The team of neighbors from block 19a in New Belgrade is practicing self-organization more and more every year! 

When the sale of the meadow that serves as a buffer zone between the highway and the buildings on the block was advertised in 2023, they managed to collect over 1500 signatures in record time (despite the winter holidays). The ad was withdrawn, the meadow remained public. Since then, they have been continuously arranging it: planting, maintaining seedlings, installing furniture and designing new contents. There are two green areas in the block - this meadow and a large park with furniture and a children's playground, and the threat of privatization still hovers over both (as well as over all public areas in this city).

At the end of 2025, the neighbors decided to design new contents for green areas and restore the existing furniture in the park, and they invited us to join them and help in the realization. In the fall, we started a joint process with the students of the Faculty of Architecture, Economics and Forestry through a series of workshops, which worked out the ideas and needs of the neighbors of block 19a. The goal was to affirm these spaces as common and protect them from future privatization attempts. Through workshops, students researched the location, surveyed tenants, developed ideas, and neighbors supplemented and guided them. This is how a solution was created that truly belongs to the people who live in it.

We discussed together what is the most optimal thing to do at this stage, taking into account all capacities. We focused on what is most concrete and immediately useful: repairing and refreshing the furniture in the park. It may not sound like much, but it is very visible and tangible. The most important and beautiful part of this process is that a large part of the neighborhood got involved - painted, sanded, played, brought food and drinks. We again felt the spirit and atmosphere of the community that we missed so much! Well done to all the neighbors, both big and SMALL, who were the most diligent and full of initiative to repair, cut and paint.

This sunny weekend left behind a lot of positive energy, renewed furniture, repaired benches, planted new plants and gardens and a lot of laughter and fun!