Building the Green Infrastructure of Belgrade: The Importance of Community Greening

Abstract

Due to its important role in increasing human well-being and providing space for ecosystem services, green infrastructure has gradually become an integral part of urban development strategies. Focusing on the activities of community greening, the article considers this approach toward the application of urban green infrastructure as a part of a broader strategy related to the resilience of cities. The neighborhood/district level will be emphasized and the analysis will be conducted in two areas of the Serbian capital Belgrade-Block 45 in New Belgrade and the Savamala neighborhood in the historical city core. Representing two different epochs of Belgrade's development, they are characterized by different typologies, while the characteristics of community greening also differ in several aspects, including purpose, model of organization, and involved stakeholders/participants. The green space of the identified typical morphological units has been cultivated and maintained in two different ways-institutional (provided by the public company) and non-institutional (community greening)-and their impact on the quality of the local GI will be compared. The analysis intends to provide data on the level of biodiversity, multi-functionality, and maintenance of green spaces which will show the effect of both applied approaches. Particular attention will be given to the tensions and challenges of the local context: the adoption of plans and regulations that are in accordance with contemporary trends, as well as the drawbacks in their implementation. Furthermore, the possibilities of community greening will be elaborated, as future steps for achieving the formal green infrastructure (hereinafter GI) standards at the neighborhood/district scale.