The condition of participatory planning in Serbia and how it can be improved

Abstract

Participatory planning theory, as a system of planning which is sensitive to the aspirations of citizens and protects public interest and values, is present in Serbian planning practice for more than a decade. It has legal basis and methodology modeled on global experience, but it is still very much reactionary model - thus it failed to fulfil its primary purpose, which is to include the citizens in the planning process from the very beginning. This article will address the current overview of the planning process in Serbia. It will briefly explain the legislative framework of public participation in spatial development, the steps in plan drafting process in which citizens are included and the political background of this process. It is important to mention the existing models of informing citizens and show why they work so poorly. It will also give a brief overview on the structure and work of the committee for approval of the plans. This summarizing of the current situation will show the problem of indifference of citizens to engage in the planning process as a coherent group with problems, visions and goals about their city. It will also address inadequate models of informing the citizens and almost non-existing models of active participation of citizens in the planning process. Besides the review of the current state, this article will feature a description of participation techniques from a literature review on the subject of participatory planning that can be applied in Serbia. Shifting the scale from national to municipality level, this article will also depict the opportunities and administrative constraints when it comes to drafting a spatial plan on a local scale, on the example of municipality of Požega. This is one of the rare examples of good practice when it comes to the communication of municipality and its inhabitants involved in the planning process.