Abandoned buildings to be revived – State to adopt plan to revitalize large brownfield locations

Over the next three months, the state will adopt an action plan whereby concrete steps will be defined for the beginning of the realization of the Strategy of Sustainable Urban Development by 2030, recently adopted by the Government of Serbia.

– After that, by October of November 2019, six programs for the revitalization of large brownfield locations in the country, namely, abandoned industrial complexes, will be clearly defined – says the assistant to the minister of construction, transport and infrastructure, Djordje Milic.

The adoption of these documents, according to him, will enable local self-governments to get additional money from the pre-accession funds for the reviving of these facilities.

Brownfield locations are places where buildings have already been raised and where certain infrastructure already exists, but which have been neglected in the past decades, such as warehouses, halls, or industrial buildings. The global trend is for artists’ quarters, residential-office facilities, restaurants, or galleries to be established in those locations.

– Brownfield locations are mostly situated in quality zones, where there’s a demand for construction, while, on the other hand, they make our cities ugly – Milic says.

According to him, the strategy would enable a transformation of cities.

Serbia has adopted this kind of document for the first time, which, according to Milic, is important from the aspect of the revival of our cities, enabling them to plan their development differently, based on using international funds.

The document, he adds, also promotes the concept of urban mobility, that is, the improvement of public transport, pedestrian zones and electric vehicle routes.

The initiative for the preparation of the strategy originated in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure and the German International Cooperation Organization GIZ.

The strategy covers several fields on a national level: sustainable economic growth, that is, urban economy and finance; sustainable urban structures and rational use of land; inclusive urban development; demographic changes; transport and technical infrastructure; living environment and climate; and cultural heritage and urban culture.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo građevinarstva, saobraćaja i infrastrukture Republike Srbije

GIZ Beograd

GIZ

Djordje Milic

Strategy of Sustainable Urban Development by 2030

six programs for revitalization of large brownfield locations

brownfield locations

abandoned industrial complexes

pre accession EU funds

warehouses

halls

industrial buildings

artists quarters

residential office facilities

restaurants

galleries

urban mobility

public transport

pedestrian zones

electric vehicles routes

Memorandum of Understanding between Ministry of Construction Transport and Infrastructure and GIZ

sustainable economic growth

urban economy and finance

sustainable urban structures and rational use of land

inclusive urban development

demographic changes

transport and technical infrastructure

living environment and climate

cultural heritage and urban culture