Ing. Mgr. Kateřina Basel

26 years oldBrnoBrno-severKDU-ČSL

Running for Lidovci + Starostové

Main topics

public space

I want the city to create good public space for people, where they'll feel good and want to spend time. Because public space where people meet is the basis for building community and strengthening relationships. I want a lively, pleasant, barrier-free city full of greenery. We must design streets for people, not for cars – for example by introducing school streets and thinking about enough shade, pedestrians, cyclists and urban greenery. Without that we won't get anywhere. I want to fight visual smog from advertising, badly placed parcel lockers and excessive and often confusing road signs, as well as light pollution and needless barriers. Because this belongs to the last century; some people just haven't noticed yet.

environment

The heatwaves that hit us this year reminded us once again that not only salt but trees too are worth more than gold. And unfortunately, we feel there's an absolute shortage of them in public space. If we treat trees as something “extra” when planning and renovating streets – nice, but not necessary – we'll never get out of this vicious circle. It may sound harsh, but trees must get priority in the streets. It mustn't end with planting; aftercare is at least as important. I personally believe that every crown invested appropriately and purposefully in trees and the environment will come back many times over and will pay off for all of us. Streets without trees mean streets without life. That's why the city and the city district must give more to caring for greenery.

young people

Our disadvantage is that there are few of us. That's why in politics our interests often get lost in favour of larger groups, which also tend to turn out to vote in greater numbers. I want to be a voice for young people, because we're the ones who will live here in the future and reap the fruits of today's decisions and individual political steps. I don't want a city just for young people; I want a city for everyone, where young people and their interests won't be forgotten (for example, by defending the interests of those who already live somewhere and not those who might also like a place to live). Last but not least, I want to be a personal example that young people are interested in politics too and don't hesitate to get involved.

A few words about me

I've lived in Brno since I was born. I work as a manager at Masarykova univerzita and am now preparing to go on maternity leave. I studied public economics and administration and political science, and I spent part of my studies abroad – in France and Germany. During that time I worked in various academic bodies, which taught me to seek compromises and see things through. Today I sit on the environment commission of the Brno-sever city district.

Thanks to scouting, I was brought up from a young age to care about my surroundings and public affairs. The motto we ended every trip with was: “always leave a place in better condition than you found it”, and I try to live by that all my life. I feel that people bear responsibility for the kind of world they shape around them. That's why I'm drawn above all to issues concerning the quality of public space. I'm interested in what the places where we live every day look like – streets, parks, the areas in front of schools, but also what gets built and where.

A few years ago I joined Mladí lidovci, and I'm now in my second term leading its regional organisation in the South Moravian Region. I believe I can complement my more experienced colleagues well, bring new energy and often a fresh perspective or innovative solutions. I'd like to show that young people are interested in the public sphere too and aren't afraid to lend a hand. That's why I'm running.

The candidate's texts have been machine-translated from Czech.