Olga Andrić points to the problem of "ecomanipulation" (greenwashing), where powerful green solutions are used exclusively for marketing purposes in order to increase the value of real estate. He says that there is a whole series of projects whose names suggest a healthy life in a green environment, while in reality they barely meet the minimum criteria.
one drvo produces nearly 260 kilograms of oxygen each year, and two mature trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four. If in Belgrade, according to the latest census, there are 1.684.259 inhabitants, are there enough trees and greenery in general in the capital of Serbia?
According to the data of the Public Utility Company "Zelenilo - Belgrade", they maintain 3.000 hectares of public green areas, and in the previous planting season they planted 17.144 trees. Green areas, as Ivan Simić, assistant professor of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Belgrade, explains, bring multiple benefits to cities, the population and the overall urban ecosystem. He adds that it is more correct to talk about green spaces instead of surfaces, and that urban forests and parks are a place where people satisfy their innate need for contact with nature.
If parks and green spaces are the lungs of the city, what is the state of the lungs of Belgrade? "The urban population is more than the rural one and that trend continues: by 2050, 7 out of 10 inhabitants of the planet will live in urbanized areas, and this cannot be stopped." What can be done, however, is to develop the city so that it does not endanger green spaces, to establish a symbiosis that will benefit both people and nature. The future of cities lies precisely in such a combination of the natural and the built", emphasizes Ivan Simić and points out that just one more tree in front of our window can significantly improve the quality of life, reduce the temperature of the street air under the canopy by up to 15°C, and it is also able to absorbs and slows down the runoff of surface water. "A tree is a small ecosystem, a guardian of biodiversity in the city," says the interlocutor of "Vremena".
GREEN AREAS FOR A MORE EXPENSIVE SQUARE
During the construction of urban plans, the most common practice is to comply with the need for a minimum percentage of greenery on the plot, which is set by the General Regulation Plan.
"For the most widespread purposes, such as housing and mixed city centers, the percentage of free and green areas is usually between 30 and 40 percent. However, it is important to emphasize that the number of green areas in direct contact with the ground rarely exceeds 10 to 15 percent. These green areas are extremely important since they have a greater power to absorb water in case of heavy rainfall and support diverse ecosystems compared to greenery that grows in a small, limited space, such as a planter," says Olga Andrić, one of the members of the collective of the Ministry of Space, founded in 2011. in order to deal with the topics of urban planning and climate justice.
Olga Andrić also points to the problem of "ecomanipulation" (greenwashing), where powerful green solutions are used exclusively for marketing purposes in order to increase the value of real estate. He says that there is a whole series of projects whose names suggest a healthy life in a green environment, while in reality they barely meet the minimum criteria. He also points out that at the city level there is no consistency in the implementation of regulations that could solve these problems, even though through a series of strategies, plans and other public policy documents, Belgrade is declared as a city that strives for sustainable planning and development.
"The draft of the general urban plan of Belgrade has not yet been released to the public. As one of the three strategic goals when it comes to green infrastructure, the plan also recognizes the realization of economic profit, i.e. the realization of a higher value of real estate in a green environment", says Olga Andrić.
One of the more significant reasons for the lack of greenery in Belgrade, as indicated by urban planner Bozena Stojić, also a member of the collective of the Ministry of Space, is the trend of deregulation of urban planning. He says that Belgrade does not have updated and valid strategic documents in which there are long-term goals and directions for the development of the city, as well as the city's attitude towards green infrastructure and climate change.
"Institutions responsible for urban development and city planning do not recognize the importance of green areas in the context of wider ecological and social well-being, but only their economic importance and potential to increase the value of residential square footage", believes Bozena Stojić.
Urban plans and changes in the law enable the sale and privatization of land, which results in a lack of urban areas on which a park could be built or the shoreline landscaped.
"Another prerequisite for the increase of green areas in the city is that the Plan for the General Regulation of the Green Areas System in Belgrade, which foresees that green areas in Belgrade will increase from the existing 12% to 23% of the city's territory, change its status, i.e. that its implementation be mandatory, and not optional (which is against the law)", concludes Božena Stojić.
FOCUS OF THE HEAT ISLANDS
The term "heat islands" refers to the phenomenon where urban areas heat up more than natural environments. The reason for this is the change in land cover and land use through the construction process. In Belgrade, the situation is such that it is the focus of heat islands that cause problems for the health and functioning of the population. As Ivan Simić emphasizes, health problems especially occur in the elderly population and chronic patients, and the effect of heat islands also affects increased air pollution, because the reduced temperature between day and night slows down wind flow and negatively affects the dispersion of pollution.
"Due to this effect, temperatures in the city are climatologically on average about 2°C warmer than the outskirts. We cannot completely cancel this effect, but we can significantly mitigate it by increasing the areas under greenery, especially with trees, preserving urban forests and other areas with a large number of trees, as well as by planning construction in such a way as to allow air circulation and ventilation", says the professor of the Faculty of Agriculture faculty Mirjam Vujadinović Mandić.
Materials found in urban areas such as concrete and glass, unlike green areas, absorb solar radiation. Professor Mandić emphasizes that because of this, these materials can heat up to 20°C more than the grass surface, and the air above the area with concrete and above the asphalt can be more than 10°C warmer than the air above the grass surface.
Mitigation of the urban heat island effect can be achieved by establishing air temperature monitoring in urban areas (squares, streets) and by changing the regulations so that they include the development of green infrastructure, as well as the improvement of planning, maintenance and construction of green areas.
GREEN REFORM NEEDED
According to the website of the Public Utility Company "Zelenilo - Belgrade", Belgrade takes care of 56.513 trees in the tree rows of the city, in 743 streets. The most common species are maple, sycamore, horse chestnut, linden and ash. According to them, there are 20 inhabitants per single row of trees. When it comes to forests, they take care of 400 hectares of forest park, which includes forests on Milićeva brdo, Zvezdara, Crvena breg, then the forests of Banjički vis, Lisičiji potok, Hyde Park and others. We remind you: Belgrade is a city of two million people, and a family of four requires two mature trees.
"It is necessary for the entire planning and regulatory framework to go through." green reform in order to systematically solve the issue of green areas, and to make the rules of landscaping the legal equivalent of building rules. This means, first of all, to introduce the ecological index as a legal counterpart to the built-up index", points out Ivan Simić and adds that everything that is included in our laws and plans under recommendations for landscaping should become a legally binding norm. Finally, plans regarding greening do not have an effective monitoring and evaluation system. In other words, if the law or plan provides for control, it is simply not implemented.
Ivan Simić points out that responsibility needs to be delegated to everyone and emphasizes that green spaces do not recognize the boundaries between private and public ownership. A harmonized planning system is needed that determines the quality, quantity and role of greenery in the city, and one of the most effective strategies that cities have at their disposal is the introduction of an ecological index for the level of city building plots.
Ecological index is an urban indicator whose set value (index) is achieved by combining various ecological and urban parameters. The ecological index is applied to the entire area of the city, but the combination of parameters used to achieve it differs in relation to the purpose of the land and the zone of the city in which the specific plot is located. Like other urban parameters, such as the built-up index, the ecological index is implemented through the procedure of issuing a building permit, which means that every investor is legally obliged to comply with it.
"In relation to the permitted index of construction and the degree of occupation of the building on the plot, the investor has a certain freedom to achieve the required environmental index by combining environmental parameters." If the building is located in the city center, a high intensity of construction will be allowed on the plot, which means a higher level of occupation of the building on the plot", says Simić and indicates that this leads the investor to invest more funds in a green roof or green facade, in order to compensate green area in direct contact with the ground, the minimum area of which is also prescribed by the plan.
Why is there nothing else between the overcome regime and the changes? What does the regime mean when it says it is defending Serbia? Why is the Student Movement indomitable? Who has the knowledge and real experience, and who leads without a day of work experience outside of politics? And why students win
After almost two years of protests, hundreds of kilometers walked, arrests, persecution and unprecedented social mobilization, Serbia is holding elections that could mark the end of a political era. Sociologist Marija Babović tells "Vreme" that the hope for change has not been so great since October 5, 2000, but she also warns of the danger that, if changes are not made, the country will face an even tougher authoritarian regime.
Their only weapon now is the media they control: like, we don't have an agenda, which is not true; as, we will betray the national interest, which is not true. One of their arguments is that we are afraid to go to the debate with Vučić. They do not understand that it is their punishment. This is a punishment for Aleksandar Vučić, who for 14 years conducted exclusively a monologue. For fourteen years he did not allow anyone any kind of dialogue, and now he would like to be rewarded or pardoned with the opportunity to talk to us. Well, he won't be able to. What he sowed is now reaping
These elections are not elections about Serbia's membership in the European Union, Kosovo and Metohija, gay marriage, tax policy or any other single political issue. Although parties on the fringes of political power try to impose these themes, at the heart of the upcoming political election is a much simpler dilemma: change or preserve the existing order. For more than a year now, surveys have shown that this is the primary dilemma on the ballot
In the RS, 19.800 people registered for the elections in Serbia, who will be able to vote at 28 polling stations. It remains unknown how many of them will cross the Drina on October 25 and vote in Serbia. In any case, I do not believe that the voters from Republika Srpska are the ones who will decide the winner of the elections in Serbia. Realistically, the voters from Republika Srpska can influence a little, but it seems that they are symbolically very important to both Vučić and the opposition.
There is, literally, no difference between the one who claims it is day in the middle of the night, or the one who claims to be a giraffe, from the claims we read on billboards: that Vučić is working to unify Serbs and that Serbia is doing better and better day by day.
The pre-election arrests due to the alleged "overthrow of the state" testify to the regime's panic. The bad news for them is - they can't arrest the whole people who decided to defend themselves from progressive beatings and election theft
The ring that tightens around Ćaciland Student list is getting narrower. Because there are more and more spoiled people who see the false prophet for what he is: a street obscener who is fighting Serbia
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