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

The application of resilience in spatial and urban planning is typically narrow: it typically 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 factors contributing to a resilient built environment. This book employs the case of Serbia, a transitional society that has undergone significant political, ideological, social, economic, and cultural shifts since World War II, to elucidate the practical manifestations of resilience, as opposed to the rather abstract conceptualisations prevalent in academia.

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, and exemplifying these through their embodiment in the built environment, 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). The conclusion reflects on the crucial factors for enhancing the resilience of planning within transitional societies. Finally, by testing the contemporary concept of resilience through local and temporal scales of Serbian spatial and urban planning over seven decades, the book provides a useful resource to planning researchers, educators, students and practitioners interested in both the topical perspectives and an empirical case.