REQUEST FOR PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS GUP 2041

Thirty-one expert organizations, civil and informal initiatives sent a request to the competent institutions, the Secretariat for Urbanism and Construction Affairs of the City Administration of the City of Belgrade and the Committee for Plans of the City of Belgrade Assembly, to organize public events, public presentations of the General Urban Plan of Belgrade 2041 as soon as possible, which is on early public viewing until June 30, 2022.
An early public review on the preparation of the General Urban Plan of Belgrade 2041 was announced on June 13 and will last until June 30. This plan is an umbrella urban plan that will set the strategy for the (urban) development of the capital of the Republic of Serbia in the next 19 years.

The development of this complex planning document was started almost three years ago, without adequate consultation with the public. With that in mind, the release of the early public preview represents a long-awaited and positive development. Nevertheless, the complexity of this document and its special importance for the future of the city and all its residents and visitors point to the obligation to use all available tools to involve the public in its shaping. Public presentations of the contents of GUP 2041 exposed for early public inspection represent a necessary and minimal step in the direction of opening a real dialogue about the development of the City.

In order for the essential involvement of the interested public at the beginning of the process of drafting the General Urban Plan of Belgrade 2041 to be really possible, it is necessary, above all, that the public be adequately informed. Already the first reactions to the publication of the early public insight indicate that it is necessary to present to the public precise and comprehensible explanations of the proposed solutions and shed light on the methodology and procedure for the development of the general urban plan, at a public event during which two-way communication between the interested public and the plan developer will be enabled. and decision maker. Although there are three points in the central city area where citizens can get information from representatives of the plan developer, they are available to citizens only during working hours, during working days, and this way of approaching the content of GUP 2041 does not correspond to the public's interest and the importance of this strategic plan. Also, giving information about the material at the early public inspection is not equal to the explanation of the essence of the plan solution by the manager of the plan development.

In practice so far, we have witnessed that the public part of the session of the Planning Commission, which is held at the end of the public inspection and participatory procedure, actually assumes the role of a public presentation - because it is the first and only public meeting in the procedure where citizens can address the plan processors and the Planning Commission to direct questions related to the planning solution and explain their views, needs and interests live. However, as this step comes at the end of the participatory procedure, and is therefore not intended for the presentation of the planning solution, but for giving comments and discussing the objections submitted, it is necessary to organize public presentations already in the conceptual phase of the plan development - precisely during the early public inspection of the General Urban Plan of Belgrade , which is currently being held.

We are convinced that open access is in the interest of both the city administration and the planners of the plan, and that with improved mechanisms for public participation in correcting and supplementing the GUP's proposal, we can get a high-quality and enforceable plan that will be the basis for high-quality spatial development of Belgrade in the coming period.

Therefore, the undersigned expert organizations, citizen initiatives and informal neighborhood networks ask the competent institutions, the Secretariat for Urban Planning and Construction Affairs of the City Administration of the City of Belgrade and the Commission for Plans of the City of Belgrade Assembly, to organize as soon as possible public presentations of the General Urban Plan of Belgrade 2041 which is on early public inspection until June 30, 2022. public presentation in the form of an organized event, i.e.

The request is submitted by the following organizations, initiatives and informal associations of citizens:

New planning practice, Ministry of Space, RERI - Regulatory Institute for Renewable Energy and the Environment, Polekol, Right to Water, BOŠ - Belgrade Open School, CEUS, Streets for cyclists, Econaut, Green Transition, White Heron 1165, Block 37 joint action, ZaNašKej, Blokovi.com, EKO Social action, UG Neighbor Krnjača, Bežania stays, Kosa defies, Save Gardoš and Zemun, Mirijevo green and healthy, Point of communication, CZKD, Association of citizens of Šljunkar, Block 8 - Chinese wall, Initiative for a greener and more organized block 44, MZ Stjepana Filipović, Group for our beautiful place by Stjepan Filipović, Initiative Block 33, UG Joint action Block 70/70a, Blok 45 Action, Let's save the green Zvezdara, UG Union Treći Belgrade.

Early public inspection of the General Urban Plan of Belgrade was announced from June 13 to June 30, 2022.
The documentation of the General Urban Plan 2041 is available for early public inspection on the website of the developer, the Institute of Urban Planning of Belgrade:

The documentation of the GUP 2041 plan, which is on early public introduction, is at this link.