How many heat waves can we survive? It depends on the greenery we will have.

The two heat waves that we have experienced this summer, we can safely say, are the most intense in the last few years. However, forecasts say that this summer will be one of the coldest compared to what awaits us in the future. Research shows that in the coming decades, summer temperatures will go up to 45 degrees, and in urban areas up to 50 degrees. Here we can already see the scene from the movie Don't look up, when Jennifer Lawrence in the morning program, out of helplessness and despair, starts yelling that we are all going to die. However, since we are not currently threatened by an asteroid that will hit the entire planet Earth (as far as we know), there is a factor that can help quite a bit for the unbearable heat, and that is the green factor. It enables us to have more pleasant summer temperatures, cleaner air and protection from heavy rainfall, which occurs more and more often right after a heat wave. So, where did the greening of the city go, you ask. It stuck because the investors had their eyes on the green areas and are already calculating the maximum number of square meters that could be accommodated there, and the city administration allows all that.

According to the GUP (General Urban Plan) from 2003, the city of Belgrade had 19% of public green areas, and according to the latest concept of the GUP (2021-2041), it has only 9% of public green areas. In the context of climate change, this is really alarming data and it is necessary to stop and restart the planning practice. Attention must be paid to cooling the city, among other things, through greening, especially the central zones, which are usually the hottest. One example is the municipalities of Vračar and Stari grad, where there is 0% forest area. That is why the central zones are often a heat island, that is, a city zone that is significantly warmer than other city zones. These are mostly densely built-up areas, where the soil is devastated and the soil porosity is low. Also, there are large surfaces that are covered with artificial materials such as concrete, glass and metal, which accumulate heat during the day, and when night falls, they release that heat. Then we have tropical nights and possibly more serious health problems for residents living in these zones. Heat waves are recognized as a special danger for the elderly population, as they can lead to death.

Green infrastructure planning should be carefully thought out, to include all relevant experts, but also citizens who are often the loudest in recognizing the importance of green areas. In the previous five years, through our work with 22 local initiatives in Belgrade, it turned out that as many as 20 local groups reacted precisely because of the reduction of public greenery. In addition, our public opinion survey from 2021 shows that environmental protection is a priority for 47% of Belgraders, while 77% of them believe that there are too few public green areas in urban areas of the city.
However, despite this, there is no greenery in the new plans. In several current plans that we analyzed, we noticed that the removal of public greenery was planned. Here we will give two examples.

The first plan is for the settlement of Braće Jerković, where 5000 square meters of residential and commercial space is planned in the immediate vicinity of the Jovan Jovanović Zmaj home for neglected children, on the site of a large green area. It is true that this green area is currently unorganized, but it could be much more than a concrete complex. Tenants reacted violently to this plan, organized themselves and resisted the investors, because they rightly believe that this area can become a beautiful, well-organized park, which Belgrade certainly lacks.

Another example is the plan for an underground garage at the Hotel Bristol. This underground garage is planned for 70% of the area, almost the only green zone in this part of the city. Although the surface area of ​​the park will remain relatively similar, it is extremely important that the park retains its underground part, and not that there is a garage underneath. A park without its underground part is practically not a park, because it does not have the basic function of absorbing water or cooling the environment. In this case, it is of extreme importance because the Sava Amphitheater is recognized as a heat island and an area that has had an average of 50 tropical nights per year!

In 2019, the city of Belgrade adopted a plan for the general regulation of the system of green areas of the city of Belgrade, which represents a great basis and opportunity for the greening of the city. However, in a most perfidious way, the city has made this plan optional, not binding (which is contrary to the legal planning framework). In practice, this means that if an investor does not like the fact that the plan provides for a green area on the location in question, neither he nor the competent institutions have to comply with that provision and can change the purpose of the location.

Unfortunately, this is not the case only in Belgrade, but in a large number of cities in Serbia, and even mountains, which we can see in the example of Zlatibor. We underline that greenery in direct contact with the ground is the most important element of green infrastructure, the benefits of which are the most significant and difficult to replace with other elements. These are primarily tall trees with rich canopies and parks with their underground, earthen part. Trees in pots, in planters, on terraces and roofs cannot be the primary green infrastructure, nor a substitute for the removal of public green space. It can be an accompanying network of greenery, such as green roofs and terraces, but necessarily in combination with larger areas of greenery in direct contact with the ground.

It is extremely irresponsible of the city administration to leave the responsibility for the representation of green infrastructure in the city to investors to freely choose. After all, their job is not to actually determine how much public greenery we will have, but to respect planning regulations, which give them frameworks, guidelines and limits to which they can go.

On that track, the solution seems to be simple - only the planning practice needs to be turned upside down. A plan that recognizes the importance of green areas, envisages the greening of the city and understands the essential importance of the formation of a green network, should be mandatory during planning, not optional. This plan states that there are only enough trees in Belgrade to produce oxygen for 300 inhabitants. Since it is not an option for the other million residents to hold their breath, the first goal in the defense of public greenery is to change the status of the plan and make it binding. To change that, we also need the community's help. Sign the petition on our website and be our additional argument for the necessity of greenery, which we will present and advocate before the councilors of the city assembly, the Constitutional Court and in a complaint to the urban inspection at the competent Ministry.

Better cities, healthier people - sign for greenery!

Ministry of Space - Marija Penezić

Text originally published in the journal hypocrites