Testing an Intelligent City Approach as Development Principle of Small Towns in Serbia

Abstract

Purpose - The main feature of Serbia's territorial development is monocentricity. It means that the development carrier is Belgrade, capital city of Serbia, which can only be partially followed by a few major cities. Small cities are in a precarious situation, due to the difficult economic situation of the country in past two decades. The consequence is decline in industrial production and economy, sectors responsible for development of small and medium-sized settlements and balanced territorial development. According to the current classification of settlements in Serbia, there has been allocated: 150 municipality centres, 23 villages with status of a city and 1 main settlement - Belgrade, which is singled out as specific territorial unit. Thus, the focus is placed on determining the potential of small urban centres in Serbia's development, especially if the future state policy would be the application of principles of decentralization and polycentrism. Design/methodology/approach - The current period is characterized by a situation in which a large number of cities, regardless of their size, formulate their development strategies on the basis of knowledge city and creative city concepts. These concepts arise as a consequence of rapid economic and social change. In these cities knowledge, creativity and innovation of citizens are considered to be crucial holders of creating prosperity and quality of life. The hybrid concept of intelligent city is formed by overlapping these concepts: knowledge city (knowledge, intellect, innovation) and creative city (creative class, creative industry). This development model is tested on Trstenik, small sized city in central Serbia. The methodology used in the research includes: analysis of planning and photo documentation, analysis of data collected through field research, critical analysis of creative and knowledge city models, and mapping the key potentials of this settlement. Originality/value - In order to establish development strategies, the potentials of the city and its surroundings are going to be mapped and emphasized by applying the concepts of knowledge and creative city. Results will be presented on two levels: (1) defining the possibilities of spatial, economic and social development as well as environmental improvement of Trstenik and its role on regional scale, and (2) possibilities of renewal and physical planning of settlements (urban and architectural) by balanced distribution of creative clusters and creative places, in order to form a creative network at the city level. Furthermore, the development phases will be determined through defining activities and establishing interest groups. Practical implications - Possibility and potential of applying a model of intelligent city as development principle to the similar types of settlements in Serbia will be discussed by critical review of the results. In terms of achieving positive results by applying this concept, basic preconditions will be reconsidered: (1) focusing political attention in order to avoid the risk of losing politics and finance by directing their attention to other areas, (2) activating urban management and marketing as additional activities and tools, (3) stimulating and organizing support for various interest groups, and (4) specialization and determining the purpose of the city on different spatial levels.