Strategic planning of sustainable urban development in Serbia

Abstract

The Europeanization of statutory and strategic spatial planning and planning methodology has brought about dynamic changes in planning systems of Europeancountries, as well as in Serbia. Recent trends in spatial governance, statutory and strategic spatial/urban planning in EU countries and in Serbia have been briefly analysed. For some time one of the most widely used strategic planning tool has been integrated urban development policy. The new generation of urban policy reaches beyond the traditional boundaries of the city and fosters stronger horizontal and vertical linkages, as well as creative partnerships outside of the public sector in order to tackle complex urban problems in a coordinated way. First attempts of a new strategic spatial/urban planning are recently taking place in Serbia through Urban Development Strategies at local and national level, namely the National Sustainable Urban Development Strategy/NSUDS. Based on the trends in spatial governance and strategic spatial/urban planning in Europe, this paper investigates its influence on the NSUDS’s preparation. The influence has been checked through the methodology steps and principles – integrated and place-based approach, collaborative and participative approach, as well as the integrated territorial investments applied in the NSUDS. This informal strategic planning tool in combination with statutory spatial/urban planning system should improve the spatial and urban development governance in Serbia.