Transformative potential of participatory planning in a post-socialist context of Serbia

Abstract

This article considers a decade of practice and research in the field of participatory planning in the context of a post-socialist country, Serbia. The main aim is to assess the transformative potential of participation within the following domains: 1) formation of relationships, 2) recognition of issues and priorities, 3) perception of values and results of planning process, and 4) possibility for institutionalization of participatory practice in a post-socialist country planning context. The presented work examines urban development practices in 45 Serbian cities through the lenses of 95 professional planners that were interviewed over the course of 13 years. What is common to all of the examined cases is that participatory planning processes were realized through the support of international programs that operated in the field of territorial governance in Serbia from 2007 to 2020. Findings indicate that the acceptance of new concepts and policies in the local path-contingent practice requires pragmatic attitude of planning professionals, small steps and liberty to experiment, but also a possibility to discuss new discourses and understand their results. In the theoretical frame, this article contributes to the critical analysis of pragmatism and the flow of transnational policy discourse.