The mapping and enumeration of informal Roma settlements in Serbia

Abstract

This paper describes five examples of mapping and enumerating poor informal Roma settlements in Serbia, implemented in the last decade by non-governmental organizations and Roma associations as a prelude to different upgrading projects. Their contexts, processes and outcomes are discussed and their common patterns and approaches are summarized. The characteristics and types of Roma settlements are described within the framework of the Roma’s poverty and social exclusion and the lack of adequate responses by national and local authorities to the difficult housing situation in Roma settlements. This paper considers ways of overcoming the gap between the need for reliable mapping and enumeration data and the actual situation, where informal Roma settlements are neither put on official maps in Serbia nor included in formal records, unlike other city areas.