Spatial and urban planning in Serbia: A look through the lens of deliberative approach

  • Ana Perić ETH Zurich, Institute for Spatial and Landscape Development, Zurich, Switzerland University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture, Belgrade, Serbia
  • Milutin Miljuš University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture, Belgrade, Serbia
Keywords: deliberative democracy, deliberation, rationality, spatial and urban planning, Serbia

Abstract

In planning, the deliberative process is most commonly present in the form of a structured public discussion. The main idea behind such an approach is to improve communication among different participants by informing them about a local problem before any stakeholders’ preference is adopted, agreement reached and, finally, the problem solved. With the help of a mediator, an independent third party, the participants are considered equal, rational and free to give their opinion. Such a deliberative approach is an integral part of most planning procedures in developed countries. However, the enhancement of the planning process in the post-socialist context is delayed due to institutional rigidities, public mistrust towards the initiators of spatial development, and the lack of mediation procedures in the planning process. Previous features are also specific to Serbia, as a transitional state, which, nevertheless, experienced a somewhat different social context in comparison to other Eastern Bloc countries during the second half of the previous century. To understand the contemporary situation better, the paper provides an overview of spatial and urban planning in Serbia since the Second World War, observed from the deliberative stand, in an attempt to define the basic guidelines for the transformation of the planning approach in Serbia.

References

Allmendinger, P. (2002) The Post-Positivist Landscape of Planning Theory, in Allmendinger, P., Tewdwr-Jones, M. (eds.) Planning Futures: New Directions for Planning Theory. London: Routledge, pp. 3-17.

Barrett, S., Fudge, C. (1981) Policy and Action: essays on the implementation of public policy. London: Methuen.

Baxamusa, M. H. (2008) Еmpowering communities through deliberation: the model of community benefits agreements. Journal of Planning Education and Research, No. 27, pp. 261- 276.

Bobio, N. (1990) Budućnost demokratije. Beograd: Filip Višnjić. [Bobio, N. (1990) Future of democracy. Belgrade: Filip Višnjić.]

Booher, D. E., Innes, J. E. (2002) Network Power in Collaborative Planning. Journal of Planning Education and Research, No. 21, pp. 221-236.

Cohen, J. (2006) Deliberation and Democratic Legitimacy, in Hamlin, A., Petit, P. (eds.) The Good Polity: Normative Analyses of the State. Malden, MA: Blackwell, pp. 67-92.

Cvetinović, M., Nedović-Budić, Z., Bolay, J. C. (2017) Decoding urban development dynamics through actor-network methodological approach. Geoforum, No. 82, pp. 141-157.

De Roo, G. (2007) Shifts in planning practice and theory: from a functional towards communicative rationale, in Porter, G., De Roo, G. (eds.) Fuzzy planning: the role of actors in a fuzzy governance environment. Abingdon, Oxon, GBR: Ashgate Publishing Group, pp. 103-114.

Dryzek, J. S. (1990) Discursive democracy: politics, policy, and political science. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Ennis, F. (1997) Infrastructure Provision, the Negotiating Process and the Planner’s Role. Urban Studies, No. 34 (12), pp. 1935-1954.

Faludi, A. (1973) Planning Theory. Oxford: Pergamon.

Elster, J. (1998) Introduction, in Elster, J. (ed.) Deliberative democracy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-18.

Fischer, F., Gottweis, H. (eds.) (2012) The Argumentative Turn Revisited: Public Policy as Communicative Practice. Durham & London: Duke University Press.

Fishler, R. (2012) Fifty Theses on Urban Planning and Urban Planners. Journal of Planning Education and Research, No. 32 (1), pp. 107-114.

Flyvbjerg, B. (1998) Rationality and Power: Democracy in Practice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Forester, J. (1989) Planning in the Face of Power. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Forester, J. (1993) Critical theory, public policy, and planning practice. Albany: SUNY Press.

Forester, J. (1999) The deliberative practitioner, encouraging participatory planning processes. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Goodin, R. E. (2008) Innovating democracy: democratic theory and practice after the deliberative turn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Grossman, A. (2009) Mediation in Planning: from talking to talk to walking the walk. Proceedings of the Joint Planning Law Conference Oxford, September 2009.

Gutmann. A., Thomson, D. (2000) Why deliberative democracy is different. Social Philosophy and Policy, No.17 (1), pp. 161- 180.

Healey, P. (1992) An institutional model of the development process. Journal of Property Research, No. 9, pp. 33-44.

Healey, P. (1995) The institutional challenge for sustainable urban regeneration. Cities, No. 12, pp. 221-230.

Healey, P. (1997) Collaborative Planning: Shaping Places in Fragmented Societies. London: MacMillan Press.

Healey, P. (2007) The New Institutionalism and the Transformative Goals of Planning, in Verma, N. (ed.) Institutions and Planning. Oxford: Elsevier, pp. 61-90.

Hirt, A. S. (2005) Planning the post-communist city: Experience from Sofia. International Planning Studies, No. 10 (3), pp. 219- 240.

Innes, J. E. (1995) Planning theory’s emerging paradigm: communicative action and interactive practice. Journal of Planning Education and Research, No. 14, pp. 183-189.

Innes, J. E. (1996) Planning through consensus building: A new view of the comprehensive planning ideal. Journal of the American Planning Association, No. 62 (4), pp. 460-472.

Innes, J. E., Booher, D. E. (2010) Planning with Complexity: An introduction to collaborative rationality for public policy. New York: Routledge.

Laurian, L. (2007) Deliberative planning through Citizen Advisory Boards: five case studies from military and civilian environmental cleanups. Journal of Plannning Education and Research, No. 26, pp. 415-434.

Lazarević Bajec, N. (2009) Rational or collaborative model of urban planning in Serbia: institutional limitations. Serbian Architectural Journal, No. 1, pp. 81-106.

List, C. (2007) Deliberation and agreement. in Rosenberg, W. S. (ed.) Deliberation, Participation and democracy: can the people govern? London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 64-81.

Maruna, M. (2015) Can Planning Solutions Be Evaluated without Insight into the Process of Their Creation?, in Schrenk, M., Popovich, V., Zeile, P., Elisei, P., Beyer, B. (eds.) Proceedings of the REAL CORP 2015 Conference “Plan Together–Right Now– Overall”, 15 – 18th May 2015. Vienna: REAL CORP, pp. 121-132.

McLoughlin, J. B. (1969) Urban and Regional Planning: A Systems Approach. London: Faber.

Nedović-Budić, Z., Cavrić, B. (2006) Waves of Plannning: Framework for studying the evolution of planning systems and empirical insights from Serbia and Montenegro. Planning Perspectives, No. 21 (4), pp. 393-425.

Nedovic-Budić, Z., Zeković, S., Vujošević, M. (2012) Land Privatization and Management in Serbia – Policy in Limbo. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, No. 29, pp. 307-317.

Perić, A. (2013) Uloga urbanističkog planiranja u procesu regeneracije braunfild lokacija (doktorska disertacija). Beograd: Arhitektonski fakultet Univerziteta u Beogradu. [Perić, A. (2013). The Role of Urban Planning in the Process of Brownfield Regeneration (doctoral dissertation). Belgrade: Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade.]

Perić, A. (2016a) The evolution of planning thought in Serbia: Can planning be ‘resilient’ to the transitional challenges?, in Hein, C. (ed.), History-Urbanism-Resilience – Proceedings of the 17th International Planning History Society Conference, 17th – 21st July 2016. Delft: TU Delft Open, vol.7, pp. 181-193.

Perić, A. (2016b) Institutional cooperation in the brownfield regeneration process: Experiences from Central and Eastern European countries. European Spatial Research and Policy, No. 23 (1), pp. 21-46.

Perić, A., Maruna, M. (2012) Predstavnici društvene akcije u procesu regeneracije priobalja – slučaj braunfild lokacije ‘Luka Beograd’. Sociologija i prostor, No. 50 (1), pp. 61-88. [Perić, A., Maruna, M. (2012) The Representatives of Social Action in Waterfront Regeneration – the Case of the Brownfield Site ‘Belgrade Port’, Sociologija i prostor, No. 50 (1), pp. 61-88.]

Rawls, J. (1999) A theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harward University Press.

Rydin, Y. (2007) Re-Examining the Role of Knowledge Within Planning Theory. Planning Theory, No. 6 (1), pp. 52-68.

Sager, T. (1994) Communicative planning theory. Aldershot: Avebury.

Sager, T. (2002) Deliberative planning and decision making: an impossibility result. Journal of Planning Education and Research, No. 21, pp. 367-378.

Sandercock, L. (1998) Towards Cosmopolis: planning for multicultural cities. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, 1998.

Štajner, J. (2015) Osnovi deliberativne demokratijе: Empirijsko istraživanje i normativne implikacije. Beograd: JP Službeni glasnik; Sarajevo: Fakultet političkih nauka.

Taylor, N. (1999) Anglo-American town planning theory since 1945: three significant developments but no paradigm shift. Planning Perspectives, No. 14, pp. 327-345.

Vujošević, M. (2003) Planiranje u postsocijalističkoj političkoj i ekonomskoj tranziciji. Beograd: IAUS (Institut za arhitekturu i urbanizam Srbije). [Vujošević, M. (2013) Planning in Post- Socialist Political and Economic Transition. Belgrade: Institute of Architecture and Urban & Spatial Planning of Serbia.]

Vujošević, M. (2010) Collapse of strategic thinking, research and governance in Serbia and possible role of the spatial plan of the Republic of Serbia, Spatium, No. 23, pp. 22-29.

Vujošević, M., Nedović-Budić, Z. (2006) Planning and societal context – The case of Belgrade, Serbia, in Tsenkova, S., Nedović-Budić, Z. (eds.) The urban mosaic of post-socialist Europe: space, institutions and policy. Heilderberg: Springer, pp. 275-294.

Vujošević, M., Zeković, S., Maričić, T. (2012) Post-socialist transition in Serbia and its unsustainable path. European Planning Studies, No. 20, pp. 1707-1727.

Vujović, S., Petrović, M. (2007) Belgrade’s post-socialist urban evolution: Reflections by the actors in the development process, in Stanilov, K. (ed.) The Post-Socialist City: Urban Form and Space Transformations in Central and Eastern Europe after Socialism. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 361-384.

Zeković, S., Vujošević, M., Maričić, T. (2015) Spatial regularization, planning instruments and urban land market in a post-socialist society: The case of Belgrade. Habitat International, No. 48, pp. 65-78.

Published
2017-06-30
Section
Review Paper