Post-socialist financialization through urban mega-projects: Flexibilization of norms and commons, or just an exceptional a fortiori game?

Abstract

The paper explores urban financialization through urban megaprojects (UMPs), as instruments of urban development, and specific types of urban exceptionalities on the example of the Belgrade Waterfront Project (BWP). The post-socialist institutional framework has provided the conditions for attracting foreign investments, especially those of interest to the leading real estate investment trusts and international capital in the services and urban real estate sectors. Real estate financialization is a general pattern of neoliberalized urban transformations, mostly through UMPs. Neoliberal principles of urban planning are widely accepted, while state structures at the top of the government broadly accept the concept of “exceptions” in urban financialization, i.e. the “exceptionality” of BWP as a “new trademark of our capital city and Europe’. The process of financialization through UMPs in the post-socialist urban development is fast-growing. This is made possible by using new financial instruments and products, and by extracting and monetizing the values of urban commons in the procedure of decision-making, planning and governance (DMPG). The various aspects of UMPs make them exceptional and extremely complex: huge size, sometimes unpredictable outcomes and diverse multi-scale impacts. Their exceptional character causes changes to the urban rules, conditions, planning regime, urban matrix, and introduces “exceptions” in the process of DMPG. These changes encompass the suspension and violation of urban norms; the acceptance of exceptional standards; flexibilization of norms, and finally, their normalization on multi-scales. We explore the exceptionality of the DMPG of BWP under state patronage and international investors. Starting from the premises of Agamben's theory and the game theory, we applied a comprehensive analysis of DMPG onto BWP. The findings point to a strong appropriation and erosion of urban commons, to violations of various rights and norms (including the urban norms), as the consequences of a new assetization game driven by the predicted outcomes of urban financialization and the concept of the “state of exceptions”. Under the influence of the applied framework of the “state of exceptions” new “exceptional spaces” in urban environment are being created, such as closed smart ghettos of the rich, and ghettos of the poor. The paper indicates exceptional socio-spatial phenomena, such as: mainly state-led gentrification; the new urban ghettos; and the endangering of public interests, goods, properties, as well as public finance. It was concluded that it is necessary to rethink the acceptability of UMPs “exceptionality”, the violation and servility of current urban norms, but also the flexibilization and normalization in DMPG towards more inclusive and sustainable perspectives. Additionally, a shift from the existing practices in DMPG of UMPs is suggested, such as: the reconsideration of lex specialis (for BWP); avoidance of exclusive fast-lane and “top-top” approaches to UMPs; exclusion of a fortiori approach in DMPG; limitation of the discretionary powers of the central government; elimination of planning decisionism through by-laws (especially in urban land-use, alienation of public construction land without fees); extra-territorial urban planning of the UMPs; poor participation, etc. Some recommendations for improving the DMPG for UMPs and for controlling these “exceptions” in the post-socialist context will be given.