From modernist to market urbanism: The transformation of New Belgrade

Planning Perspectives

Volumn 26, Issue 2, 2011, Pages 209-235

  Waley, Paul ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Market urbanism; Modernism; New Belgrade; Socialist urbanism; Urban change

Indexed keywords

MODERNITY; SUBURBAN AREA; TERRITORY; URBAN HOUSING; URBAN PLANNING; URBAN POPULATION;

BELGRADE; CENTRAL EUROPE; EASTERN EUROPE; SERBIA;

EID: 79952812132     PISSN: 02665433     EISSN: 14664518     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/02665433.2011.550444     Document Type: Article

References (97)

1. S. Hirt, 'Belgrade, Serbia', Cities 26 (2009): 300.
2. Lj. Blagojević, 'Strategies of Modernism in the Planning and Construction of New Belgrade', in Stockholm-Belgrade: Proceedings from the Third Swedish-Serbian Symposium in Stockholm, April 21-25, 2004, ed. S. Gustavsson (Stockholm: Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, 2007), 166.
3. Z. Nedović-Budić and B. Cavrić, 'Waves of Planning: A Framework for Studying the Evolution of Planning Systems and Empirical Insights from Serbia and Montenegro', Planning Perspectives 21 (2006): 410.
4. S. Hirt, 'Landscapes of Post-modernity: Changes in the Built Fabric of Belgrade and Sofia since the End of Socialism. Urban Geography 29 (2008): 801.
5. See, for example, Lj. Blagojević, Novi Beograd: Osporeni modernizam [New Belgrade: Contested Modernism] (Belgrade: Zavod za Udžbenike, 2007).
6. Z. Erić, ed. Differentiated Neighbourhoods of New Belgrade: Project for the Centre of Visual Culture at MOCAB (Belgrade: Publikum, 2009).
7. I. Marić, A. Niković, and B. Manić, 'Transformation of the New Belgrade Urban Tissue: Filling the Space Instead of Interpolation', Spatium 22 (2010): 47-56.
8. Lefebvre's 'voice' can be heard in the entry that he submitted to a competition for the partial redesign of New Belgrade: S. Renaudie, P. Guilbaud, and H. Lefebvre, 'International Competition for the New Belgrade Urban Structure Improvement, Competition report (1986).
9. Perović's views were expressed in: M. Perović, ed. Iskustva prošlosti: Lessons of the Past (Belgrade: Zavod za planiranje razvoja grada Beograda [Institute for Development Planning of the City of Belgrade], 1985), a volume that was republished in 2008 (Belgrade: Gradjevinska Knjiga).
10. A. Dimitrijević, 'The Brave New Neighbourhoods of New Belgrade', in Differentiated Neighbourhoods, ed. Z. Erić (Belgrade: Publikum, 2009), 117.
11. Marić et al., 'Transformation of the New Belgrade Urban Tissue', 5. Amongst those who have made New Belgrade a setting for some of their work is Belgrade-born writer and critic Mihajlo Pantić.
12. D. Smith, 'The Socialist City', 70-99.
13. I. Szelenyi, 'Cities under Socialism-and After'. Both in Cities After Socialism: Urban and Regional Change and Conflict in Post-Socialist Societies, ed. G. Andrusz, M. Harloe, and I. Szelenyi (Oxford: Blackwell, 1996), 286-317.
14. K. Stanilov, 'Taking Stock of Post-socialist Urban Development: A Recapitulation', in The Post-Socialist City: Urban Form and Space Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe after Socialism, ed. K. Stanilov (Dordrecht: Springer, 2007), 5.
15. C. Bernhardt, 'Planning Urbanization and Urban Growth in the Socialist Period: The Case of East German New Towns, 1945-1989', Journal of Urban History 32 (2005): 104-19.
16. Szelenyi, 'Cities Under Socialism'.
17. K. Stanilov, 'The Restructuring of Non-residential Uses in the Post-socialist Metropolis', in The Post-Socialist City, ed. K. Stanilov, 93.
18. B. Engel, 'Public Spaces in the Blue Cities in Russia', Progress in Planning 26 (2006): 155.
19. Stanilov, 'Housing Trends in Central and Eastern European Cities during and after the Period of Transition', in The Post-Socialist City, ed. Stanilov, 181.
20. M. Czepczynski, Cultural Landscapes of Post-Socialist Cities: Representation of Powers and Needs (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008): 81.
21. T. Taşan-Kok, Budapest, Istanbul, and Warsaw: Institutional and Spatial Change (Delft: Eburon, 2004): 52, 62.
22. M. Petrović, 'Cities after Socialism as a Research Issue', Discussion Paper 34 South East Europe Series. Centre for the Study of Global Governance, LSE (2005), 9.
23. S. Hirt, 'Planning the Post-communist City: Experiences from Sofia', International Planning Studies 10 (2005): 219-40.
24. M. Vujošević and Z. Nedović-Budić, 'Planning and Societal Context: The Case of Belgrade, Serbia', in The Urban Mosaic of Post-Socialist Europe: Space, Institutions and Policy, ed. S. Tsenkova and Z. Nedović-Budić (Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag, 2006), 290.
25. F.E.I. Hamilton and F.W. Carter, 'Foreign Direct Investment and City Restructuring, in Transformation of Cities in Central and Eastern Europe: Towards Globalization, ed. F.E.I. Hamilton, K. Dimitrovska Andrews, and N. Pichler-Milanović (Tokyo: United Nations University, 2005), 116-52.
26. For an extended discussion of these issues, see E. Kiss, 'The Evolution of Industrial Areas in Budapest after 1989, 147-70.
27. S. Hirt and K. Stanilov, 'The Perils of Post-socialist Transformation: Residential Development in Sofia', in The Post-Socialist City: Urban Form and Space Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe after Socialism, ed. K. Stanilov (Dordrecht: Springer, 2007), 215-44.
28. K. Stanilov, 'Democracy, Markets, and Public Space in the Transitional Societies of Central and Eastern Europe', in The Post-Socialist City: Urban Form and Space Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe after Socialism, ed. K. Stanilov (Dordrecht: Springer, 2007), 273.
29. On the delayed and disrupted nature of post-socialist transition in Serbia, see M. Petrović, 'Postsocialist Housing Policy Transformation in Yugoslavia and Belgrade', European Journal of Housing Policy 1 (2001): 211-31.
30. Z. Nedović-Budić and M. Vujošević, 'Interplay Between Political, Governance, Socio-economic and Planning Systems: Case Study of Former Yugoslavia and Present Serbia and Montenegro (paper presented at the conference on 'Winds of Societal Change: Remaking Post-Communist Cities' University of Illinois, June 18-19, 2004).
31. Vujošević and Nedović-Budić, 'Planning and societal context'.
32. S. Vujović and M. Petrović, 'Belgrade's Post-socialist Urban Evolution: Reflections by the Actors in the Development Process', in The Post-Socialist City: Urban Form and Space Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe after Socialism, ed. K. Stanilov (Dordrecht: Springer, 2007), 361-83.
33. V. Kulić, Politika arhitekture. Arhitektov Bilten (Ljubljana, Slovenia) XXXV, no. 167/168 (November 2005): 82-7, 108-12, 109.
34. For a full discussion, see Blagojević, New Belgrade: Contested Modernism, 62, 67; also, Blagojević, Strategies of Modernism.
35. A contemporary account of the planning and early years of the construction of New Belgrade exists in the form of a publication, issued in Serbo-Croat, English and French entitled Novi Beograd 1961. The book was edited by Milivoje Kovǎević, Aleksandar Djordjević and other architects working on New Belgrade, and was published by Beogradski Grafićki Zovod. No date for publication is given.
36. M. Perović, ed. Lessons of the Past, 85, 124.
37. Also, Blagojević, New Belgrade: Contested Modernism, 150-1.
38. V. Kulić, 'Land of the In-Between: Modern Architecture and the State in Socialist Yugoslavia, 1945-65' (PhD diss., University of Texas at Austen, 2009), 270.
39. Kulićrelates how, 'The city lost a good portion of its originally dominant pan-Yugoslav connotations; and despite the fact they were never entirely erased, the construction of New Belgrade from the mid-1950s on became an increasingly local affair' (272).
40. Quoted from Perović (ed.), Lessons of the Past, 120.
41. See Kulić, Land of the In-Between, 273, for an extended discussion. Details of this building, as of many others in New Belgrade, can be found in M. Mitrović, Modern Belgrade Architecture (Belgrade: Izdavǎki Zavod Jugoslavija, 1975).
42. Mitrović, Modern Belgrade Architecture, 129.
43. Novi Beograd 1961, 17, 42.
44. Novi Beograd 1961, 17, 57.
45. A classic case in point is Novi Beograd 1961, complete with supporting photographs.
46. Ž. Gligorijević, 'Can City Development and Identity grow in Harmony? The Quest for a Successful Public Space Design for New Belgrade', 42nd ISoCaRP Congress (2006), 2.
47. Blagojević, New Belgrade: Contested Modernism, 151.
48. For figures on changing land use in old and New Belgrade, see Hirt, 'Landscapes of Post-modernity', 795.
49. Blagojević, New Belgrade: Contested Modernism, 130.
50. Novi Beograd 1961, 14.
51. Blagojević provides an incisive introduction to New Belgrade and its failure to fulfil original intentions in her online article, New Belgrade: The Capital of No-City's-Land. ART-e-FACT: STRATEGIES OF RESISTANCE Issue 04 (2004) (http://artefact.mi2.hr/_a04/lang_en/index_en.htm).
52. Petrović, 'Post-Socialist Housing Policy', 218.
53. The study was later published as a book, Perović, Lessons of the Past.
54. see A. Dimitrijević, 'The Brave New Neighbourhoods of New Belgrade', in Differentiated Neighbourhoods, ed. Z. Erić (Belgrade: Publikum, 2009), 117. The passage cited here appears on page 136.
55. S. Renaudie, P. Guilbaud, and H. Lefebvre, International Competition.
56. T. Marǐić and J. Petrić, 'History and Perspectives of New Belgrade Neighbourhoods', in Differentiated Neighbourhoods, 47.
57. Kulić, personal communication, March 2010. For a discussion of these buildings and others in New Belgrade, see D. Milašinović Marić, Vodićkroz modernu arhitekturu Beograda: Guide to Modern Architecture in Belgrade (Belgrade: Društvo Arhitekta Beograda, 2002).
58. Vujošević and Nedović-Budić, 'Planning and Societal Context', 280.
59. Z. Nedović-Budić, D. Djordjević, and T. Dabović, Serbian planning legislation in the context of socialism and post-socialism. International Academic Forum on Planning, Law and Property Rights, Warsaw, 14-15 February 2008.
60. Petrović, 'Post-Socialist Housing Policy'.
61. M. Djordjević, 'Reducing Housing Poverty in Serbian Urban Centers: Analysis and Policy Recommendations', in Too Poor To Move, Too Poor To Stay: A Report on Housing in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Serbia, ed. J. Fearn (Budapest: Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative, Open Society Institute), 100, 101.
62. For an analysis of illegal housing, see Z. Žegarac, 'Illegal Construction in Belgrade and the Prospects for Urban Development Planning', Cities 16 (1999): 365-70.
63. Vujošević and Nedović-Budić, 'Planning and Societal Context', 288.
64. Vujović and Petrović, 'Belgrade's Post-Socialist Urban Evolution', 365, 367.
65. Dejan Krajinović, interview July 11, 2008.
66. Vujošević and Nedović-Budić, 'Planning and Societal Context', 280.
67. For a discussion of this act and a comparison to earlier planning legislation, see Nedović-Budić, Djordjević and Dabović, 'Serbian Planning Legislation', 12.
68. I. Mihajlović, 'Uncertainty over Serbia's New Land Ownership Law', Balkan Insight (29 September 2009). http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/analysis/22520/.
69. For a series of articles on the revised property and construction law, see N. Korlat, Brže i jednostavnije do gradts evinske dozvole [Faster and simpler to construction permits] Blic 7 July 2009 and links http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Drustvo/100592/Brze-i-jednostavnije-do-gradevinske-dozvole
70. For details on the land use system in Belgrade, I am grateful to Slobodanska Prekajski, Belgrade Land Development agency (interview February 8, 2008).
71. Vujović and Petrović, 'Belgrade's Post-Socialist Urban Evolution', 379.
72. For an official 'confession of some of these bureaucratic obstacles, see an article entitled, Law on planning, construction important for dealing with financial crisis, on the website of the Republic of Serbia, http://www.srbija.gov.rs/vesti/vest.php?id=53110
73. Krajinović, interview February 5, 2008.
74. On Airport City, see the development's website, www.airportcitybelgrade.com.
75. N. Korlat, Novim projektima protiv finansijske krize [Against the Financial Crisis with New Projects], http://www.blic.rs/ufokusu.php?kat=6&id=84401 (accessed March 20, 2009).
76. I. Mihajlović, Wary Turkish Investors Eye Serbian Opportunities, Balkan Insight 20 July 2009 (http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/analysis/21167/).
77. For a taxonomy of different types of blocks, see R. Gaijić and S.Dimitrijević-Markević, 'Managing Integration and Disintegration Processes in the Modern Urbanism Settlements: New Belgrade, 42nd ISoCaRP Congress (2006), 6.
78. Milašinović Marić, Guide to Modern Architecture, 160.
79. Kulić, personal communication, March 2010. On its more recent transformation, see Beobuild, Grand city gets grand casino, 2 July 2007 (http://www.beobuild.rs/read.php/117.html).
80. The hotel itself is being modernized, and an adjacent tower being constructed. See Beobuild, Kempinski signs a deal in Belgrade, 23 July 2008 (http://www.beobuild.rs/read.php/240.html).
81. This is a point made forcibly in Gligorijević, Can city development and identity grow in harmony?
82. Generalni plan Beograda 2021 [Belgrade Master Plan 2021] (Belgrade: Belgrade City Government, 2003), especially section 7.1. See also Marić et al., 'Transformation of the New Belgrade Urban Tissue', 51.
83. Blagojević, 'New Belgrade: The Capital of No-City's-Land'.
84. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade recently completed an extensive re-discovery of New Belgrade. The project involved artists and planners as well as geographers and sociologists, and was designed as a re-appraisal of the district, building on and responding to the criticisms of Henri Lefebvre and his colleagues (see Renaudie, International Competition for New Belgrade). The results of the project were displayed in exhibitions and on video, and in Differentiated Neighbourhoods, Z. Erić, ed.
85. M. Petrović, 'Diversification of Urban Neighbourhoods: The Case Study in New Belgrade' (paper presented at the), European Network of Housing Research International Conference, Rotterdam, 25-28 June 2007).
86. N. Korlat, Veliki stanovi bez kupaca [Large Apartments without Buyers], Blic 29 October 2009 (http://www.blic.rs/beograd.php?id=117996).
87. For these details, I am grateful to Nikola Mitrović, president of Dunavski Kej mesna zajednica, interview July 8, 2008).
88. Mitrović, Modern Belgrade Architecture, 63.
89. Hirt, Belgrade, 296. See also A. Kährik and T. Tammaru, 'Soviet Prefabricated Panel Housing Estates: Areas of Continued Social Mix or Decline? The case of Tallinn, Housing Studies 25 (2010): 201-19.
90. Mitrović, interview July 8, 2008.
91. S. Vuković, 'Who's Hood? Identity Wars in New Belgrade-The Case of Block 70', in Differentiated Neighbourhoods, ed. Z. Erić (Belgrade: Publikum, 2009), 197-221.
92. See G. Antić, and N. Lazić, 'Belgrade's Expelled Roma Find Chilly Welcome in South', Balkan Insight 17 September 2009 (http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/analysis/22306/).
93. G. Antić, Roma exiles from Belgrade go hungry in south, Balkan Insight 21 January 2010 (http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/analysis/25148/).
94. It is interesting to note that a similar conclusion is presented by Kährik and Tammaru in their paper: Soviet prefabricated panel housing estates.
95. Prekajski, interview February 8, 2008.
96. Hirt, Belgrade, 300.
97. Petrović, 'Diversification of Urban Neighbourhoods'.