Recent changes of spatial and functional organization of urban regions and cities in Serbia

Abstract

This paper summarizes the results of recent explorations of spatial and functional organization of Serbia based on identification of its urban regions (UR). Network of settlements was treated as a complex, open and dynamical system of urban regions, functional urban areas (FUR) and daily urban systems (DUS). These complex systems have been developed under the conditions of continuous redistribution of population and more/less synchronized processes of deagrarization, deindustrialization and urbanization with general socioeconomic flows. Determination of urban regions is theoretically and methodically based on principles of regionalization and recent doctrines of regional development, contemporary spatial planning and social and economics disciplines of social geography. Results to a great extent identify and scientifically explain problems of the development of spatial and functional organization of urban regions in Serbia.