itzi7868
4 ай бұрын
@@dougritchie9548 holy fucking shit... Bro was Seriously trying to tie this back to, "cyclists bad", even when talking about kids on bicycles being ran over by cars, which is Disgustingly common..
Those damn cyclists and pedestrians, taking up the precious road.
@Elbuarto
4 ай бұрын
You're joking but that's genuinely the mindset of so many people here. Especially about the cyclists.
@suviram.1901
4 ай бұрын
This is unironically something an American would believe
@ME0WMERE
4 ай бұрын
@@RuhaildeepSinghGill you missed the joke
That bike lane that dumps you directly into the path of an oncoming tram is like something I would design in Rollercoaster Tycoon
@AutoNomades
4 ай бұрын
Yeah ! ! Evenm more when you already been caugh your wheel in the rail one time. (And fell directly....)
@qwertcvbnmm
4 ай бұрын
What do you mean oncoming? The tram is not oncoming, it's going to the same direction as the cyclist. You realise Czech Republic is a right-hand traffic country?
Drivers: City roads were built for cars! 1500+ years of Prague history: What's a car?
@CentreMetre
4 ай бұрын
@@GH0STST4RSCR34Mand make regulations so a percentage of a lot has to be car park
@SianaGearz
4 ай бұрын
The thing between the buildings isn't a road, it's a street. The thing between towns/cities is a road.
@GolemRising
4 ай бұрын
@@CentreMetre And make it so everything in the area has to serve the same purpose so you cant get anything you need where you live!
@sobanya_228
4 ай бұрын
@@SianaGearz everything is a stroad today
@SianaGearz
4 ай бұрын
@@GH0STST4RSCR34M "this house is old and shitty anyways man it's centuries old, why are you keeping this obsolete shit around? Europe is so behind on everything, that's why you can't get anything done!"
I offer my condolences to Adam for having to see this. The migraine is unimaginable
@Hungary_0987
4 ай бұрын
Ye
@Altamyr_
4 ай бұрын
See? More like 'experience'
@SilverWave64
4 ай бұрын
It sounds more like he was struggling on the toilet while making these sounds.
And I would have thought Prague urban planning for cycling would have been a bit more... Praguematic
@creeper6530
4 ай бұрын
Heh
"I'll save that one for later!" *sees video length* "Okay, I'll watch it now!"
Prague Public transportation: 😄🥰🤩♥🌟 Other urban planning in Prague: 💀🚗🚗🌫🌫
@creeper6530
4 ай бұрын
True. Everything's sunshine and rainbow when you take a bus, but biking... Only through parks and woods on the outskirts
I went to prague on school trip 1) there was a bike lane just outside the place we were staying. Just painted on the side of a road, speed limit presumably around 70 2) Had an awesome time watching an enormous 4x4 trying to get out of a parking space in the old town
That's even more creative than what we have in Poland!
@Creepernom
4 ай бұрын
I dunno about other cities, but Poznań is very walkable, pleasant, lots of trees and bushes, and generally just a pretty well designed city imo. One of the few cities that don't make me miserable.
@SilverWave64
4 ай бұрын
@@Creepernom Wroclaw and Kraków are great too.
@Creepernom
4 ай бұрын
@@SilverWave64 Kraków's a bit too polluted for my taste. The air is harmful to breathe there quite often, especially in the winter. It's actually bad right this second.
@user-vr8qd4hk6y
4 ай бұрын
@@Creepernom Seems you are misinformed. It's not like Kraków is super special case here really. Just recently worse air was in... Poznań. Poland has general problem with air pollution and it's like this almost everywhere. In Kraków started bigger social movement for changes and the city is Poland's pioneer in POSITIVE changes for reduction of pollution. Citizens being loud about the situation, etc - that's the source of the meme that Kraków is exceptional 'smog city'. Reality is a bit more complicated than meme, as you can see. I can add that situation was really improving in Kraków and region, maybe a bit slow, but still, until COVID hit and government decided to threw many changes and restrictions out of the window... Well, there is new government so maybe there will be more serious improvements finally.
@foreverswish
4 ай бұрын
At least in Poland drivers stop for pedestrians all the time. In the Czech Republic, pedestrians hesitate as to how far they should stand from the crossing so that they don't seem too forceful and don't force the driver to stop their car, and once someone finally stops for a pedestrian, it is considered to be an act of the highest courtesy, which the pedestrian almost always returns with a sorry-that-I-exist-but-thank-you speedwalk. What a lazy fucking country we are. Cars just played right into our cards.
Certified non-dutch urban planning moment
@666kittycat666
4 ай бұрын
Rip Rotterdam
I love it when they "add" cycling lanes unless it's inconvinient then they just disappear.
@carnifaxx
4 ай бұрын
to balance this, they made ONE spot where a cyclist can rest their arm and leg while waiting 5 seconds for a green light :D (see the article called Praha má první cyklostupátko)
"We added a bunch of bicycle lanes and marked pedestrian areas quite clearly! Why are you complaining?" - Prague's City Hall, probably.
@ponteirodorato
4 ай бұрын
"We've done our job, now shut up and give us more money that will never be used to improve the infrastructure (we're using it to buy hundreds of bmw sport cars)" - also the town hall, most likely
I love when youtubers finally embrace their style and get artsy
This is extremely well planned for human use compared to most places in the U.S. Source: I'm a United Statesian
@_jpg
4 ай бұрын
My condolences
@skyworm8006
4 ай бұрын
It's just tacked on to already tiny roads making it useless
@tedferkin
4 ай бұрын
One of the reasons I would never consider moving the USA. My cousin lives over there, due to work, she hates it, but due to limiting career choices there is not really any option
@areamusicale
4 ай бұрын
never been to US, but, as far as i can see from movies etc your roads are as wide as a football stadium !!!!
I love Prague, I live here, but damn sometimes the urban planning really makes me jump into the Vltava in December
I remember how nice it was to visit Prague during covid, no pedestrians, no cars. Everything felt abandoned but peaceful at same time. The quiet old square, charles bridge just for you and you alone. It felt like a dream.
Prague is such an amazing city... That's the most frustrating part about these issues. Adam is secretly in love with Prague that's why he is dunking on it all the time
I know "thin your paints" audio when I hear it.
I knew I recognized those metallic screeching noises, obviously Warhammer related. It perfectly encapsulates the anger felt looking at these pictures.
@rohanhalle580
4 ай бұрын
Thin Your Paints!
@kesorangutan6170
4 ай бұрын
It's from a video called "THIN YOUR PAINTS"
" the design is very human "
The problem with these cities is at first they were built for people walking, then to cars, but no one bothered to add more space for walking now that we use cars
@zusurs
4 ай бұрын
I'll play the devils' advocate here - if there are more cars than people, then maybe it makes sense to plan for cars as well? Like - we are no more planning cities for horses, right?...
@thefrenchbastard1646
4 ай бұрын
there are plenty of old cities that don't have it this bad^^
@CrazyMagicHomelesGuy
4 ай бұрын
@@zusurs yeah but most cities really accounted for people walking or bikes. My street is 2.5 meters wide and was originally cobblestone. Really not meant for cars and unlike literally every other street, my neighbours never gave away half a meter of property for wider streets. Really better planning for cars would've solved the problem but they never expected cars to be so big
@guerreiro943
4 ай бұрын
@@zusurs More cars than people? Which cities have you been visiting?
@CrazyMagicHomelesGuy
4 ай бұрын
@thefrenchbastard1646 yeah, because they renovated. You think New York expected cars? No. But they realised occasional carriage isn't the only thing that'll drive through it in the early 1900s and adapted. But poorer places didn't.
Those are some really dangerous situations :( . I can only imagine how many folks got injured cycling or walking there :( .
@user-ib9pz6id5b
4 ай бұрын
Walking here Is actually pretty safe - these are the most extreme cases and since so many people walk here, drivers are cautious for pedestrians. As for cycling though...yeah, this video is pretty accurate
@drill_fiend1097
4 ай бұрын
@@user-ib9pz6id5bhonestly these places don't seem to encourage drivers to speed. I'd bet that's safer than the straight and long streets with painted bike lanes on the gutter, which is the pinnacle of "cyclist infrastructure" in the US.
@Heathcz
4 ай бұрын
Almost noone cycles on the roads
@DehnusNorder
4 ай бұрын
@@Heathcz Well maybe you can see here why.
So there is a city worse than Katowice ❤ love it
I was prepared for a rant about the cluelesness of Prague's political leadership. I wasn't prepared for this, but... I guess no words were needed anyway, this encapsulates it all.
reminds me of Seoul, contorting your body to avoid cars ON THE SIDEWALK
@drill_fiend1097
4 ай бұрын
It's ridiculous how Seoul has great recreational bike trails then there's no way to actually get to work without breaking the law and riding on the sidewalk. No buses take them, and subways only allow them on weekends because they see bikes as sports toys, not as legitimate transportation.
As an American, I've never felt such a kinship with the Czech people before
@JohnDoesSports
4 ай бұрын
Wait until you read about Czech gun laws compared to the rest of Europe.
the first one is a definite "you had one job" moment
The "we hate pedestrians and cyclists" method of urban planning.
This is the type of high quality cinema I'm here for - 10/10 will rewatch
Superfly from Daikatana trying to ride through Prague in a hurry so he can take a dump
be me: getting ready to watch a 15-30 min nice documentation, then 25 seconds ...
I work 3 minutes from the place in the first picture and when a shared bicycle is available I would ride it exactly in that "bike lane" home. If you would continue to ride on that street you would come to two massive (in Prague's perspective) intersections, which are used to funnel traffic onto highway. What a lovely place to ride a bike really. That's why I use an alternative road which consists of riding down around concrete staircase (that's 30° slope) and then uphill on concrete panel road and through dog shit meadow. I suspect Prague administration that they conciously make bike lanes horrible to make people to dislike riding a bike in Prague.
Thank you, I can show this video to people who can't stop complaining about Gregory Silvester Christmas putting rods besides the bicycle roads.
this is definitely a prague moment
@nevertrustgoogle
4 ай бұрын
Prague moment of all time
"Planning" doing some heavy lifting
you cheeky bastard! i didnt check length of that video so played it on background while im cooking 😂
My American ass is like, "What's wrong? This is what streets look like."
The epitome of, "We did it, Patrick! We saved the city!"
Gotta love the 40k Screams
dude you should totally come in Romania
@andreimircea2254
4 ай бұрын
Yes! Please!
This hurts my Dutch heart.
You could say they need to "thin" the roads out!
Who else guessed that Adam was a secret warhammer fan this whole time ??! 🤣😂
Informative and to the point! An avant-garde video essay!
On my driving test I accidentally drove too close to a cyclist and he made a scream that sounds exactly like the ones in this video and it haunts my dreams. Still passed though
I can with 100 percent assurance say that not only Adam went crazy after I saw this ,,masterpiece” of Urban planning
Okay, DOW 2 screams and overall the reference to "THIN YOUR PAINTS" earned a like for sure.
The video was very well done. It has a fine way of compressing all the feelings and the ways of how the depicted systems work in real life scenarios. Also the score and the sound design overall was a masterclass level presentation of how to do maximise the usable spectrum of human senses. A highly recommendable piece of work!
This hits even harder - and funnier - because you're always so articulate and detailed in your videos.
As a bike enthusiast with disabled relative and small child (stroler) living in Prague, I wouldn't say it better 😅
@creeper6530
4 ай бұрын
At least the public transport is a thing
@oinn1220
4 ай бұрын
@@creeper6530you are right, not much to complain there.
A cinematic masterpiece for the ages.
For the emperor's love, thin your lanes!
I accidentally read the title as "Plague Urban Planning" and now I feel obliged to ask you to make a video on European urban planning during the time of the Black Death.
Prague looks like if someone used an Ai image generator with the prompt " City Plans " and then looked att that and went "Yep, looks good to me".
Thank you for this truly amazing audiovisual masterpiece
That is EXACTLY what happens in my head in those situations.😀
Funnily enough, people seem to not respect painted lines when it’s inconvenient to them! Who woulda thought?!
@mushovers3006
4 ай бұрын
Magic circle theory in action
Oh wow, how did you manage to record my daily commute?!
Those painted parking spaces on the pavement are also a thing where my mum lives in the UK, absolutely wonderful infrastructure
This always shocks me when i travel to Prague. It is a beautiful city, but coming from my small-ish town (50 000 people) to Prague, the sheer amount of cars surprises me very much
@randomgahames
4 ай бұрын
@@GH0STST4RSCR34M small-ish town compared to Prague, i should clarify
@randomgahames
4 ай бұрын
@@GH0STST4RSCR34M Well, yes. Globally, Prague Is a small city, especially when some cities like New York and London have almost the same population as the entire country.
@mrcnwk
4 ай бұрын
@@randomgahamesit isn't, at least of we exclude east asia. In USA Prague would be easily in top 10 biggest cities (comparing only population in administrative boundaries)
Wait til you see bucharest
@andreimircea2254
4 ай бұрын
I 100% agree Source: Former Bucharester.
I accidentally just played this at max volume through my speakers at 3am with my family home... I'm going to die
Me after Taco Bell
@amauryleblanc7979
4 ай бұрын
I too make inadequate plans for walking and cycling after eating at a mexican retaurant :p
@evenodd3339
4 ай бұрын
@@amauryleblanc7979 that’s the American way
Thanks you for this high quality content :D
i love that one of the most articulated and serious channel that i follow (which usually posts 15-25 minute in-depth videos) just dropped this 25s beauty with angry man growling sounds. :D
I can feel the pain
me right now
@ScotchOffTheRocks
4 ай бұрын
I second this
now this is the content i subscribed for all those years ago
So much conveyed in such a short video :)
Nice. Very cycle friendly.
Wait til you see Gdynia (Poland) city centre and the whole bike road kerfuffle. There was this one CCTV recording where a driver was so confused by this tangled mess, that he used it as a right turn!
City planners saw nothing wrong with 1 foot of pedestrian walk space and bike lanes that crash into tram lines On the bright side, we found the solution to our overpopulation problem
One day while driving a bus, I was driving very slowly behind a cyclist (there was a stop up ahead, so it didn't make sense to try and pass them). A truck driver behind me got annoyed that I was driving too slow (it was in the downtown area of a city), so he passed me and almost hit the cyclist in the process.
Thank you for the clear and detailed comment, that helped me understand the pictures.
The Quality content I subscribed for.
Fun fact, the city of Yharnam from Bloodborne seems to be partially inspired by Prague
Ho nice to see Paris in a video. No wait.
Hey Adam, I Hope you sended this video to prague city hall. They need to see this.
"a" -KZread's auto subtitles
Came for the urban planning nightmare, stayed for the Dawn of War 2 Space Marine screams.
Full version with commentary will be golden content
this is the content i subscribed for
O what the f 😆 I had already waited for your lecture, but didn't expect that it's just a rage video lol
I appreciate the short form video without using shorts
The Astartes of the Brotherhood of The Unobstructed Road chapter have noticed this heresy.
I feel I needed a bit of a heads up for the audio for this documentary short.
I appreciate the Space Marine screams, Adam.
This wouldn't have happened if all those were electric cars powered by wind turbines inside hyperloop tubes
That's the same in Lisbon, Portugal. Capital cities with decent public transportation and where you don't really need a car at all but there are still too many cars.
Imagine the Cybertruck being in Prague
Looks like cycling could get really expensive there. For instance, I'd want to make sure I had a separate GoPro to point front, back, and both sides before I ventured onto those roads!
Gotta love it here
Tragedy. Prague has a lot of potential. it has really dense and well accessible public transport network, but cars keep ruining it all. Maybe having a senile ultra steeringwheelophile as a mayor and people similar to him in the city council isn't the best situation. It's sad since Prague is really beautiful and keeps getting new infrastructure projects that make things better (HolKa pedestrian bridge, rail connection to the airport, new tram network extensions, return of trolleybuses). But it's not enough because once motorists start screaming any useful work is over. There is a hope though. Maybe you're heard of Dvorecký Bridge that's being built now and will only be accessible for public transit, pedestrians and cyclists. I love to see drivers whining how it would help the traffic sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much if they could use it. We need more of such places.
I enjoyed the sound track particularly