TY  - CONF
AU  - Čolić, Nataša
AU  - Marina, Nenković-Riznić
AU  - Marijana, Pantić
PY  - 2023
UR  - http://raumplan.iaus.ac.rs/handle/123456789/887
AB  - Sustainability transition in urban settings requires planning and governance practice to
re-evaluate and reimagine the local community’s quality of life, including but not limited to
the domains of social wellbeing and accessibility to the services of general economic
interest and public space, sustainable forms of commuting, climate change adaptation,
green and low carbon development and economy, environmental protection and disaster
risk reduction (Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, 2020). The general public and nonexperts
have an important role in informing planning policy and practice about current
needs, capacities and anticipated risks in urban settings, which calls for re-examining of
the traditional decision-making hierarchies. Serbia recently adopted a cycle of policy
documents supporting participatory action at all levels of decision-making in line with the
opening of Chapter 22 –Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments as part
of the European Union accession trajectory, as well as the sub-goal 11.3 of the United
Nations Agenda 2030 to enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for
participatory, integrated and sustainable planning and governance in human settlements.
This paper outlines the objectives and instruments for the operationalization of public
participation in the recent policy framework and discusses some of the practical
experiences in planning and governance in ten Serbian cities. Methods used were semiopen
questionnaires with representatives of local urban planning departments, qualitative
content analysis of adopted urban plans, publicly available reports on conducted citizen
participation and stakeholder involvement, and local strategic documents, and, participant
observation at joint workshop with city representatives. The results indicate that urban
planning and governance practices require space for learning and experimentation, where
open and inclusive participation, as well as related empowerment, represent a necessary
condition for an urban sustainability transition. The undertaken research with city
representatives was supported by the World Bank Group and SECO project “Technical
assistance: Strengthening capacities of local self-governments in Serbia towards lowcarbon
and resilient urban development investments”.
PB  - Faculty of civil engineering and architecture, University of Niš
PB  - Serbian academy of sciences and arts - Branch in Niš
C3  - Proceedings of the International Conference Synergy of Architecture & Civil Engineering SINARG 2023. Volume 2
T1  - Public participation supporting urban sustainability transition: recent experiences from planning and governance practice in Serbian cities
VL  - 2
SP  - 808
EP  - 818
UR  - https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_raumplan_887
ER  - 

@conference{
author = "Čolić, Nataša and Marina, Nenković-Riznić and Marijana, Pantić",
year = "2023",
abstract = "Sustainability transition in urban settings requires planning and governance practice to
re-evaluate and reimagine the local community’s quality of life, including but not limited to
the domains of social wellbeing and accessibility to the services of general economic
interest and public space, sustainable forms of commuting, climate change adaptation,
green and low carbon development and economy, environmental protection and disaster
risk reduction (Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, 2020). The general public and nonexperts
have an important role in informing planning policy and practice about current
needs, capacities and anticipated risks in urban settings, which calls for re-examining of
the traditional decision-making hierarchies. Serbia recently adopted a cycle of policy
documents supporting participatory action at all levels of decision-making in line with the
opening of Chapter 22 –Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments as part
of the European Union accession trajectory, as well as the sub-goal 11.3 of the United
Nations Agenda 2030 to enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for
participatory, integrated and sustainable planning and governance in human settlements.
This paper outlines the objectives and instruments for the operationalization of public
participation in the recent policy framework and discusses some of the practical
experiences in planning and governance in ten Serbian cities. Methods used were semiopen
questionnaires with representatives of local urban planning departments, qualitative
content analysis of adopted urban plans, publicly available reports on conducted citizen
participation and stakeholder involvement, and local strategic documents, and, participant
observation at joint workshop with city representatives. The results indicate that urban
planning and governance practices require space for learning and experimentation, where
open and inclusive participation, as well as related empowerment, represent a necessary
condition for an urban sustainability transition. The undertaken research with city
representatives was supported by the World Bank Group and SECO project “Technical
assistance: Strengthening capacities of local self-governments in Serbia towards lowcarbon
and resilient urban development investments”.",
publisher = "Faculty of civil engineering and architecture, University of Niš, Serbian academy of sciences and arts - Branch in Niš",
journal = "Proceedings of the International Conference Synergy of Architecture & Civil Engineering SINARG 2023. Volume 2",
title = "Public participation supporting urban sustainability transition: recent experiences from planning and governance practice in Serbian cities",
volume = "2",
pages = "808-818",
url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_raumplan_887"
}

Čolić, N., Marina, N.,& Marijana, P.. (2023). Public participation supporting urban sustainability transition: recent experiences from planning and governance practice in Serbian cities. in Proceedings of the International Conference Synergy of Architecture & Civil Engineering SINARG 2023. Volume 2
Faculty of civil engineering and architecture, University of Niš., 2, 808-818.
https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_raumplan_887

Čolić N, Marina N, Marijana P. Public participation supporting urban sustainability transition: recent experiences from planning and governance practice in Serbian cities. in Proceedings of the International Conference Synergy of Architecture & Civil Engineering SINARG 2023. Volume 2. 2023;2:808-818.
https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_raumplan_887 .

Čolić, Nataša, Marina, Nenković-Riznić, Marijana, Pantić, "Public participation supporting urban sustainability transition: recent experiences from planning and governance practice in Serbian cities" in Proceedings of the International Conference Synergy of Architecture & Civil Engineering SINARG 2023. Volume 2, 2 (2023):808-818,
https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_raumplan_887 .