- (Re)Creating Urban Identity: The Belgrade Metropolitan Region at the Crossroads of European Integration Flows   click here to open paper content485 kb
by    Stupar, Aleksandra | STUPAR@AFRODITA.RCUB.BG.AC.YU   click here to send an email to the auther(s) of this paper
Short Outline
The Belgrade metropolitan region, although isolated and placed at the margins of the newly established global networks, has recognized the importance of the process of regionalisation and decentralisation. Considered as a necessity and a political statement, this process became one of the main objectives of the Serbian government which opened some new questions about regional identity, urban potential and possible networking.
Abstract
During the last decade of the 20th century, our country, Serbia and Montenegro, and its capital, the city of Belgrade and its metropolitan region, faced numerous political and economic problems, and drastic changes. The isolated position at the European scene was just one of many drawbacks for its development and now it is necessary to resolve the confusion between the pre-existing urban environment, the previous governing system and the transition process that occurred at the local, regional and global levels. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to present specific changes in this region and a new developing concept based upon local perception of the emerging global strategies.
After the political changes a new phase in economical and political transformation has started. Considered as a necessity, as well as a political statement, the process of regionalisation and decentralisation has become one of the main objectives of Serbian government which has opened some new questions about regional identity, urban potential, possible connectivity and networking. The Belgrade metropolitan region, recognized as one of the major nodes in the future national and trans-regional integration, has faced the challenges of modernization and (un)controlled urban growth. Although placed at the crossroads of important European corridors (corridor VII and X/X1) this metropolitan area still has to discover the importance of contemporary flows and the logic of multileveled networking. Therefore, the modernization of planning regulations and new market conditions have to be a starting point followed by re-organization and revitalization of city center and devastated zones. Simultaneously, the development of existing transport and communication networks i.e. improvement of urban and regional connectivity, should demonstrate the radical turn in a completely new direction, and, finally, recreation of the lost urban identity should provide necessary impetus for attractiveness of this region.
Keywords
REGIONALISATION, DEVELOPMENT, URBAN IDENTITY, COMPETITIVENESS
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