The possibilities of the application of the concept of healthy city in illegal settlements in Serbia

Abstract

The importance of healthy life has become important issue in cotemporary settlements in last decades. Thereby the meaning of “health” has been transformed from strictly sectorial view to a wider interpretation, being used in the context of local community and city development. This broader prospect has resulted in the creation of healthy city concept as a recognisable theoretical concept, based on the striving for healthy environment and good quality of life. Globally, communities face pressing health challenges related to the built environment, so the awareness about the need to make the link between human health and development has grown, as well as the urge of establishing the concept for a healthy city. While the framework and general goals are being recognised internationally, the local adjustments and characteristics, related to the national and regional context, have not yet been made. Further, special challenge is how to approach to less developed communities and areas in developing countries in transition, such as Serbia. Even bigger challenge is to examine and test the possibilities of the application of the healthy city concept for the illegal settlements in Serbia. In such settlements, which lack basic infrastructure, amenities and services, the need for improving the quality of life is even bigger. This paper aims to contribute to the advance of practice and policy for healthy places and cities, by defining a local sensitive approach for the informal areas in Serbia.