Transformation of Spatial and Urban Planning in Serbia (1945-2015)

The application of resilience in spatial and urban planning is typically narrow: it usually focuses on urban ecosystems and infrastructures as objects for implementing resource-efficient settlement strategies. In contrast, the structural aspects of regulatory frameworks that influence planning practices are seldom discussed as enablers of a resilient built environment. This book employs the case of Serbia, which has undergone significant political, ideological, social, economic, and cultural shifts since World War II, to elucidate the practical manifestations of planning resilience in a transitional society.
To emphasise the shift from ‘planning for resilience’ to the ‘resilience of planning’, this book examines the notion of planning communication as a fundamental component of an evolutionary resilience approach. This focus redirects attention to the process of policy formulation, which subsequently influences the nature of spatial and urban planning policies, processes, practices, and artefacts. Notably, by conceptualising and testing a research framework based on systemic, networking, and professional factors, the book comprehensively assesses the quality of planning communication in the Serbian spatial and urban planning system through a multi-layered approach across four transformative phases of evolutionary resilience: growth (1945–1974), conservation (1974–1989), destruction (1989–2000), and reorganisation (2000–2015). Finally, by testing the contemporary concept of resilience through local and temporal scales of Serbian spatial and urban planning over seven decades, the book reflects on the crucial factors for enhancing the resilience of planning, thus providing a useful resource to planning researchers, educators, students, and practitioners interested in both the topical perspectives and an empirical case.

Dr Ana Peri- Mom-ilovi- holds a PhD in Urban Planning from the University of Belgrade and serves as an Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin. Situating her research within international planning studies, she examines various topics across scales of institutional landscapes and planning cultures with a particular emphasis on collaborative planning instruments, methods and theory. Funded by the Swiss National Scientific Foundation, the Future Cities Lab (Singapore ETH Zurich Centre), the Swiss Government, the -RL (German Academy for Spatial Development) and the Fulbright Foundation, she has contributed to twelve research projects spanning various topics and scales: from spatial development in European macro-regions to green and dense neighbourhoods. Committed to bridging research and practice, she actively participates in policy and professional networks, including the Western Balkan Network on Territorial Governance, the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP), and the UN-Habitat/ISOCARP Community of Practice on Urban Innovation.