How is greenery treated in the plans that were previewed during the summer?

We're all finally breathing a sigh of relief because the worst of the summer heat is behind us—and we know, it's not the prettiest #tbt. However, in this small window while the leaves are still on the branches, the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, and when we can actually enjoy the outdoors without breaking the bank, it is important to look back at the summer behind us and reflect on the summers yet to come. coming up Research shows that in the coming decades, summer temperatures will go up to 45 degrees, and in urban areas up to 50 degrees.

We have already written about the practice of publishing plans for early public and public inspection during the summer months, and how green areas were treated within those planning solutions. Let's remember that these green areas are a key factor in the city's adaptation to climate change. Well-planned greenery can contribute to improving microclimatic conditions and increasing resistance to extreme weather conditions. In order to realize this, it is necessary to take a strategic approach to urban planning that does not only look at the short-term (mainly monetary) interests of (individuals), but considers the long-term development of the city. 

Given that Belgrade has not adopted a General Urban Plan, and that the Plan for the General Regulation of the System of Green Areas, although a key document that regulates the development of green infrastructure, is treated as an orientational one, we have no choice but to interpret the vision of the city we live in through the lines. and what she brings us in the future. 

Below is an overview of 19 urban and 4 spatial plans that were open to the public during the summer. Although spatial plans for parts of Surčin and Grocka municipalities foresee an increase in forests, which is really good news, other plans do not inspire optimism. The data that is quite worrying is that about 58ha of green areas were not evaluated as such, that is, they were not recognized as green areas within the scope of the plan, but as undeveloped land. This kind of treatment of wild greenery can be very disastrous since it invokes the lack of formal protection, categorization or maintenance, and thus tries to justify the concretization of every square centimeter of naturally regulated surfaces. On the other hand, public green areas, which enjoy a slightly higher degree of protection, and whose improvement should be one of the priorities of the city's development, make up only 1.84% of the total area of ​​all processed urban plans. 

With these practices, it seems to us that Belgrade's only achievable goal is to become the scenery for the next Blade Runner, what about you?