Be part of the plan: The Kragujevac citizen notification system has become a global hit

What does it look like when citizens always know what will be built in their neighborhood and can quickly and easily influence spatial and urban plans online, instead of visiting numerous counters? Since April of this year, the answer to this question can be found in Kragujevac, through the platform "Be part of the plan." By the end of 2026, the law foresees that this service could be implemented at the national level, in all cities and municipalities in Serbia.

The development of the digital platform was supported by NALED as part of the "Citizen Voice in Urban Planning" project, and after a testing period, it was handed over to the city of Kragujevac for further development and maintenance. The platform has brought prestigious international awards to this local government and set a new standard for transparency in spatial and urban planning, which is of interest not only to other municipalities in Serbia but also in the region.

This is confirmed by the recognition Kragujevac received for the "Be part of the plan" platform in November in Skopje from the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA). Previously, in a global competition for this innovative solution at the Seoul Smart City Prize, Kragujevac won third place in the Human-CentriCity category, out of 280 applications from around the world.

Citizens from all over the country who have registered on the "Be part of the plan" platform receive real-time notifications via email, SMS, or Viber messages as early as the planning document amendment stage in Kragujevac, explains Jasmina Radovanović, Lead Advisor for Property and Investments at NALED.

Not only that, but in addition to receiving information about submitted initiatives to amend or adopt plans, citizens can also educate themselves on the purpose of plans, how the planning process works, and why they should get involved.

Radovanović emphasizes that a survey was conducted as part of the project to assess citizens' knowledge of the planning process, where almost 80% of respondents said they did not know how to get information about changes to urban planning documents, nor had they ever participated in the planning process or seen planning acts. So far, 140 users have registered on the Kragujevac platform, confirming the need for more information and citizen involvement.

- But this is just the first step. NALED advocates for the establishment of a unified electronic system – eSpace, through which the planning process across Serbia would be digitalized, from the preparation of drafts, exchange of materials and opinions, expert control and compliance checks of planning documents, to public access, submission of objections, adoption of documents, and their publication – says Radovanović.

This, she points out, will not only shorten the timeframes for drafting planning documents but will also contribute to transparency, bring significant savings, and attract new investments. She adds that the establishment of this system will prevent situations where investors have already obtained permits, and citizens only learn about construction when the excavators show up.

Radovanović urged citizens to get involved and local governments to adopt the "recipe" from Kragujevac. She also pointed out that involving citizens early in the spatial planning process has not slowed down this process, as some had suggested. In fact, Kragujevac is the second-ranked local government from the BFC club of municipalities and cities in terms of the number of building permits issued annually, ahead of Belgrade, Niš, and Novi Sad.

As part of the project carried out by NALED with the support of the Swedish Government, an educational Guide to the Planning Process has also been created, which is available on the platform. It explains all the stages of amending planning acts and how the public can get involved.