Where do people like to spend their free time, and which places need to be improved and developed? The new Emotional Map of the Brno Metropolitan Area, launched by the City of Brno, seeks answers to these and other questions. For the first time, this emotional mapping initiative focuses not only on Brno itself, but on the entire Brno Metropolitan Area. People can take part in the online survey until 31 March 2027.
“Everyday life is not governed by municipal boundaries. We live in one place, commute elsewhere for work or school, and spend our free time perhaps several municipalities further away. It is precisely these connections that link Brno with its natural hinterland within the Brno Metropolitan Area, which comprises a total of 184 municipalities, including Brno. The emotional map will enable us to supplement this area with another important source of information – the experiences of the people who live and move within it. We intend to use the results in preparing a new integrated development strategy for the metropolitan area and, at the same time, to offer them to individual municipalities as a basis for their own planning,” said Martin Příborský, member of the Brno City Assembly for Strategic Development and Metropolitan Cooperation.
Emotional maps make it possible to link public opinion to specific locations. Respondents therefore do not merely answer standard questionnaire questions, but mark locations they consider important directly on the map. The survey focuses on five main themes. People can mark places where they most enjoy spending their free time, where they would like to live, or where they see scope for further development. Other questions concern places which, in the public’s view, need better protection against the impacts of climate change, and locations where it would be advisable to improve transport infrastructure.
“For the first time since the city surveys began, we are reaching out not only to the residents of Brno, but also to people living in the surrounding area. This is an important step forward, as people’s everyday lives do not take place solely within the administrative boundaries of towns and municipalities. And the views of residents across the entire Brno Metropolitan Area are an important source of information for us. It is precisely this experience that can complement statistical and expert data with a perspective that we would otherwise find difficult to obtain. We would therefore be delighted if as many people as possible took part in the survey, not only from Brno but also from the surrounding municipalities,” added Petr Bořecký, Brno City Councillor for Participation.
The survey is open not only to residents of all municipalities in the Brno Metropolitan Area, including Brno itself, but also to people who work, study or regularly visit the area. For each map-based question, you can select up to five specific locations. As working with the map and marking points or entire areas is not entirely straightforward on a mobile phone, the city recommends completing the survey on a computer. The survey is anonymous and takes approximately 10–15 minutes to complete.
The data collected will be useful both for planning the development of the entire Brno Metropolitan Area and for individual municipalities. It can be used, for example, in the preparation of investment projects, changes to public spaces, transport infrastructure solutions, adaptation measures or other issues that extend beyond the boundaries of individual local authorities.
This new survey also builds on the 2025 Emotional Map of Brno. Combining the findings of both surveys will provide a more comprehensive view of how Brno and its wider hinterland are perceived. Repeating the survey regularly in the future will make it possible to monitor how perceptions of individual locations and the entire metropolitan area are changing.
Once the data collection has been completed, the results will be analysed and made available to the public. The outputs will also include a ‘story map’, which will allow users to explore the results in detail for a specific location or area.
You can take part in the Emotional Map of the Brno Metropolitan Area until 31 March 2027 at https://ankety.damenavas.cz/w/pocitova-mapa-brnenske-metropolitni-oblasti.
Register your e-mail address to receive regular updates from the Brno Metropolitan Area.
