The claim that a thorough analysis and knowledge of a city is an indispensable first step in any urban or strategic plan preparation seems to be finally widely accepted in practice. Is it truly a synergic part of the process or just a checkbox-style formality? In the Czech legislature, the relationship between urban planning documents and urban planning materials is hierarchical. However, strategic planning is established a lot more vaguely. This paper introduces how the city of Prague is analysed and described and how that connects to the prescriptive documents, such as the current land use plan or the strategic plan. Two primary relationships are found: analysis as a base for decision-making and analysis as a tool to evaluate the decisions made. Prague Institute of Planning and Development, a municipal organisation tasked with urban planning and analysis for the city, prepares Prague Planning Analytical Materials, which include a periodically updated database of data and analysis of the city, as well as the evaluation of the planning documents. The institute strives not only to conduct advanced analysis using methods of urban morphology but also to find new and innovative ways to disseminate the results to the users through the development of an online data and analysis portal, practical workshops, brochures or videos. The case of Prague shows that the more intertwined the analysis and planning are and the better the knowledge of the city is communicated, the higher the potential is for an indeed evidence- and knowledge-based planning.
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