Public Interest as a Basis for Planning Standards in Urban Development: State-Socialist and Post-socialist Cases in Serbia

Abstract

How public interest is constituted in planning practice varies according to the local context. Using state-socialist and post-socialist cases in Belgrade, Serbia, we explore the shift in the realization of public interest as a basis for planning standards regarding provision of public land use and services. The research looks at trends for planning standards on two case studies, and reveals the underlying norms of this local interpretation of public interest via interviews with planning professionals and residents. The results suggest the persistence of the top-down unitary approach to public interest in planning, but also a deterioration in prescribed standards.