Ten years after it was formally announced, the "Belgrade on Water" project is expanding faster than ever. Đorđe Miketić, civil activist and one of the initiators of the initiative "Belgrade Remains", talks about the "urbicide" in Belgrade in the new issue of "Vremena".
When on June 27, 2014, in the newly renovated building of the Geozavod, the model of the project "Belgrade on water", then Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić announced the start of the construction of the first phase of the residential and commercial complex for March next year.
Today, ten years later, Belgrade on the water is expanding along the Sava bank, threatening to swallow the Belgrade Fair, stretching towards Ada Ciganlija and slowly overflowing onto the left bank of the Sava, occupying the space from the New Belgrade heating plant all the way to the Branko Bridge.
"The Belgrade we know and love will disappear if we do not stop the announced robbery of the coasts and public spaces. I think we are still not aware of the devastating tsunami that is preparing for our coast. Even if we follow the news about urban projects every day, we only get information about individual projects and plans", he comments on the announced works in an interview for the new issue of "Vremena", which is on newsstands from Thursday, May 29 Đorđe Miketić, civil activist and one of the initiators of the "Belgrade remains" initiative.
The initiative "Belgrade Remains" emerged from the heart-felt struggle for the Old Sava Bridge, and precisely with the idea of preserving all of Belgrade and improving life in the city.
"We are ready to defend the city with our bodies, but it must be with a clear plan and strategy," says Miketić for "Vreme".
Joint fight for the preservation of the city
The "Belgrade Remains" initiative launched two projects for the preservation of Belgrade.
They were the first to invite the citizens of Belgrade to form an interactive map of urbicide, a platform on which all large and small projects would be registered.
"It's time for the citizens of Belgrade to have an overview of all events and urban changes that must be responded to in one place, which will distinguish those who meet all legal norms and contribute to the development of Belgrade from those who destroy the city and life," Miketić told "Vreme".
The second project is the formation of the widest possible front for the defense of the city through the announced public inspection for the "Belgrade on the Water" project.
"We started a petition against the expansion of Belgrade on the water, but not because we think it will prevent them from their intention, but we will gather a large number of citizens to try to legally challenge the plan and stop the destruction of the city by mass but synchronized writing of objections. And then, if necessary, to organize and defend Belgrade with field actions and so-called intervention activism," says Miketić for "Vreme".
Read the interview with Đorđe Miketić in the new issue of the weekly "Vreme", which is on newsstands from Thursday, May 29.
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