Relationship of urban planning and decision making and the impact on the quality of proposals

Abstract

Raising the quality of life in the city as well as the protection of the public interest and sustainable urban living goals, in the broadest possible sense supposed to be in the focus of all participants in the planning and designing process. In contemporary urban planning practice in Serbia, it became rare when the sphere of politics completely believes and overhangs to the professionals and experts to provide adequately solutions, without interfering and imposing of own interest. Also, there are common examples of the absence of the public support to the planned changes in the urban area. Even when economic interest is not in the foreground, but plan primarily concerns the shaping of public space and supplement with adequate facilities, there may be differences in the perception of the site characteristics and its potentials. Despite the formal respect of statutory procedures, if the goal is implementation of in advance determined decisions, the role of the planning is denyed and negated, and participation is tantamount to formalism. The Authors give an insight to the personal experience, the parallel work on several urban plans, similar to the characteristics of the site and dominant engagement of the public interest, noting the large differences in the freedom of the professional team to provide their complete vision of space. This leads to the conclusion that it is far better if the sphere of politics recognizes only the basic programme and key needs in the space and have no other ideas, especially those of the revolutionary and megaloman manner, that sometimes have only purpose to symbolize ''their'' era.