Study Architecture 
ProPEL 
Author(s): Jeanette Burman & Sasha Tsenkova
Following a rapid transition to markets, democracy and private enterprise, Serbia’s capital Belgrade is emerging as a ‘global city’, but this ambition is coming at a cost to the environment and a loss of sense of place for its people. Diverse identities and changing values over time are being challenged as the city transitions out of a complex socialist past into a pervasively global economy, which by definition challenges locally embedded hybridity of place and puts strain on sustainable growth. Open spaces are required for city residents to live, work, and move efficiently, making the use, access, and ecological integrity of open spaces a city-wide priority. The dependence and attachment of city residents to these spaces provides an ideal baseline for analysis of different open space typologies integral to the urban fabric defining a wide range of urban resiliency strategies. This people-centered approach, coupled with an understanding of the contemporary and historical significance of open spaces, raises the question of how to improve and connect such forms to the urban fabric while respecting place identity in response to post-socialist spatial change. Our case studies inspect the socialist landscapes of public open spaces in New Belgrade as they have transformed in a contemporary context. Other case studies demonstrate the systematic loss of open space taken over by private informal housing on one hand, but also as people-driven initiatives reclaiming the urban landscape on the other. Using fresh empirical evidence and case study analysis at the neighborhood scale, this research employs an open space typology of resiliency in place for a connected urban mosaic of post-socialist Belgrade. The analytical framework draws on existing urban research in the context of post-socialist transition and advances a design matrix to analyze open space forms for connectivity in relation to place and sustainability.
https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.Intl.2016.15
Volume Editors
Alfredo Andia, Dana Cupkova, Macarena Cortes, Umberto Bonomo & Vera Parlac
ISBN
978-1-944214-10-4
