Micro-Museum Quarter as an Approach in the Culture-Led Urban Regeneration of Small Shrinking Historic Cities: The Case of Sombor, Serbia

Demographic and economic shrinkage has become a common trend in the current urbanisation environment, especially for small cities in developed countries. The desired socio-economic redevelopment of these cities has been significantly affected by the functional, organisational, financial, and professional constraints caused by both shrinkage and city size. Paradoxically, this slow development has enabled better preservation of their historic cores, urban heritage, and traditional culture. Nevertheless, the aforementioned local constraints have a profound impact on sustainable urban regeneration, and successful examples are still quite rare. This research presents an inspiring case—a small museum quarter in Sombor, Serbia. Museum quarters are a relatively new concept in culture-led urban regeneration; all known examples are located in big cities. Hence, this research tries to create an innovative methodological link between two theoretical fundaments: the role of cultural heritage in shrinking small cities and its expression through a museum quarter as one of the concepts of culture-led urban regeneration. An analytical framework for the aforementioned single case study is derived by forming this link. The main findings underline that the museum quarters in shrinking small cities should be developed in a micro-format to rationally address and the limited local resources. Furthermore, in contrast to museum quarters in big cities, they should be physically detached from the main retail street to enhance their separate identity and should be internally balanced in both spatial and functional aspects, meaning that the key museum/cultural institutions are equally dispersed throughout the quarter and clearly interconnected by a pedestrian-friendly open public space

Shrinking Cities as European Capitals of Culture: Has this Status enabled their Reurbanisation?

More than 50 cities across Europe have been designed as the European capitals of culture for one year since the launch of this programme in 1985. Through organisation of different cultural events, this programme gives selected cities accessibility to generate significant cultural and socio-economic advantages, addressing their long-term regeneration and revitalisation and better competitiveness thereof. Several selected cities had gained this status during long-term urban shrinkage, the process where a population loss is caused by local socio-economic difficulties. Therefore, the supreme goal of such cities is certainly the reurbanisation based on better economic performance. The goal of the programme of European capital of culture –culture-led regeneration and revitalisation – perfectly fits with solutions for the economic problems of shrinking cities. The aim of this paper is to analyse has the status of European capital of culture has had an impact on population trends in the selected shrinking cities. Before the analysis, theoretical link between the concept of shrinking cities and urban regeneration and revitalisation is made. The selected cases are the shrinking cities with this status from 1985-2017, to preserve a 5-year threshold, adequate for the most recent demographic trends. The obtained results from the analysis show that the majority of the selected cities have entered reurbanisation after their year of the European capital of culture. Nevertheless, some of them have continued to shrink. The obtained results of the reurbanisation or prolonged shrinkage of the cities are further combined with the other characteristics of the selected cities, to fully understand their context. Comparing this, the paper conclusions target to indicate if and how the status of European capital of culture impacts on the local economy of a selected city though culture-led urban regeneration and revitalisation

Planning Cultural Tourism in Serbia: Golubac Town in the Danube Iron Gates Region

The sector of cultural tourism has accelerated last decades. The main advantage in this type of tourism is that it can revive and regenerate the formerly underdeveloped locations with significant cultural and natural heritage, tradition and localness. However, these locations are often with limited accessibility and services, i.e., they lack proper infrastructure to be embrace cultural tourism in its full potential. Serbia is among less developed European countries in cultural tourism, but it has made a huge progress last decade. The fastest developing destinations of cultural tourism in the country are those one located on European tourist routes, such the Danube River. The most scenic part of the river is the Iron Gates or Đerdap, the longest gorge of the Danube divided between Serbia and Romania. Golubac is Serbian Town situated at the western entrance of the gorge, with the magnificent same-name fortress, recently refurbished. This was an important step forward in tourism sector, which has consequently reversed the previously negative socio-economic trajectory in Golubac due to the town borderland position and underdeveloped transportation infrastructure. Such isolation preserved local tradition and heritage sites, which have become new magnets for local and international tourists on the Danube Route. This recent development has brought many new project proposals. The purpose of this research is to analyse the key planning documents that include Golubac Town and how they consider new strategic projects in territorial manner. Three most representative planning documents are selected and analysed regarding to planned projects in (cultural) tourism infrastructure in the form of a multicase study. Results from this case-study analysis are compared with the position and view of local experts, finalised as final inputs for the future development of the Golubac

The Prospects of Towns in Serbia: Current Challenges and Policy Framework

Serbia belongs to the European countries that had established a well-balanced network of urban settlements during the 19th and 20th century. This was almost an imperative in territorial policy during the socialist period, within the second Yugoslavia (1945-1991), when towns and small cities were specially supported as the main link in urban-rural cooperation network. However, this system has been critically broken since the beginnings of post-socialist transition. This period has brought a neoliberal market economy side by side with fading of the role of state institutions and the overall fragmentation of space in South-Eastern Europe. As a result, the paramount majority of towns in Serbia are shrinking today, as a sharp contrast to the rise of few big cities. The aim of this paper is to research the official urban and territorial policy in Serbia regarding the development prospects of towns. Their challenging current state is not well defined in local context, because urban shrinkage as a critical indicator is a relatively new phenomenon in local urbanisation. In this situation, the examination how relevant Serbian legislative, planning, and strategic policy documents concern the issue of the development of (small) (big) towns vs. cities is very important and it is the backbone of this research. The guidance to examine them is the most relevant EU documents that are framed to comprehend and systemise the current role and future of (small) towns at European perspective. In line with this stance, this research presents the state of art in national urban policy in the matters of town development, as well as the possibilities how it can be modified and improved to better suits the future of Serbian towns

Marketing Research on Passenger Satisfaction With Public Transport Service in the City of Belgrade

The aim of this paper is to determine, based on conducted marketing research, the level of passenger satisfaction with public transport services for the purpose of making better marketing decisions in the example of the City of Belgrade. The main task is to test the hypothesis on the existence of significant influence of factors, such as quality service, attitude and behaviour of employees (e.g. driver), adequate informing, quality of vehicles, line routes and timetable, on passenger satisfaction. Correlation coefficient and regression analysis were used for interpreting the obtained results and examining the formulated hypothesis. Empirical research has shown that there is a significant correlation between the aforementioned factors and passenger satisfaction with public transport services. The obtained results provided recommendations and guidelines for improving and increasing the quality of public transport services. The research results also provide the basis for future research that could examine the relationship between passenger satisfaction with services and sub-groups within the analyzed factors.</p

Measuring the quality of streets as open public spaces in the city center in Belgrade, Serbia

The quality of the environment is of vital importance for urban areas, and streets and squares, as the specific form of open public space, represent an essential part of the city. In urban areas, total road traffic kilometres will grow by 40 % between 1995 and 2030. This particular research focuses on the secondary streets that represent an integral part of a city center not only in a functional way but also in a formal, structural and cultural sense. The research aims to analyze the overall quality of urban streets in the center of Belgrade. The paper represents the segment of the research done alongside approximately 500 students from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture, as a part of the teaching course entitled: Urban Design of Open Public Space as the research polygon of more than 100 streets from the central urban borough in Belgrade were chosen. The principal methodology is based on the Criteria & Indicators network analysis, with five selected quality criteria: safety, comfort, accessibility, readability, and liveability. Results of the research represent the quality assessment of streets, identifying specific problems and potentials in the context of open public space in the city center. Therefore, one of the expected contributions of the paper are the guidelines and knowledge base for upgrading the pedestrian network and urban design of open public space - the streets in Belgrade's inner historical city center, thus improving the overall quality of life.U dokumentu je uočena greška prilikom navođenja prezimena autora Aleksandre Djukić. Ispravan oblik imena naveden je u sadržaju publikacije

HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND LOSS OF GRASSLAND IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Two databases related to grassland in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) have been used in this research—the Copernicus Grassland (GRA) and CORINE Land Cover (CLC). The data have been processed by using GIS tools, and the spatial distribution of grass vegetation in relation to three biogeographical and four elevation zones has been determined. By using the Copernicus Water and Wetness (WaW) database, an insight into the coverage of grass vegetation in wetlands has been obtained. In addition, the analysis of changes in databases determined the total amount and location of the largest grassland losses. Based on GRA database, B&H is one of the richest countries, with 22.4% of its territory covered by grassland. According to the CLC database, pastures occupy 6.3% and natural grasslands 5.6% of the territory of B&H. However, grassland is exposed to various anthropogenic and natural processes that affect its distribution, quality, functions, etc. The CLC database has been processed by extracting the grasslands (pastures and natural grasslands) and calculating their spatial coverage and changes which happened during the three six-year periods from 2000 to 2018. The trend of decreasing pasture areas and increasing natural grasslands has been noticed. The pastures are most endangered by the processes of conversion to other types of agricultural land, while natural grassland increased spatial coverage during the period 2012–2018 mostly due to the revitalization and grazing of burned areas in the region of Herzegovina. Grasslands have been particularly targeted for afforestation and cropland conversion at present

VALORIZACIJA NAJVAŽNIJIH UTJECAJA OKOLINE NA PROMJENE TROŠKOVNE STRUKTURE PODUZEĆA

Companies are operating as integral parts of their environment, and thus, they depend on it, as well as on the changes that occur in the environment. They are usually unable to control environmental impacts, so they need to develop a system which can partially reduce these impacts; they need to adjust and synchronize with changes. Due to the development of this mechanism, companies could adapt their business activities to the most of the impacts from the environment, providing thereby the highest profit at the end of the fiscal year. The purpose of this paper is to point out the principles of designing a model that could enable the enterprise to assess the most important impacts from the environment, quantifying their influence on its cost structure. Decisions about necessary changes in system operations should be based on the results of calculations in order to achieve the results as defined in the dynamic plan, or control them within satisfying limits.Poduzeće posluje kao sastavni dio okoline i nalazi se u zavisnom položaju, kako u odnosu prema sâmoj okolini, tako i u odnosu na promjene unutar nje. Poduzeće najčešće nije u mogućnosti djelovati na utjecaje iz okoline pa mora razviti sustav kojim će ih djelomično neutralizirati, prilagođavati im se i usklađivati se s promjenama i novonastalim uvjetima. Razvijanjem jednog ovakvog mehanizma poduzeće treba prilagoditi svoje poslovanje najvećem broju utjecaja iz okoline i tako na kraju poslovne godine osigurati najveću moguću dobit. Ovim radom želi se ukazati na načela projektiranja modela koji bi valorizirao najvažnije utjecaje okoline i kvalificirao njihov utjecaj na troškovnu strukturu poduzeća. Na osnovi rezultata proračuna donosile bi se odluke o potrebnim izmjenama u sustavu poslovanja kako bi se rezultati postigli u okvirima koji su definirani dinamičnim planom ili, ako to nije ostvarivo, održali u području zadovoljavajućih granica

A Micro-Museum Quarter in Sombor, Serbia, as a Sustainable Model for Managing Cultural Heritage in Small Shrinking Cities in Europe

A museum quarter is praised as a suitable model for the regeneration of global cities. However, it has rarely been implemented in smaller, shrinking cities with a rich heritage, which has become a ‘new normality’ across Europe. These cities usually face institutional, organisational, and economic limitations in their development. Forming a museum quarter at a micro-scale in such city can be a rational model to address these constraints. This paper presents an emerging micro-museum quarter in the historic city of Sombor in Serbia, where the bottom-up level initiated it to deal with the fast shrinkage of the city. /// Le quartier-musée est présenté comme un modèle efficace pour la régénération des grandes métropoles. Néanmoins, il n’a jamais été appliqué aux plus petites villes ou aux villes en décroissance dont les sites patrimoniaux sont pourtant d’une grande richesse. Ces villes deviennent une « nouvelle normalité » dans le paysage européen et font face à des restrictions institutionnelles, organisationnelles et économiques. Construire des quartiers-musées à une micro-échelle dans de telles villes pourrait être une solution pour surmonter ces restrictions. Cet article présente un micro quartier-musée émergeant dans la ville historique de Sombor en Serbie où l’initiative a pris racine au niveau local afin de lutter contre la rapide décroissance de la ville.Дати симпозијум је званично одржан под покровитељством Европске Уније и Француског министарства културе током 6-месечног председавања Француск

Workcamp in Higher Education in Urbanism: experience from Danurb+ Building Camp for Students in Golubac, Serbia

Urban design belongs to the professional fi elds where public welfare is of great concern. This means that common practice in urban design involves the various forms of the active participation of different actors and stakeholders, positioning it as a signifi cant segment in the professional ethos of urban designers. Hence, public participation is also one of the integral parts of higher education in contemporary urban design. Urban design curriculum usually has a few courses dedicated for participation as the core topic, while other courses indirectly touch it. Their practical side is often in the form of public audits, surveys, questionnaires, interviews, which students conduct as an on-site or online training with citizens, experts and/or stakeholders. The form of a workcamp, where students-volunteers work and live together with local community on a short-term basis and for a not-for-profi t cause, is rarer simply because it is more demanding to be included into formal higher education. However, such workcamps have many advantages related to learning about the participation process, such as democratic awareness, mutual understanding, increased independence, and self-reliance. This paper presents one building camp for students, organised within DANUrB+ INTERREG Project in Golubac, Serbia, in June 2022. The aim of the camp was to realise, materialise a small scale ‘design and build’ urban project which connects with the revealed underused local heritage or cultural potential, as a tangible implementation of an intangible potential. The paper intends to show how this process involved both students and the local community to jointly develop, design and build a smallscale public square in the Danube Riverfront of Golubac Town