The first platform for alerting citizens about changes in construction plans has been launched
The launch of the digital platform "Be Part of the Plan" will amplify the voice of citizens and businesses in urban planning. Through this platform, users will receive real-time notifications about changes in planning documents and will be able to electronically submit any objections. This platform, which is an important step towards the formation of a unified national eSpace system, is accessible to all citizens of Serbia. The application was developed for the city of Kragujevac, which was selected as the pilot local self-government for this initiative, enabling the public to be informed about planning documents undergoing changes and adoption procedures via email, SMS, or Viber messages.
The activation of the new IT platform was presented at the first session of NALED's Property and Investment Alliance this year and is part of the pilot project "Citizens' Voice in Urban Planning," funded by the SILP fund of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
According to Jasmina Radovanović, lead advisor for property and investments at NALED, the goal of developing the platform is to increase the transparency of spatial and urban planning to prevent situations where citizens only find out about construction projects through the media or when construction begins.
"This is an important new service for businesses and citizens, who will be timely alerted about construction plans in their environment and will no longer have to submit complaints only at the counters of relevant institutions and commissions but can do so online. We believe this will encourage them to become interested and stay informed about spatial and urban planning, and will contribute to promoting construction that is more in the interest and benefit of the community. The next step is for this information exchange to become a practice and be implemented nationwide to establish a unified national eSpace system, which NALED advocates for," Radovanović emphasized.
Although there are certain mechanisms for public involvement in urban and spatial planning in the region, no one has developed such a unique online platform until now. The Faculty of Geography at the University of Belgrade provided expert support to NALED in implementing the pilot project.
"The lack of transparency is a key problem in urban planning. On one hand, the platform is a way for citizens to gain greater trust in the work of local administration, and on the other, it is an important mechanism to accelerate the development of spatial and urban plans and achieve significant savings," said Velimir Šećerov, Dean of the Faculty of Geography.
By signing up on the platform budideoplana.rs, anyone who wants to know what is happening and planned in the area within the territory of the city of Kragujevac will receive notifications, starting from the phase of submitting initiatives for changes to planning documents.
"We are proud that this platform is being applied for the first time precisely for changes to plans in the territory of the city of Kragujevac. It is important for us that the work of our local self-government in this area is transparent, and we are pleased that new electronic services have been made available to citizens, which will speed up and facilitate the exchange of information," said Dejan Ružić, Head of the Department for Investments and Development of the city of Kragujevac.
After the implementation of the project in the city of Kragujevac, concrete recommendations will be defined for a more transparent spatial planning process throughout Serbia.
