Rehabilitation of urban identity of cities in the Banja Luka region through urban form regulation

Abstract

This paper points to the possibility of codification of urban planning and application of physical regulation standards in urban form design to establish such instruments of guidance as will ensure the recognition, appreciation and development of local urban identity. The purpose of establishing general principles and making quality recommendations that would aim at urban form design regulation and be implemented as qualitative criteria and regulation standards is to propose a methodology for the rehabilitation of the City of Banja Luka's identity applicable to similar cities in the region, with due adjustments to allow for contextual specificity, with the possibility of coordinated regional city development. The discontinuity in the urban development of Banja Luka and other cities in the region has jeopardised the inherent characteristics of their identities, resulting in reduced recognisability and impaired integrity. This study covers the period since the beginning of Banja Luka's guided urban development (Austro-Hungarian administration, 1878), which should allow a review of its urban morphogenesis and an understanding of its key elements, as well as identification of the general principles and rules of urban form regulation as laid down in the local ordinance and planning legacy.