MA-Auftragsprojekt Stadt- und Regionalplanung FG Labor K: Београд 2041 - futures of post-socialist cities FG Labor K: Београд 2041 - futures of post-socialist cities

Београд 2041 - futures of post-socialist cities

Based on K LAB’s research project “Critical Mapping in Municipalise Movements” (CMMM) this studio will be concerned with current debates on public interest in the face of mega-projects and urban transformation processes. In collaboration with local initiatives and activists from Belgrade – specifically the "Kolektiv Ministarstvo Prostora” (Ministry of Space Collective) – we will be designing alternative master plan scenarios for Belgrade’s waterfront. An mandatory excursion –together with the Urban Morphosis Lab (TU-Darmstadt) and Michigan State University (MSU) – is scheduled for May 16-20th 2022. For more info stay tuned and meanwhile please check out Ministarstvo Prostora’s latest video "Beograd 2041: Back to the Future” and the web of CMMM.eu (specifically the BGD section).

BACKGROUND: The current political context in Serbia is not very supportive of democratization attempts in general. Society has been polarized in almost every issue, from electoral campaigns, to education or housing policies - one is either with or against those in power. Polarizing narratives based on binary oppositions leave little or no maneuvering space for deliberation or complex solutions. The lack of democratic development in Serbia is very visible in the approach to shaping and developing city spaces. Urban policies are formulated and implemented in discrepancy with the needs and visions of citizens, but rather in accordance with the interests of shady business deals between members of political and economic elites. In addition, continual centralisation of urban planning has in effect produced detachment of the wider public from involvement in the decision-making processes that directly influence their surroundings. Furthermore, the Serbian Government has, in the name of so-called “capital investments” as generators of economic development, made harmful radical transformations all over the city. 

WATERFRONT: One of the largest projects (in its scale and controversy) is the Belgrade Waterfront project located in Savamala district. This urban renewal megaproject aimed to convert almost 100ha on the Sava River bank into a sparkling new urban center replete with skyscrapers, luxury apartments and hotels. Such high-speed urban transformation responds to a worldwide neoliberal boosterism, where “growth” goes beyond the real needs of people, but even beyond the economic foundations. The resistance to this project emerged in 2014 which later became a movement specifically founded as a reaction to the imposition of the Belgrade Waterfront project, and briefly put, has been acting to safeguard public interests in spatial planning decision-making. While the construction of this project is ongoing, the City of Belgrade is developing its master plan for Belgrade 2041, making this a once-in-a-generation moment for having a genuine discussion on the future of the city. This is precisely the opportunity to mobilize and gather a wide community of citizens, activists and professionals, institution representatives and private sector representatives, and initiate a dialogue of what Belgrade should look like according to their needs.

GOAL: In this course, Belgrade Waterfront will serve as an illustration of the planning paradigm, and will be followed by the depiction of current struggles and initiatives for city spaces. Moreover, the course is designed as an imaginative exercise of future scenarios for the Belgrade waterfront site until 2041, including designing the area, understanding the role and interests of different actors, cost-benefit analysis of such a proposal, and further implications on the city development based on the proposed designs, taking into account the political, economic, environmental and cultural context, citizens' struggles and urgency to build a just city.

Instructors: Iva Čukić, Jovana Timotijevic, Andreas Brück

Partners/Guests: Natasha Aruri, Katleen De Flander, Nebojša Čamprag, Anshika Suri, Zenia Kotval, Angela Million, a.o.