Bürogemeinschaft Gauly & Volgmann (bgh.), in cooperation with the Institute for Urban Politics, is supporting the ‘Socially Just City Initiative’ of GIZ Serbia with the aim of developing and piloting approaches of the ‘Social City’ concept in two municipalities. The goal is to strengthen the capacities of local self-governments in engaging residents in urban development to foster social inclusion. Additionally, the assignment includes supporting the elaboration of guidelines for implementing elements of the ‘Social City’ concept within Serbian local governments.
On February 6, 2024, the first workshop of a total of three workshops took place in Belgrade. It was attended by representatives of the two pilot municipalities, Pirot and Uzice, and by representatives from the Serbian Ministries of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and the Ministry of European Integration. Other participants included the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities.
During the workshop, participants engaged in a peer-to-peer exchange on public participation in Serbian urban development processes and Neighbourhood Management as an implementation tool of the ‘Social City’ concept in Serbia. As a result, experiences of participation along with potential roles and challenges in adapting the Neighbourhood Management tool in Serbia were identified.
The next workshop will take place on March 21.
Commissioned by: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Timeframe: November 2023 to May 2024