The series of public debates of the weekly "Vreme" "Belgrade, so little is ours" is dedicated to key issues of development and life in Belgrade. The idea is to open a space for a reasoned public discussion about how the city is changing, who and in what way makes decisions about its development, as well as what kind of Belgrade citizens want to see in the future, through discussions with experts, representatives of institutions and citizens.
The second forum, held on Monday, March 23, was dedicated to urban planning in Belgrade - the way it is planned and built, the relationship between public interest and investor projects, the fate of public spaces, green areas and heritage, but also whether Belgrade has a clear vision of development or is changing spontaneously.
Architect Branislav Mitrović, city councilor and PSG member Stefan Simić, MP Mila Popović of the SSP and activist of the "Belgrade Remains" movement Marko Jakšić spoke at the forum.
TEN YEARS OF SAVAMALA
The forum opened with a statement that the guests agreed with - that the demolition in Savamala in April 2016 changed everything when it comes to construction in Belgrade, respect for legal procedures, evaluation of public interest and professional consultation. With the savage demolition under the cover of darkness ten years ago, a new era began in Belgrade - private, investor interest was put first, and the state provided all the means to implement it.
Member of Parliament and president of the Freedom and Justice Party's city committee, Mila Popović, said that the demolition of Belgrade "began with the demolition of Savamala". As she pointed out, "then the state ceased to exist, then the institutions did not react and then one man died as a result of the mistreatment that evening - security guard Slobodan Tanasković. The demolition in Savamala is the beginning of everything that awaited us and the best example of that is Belgrade on the water".
The events in Savamala led to the fact that "today it can happen that you wake up, open the window and see an excavator under your window, that someone wants to block your view of the sky, of the sun", explains Mila Popović. He adds that because of Belgrade on the water, we are left without a train station in the city center, a bus station in the city center, without a single bridge. "The appearance bothered them, the noise bothered them; the threat was that we would be left without the Fair, and now Belgrade on the water is expanding on one side, and the Expo on the other," concludes Mila Popović.
Architect Branislav Mitrović explained that "by building Belgrade on the water, we lost quality urban space, and that a public tender should have been announced where the profession could, by a broad consensus, say how to organize that space." He pointed out how the profession managed to convince the decision-makers to abandon the demolition of the Fair and the General Staff.
City councilor and member of the Movement of Free Citizens, Stefan Simić, said that "Belgrade on the water was created the way it was, the state ceased to exist when people came with phantoms and when one man lost his life." However, he adds that citizens of Belgrade live in that neighborhood and that "whoever wants to be in power must address those people as well."
HOW TO BUILD IN BELGRADE
People's deputy Mila Popović emphasized that "the city under the rule of the Serbian Progressive Party is a city for investors, not for citizens", that is, that decisions about urban planning in the city are made in relation to the SNS and investors who are close to them.
He adds that today Belgrade "seems to be a city for investors, not for people" and draws attention to the fact that kindergartens were built earlier, and today no new school has been opened for years on September 1, and that there is not even a gymnasium on the left bank of the Danube. Mila Popović pointed out the construction of the subway and the problem of the waste water processing plant as the main problems, stating that Belgrade is the only European capital that discharges sewage directly into the Sava and Danube.
Stefan Simić emphasized that he is talking to the citizens about real problems - sewerage, the waste water processing plant, enrolling children in kindergartens, but that the big problem is corruption and the decline of citizens' trust in institutions. He explained that "he has nothing against private initiative, that it should be nurtured, but that private interest must not be allowed to come before the public". Simić added that "after the SNS is replaced, it will be necessary to work transparently in order to restore people's trust in the institutions".
When it comes to the construction of the metro, Stefan Simić added that "if you look at similar projects in other European cities, the metro will not be built even in the next 15-20 years".
Architect, urban planner and activist of the association "Belgrade remains" Marko Jakšić pointed out that urban planning must protect the public interest. He referred to the title of the panel - "What we build and what we tear down", answering that it is built "in accordance with the interests of private investors, while the public interest is demolished". As he explained, planning documents are adopted by political bodies without consultation with the profession. "The profession has been reduced to a mere executor. We have good architects who no one asks anything about," concludes Jakšić.
IS EVERYTHING THAT IS BUILDING IS WRONG
The guests also led a discussion on the construction of the Natural History Museum and Aquarium at Ušće. In the competition for this project, the conceptual solution of the office of architect and professor Branislav Mitrović won.
"The natural history museum and the aquarium have their foothold in science and culture. It is not about private interest, but about objects of public purpose and social interest. The Ušća area has been planned for cultural contents since Dobrović's time. It is not just any dolphinarium and attraction, but part of the scientific infrastructure of this city," said Mitrović.
SSP member of parliament Mila Popović asked "do we really need an aquarium in Belgrade when parts of the city do not have sewage system".
Answering the question about the aquarium, the activist of the "Belgrade Remains" movement Marko Jakšić emphasized that urban "pigs and social injustices" must not be justified with good project solutions, because then "we are entering Pandora's box and a very dangerous zone, where you have a pharaoh who builds magnificent buildings that only serve him, or serve no one, while the enslaved people pay for and build them", concludes Jakšić. He also asked whether it is more in the public interest to have an existing park that costs zero dinars or to build an aquarium that costs ninety million euros.
Stefan Simić pointed out that citizens have no confidence in anything that the SNS government builds, regardless of whether it would be good for the city or not. As he added, "previous competitions cannot be ignored", explaining that at the moment the situation is such that "if the progressives were to build a hospital for the treatment of cancer, the citizens would not believe in it".
Branislav Mitrović said that in this case "the profession wondered" and added that "it was not a political competition, nor a competition announced by Vučić, or anyone from the authorities, but simply - a profession, based on previous urban planning plans". He asked the question "what kind of situation will we get into if we question the institution of the competition".
Mitrović stated that his solution won the first prize because they "really tried responsibly" to create an image of a "green carpet". He also added that, until it was officially announced that these projects were included in the program of the specialized exhibition Expo 2027, they had "peaceful work". As he further explained, "now such an atmosphere of mistrust has been created and it is thought that a priori certain conclusions are made without some basic checks".
He said that both the aquarium and the museum are in the public interest, that he believes in that project and that he stands behind it despite the distrust of part of the public, as well as that he does not want the project to be put on the same level as Belgrade on the water.
