The Prospects of Towns in Serbia: Current Challenges and Policy Framework

Abstract

Serbia belongs to the European countries that had established a well-balanced network of urban settlements during the 19th and 20th century. This was almost an imperative in territorial policy during the socialist period, within the second Yugoslavia (1945-1991), when towns and small cities were specially supported as the main link in urban-rural cooperation network. However, this system has been critically broken since the beginnings of post-socialist transition. This period has brought a neoliberal market economy side by side with fading of the role of state institutions and the overall fragmentation of space in South-Eastern Europe. As a result, the paramount majority of towns in Serbia are shrinking today, as a sharp contrast to the rise of few big cities. The aim of this paper is to research the official urban and territorial policy in Serbia regarding the development prospects of towns. Their challenging current state is not well defined in local context, because urban shrinkage as a critical indicator is a relatively new phenomenon in local urbanisation. In this situation, the examination how relevant Serbian legislative, planning, and strategic policy documents concern the issue of the development of (small) (big) towns vs. cities is very important and it is the backbone of this research. The guidance to examine them is the most relevant EU documents that are framed to comprehend and systemise the current role and future of (small) towns at European perspective. In line with this stance, this research presents the state of art in national urban policy in the matters of town development, as well as the possibilities how it can be modified and improved to better suits the future of Serbian towns.