Milena Vukmirović
Belgrade: The quest for the desired city imageThe current period is characterized by changes in the priorities and
preoccupations in the domain of urban planning and design. The social, political
and economic changes lead to the necessity to consider the circumstances
for the locational advantages and disadvantages, and the context of the
competitive global arena. The changes are reflecting on the place identity,
its perception and the expectations from the place and its management. In
accordance with this, the place marketing occurs simultaneously with the
emergence of a new model of governance, defined as entrepreneurial. The
application of place marketing includes the communication and management
of the city image, keeping in mind that the relationship between the city and its
users is achieved through experience and images. On the other side, the image
can only be earned and it isn’t possible to control, construct or invent it. The
city image is a kind of a general reaction on the real situation.
The turbulent circumstances in the recent past of Serbia have reflected on
Belgrade. The first transitional processes took place simultaneously with the
wartime events, led by destructive national ambitions. The dominant role
is taken over currently by individuals and small groups driven by the own
interest and the search for profit, which is leading to the increasing evidence of
corruption and violation of the urbanity. The local government has failed under
these circumstances to reform itself in the sense of the proper entrepreneurial
model, which has resulted in the collapse of the city’s image.
The situation is presented in the monograph by numerous strategic urban and
architectural projects located significantly in Belgrade. The critical observation
emphasises the lack of continuity in the development of the city. The analyses
are based on the concept of “strategy + substance + symbolic actions”, viewed
as a new approach to planning, designing and managing places in the age of
globalization.
Abstracts