Ivana Stankovic

SUSTAINABLE UPGRADING OF THE EIGHT CITY 

BLOCKS IN CENTRAL BELGRADE 

RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN AS THE 

STAKEHOLDERS OF THE FUTURE 

I VANA STANKOVIC 

Master of Science Thesis in Built Environment Analysis, 

KTH Department of Urban Planning and the Environment, 

Stockholm, Sweden 2005/06

SOM-EX 06-022 

Royal Institute of Technology 

School of Architecture and the Built Environment 

Department of Urban Planning and the Environment 

Division of Built Environment Analysis 

SE-100 44 STOCKHOLM 

www.infra.kth.se/BBA/ 

Copyright: Ivana Stancovic, 2006 

Printed by Universitetsservice AB

Abstract 

The awareness of the great share in consumption and environmental impact of the existing 

building stock is present on a global scale for the past 20 years. In order to meet the present 

goals for sustainable development and the reduction of resource use, a significant part of 

development activities should focus on refurbishment of the existing building stock. 

The environmental disequilibrium which characterizes the central city area of Belgrade has 

motivated me to search for a framework that would help the sustainable upgrading of the 

physical environment. After an intensive study of sustainable development issues, various 

guidelines and case studies, analyzing different approaches and developing an approach of 

my own, the result is the theoretical framework presented in this thesis. 

The main goal of this thesis was to search for long term improvements in the living conditions 

and quality of life, as well as reduction of environmental impacts from the existing building 

stock. The selected site consists of eight mainly housing blocks, in the centre of Belgrade, 

Serbia. Upgrading the physical environment is seen as a mean for achieving the goal, but 

successfulness is found in involving stakeholders. In this research, children are considered as 

primary stakeholders. Thus, one part of the thesis work is action research with primary school 

children. Results from the research with children are analyzed through the professional prism, 

policies, and goals for the development. When talking about possible solutions to the 

problems, children have given many interesting and fresh ideas. Most of them are realistic 

and logical, but some are in between imagination and reality. Nevertheless results might 

serve as an excellent source for new ideas for upgrading the physical environment. A 

primarily unexpected result is development of a methodology of children’s involvement in 

research for upgrading the existing building stock. 

The two parallel processes (Theoretical Framework development and action research) 

influenced each other. They supported each other, adjusted, revised, and developed together. 

Results in one were often proof or support for the other. Even though, initially I didn’t plan 

using this method for my Thesis, it started out spontaneously and ended up as a necessity. 

One of the conclusions made during this research is that in order to achieve a positive change 

and sustainable results, we cannot focus only on upgrading the physical environment – the 

existing building stock. Rather, it is necessary to listen to the stakeholders and people 

occupying the environment, try to understand their needs, and through a set of actions 

modify their surroundings according to the sustainable principles. 

I see many possibilities for further research. One would be involving other stakeholder groups 

and analyzing the results with those obtained in this research. It would be interesting to 

confront different stakeholder groups with their opinions, identified problems, and desired 

future. It would probably lead to the necessity for negotiations on goals, priorities, and 

possibilities for future actions.

Master of Science Thesis 2005/06 

KTH, Stockholm, Sweden 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 2 

1.1 The context ………………………………………………………………………. 2 

1.2 The thesis …………………………………………………………………………. 3 

2.0 Aim and scope of research …………………………………………. 4 

2.1 Aim of research ………………………………………………………………… 4 

2.2 Scope of research …………………………………………………………….. 5 

3.0 Background ………………………………………………………………………. 6 

3.1 Facts about Belgrade ………………………………………………………… 6 

3.2 Architecture in Belgrade ………………………………………………….. 11 

3.3 Housing in Belgrade …………………………………………............... 11 

4.0 Mental scope …………………………………………………………………….. 16 

4.1 Putting research into a context ………………………………………… 16 

4.2 The Theoretical framework ………………………………………………. 20 

5.0 Thesis site …………………………………………………………………………. 31 

5.1 Physical conditions ……………………………………………………………. 31 

5.2 Environmental conditions …………………………………………………. 42 

6.0 Case study methodology …………………………………………….. 44 

6.1 Public participation in the research process ……………………. 44 

6.2 Applied methodology ……………………………………………………….. 45 

7.0 Research process and results …………………………………….. 53 

7.1 First session – conducted on 15 th , 16 th , and 17 th June 2005 53 

7.2 Conclusions after the first session …………………………………… 64 

7.3 Second session conducted at Kopaonik, between 10 th and 

14 th July 2005 …………………………….................................. 66 

7.4 Conclusions after the second session ………………………………. 87 

7.5 Third session – conducted on 29 th September 2005 ………. 88 

7.6 Conclusions after the third session ………………………………….. 94 

8.0 Research results …………………………………………………………….. 95 

8.1 Instruments and means for achieving sustainable future – 95 

results from research with primary school children ………… 

8.2 Professional assessment …………………………………………………… 99 

9.0 Conclusions and discussion …………………………………………. 110 

9.1 Unexpected, accompanying results …………………………………. 112 

References ……………………………………………………………………… 114 

Appendixes …………………………………………………………………….. 118


KTH, Stockholm 

The future of big cities and their regions of influence has become a 

problem of critical urgency. The relationship of the metropolitan 

inhabitants to their environment has taken on an “explosive” 

character. A revolutionary attitude is essential. 

In vast areas of the world, man has become a pathogen, a disease 

of nature, and there is a high degree of probability that, as Marston 

Bates says, “when the host dies … so does the pathogen”. 

Artur Glikson, 1963 

Ivana Stankovic 1



1.0 INTRODUCTION 

1.1 The context 

Environmental changes we are facing today are a world-wide problem of human interactions. 

Media are full of warnings: 

climate change … pollution … global warming ... necessity for immediate action … 

World leaders are debating on the reliability of the data presented by scientists. While some 

scientists are warning that it is already too late to save the earth from an ice age, others stay 

skeptics on the human influence on the climate and the amount of changes we create. 

At the same time, sustainable development trends are becoming part of all human activities. It 

brings to human society numerous intellectual challenges. The well known Brundtland Report 

defines sustainable development as: ‘Development that meets the needs of the present without 

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’. 

The built environment, as a major supporter to human existence, is related to all human 

activities. It has a significant impact to the environment, since nature provides all the resources 

needed for construction, operation, and maintenance, while nature receives back all waste 

products. The unsustainable use of land, energy, water, and materials, which is still a 

characteristic for most developers in the construction industry, must change if we want to 

sustain the world we live in for the future generations. Currently there are 6.49 billion people 

living on Earth. The prediction is that by 2050 the population will rise to more than 9 billion. In 

1950, 30% of the world’s population lived in urban areas. The prediction by the UNHabitat is 

that more than half will be living in urban areas by 2008. The number is expected to rise up to 

60% by 2030. The rates of urbanization are different for developing and developed countries, 

but nevertheless the figures are alarming. 

In high income countries, somewhere around 1% of new buildings are being built each year, 

while the remaining 99% of the built stock in total are old buildings that are still in use. Building 

regulations are changing as the new demands are set for protection of the environment. A 

majority of new building projects are required to comply with them. Buildings are becoming 

more efficient and environmentally friendly in terms of construction, materials, energy 

efficiency, operation, and maintenance. Unfortunately, the majority of the built environment 

represent old buildings built under none or old regulations, with no environmental 

considerations. They consume a lot of energy and resources for regular operation and 

maintenance, affecting watersheds, air quality, transportation, and living patterns of 

communities. Buildings account for one-sixth of the world’s freshwater withdrawals, onequarter 

of its wood harvest, and two-fifths of its material and energy, leaving a large negative 

impact on the environment and health. 1 

In the cities, centers are mostly defined by the old building stock. Old buildings are heritage, 

and they represent the character, culture, and history of the city. Therefore it is important to 

maintain them. Unfortunately, some city centers are becoming less desirable places to live, 

work, and play in. In addition, old buildings often cannot meet the demands of a modern man, 

in a need of new infrastructure services. 

A significant part of my growing up was in the centre of Belgrade, where I finished my primary 

and secondary education. My connection to the city centre is also partly established through my 

father who grew up in the same area. His stories about the life in the city 50 years ago and my 

1 Cortese, A. (2005) Features Integrating Sustainability in the Learning Community, Facilities Manager, 

Volume 21, Number 1, January/February 2005, article available at: 

http://www.appa.org/FacilitiesManager/articleDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=2255&parentid=2248, retrieved: 

Dec 2005 




memories that go back to 28 years ago, allowed me to view, compare, and analyze the current 

state of the city centre. Even though almost all buildings were built before the mid 1960s, many 

changes have occurred in the area. 

My interest and concern for the existing building stock, specifically housing, was brought after a 

lecture given by my supervisor Örjan Svane, associate professor at KTH. As an architect, my 

previous education focused only on designing new buildings, fitting them into the existing, 

mostly urban matrix. I chose to specialize in bioclimatic architecture design, having a strong 

sense for nature and a wish to create pleasant environments in harmony with the surroundings 

we live in. 

With my newly established awareness of the great share in consumption and environmental 

impacts of the existing building stock, I have found it very interesting and challenging to 

observe, understand, and investigate possibilities for its sustainable redevelopment. The fact 

that only 28% of the dwellings in the EU were built after 1973-1975 (in Belgrade perhaps even 

less), when new regulations were introduced as a result of the energy crisis, poses an urge to 

address the group of ‘older’ buildings in order to primarily reduce the huge amount of energy 

they consume. 2 With my personal background I could see no better place for such research 

than Belgrade’s city centre. Furthermore, in Serbia, due to the bad financial and social situation 

over the past years, which led to further degradation of the building stock, the necessity for 

sustainable redevelopment is even higher. 

The central city area of Belgrade was mainly built between World War I and II. Within the 

research site, the last legally built buildings were built in the mid 1960s. Most buildings are 

housing which are, due to the ongoing social and economic changes, turning into offices. 

1.2 The thesis 

The overall aim of this thesis is to create a flexible framework for upgrading the physical 

environment in order to ensure long term improvements in the environmental, social, and 

economic conditions leading to better quality of life and sustainable living. My focus is 

multifamily housing. In order to develop a meaningful framework, it has been necessary to do 

an intensive study of sustainable development issues, various guidelines and case studies, 

analyze different approaches and then develop my own approach. 

Sustainable development can be achieved only through involvement of all stakeholders. 3 In 

order to develop a successful framework it was necessary to test it by involving stakeholders in 

research. Since achieving benefits for future stakeholders through sustainable development is 

the main target, a part of the thesis work was to investigate different stakeholder groups and 

finally perform action research with primary school children. Children are believed to have the 

highest stakes in the future, but their opinions and needs are rarely considered in decisions 

affecting the future of our communities. Furthermore, children can give good and fresh ideas 

for the development. Once they feel that they can contribute to the development of their 

surroundings, it is believed that they take responsibility for their actions. Therefore long term 

benefits can be achieved. 

Finally, results from action research with children are analyzed through the professional prism, 

using different policies and goals for the development. They are formed as a guideline with 

instruments and means for achieving the better future. Hopefully, the proposed framework and 

solutions could be used as a principle for “upgrading” other parts of Belgrade as well. 

I see the topic of this thesis as a challenge and a beginning, full of possibilities for further 

research and development, involvement of other researchers, stakeholders, and authorities. 

2 David, H. Sustainable renovation of the existing housing stock, Institute for Housing and Urban Studies, 

Erasmus University Rotterdam, Oct 2001, document downloaded from 

http://www.eurima.org/downloads/Rotterdam.pdf, retrieved: Dec 2005 

3 The document of the Aarhus Convention is available at: http://www.unece.org/env/pp/ 




2.0 AIM AND SCOPE OF RESEARCH 

Environmental disequilibrium stimulates thought and action. Yet no 

definite programme of action can result from the mere awareness of 

estrangement from environment. The disturbed relation, therefore, 

urges man to search for guidance on a different level. So long as 

such guidance is not found, men have no choice but to justify or 

permit arbitrarily any environmental effort or neglect as a ‘natural’ 

or ‘human’ process. 4 Artur Glikson, 1963 

2.1 Aim of research 

My initial decision on selecting Belgrade as a subject of research was a wish to contribute to the 

development process of Serbia and Montenegro. Beside my personal connection to the selected 

area, and reasons described in the Introduction, I found support to my choice in the need to 

meet our international responsibility. It is the fourth key objective of the Declaration adopted 

by the European Parliament, in June 2005. 5 

The environmental disequilibrium which characterizes the central city area of Belgrade has 

motivated me to search for a framework that would help the sustainable upgrading of the 

physical environment. The main goal is to ensure long term improvements in the living 

conditions and quality of life. By upgrading the physical environment, I believe that we can 

achieve better environmental, social and economic conditions, which would lead to better 

quality of life. Physical upgrading also needs a source of finance and people to execute it. 

Therefore it is important that all three spheres of human activities (the spheres of environment, 

economy, and society) are viewed equally during the process of change. 

As every other city, Belgrade has a unique background in its development, with unique existing 

conditions. For the success of the framework it is essential that those conditions are taken into 

consideration during the framework development. 

Secondly, my aim is to examine if future stakeholders can contribute to the development 

process and if their involvement can lead to long term benefits. Also it is my wish to see if the 

process can trigger involvement of other stakeholders as well. My assessment is that due to 

many changes during the last 15 years, in Belgrade, people have lost contact with the city they 

live in. There has been an exchange in inhabitants, which created a slight tension between old 

residents and the new. New inhabitants brought new life styles and often show disrespect to 

the life in the city, which creates a bad response from the old inhabitants. By this I mean bad 

condition of buildings, building corridors, courtyards, and streets. Most adaptations that were 

done in or on the buildings didn’t respect the architectural design and appearance of the 

building, which as a result, creates a bad image of the city centre. In many courtyards, single 

one family houses were built illegally using public and private space and blocking passages. 

Many old inhabitants argue that new inhabitants do not respect the surroundings with creating 

high level of noise and leaving garbage in the building common spaces. 

Finally, I would like to test the created framework. Working on a theoretical framework is not 

enough to assure its success. I believe that it is best to combine theory and practice, since they 

complement each other. Experiences from one can help the development of the other. 

4 Glikson A (edited by Mumford L in 1971), The Ecological Basis of Planning, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 

page 3 

5 The Draft Declaration on the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Development, document can be 

downloaded from the Internet site:http://www.env-health.org/a/1779, date retrieved Sept 2005 




Every city has a different set of conditions as a basis for development. Even though cities are 

continually developing, most of the cities can be allocated, according to the level of 

development, in two main groups: developed and developing. Both groups have some specific 

characteristics. Belgrade’s unique background asks for a different approach in the development 

process from other cities. There are several changing points in its history that influenced its 

development. Within only a hundred years Belgrade has been through four wars and many 

changes of the political regime: the Balkan wars, World War I, World War II, and finally the last 

civil war in ex Yugoslavia. It has mostly developed during the communist regime after the 

World War II, when it grew up in more than 6 times in the number of its inhabitants. 

Some twenty years ago, Belgrade was considered to be a developed city. It was the capital of 

former Yugoslavia and therefore was the economic, social, and political centre. Due to 

circumstances, within only fifteen years, it has lost its former power, and has deteriorated into 

a city with illegal business, political dictatorship, followed by bad governance, bad social and 

economic conditions, refugees, and illegal building. Furthermore it has experienced bombing by 

the NATO forces. Belgrade inhabitants suffered most with the deterioration of living conditions 

and quality of life. 

The spirit of old Belgrade (before the World War II) was maintained through stories and 

bringing up of the new generations. On the other hand, people that have moved into the area 

from other parts of the city or Serbia have brought new behavior and customs. Thus, for the 

new development process, special attention should be made in reconciliation of the two parties 

and their involvement in the future of the city. The city centre was built as most of the 

European cities, reflecting social, economic, and political power. Unfortunately, due to the 

inadequate maintenance and lack of funding for further development, it was neglected during 

the past 20 years. The infrastructure has deteriorated so much that some of the basic, essential 

services need to be redeveloped from scratch. Together with bad governance, many conditions 

have led to serious deterioration of the environmental conditions. 

Having so complex existing conditions, it is a challenge to understand them and try developing 

a framework that would combine and join all parties and make better living conditions for all. 

2.2 Scope of research 

There are several aspects that are involved in the research process: 

Mental: Research involves work on developing a theoretical framework for understanding how 

sustainability can be achieved through upgrading the existing building stock. It is based on the 

imperatives of social, economic, environmental and institutional values. 

Social: Research involves primary stakeholders. Public participation is essential for successful 

development. By identifying all stakeholder groups and careful analysis of primary 

stakeholders, my aim is to focus on one stakeholder group that can be influenced most by the 

process of change. 

Physical: Research focuses on several building blocks in the central area of Belgrade. The 

research site is defined by the following streets: Nusiceva, Svetogorska, Takovska, and 

Kosovska. Research investigates only possibilities for physical upgrading of the existing building 

stock, with the aim of improving living conditions namely housing and it’s surrounding. 

In addition, during this research my personal goals are to professionally develop and acquire 

knowledge in: 

- sustainability issues 

- understanding social interactions between stakeholders when it comes to decisions on 

our future 

- planning, acting, acquiring, analyzing, and presenting results of a research work 




3.0 BACKGROUND 

3.1 Facts about Belgrade 

To understand the conditions that have led to the 

current situation in housing and its’ surroundings, it 

is necessary to introduce facts about Belgrade in its 

environmental conditions (geographical context), 

social conditions (history and population), and 

economy. 

3.1.1 Geographical Position, Territory, and 

Climate 

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia and Montenegro. It 

is situated in South-Eastern Europe, on the Balkan 

Peninsula. Belgrade lies at the point where the 

river Sava merges into the Danube, on the slope 

between two alluvial planes. 

Belgrade's surroundings consist of two different 

natural systems: on the north, the Pannonian 

depression, covered with wheat and corn, and 

Sumadija, with orchards and vineyards, south of 

the rivers Sava and Danube. The absolute altitude 

of the Meteorological Observatory - 132 m - is 

Pic 1. Map of Serbia and Montenegro 

considered the average altitude of Belgrade. The 

length of river banks of Belgrade is 200 km. There are 16 river islands in that area, and the 

best known of them are Ada Ciganlija, Veliko ratno ostrvo and Grocanska ada. 

Pic 2 Image of Belgrade, obtained from Google Earth 6 

The Belgrade territory covers 

an area of 322.268 ha (innercity 

area covers 35.996 ha), 

and it is administratively 

divided into 17 municipalities 

(10 urban). 

Belgrade has a moderate 

continental climate, with four 

seasons. The average 

temperature is 11.9 0 C. 

Autumn is longer than spring, 

with longer sunny and warm 

periods, the so-called Indian 

summer. On average there are 

139 days of rainfall, the 

heaviest in May and June. In 

Belgrade the most well-known 

wind is Kosava, which blows 

usually in autumn and winter, 

bringing clear and dry 

6 Google Earth, A 3D Interface to the Planet, program downloaded from site: http://earth.google.com/ 

Ivana Stankovic 

6



weather. It blows from the south-east or east with an average speed 25-43 km/h (occasionally 

up to 130km/h). Winter in Belgrade is not so severe, with an average of 21 days with 

temperature below zero. On average it snows for 27 days a year. January is the coldest month, 

with average temperature of 0.40 0 C. Summer in Belgrade arrives abruptly. The highest 

temperature recorded was 41.8 0 C, in September 1946, but during the last 15 years 

temperature has often reached the same level. 

3.1.2 History 7 

Being located where the Vinca culture existed and dominated the Balkans about 8,000 years 

ago, Belgrade is one of the oldest cities in Europe and maybe the world. Settled in the 3rd 

century BC by the Celts before becoming the Roman settlement of Singidunum, the site passed 

to the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. 

Singidunum experienced occupation by successive invaders of the region — Huns, Sarmatians, 

Ostrogoths and Avars — before the arrival of the Serbs around 630 AD. In 878 the city was 

renamed Beligrad ("white fortress" or "white town") under the rule of the Bulgarian kingdom. 

(Belgrade could also mean "East Town" because the Slavic word "beli" means "east" too.) For 

approximately 400 years, it remained a Bulgarian frontier town, often known as the region of 

"Belgrade and Branichevo". During that period, however, the city was also a subject to 

Byzantine rivalry and rule, before it finally emerged as a stronghold of the medieval Serbian 

kingdom. 

The first Serbian king to rule Belgrade was Dragutin (1276–1282), who received it as a present 

from the Hungarian king. 

Belgrade was subsequently occupied by the Kingdom of Hungary, whose forces under Jan 

Hunyadi defended it in the siege of Nándorfehérvár of 1456. In 1521, the fort was captured by 

the Ottoman Turks, and Belgrade remained under Ottoman rule for nearly three centuries. 

Thrice occupied by Austria (1688–1690, 1717–1739, 1789–1791), the city was briefly held 

(1806–1813) by Serbian forces during the first national uprising against Ottoman rule, and in 

1817 became the capital of an autonomous principality of Serbia (except in the period from 

1818–1839, when Kragujevac was the country's capital city). 

With the departure of its 

Turkish garrison (1867) and 

Serbia's full independence 

(1878) and elevation to a 

kingdom (1882), Belgrade 

became a key city of the 

Balkans. 

After occupation by Austro- 

Hungarian and German 

troops in 1915-1918 during 

World War I, Belgrade 

experienced faster growth 

Pic 3 Belgrade in 1789 

and significant modernization 

as the capital of the new 

Kingdom of Yugoslavia during the 1920s and 1930s, growing in population to 239,000 by 1931 

with the incorporation of the northern suburb of Zemun, formerly on the Austro-Hungarian 

bank of the river. 

7 Data obtained from the Internet site of Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade#History date retrieved 2005-11-23 


7



On April 6, 1941, Belgrade was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe (killing thousands of people) 

and Yugoslavia was invaded by German, Italian, Hungarian and Bulgarian forces. The city 

remained under German occupation until October 20, 1944, when it was liberated by Yugoslav 

Partisan forces and the Red Army. The same year it was heavily bombed, 11 times in the spring 

and early autumn, by the Americans and other allies. In the post-war period Belgrade grew 

rapidly as the capital of the renewed Yugoslavia, developing as a major industrial centre. 

As a result of a specific policy led by Josip Broz Tito, Belgrade became and important 

international, political, cultural European, sports, and economic center. Unfortunately, many 

unsolved national, ethnical, political, economic and other problems in the country led to 

disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1991, which marked the end of the longest period of peace in 

Balkan in the XX century. Since 1992 Belgrade has been the capital of the Federal Republic of 

Yugoslavia, consisting of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro. Belgrade was 

bombed by NATO aviation during the Kosovo War in 1999 which caused substantial damage. 

As of March 2002, Belgrade has been the 

capital of the newly formed State Union 

of Serbia and Montenegro. 

Belgrade has come under some form of 

attack some 54 times since AD 1, or 

every 37 years on average. This means 

that, statistically, every citizen of 

Belgrade has seen two attacks on the 

city in his/her life. Zoran Djindjic was the 

first elected mayor of Belgrade. The 

current mayor is Nenad Bogdanovic. 

3.1.3 Population 

In 2002, 8116552 people lived in Serbia 

and Montenegro, of which 56.8% lived in 

urban areas. 8 Population per 1km 2 was 

89. In total, there were 2712237 

Pic 4 Belgrade from the Sava river 

households, with the average of 29.7 

households per 1km 2 . According to the 

same statistic in Serbia and Montenegro 3.3 persons lived per household (which gives 98 

people per 1km 2 ). If we compare the numbers, according to the same statistics 22 persons 

lived in Sweden per 1km 2 , and 479 in the Netherlands. 

In Serbia and Montenegro, children under the age of 7 were 13.82% of the total number of 

inhabitants, while children aged from 7 to 14 contributed 15.94% to the total number. 

As a result of Belgrade’s turbulent history, many nations live in Belgrade for centuries, and the 

majority of the population make Serbs (86%) of Orthodox persuasion. In total there are 24 

different nationalities declared with some 50000 people not declared or unknown. 9 

8 Statistical Pocket Book 2005, Statistical Office, Belgrade 2005. Document downloaded from the Official 

Internet site of the Statistical Office of Serbia and Montenegro: http://www.szs.sv.gov.yu/english.htm 

document retrieved 2005-11-22 

9 Data obtained from the official Internet site of the City of Belgrade: http://www.beograd.org.yu, data 

retrieved 2005-11-20 


8



According to 2002 census, there were 1.576.124 citizens in the larger-city area, and 1.273.651 

citizens in the inner-city area. During the last 70 years the population has grown 6.6 times in 

Belgrade which made a significant impact to the city as a whole. 

3.1.4 Economy in Yugoslavia after the World War II 10 

From 1945 to 1950 the state controlled the economy absolutely. As in the USSR, Yugoslavia’s 

Communist government established economic goals through five-year plans. The first five-year 

plan, launched in 1947, began a program of rapid industrialization. This program emphasized 

heavy industry over light industry and largely neglected agriculture and consumer goods. The 

government attempted to collectivize farms, but the peasants resisted vigorously. 

In 1950 and 1951 the government formally abandoned state ownership and central planning in 

favor of programs known as social ownership and workers’ self-management. In the former, the 

government gradually transferred its control of enterprises to local communes and workers’ 

councils. Under the principle of self-management, the workers supposedly ran the factories, 

free to make their own production and marketing decisions. Profits were distributed as wages 

and served as the measure of the success of an enterprise. Despite appearances, however, the 

state still controlled the economy, having—and later sharing—the power to appoint enterprise 

directors and to allocate money for each enterprise. Production and consumption boomed, but 

state control of investment funds led to the continued creation and survival of politically 

favored, inefficient enterprises. By 1952 only about one-fifth of the country’s agricultural land 

had been collectivized, and the state ceased its effort to collectivize farms. Most farms 

remained or changed back to being small and privately held. Farming methods remained 

primitive, and farmers had no access to bank loans or other means of financing. These factors 

limited food production, forcing Yugoslavia to import grain and other foodstuffs. Millions of 

peasants migrated to cities and tried to find jobs in industries. But neither the cities nor the 

industries were expanding rapidly enough to house and create jobs for so many people. 

In 1965 the government instituted major economic reforms that ushered in a program known 

as market socialism. Under this program, the government surrendered control of investment 

funds to enterprises and to a reformed banking system. Lowered taxes allowed enterprises to 

keep more of their earned income instead of handing it over to the state. The government lifted 

price controls, and it devalued the currency, the dinar, to encourage exports. Investment 

priorities changed to favor consumer goods over heavy industries. Peasant farmers gained 

access to credits, enabling them to buy farm machinery to expand production and end the 

dependence on food imports. Yugoslavia lifted its restrictions on emigration, and in each year 

after 1965 up to a million Yugoslavs lived in Western Europe as guest workers. The earnings 

they sent home became increasingly important to the Yugoslav economy, contributing to a 

boom in private house building and small private enterprises. These enterprises contributed 

significantly to a flourishing tourist industry concentrated along the Adriatic coast. 

Along with their positive results, the reforms of 1965 led to rising unemployment, inflation, and 

regional differences in wealth. These negative developments led to a retreat from the principles 

of market socialism. In the early 1970s reforms were implemented that, in effect, created a 

negotiated economy based on contracts between firms. These contracts were designed to 

protect supply and demand (and prices) from market competition. 

At the same time, foreign borrowing grew rapidly. The borrowed money was intended for 

modernization of export-oriented industries. However, most of it was used to help pay for 

increasing consumption and prosperity for most Yugoslavs. In 1980, the year Tito died, a 

worldwide recession and foreign credit squeeze, combined with the flaws in the economic 

10 Data obtained from the Internet site Encarta online: 

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761567145_2/Yugoslavia.html, retrieved 2005-11-17 


9



system, plunged Yugoslavia’s economy into crisis. By 1985 the deepening crisis had reduced 

living standards to low 1965 levels. Tito’s successors were unable to agree on and implement 

any effective response, and the economic crisis expanded into social, political, and 

constitutional crises. 

Between April and December 1990, pressures generated by the collapse of Communist regimes 

throughout Eastern Europe, and in some cases by liberals in their own ranks, forced the 

regional Communist parties to agree to multiparty elections in all six republics. Nationalist 

parties won the most votes everywhere. Communists won only in Serbia and Montenegro, 

where they were also Serb nationalists. 

The economy of Serbia and Montenegro entered a prolonged decline in 1989. Exacerbated by 

the economic embargo imposed during the Bosnian war, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 

(FRY) economy's downward spiral showed no real sign of recovery until 1995. GDP was 

nowhere near its 1991 level, but the NATO bombing in 1999 of the basic infrastructure of the 

country and many factories, as well as a renewed embargo caused a further huge drop in GDP 

in relation to the 1991 level. In Dec 1993 the hyperinflation reached 3000% per month. The 

largest banknote in circulation had a nominal value of 500 billion dinars. The period between 

1993 and 1994 is known as ‘The Worst Episode of Hyperinflation in History’ (Appendix 1). 

The first sign of an economic recovery occurred in 2001 after the removal of Milosevic on 

October 5, 2000. A vigorous team of economic reformers has worked to tame inflation (nonenergy 

inflation is less than 9% in 2002, down from over 120% two years earlier) and 

rationalize the SCG economy. GDP, although only half of its 1997 level, is projected to increase 

steadily in the near future. As of January 2005 GDP has "recovered" to 55-60% of its 1990 

level, due to GDP growth of 8.5% in 2004. 

The Serbian economy is still a disaster but improving with economic recovery from 

reconstruction projects underway from the war, foreign aid support and a new relative political 

stability. Today, 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line as the Serbian 

economy is only 50 percent that of its 1990 economy output level. The transition from the 

former socialist model economy under former President Milosevic to a free market economy is 

in progress. Privatization and Western style economic reforms including prices being freed, 

reduction in tariffs, support for open trade and international investment are vital new elements 

of the Serbian economy unlike the previous criminalized economy as it slowly gets dismantled. 

Economic aid has played a major role with $2 billion USD already pledged in year 2001. 11 

11 Data obtained from the Internet site: http://www.bankintroductions.com/serbia.html, retrieved 2005- 

12-16 


10



3.2 Architecture in Belgrade 

The architectural inheritance of Belgrade is not 

equally preserved. The course of the history, and 

a specific geographic situation, with frequent wars 

and destructions, were not favorable for a longer 

duration and preservation of the buildings. That is 

why most of them date back only to the 19th 

century. A little is known about the medieval 

Belgrade architecture, except about the Belgrade 

fortress. During the Turkish government, 

buildings had all the characteristics of the Islam 

architecture. With the arrival of foreign specialists 

after the First and the Second Serbian 

Insurrections, Belgrade architecture began to 

obtain western characteristics. During the middle 

of the 19th century Belgrade experienced a 

complete urbanistic and architectural 

transformation. Historicism is the basic 

characteristic of Belgrade architecture also during 

the first quarter of the 20th century, even where 

the intention of the author was to accept different 

varieties of 'art nouveau', better known under the 

name "secession". The most characteristic 

Belgrade building in the first half of the 20th 

century is the Federal Parliament building, 12 

which is located next to the studied area. 

The International Modern movement, which took 

grounds in Belgrade at the beginning of 1930s, 

always aimed at a generally declared ideal which 

could be carried out only when there was enough 

money. Belgrade modernists supported the 

opinion that architecture is obliged to meet the 

needs of the state, society and individuals, and 

that it must impose usefulness and rationality on new materials and construction. 13 Momcilo 

Belobrk was the only one among Belgrade's modernists who had an understanding for investors 

without a lot of money, and he constructed some fifty larger residential homes for them, in 

almost all sections of Belgrade of that time. Those buildings, today have no splendour, because 

no one ever took care of them, and remind one of the Modern age, before World War II, only 

through their corner solutions and the purity of relationship between "full and empty" facades. 13 

Most of those buildings can be found in the central area of Belgrade. 

3.3 Housing in Belgrade 

Pic 5 The oldest restaurant in Belgrade “?” built 

in 1820. 

Pic 6 Knez Mihajlova Street, the main walking 

street in Belgrade 

If one traces Serbian residential architecture from the eighties of the 19th century, almost 

nothing has changed in terms of context, until the seventies of the last century. There were 

always restrictions on residential housing, which were often explained by the need to be 

12 Manevic Z. Architecture and Building, article downloaded from the Internet site: 

http://web.mit.edu/most/www/ser/Belgrade/zoran_manevic.html, date retrieved: 2005-11-23 

13 Mladenovic I., Modern Serbian Architecture, Chapter from the book "The history of Serbian Culture", 

Porthill Publishers, (http://www.rastko.org.yu/isk/imladjenovic-modern_architecture.html 


11



"rational, cheap, and directed". Hence, there are many regulations about the proportions of 

every room in an apartment, the number of square meters in an apartment, the number of 

tenants, the width of balconies or loggia, the possible height of ceilings, the number of sanitary 

facilities and sanitary hook-ups which can be attached to a sewage line, the width and height of 

windows and doors, and so on. Architects did their best under such strict regulations, without 

many possibilities for personal expressions in designs. Housings were mostly public, 

constructed and managed by public services. Yet, after 1967, Serbian, and after them other 

Yugoslav architects as well, began to fight against the restraints in building residential homes. 

Some architects succeeded in using attractive locations and designing homes adjusting the 

regulations to the site specifics. It was at the end of ‘70s, when the communist regime was 

declining in power. Even tough the newly constructed housing areas were in the suburbs, they 

created a response from the public, both state officials and the general public, creating public 

debate and defining the new owners as capitalists. Nevertheless, it was a breakthrough in 

architectural design which culminated in the mid ‘90s. Even though construction was almost at 

a halt due to bad economic situation in the country, some of the buildings that were built in 

Belgrade were marking the new era of housing made for private investors. Nowadays, the 

building regulations are still strong, but the design is dominated by the investors and the 

available money for construction. 

3.3.1 Statistics 

In the city of Belgrade there are 430897 dwellings with 25181930 m 2 of total area. Most 

dwellings (41.57%) are two room apartments (living room and bedroom), whereas only 2.51% 

are 5 and more room apartments. 14 The number of privately owned dwellings is 418772 which 

is 97.18% of the total. 

Graph 1. Apartments in Serbia according to their type 14 

14 

Census of population, households and apartments in 2002. Apartments. Type, ownership and 

equipement, Belgrade May 2004. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Document downloaded 

from the official Internet site: http://webrzs.statserb.sr.gov.yu date retrieved 2005-11-22 


12



Graph 2. Dwelling types in the City of Belgrade 15 

According to the graph most dwellings in Belgrade were built between 1961 and 1980, which 

was a trend in most European cities. Most dwellings were two room apartments. The first major 

building era was after the World War I, when Belgrade became the capital of Kingdom of 

Yugoslavia. The majority of the buildings were built in the central area of the city, most of 

which are located in the current municipality of Stari Grad (within which is the study area). 

According to the statistical data for 2003, during the same year, there were no dwellings built 

in the municipality Stari Grad. 17 

3.3.2 Housing in the city centre 

In Belgrade, at the moment there are no publicly 

owned apartments, but there is still a big problem 

with the ownership of apartments in the central 

area that were nationalized by the government 

after the Second World War. 

Before the Second World War there were no 

public owned apartments. People earned their 

dwellings by hard working. Sometimes, several 

buildings had one owner. Buildings are usually 

five storeys high and mostly have two apartments 

per floor (Pic 7). Apartments were mostly rented 

out. Buildings were maintained by a person that 

usually lived in the ground floor apartment. 

Pic 7 Housing in the centre of Belgrade 

In the years between 1944 and the end of 1960s 

in former Yugoslavia there were adopted many legal acts on confiscation of assets and 

15 Census of population, households and apartments in 2002. Apartments. Size, quality, year of 

construction, ownership, households and persons – Part I, Belgrade May 2004. Statistical Office of the 

Republic of Serbia. Document downloaded from the official Internet site: 

http://webrzs.statserb.sr.gov.yu date retrieved 2005-11-22 


13



properties. Private properties were turned into public owned assets without any reimbursement. 

Big housing owners were allowed to keep only as was considered enough for their family and 

the rest was nationalized. Usually, they were allowed to stay in the apartment they lived in, but 

sometimes occupants changed. All maintenance was done by the Public Enterprise "City 

Housing" that was founded for the purpose of maintenance of housing and public areas. 

As in the suburbs, in the central area there were also 

new apartment buildings built, but this time they were 

public owned (Pic 8). They were also maintained by 

public services, until the fall of the communist regime 

(beginning of 1980s). 

Pic 8 Housing built in the ‘60s in the 

centre of Belgrade 

Pic 9 Housing in the centre of Belgrade 

With the introduction of a multiparty political system at 

the beginning of the 1990s, and constitutional 

disestablishment of private ownership maximum, the 

old communist laws were de-legitimized. With the 

beginning of the privatization process of public and 

state owned assets, legal persons as carriers of the 

right to manage, were brought into the situation to sell 

not only the legally attained properties but also the 

nationalized. This resulted in buying out the public 

owned apartments much below market prices. Eighty 

square meter apartments were bought for app 1000 

euros, using inflation for lowering the already below 

value prices. Also, nationalized apartments were 

privatized (since inhabitants had the right of usage 

under the communist regime). As new owners they got 

the right to resell the apartments, which led to a 

complicated current situation for dealing with 

denationalization. 

After the “privatization” in the ‘90s buildings and their 

surroundings started to deteriorate, since public 

services stopped operating. Furthermore, the 

economic, social and political crisis influenced further 

deterioration. It also led to a change in occupants. Old 

inhabitants had to sell the apartments due to financial 

reasons and new inhabitants couldn’t relate to the 

surrounding in a sense of belonging (they bought only 

the apartments). New inhabitants brought new life 

styles. Many apartments were redecorated, trying to 

use every available square meter. This led to changes 

in façades mostly in the inner courtyards (i.e. 

balconies were turned into apartment space, 

sometimes used as additional storage area) (Pic 9.). 

Also some street facades suffered the changes. Due to 

lack of parking space people started using the inner 

courtyards for parking. 

Most changes occurred in 1999 and 2000, when people 

used (or better said misused) the Law on Planning and 

Building in Serbia. According to the Law, in article 90 it 

is stated that “Building new or executing additional 

building operations on existing buildings can be done 


14



without getting a permition for building if the building is built right before or during squall 

weather, as well as for clearance of destructed areas, right after their occurrence, as well as in 

case of war or war danger.” 16 Many people used that article for additional building or 

“redecoration”. There are also cases of single family houses that were built in the courtyards of 

the housing blocks in the centre of Belgrade (Pic 8 and Pictures 28 and 29 in Section 5.1.3, 

page 37). Additionally, the building and redecoration of the apartments resulted in using inner 

courtyards as storage and dumpsite areas. 

So far, ex-communist countries have 

introduced and conducted laws on 

denationalization and reimbursement (East 

Germany, Poland, Check Republic, Slovak 

Republic, Hungary, Rumania), but also some 

of the ex Yugoslavian states (Slovenia, 

Croatia, Macedonia), before they have taken 

the process of privatization or parallel to it. 17 

Belgrade has gone through the privatization 

process without such a law and now that is 

creating large problems to the current 

government. Apartments were bought out 

(privatized) and then some of them were 

resold. There is an association of people 

whose properties were nationalized, who 

request for denationalization. 

Pic 8 Inner courtyard in the city centre 

Due to the unsettled ownership types, it 

creates great challenges for the redevelopment and upgrading processes. Also, it creates a 

challenge to solve the management and maintenance problems for the common parts of the 

buildings where nobody is responsible (roof, facades, common indoor areas…). 

16 Zakon o Planiranju I Izgradnji i Odredbe (Law on Planning and Building and legal provisions), "Sl. 

glasnik RS", No 47/2003, document can be downloaded from the Official Internet site of Belgrade 

Land Development Public Agency: http://www.beoland.com/ostalo/zakonoplaniizgr.pdf , date retreived 

2005-11-17 

17 Savinsek, J. Denacionalizacija i Obestecenje kao Prvi Uslov Privatizacije (Denationalization and 

Reimbursement as the First Condition for Privatization), Legal informator, online edition, text obtained 

and translated from the Internet site: http://www.informator.co.yu/informator/2001/tema601.htm , 

date 2005-11-15 


15



4.0 MENTAL SCOPE 

4.1 Putting research into a context 

In some farming societies, concern for the environment is part of their tradition and culture. In 

ancient societies such as the South-American Ayllu and the Asian Savah community and 

environment were named the same term. Past environmental orders were often harmonious in 

man-environment relationship. 1 Unfortunately, due to the unsustainable behavior of the 

industrialized world, human actions have led the environment to serious deterioration. It was 

necessary to bring the concern for the environment to the global level. 

The concept of sustainability, at the high state level, can be traced back to President Theodore 

Roosevelt and further. He stated: “To waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin and 

exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase it's usefulness, will result in undermining 

in the days of our children the very properity which we ought by right to hand down to them 

amplified and developed.” 2 

Globally, the concern for the environment was brought on the agenda at the beginning of 1980s 

when scientists warned of the great threat that our way of life is proposing to the environment. 

The idea was to focus on environmental issues only. But, as Mrs Gro Harlem Brundtland argued 

“it would have been a grave mistake”. The environment doesn’t exist as a sphere separate from 

human actions, ambitions, and needs. The word “development” has also been viewed as a 

narrowed sphere proposing “what poor nations should do to become richer”. In the foreword of 

the Brundtland Commission Report, Our Common Future, Mrs Brundtland noted that “the 

“environment” is where we all live; and “development” is what we all do in attempting to 

improve our lot within that abode. The two are inseparable. Further, development issues must 

been seen as crucial by the political leaders who feel that their countries have reached a 

plateau towards which other nations must strive. Many of the development paths of the 

industrialized nations are clearly unsustainable. And the development decisions of these 

countries, because of their great economic and political power, will have a profound effect upon 

the ability of people to sustain human progress for regeneration to come.” 3 

Finally, in the Brundtland Commission Report on Environment and Development (1987), 

Our Common Future it is stated: 

“Development involves a progressive transformation of economy and society. A development 

path that is sustainable in a physical sense could theoretically be pursued even in a rigid social 

and political setting. But physical sustainability cannot be secured unless development policies 

pay attention to such considerations as changes in access to resources and in the distribution of 

costs and benefits. Even the narrow notion of physical sustainability implies a concern for social 

equity between generations, a concern that must logically be extended to equity within each 

generation.” 4 

Traditionally there were three parts for measuring success of a community: economy, society 

and environment. They were viewed and assessed separately and measured without 


page 2 

2 Quote by Theodore Roosevelt, retrieved from site: 

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/theodore_roosevelt.html, date 2005-11-15 

3 Report on the World Commission on Environment and Development, ‘Our Common Future’ (1987), page 

14, full document can be downloaded from the Internet site: 

http://www.are.admin.ch/are/en/nachhaltig/international_uno/unterseite02330/ , date retrieved: 2005- 

10-26 

4 Report on the World Commission on Environment and Development, ‘Our Common Future’ (1987), page 

54 


16



interconnection. Development of a country was measured by GDP values without parallel 

assessment of how changes in GDP affected the social and environmental sphere. The 

traditional business view places the environment and society as separate entities, outside 

economic considerations and minuscule in relative importance. 5 Conventional business 

perception mistakenly sees priorities in economic, environmental, and social policy competing. 6 

Nowadays, sustainable development is often illustrated schematically using three circles for the 

target dimensions of environment, economy and society (Pic 9). Environment can be defined 

as: ‘the totality of surrounding conditions’. Economy can be defined as:’ careful, thrifty 

management of resources, such as money, materials, or labor’. Society can be defined as: ‘the 

totality of social relationships among humans’ 7 . The scheme suggests that: 

Pic 9. Three spheres for the 

target dimensions 

• Economic, social and environmental processes are 

interlinked. Public and private agents alike cannot be 

permitted to act one-dimensionally and in isolation. 

Instead, their actions must take into account the 

interplay between the three dimensions of 

environment, economy and society. 

• Sustainable development goes beyond environmental 

conservation. In order to satisfy our material and 

immaterial needs, we require economic prosperity and 

solidarity in our society. 

• The implications for the future of the actions of today 

must be factored in (the intergenerational aspect) so 

that future generations are also able to satisfy their 

needs. 

• Sustainable development calls for long-term structural change in our economic and 

social systems, with the aim of reducing the consumption of the environment and 

resources to a permanently affordable level, while maintaining economic output potential 

and social solidarity. 

In practice there are other views and interpretations of 

sustainability. Maureen Hart from Sustainable 

Measures 8 suggests a view of sustainable communities - 

as three concentric circles: the economy exists within 

society, and both the economy and society exist within 

the environment (Pic 10). As the figure illustrates, 

economy exists within society because all parts of 

human economy require interaction among people. 

Society, in its turn, exists entirely within the 

environment. Our basic requirements, air, food and 

water, come from the environment, as do the energy 

Pic 10. Three concentric circles 

representing sustainable communities by 

M. Hart 

5 Willard, B (2002), The Sustainability Advantage, Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line, 

New Society Publishers, Canada, page 146 

6 Hawken P, Lovis A.B., and Lovins L.H., (1999), Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial 

Revolution, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, US, page xi 

7 Definition taken from the online dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com 

8 Information on Sustainable Measures and Maureen Hart can be found on the Internet site: 

http://www.sustainablemeasures.com/index.html 


17



and raw materials for housing, transportation and the products we depend on. Finally, the 

environment surrounds society. At an earlier point in human history, the environment largely 

determined the shape of society. Today the opposite is true: human activity is reshaping the 

environment at an ever-increasing rate. The parts of the environment unaffected by human 

activity are getting smaller all the time. However, because people need food, water and air to 

survive, society can never be larger than the environment. 9 

Another approach which is similar to the 

Maureen Harts was created by the 

Carmarthenshire County Council, UK. 

They suggest that we should effectively 

treat the Earth as though we intend to 

stay (Pic 11). While giving an equal 

weight to the environmental, social, and 

economic dimensions, they also consider 

long-term implications of their decisions, 

taking into account both the direct and 

indirect effects. 

As already indicated, to date, there have 

been numerous interpretations of the 

Brundtland Commission Report 

regarding the approach to sustainable development. An interesting model was developed by 

The German Wuppertal Institute which defines sustainability as consisting of four dimensions: 

social, economic, environmental, and institutional (institutional includes not only organizations, 

but also mechanisms and orientations). Sustainability is viewed as a prism with links between 

the four dimensions and it is called “Prism of Sustainability”. 11 

“The environmental imperative describes the need to reduce the pressure 

on the physical environment to within ecological system limits. The 

environmental dimension of sustainability aims at keeping intact, indefinitely, 

the stability of the processes of 

the ecosphere, as a dynamic 

and self-organised structure. 

The institutional imperative 

calls for strengthening people's 

participation in political 

governance. The mechanisms 

of decision-making have to 

integrate people's wishes and 

activities. 

Pic 12 Prism of Sustainability, The German Wuppertal 

Institute 

Pic 11 Carmarthenshire County Council on Sustainable 

Development 10 

The social imperative 

demands that all individuals 

have access to the resources 

and facilities they need to live a 

9 

More information on Sustainable Measures can be found on the Internet site: 

http://www.sustainablemeasures.com/index.html 

10 Carmarthenshire County Council http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk 

11 Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, http://www.wupperinst.org/ 


18



healthy and dignified life. This implies a non-discriminatory social fabric, 

supported by measures to reduce social exclusion and guarantee social 

minimum standards and human rights. 

The economic imperative is to satisfy human needs for material welfare. This 

implies an economy which supports employment and livelihoods, in a 

framework which is competitive and stable at the macro-economic scale.” 12 

In order to secure the future of communities, governments around the world define and present 

sustainable development in a way that most suits their conditions. An interesting approach to 

sustainable development initiative was developed by the Philippines. They have developed a 

framework that is incorporated into the Philippine Agenda 21 13 . From the Philippine perspective 

sustainable development is a multidimensional concept, involving seven dimensions (Pic 13). 

Sustainable development is viewed 

as interactions between the 

interests of business and the 

economy, government and the 

polity, and civil society and culture. 

Society can be understood as the 

integrative result of interactions of 

the different activities in culture, 

polity, and the economy. On the 

other hand sustainable 

development is grounded on the 

primacy of people (human being) 

and nature in the development 

process. Spirituality is very 

important for the Filipinos. 

Therefore, they include spiritual 

development as essential to 

achieve sustainability. 

Pic 13 The Philippine view of sustainable development 

As mentioned earlier and viewed from the Philippine example, different frameworks should be 

created for each case. The framework should be guided by the Sustainable Development 

principles defined at an international level and adjusted to the local conditions. 

12 The Prism of Sustainability, Internet site: http://www.foeeurope.org/sustainability/sustain/t-contentprism.htm 

date retrieved 2005-11-01 

13 Philippine Agenda 21, Principles of Unity, document available at 

http://www.cadi.ph/pa21_principles_of_unity.htm date retrieved 2006-01-10 


19



4.2 The Theoretical Framework 

For the purpose of discussing the sustainable upgrading of the physical environment, I believe 

it is an excellent learning exercise to try and develop a model or theoretical framework, on the 

case of Belgrade. After careful analysis of different approaches and practices around the world, 

my initial standpoint on sustainability issues is closest to the model developed by The German 

Wuppertal Institute. As stated above, it integrates four dimensions of human activity for 

sustainable development. The idea proposed by Ms Hart of having the three spheres one inside 

the other is logical and true but it describes the dependency of spheres among each other. I 

think that it would be wrong to interpret it as different levels of importance, having the 

economy sphere the smallest – as least important and the environment the biggest - as most 

important. Physically they are different in size, but in the process of change that we are facing 

now, I believe that we should view the three spheres of economy, society and environment 

(ESE) equally. They are dependent on each other. Development and “well-being” of each 

influences the others. Therefore I have decided to use the model of the three spheres identical 

in size overlapping each other. In that way they can be viewed equally at the same time. 

Pic 14 Spheres of sustainability 

The Economy sphere represents all human 

economic activities. The Society sphere represents 

all human social interactions. The Environmental 

sphere represents our natural surroundings that we 

are dependent on and that we have a direct 

influence and effect on. Therefore, mainly within 

the Environment sphere lies the sphere of Physical, 

built-up surrounding. It also covers the sphere of 

Society and Economy since society is the creator 

and main user of the built up surrounding and 

economy is the source of means for the execution 

and development of it. The areas of overlapping 

spheres represent the interactions between them 

(Pic 14). 

I argue that by upgrading the existing 

physical environment we can achieve benefits 

within each of the three ESE spheres 

(conditions). Of course, changes proposed 

should be done within the earth's carrying 

capacity and along with the sustainable 

development principles. 

The three spheres are connected by a 

triangle, which defines the area of human 

activity. Human activities can also be defined 

as “human environment”. The term “human 

environment” was defined by Artur Glikson 

(1911-1966) as “the space which surrounds 

human movement, work, habitation, rest and 

recreation – towns and villages, settlement 

influence areas, the rural and the accessible 

virgin landscape. This environment is 

generally defined as a set of biological and 


Pic 15 Area of human activities 

20



physical facts in space, as modified by man.” 14 The triangle represents the intentional or known 

influences to the surroundings by all human activities. Unfortunately, human activities have an 

impact beyond the defined triangular area, and it is the area of human actual influence to the 

surrounding. The size of the triangle is difficult to assess and define because it is difficult to 

measure the real level of our activities. The planet is a complex and dynamic system whose 

liquid (water and other), gaseous (air and other), solid (ground), and organic realms are closely 

linked, and a change in one may lead to a change in all the others. Changes in land use, for 

example, such as clearing for agriculture, have impacts on climate, soils, water quality, and 

biodiversity, among other impacts. 

In addition, human activities are different from each of the ESE spheres. They could be defined 

as Development (from the economy sphere), Stewardship (from the environmental) and 

Governance – community-capacity (from the social sphere). Development should ensure the 

economic prosperity of humans, which means long-term health of global, local and corporate 

economies. 15 Stewardship should ensure that human activities “do no harm” to the 

environment, but also restore the environment from the harm already done. Governance – 

community - capacity should insure that all individuals are treated equal, using local human 

resources to achieve sustainability. 

I have imposed limits or boundaries to the theoretical framework. The main reason is that, as 

mentioned earlier, frameworks should be developed for each individual case. Due to its 

complexity, sustainability needs to be addressed in detail, with different starting conditions for 

each case. I have imposed two limits to the framework: physical and theoretical. Physical limits 

have two dimensions: global - the earth’s carrying capacity (humans current known limits, 

differently defined from the environment. It represents how much of human activities can Earth 

actually “carry”), and local – the selected site in Belgrade for upgrading the existing building 

stock (which is the limit of this thesis). Theoretical limits are: sustainable development (as 

currently pursued tendency in all human activities) and green development (focusing on 

improving efficiency of the built environment). This actually means that upgrading of the 

existing building stock (at the selected site) should be in line with sustainable development 

principles, using green development for upgrading the buildings into more comfortable, more 

efficient, healthier, and better places to live in. Of course, it should all be within the limits of 

earth’s carrying capacity (in ratio to its contribution). 

The described framework, so far, is how I see the world today and the tendencies we are 

striving to. It is based on my analysis of the ongoing trends that are assessing sustainable 

development. As stated earlier, my idea is to try and implement it on the case of upgrading the 

existing building stock. The subject area is central part of Belgrade, described in the section 5.0 

of the thesis. 

As I argued above, by upgrading the existing physical environment we can achieve benefits 

within each of the three ESE spheres (conditions). That doesn’t imply that all our problems will 

be solved, and all sustainability issues will be addressed. To give an example, by upgrading the 

courtyards within the existing building blocks into recreational areas combined with services 

(small restaurants or cafes – activating or redeveloping the ground floor areas of buildings) we 

can achieve benefits for local inhabitants (social bounding, intergenerational connection, 

children play), local environment (greenery and infiltration of rainwater into the soil), and local 

economy (financial benefits from services). The changes would be mainly physical and they 

would directly influence the three ESE spheres. However, as mentioned, not all problems can be 


page 1 

15 Willard, B (2002), The Sustainability Advantage, Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line, 

New Society Publishers, Canada, page 5 


21



solved. Globally, problems can be found in each human activity. Individually, each person can 

identify a problem according to their observations and interests. To add, environmental 

problems and problems of other living creatures can be analyzed and viewed differently by 

different professionals or non professionals. Therefore, it is almost impossible to reconcile all 

parties. People around the world are putting great efforts in defining the most important issues 

for addressing on a global scale, in order to achieve a sustained future for our and coming 

generations. 

For the purpose of this thesis, it would be necessary, as a starting point, to identify problems 

within each sphere of human activities within the selected research site. Problems occur both 

inside the triangle (”human environment”) and out (pic 16). Pic 16 should be viewed as a 

scheme, where the size of the spheres and the triangle are not represented in a proper ratio. A 

separate study would be carried out in order to allocate the contribution of human actions to 

each sphere. The area in the triangle and outside the spheres represent human activities other 

than social or societal and economic. They could be individual and spiritual (as in the 

Philippines). 

As it is suggested in the Aarhus 

convention 16 , I share the belief 

that the process of change can 

be successful only if stakeholders 

are involved. In the case of 

multifamily housing, owners, 

managers, and occupants should 

be consulted and included in the 

process of change. In Belgrade, 

and Serbia, owner-occupied 

housing is prevailing. There is 

almost no public rental housing. 

Rented apartments are from 

privately owned individuals. The 

central city area has its location 

specifics which impose that there 

are other stakeholder groups that 

have interests in its upgrading. 

Since it is not a strictly housing 

area stakeholders include people 

that work in the area, go to 

school, visit, intend to buy 

identifying problems 

by different stakeholders 

ECONOMY 

PHYSICAL 

BUILT-UP 

SURROUNDING 



ENVIRONMENT 

SOCIETY 

Pic 16 Identifying problems in the three spheres 



property, and the authorities that see interest in maintaining high value of the area. Therefore, 

many stakeholders should be involved in order to successfully upgrade the area (even though 

the focus is multifamily housing). Of course, some stakeholders have higher interests than the 

others and a careful selection should be done before the initiation of the process. In this 

research children are primary stakeholders and they are involved from the beginning with 

identification of problems. My role as a professional is to organize the process, collect the data, 

analyze, and structure them for further research. 

Problems shouldn’t be the only focus of the study. It is often that research focuses only on 

identifying and solving problems. I believe that we should also identify good things that 

characterize a place, so the picture of the place is complete and in addition we understand 

16 Full text of The Aarhus Convention can be downloaded from the Internet site: 

http://www.unece.org/env/pp/ 


22



better how it functions. Good things that are identified by stakeholders could also be used as a 

solution for other problems. They could also be upgraded, which could influence the overall 

results. 

INSTRUMENTS/MEANS 

TO ACHIEVE 

ECONOMICAL SECURITY 

ECONOMY 

PHYSICAL 

BUILT-UP 

SURROUNDING 

ENVIRONMENT 

SOCIETY 

INSTRUMENTS/MEANS TO ACHIEVE ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY 


TO ACHIEVE 

SOCIAL EQUITY 

HUMAN WELL-BEING 

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY 

ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY 

FINANTIAL SUCCESS 

Pic 17 Instruments and means by which problems could be solved 

After identifying 

problems, the next step 

is to determine 

instruments and means 

by which problems could 

be solved (Pic 17). They 

are identified by the 

stakeholders 

or 

professional groups. 

Since problems occur in 

each sphere, solutions 

to them could be found 

by implementing 

changes within each of 

the spheres. Sometimes 

the solution to a 

problem that occurs in 

one sphere can be found 

in another. Identified 

problems, 

with 

instruments and means 

for their resolving, are 

placed outside the 

triangle of the ‘human 

environment’ to secure the objectiveness and unbiased analysis. In this research instruments 

and means are defined as a result from the research performed with children that is assessed 

through a professional prism and proposed for implementation. I believe that by identifying 

problems and trying to find a solution to them in upgrading the physical environment, benefits 

can be achieved in all three ESE spheres, which would lead to betterment of “human wellbeing”. 

While developing the framework and working with stakeholders, another sphere has emerged, 

that is very important in the upgrading process. It is the sphere of the decision making – 

politics, that still models our future (in the model developed by The German Wuppertal 

Institute, mentioned earlier, it is perceived as the Institutional Imperative). 

Since my professional background is engineer in architecture, my knowledge on political issues 

and governance is scarce and limited, so I had to do additional research on how governance is 

perceived today in relation to former practice and future trends. 

Traditionally, in democratic societies, political structures have been stable. David Easton (1965) 

has defined political systems as “those interactions through which values are authoritatively 

allocated for a society”, which implies that society is accustomed to the fact that there are 

formal institutions to take care of the allocation of values, resources and rules. 17 The 

introduction of environmental and sustainability concerns to the political agenda has put the 

traditional political systems based on representative democracy under stress. Scientists had to 

be involved in politics, pointing out the dangers our environment is facing today. Policies had to 

17 Evans B., Joas M., Sundback S., Theobold K. (2005) Governing Sustainable Cities, James & 

James/Earthscan, page 22 


23



be adapted to the needs of the environment and the society, allowing more transparency and 

flexibility. Unfortunately, according to Weidner, empirical studies show that, even though the 

procedures of representative democracy are adapting following the sustainable development 

and ecological modernization processes, the policy achievements are still clearly ahead of other 

forms of governing systems. 18 As far as I have been able to study, that is the case in Serbia. 

Analyzing the newly adopted policies, most of them are written following the trends and official 

signed international agreements. Sustainable development initiatives are clearly present in 

different legislations and plans, for instance the Master plan of Belgrade to 2021, which was 

adopted in 2003. Unfortunately, in practice the case is quite different. Political decisions are 

made in spite of the warnings given by the experts from the Institute for Nature Conservation 

of Serbia, and other environmental institutions. Buildings (industrial, big shopping malls, gokarting 

sites…) are occupying valuable green space, destroying natural areas, important for 

biodiversity. An area close to the city centre, previously protected for being a rare species bird 

nesting site, registered in 1989, which also has a natural mineral spring well known for healing 

character in the late XIX century, has under the new government partly been transformed into 

a go-carting site. Currently large tree clearance is underway, with land leveling (using 

construction waste), to accommodate a new large shopping mall. Furthermore, illegal building 

is still part of everyday life in Belgrade, only occasionally being prosecuted. 

In Agenda 21 (Chapter 37) it is stated: 

‘The ability of a country to follow sustainable development paths is 

determined to a large extent by the capacity of its people and its institutions, 

as well as by ecological and geographical conditions. Specifically, capacitybuilding 

encompasses the country’s human, scientific, technological, 

organizational, institutional, and resource capabilities.’ 19 

As a response to the necessary environmental changes, social scientists have analyzed the 

changing role of the nation-state in safeguarding the environment. The new school of thought, 

that has developed, is known as the Ecological Modernization (EM). The aim of Ecological 

Modernisation Theory has been to analyze how contemporary industrialized societies deal with 

environmental crises. Martin Jänicke is one of the initiators of the EM concept. According to a 

research team led by Jänicke (1995 - 1997), in order to achieve good results in environmental 

policies, several factors must co-influence each other: ’successful environmental protection is 

brought about by a complex interaction of influences and not by a single, isolated factor, nor 

favorite instrument, nor a single type of actor, nor a particular framework condition or 

institution’ (Jänicke, 1997, p4.). Janicke and Weidner (1995) list five factors that lead to 

environmental policy success 20 : 

1. structures: political, economic, and cultural framework conditions for policy action; 

2. situations: specific situations steer the policy action; 

3. actors: proponents and opponents of policy action; 

4. strategies: capacities for planned and oriented policy action; and 

5. time: important for investment and learning processes 

The Ecological Modernization Theory stresses the importance of the basic capacities created by 

the state, such as an environmental administration sector and other core institutions with 



19 Agenda 21: Chapter 37, United Nations, Division for Sustainable Development, document can be 

obtained from the Internet site: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/, date 2005-11- 

15 




24



sufficient political support and economic resources. The core of all studies in the tradition of 

Ecological Modernisation focuses on (existing and programmed) environmental reforms in social 

practices, institutional designs and societal and policy discourses to safeguard societies’ 

sustenance bases. 21 

In the past, local government was often seen only as a bureaucratic organization, operating 

within well-established rules and patterns of behavior. They were often ‘closed’ in the sense of 

being difficult to penetrate or to influence. 22 In Belgrade, the same pattern still exists, but due 

to demands from the international community, the system is under strong pressure today. 

Mainly foreign experiences have shown that local governments are actually the best agents for 

local change because they posses the necessary resources and political legitimacy. The 

responsiveness of local governments is growing toward citizens as well as other interest groups 

and organizations - end users of services. 

‘There is a need for changes in democratic institutions from representative 

democracy towards a higher degree of direct and participative democracy. 

Local-level knowledge is thus important, especially when decisions should 

have an effect on local- and individual-level behavior.’ 23 

‘Sustainable development relies on empowerment and cooperation, and 

political institutions acting as partners, catalysts, and facilitators. Good 

governance is therefore not a luxury for the rich countries, but an absolute 

precondition for sustainable economic and social development.’ 24 

In the book Sustainable Communities, Hugh Barton, concludes that there are four implications 

of the principle of sustainable development: 25 

1. Sustainable development implies the adoption of an ecosystem approach to locality. This 

demands that we discover the link between places and their context, seeing the design 

and management of every area reflecting its locale in terms of landscape, ecology, water 

and energy. 

2. Sustainable development points to localization. The decline in the functional significance 

of locality, and the accompanying rise in car dependence, is unsustainable in that it 

means increased transport emissions, health impacts, transport inequities and excessive 

use of land/energy resources. 

3. The locality has a role in maintaining the ‘social capital’ of community networks based on 

local activities and propinquity. 

4. Under the patronage of Local Agenda 21, citizens and community groups are being 

invited to be partners in the process of devising plans and programmes for their 

neighborhoods. 

Social scientists are observers of changes, important for understanding how our societies 

function and in which direction they are steering. It is clear that political changes concerning 

environmental reforms can be achieved, as Jänicke defines, through a complex interaction of 

influences, with five factors as leaders to environmental policy success: structures, situations, 

21 

More details on Ecological Modernization can be obtained from the Internet site: 

http://www.tricity.wsu.edu/sonn/ecomod_intro.htm document retrieved: 2005-11-15 



23 

Evans B., Joas M., Sundback S., Theobold K. (2005)Governing Sustainable Cities, James & 


24 Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islande, (2003) Biotechnology and Sustainable 

Development, CABI Publishing, page 81 

25 Barton H. (editor), (2000), Sustainable Communities, The Potential for Eco-Neighborhoods, Earthscan 

Publications Ltd, London, page 10 


25



actors, strategies, and time. Knowledge, awareness, and professional capacities are 

prerequisites for the initiation of changes. Therefore, it is important to build up the social 

capital, educate and develop the country’s human, scientific, technological, organizational, and 

institutional capacities. The bureaucratic organization of the local government has to change 

into supportive institutions, participating and assisting the process of sustainable development. 

Scientists as well as citizens have to be involved in the decision making processes for the future 

of our communities. Scientists can serve as the knowledge source, citizens as the stakeholders 

(their involvement can secure the changes, as they take the responsibility for their actions), 

and politicians as support and carriers of change. 

Investigating good governance and best practices for good environmental policies is a great 

challenge, but it falls out of the scope of this thesis. However, it was important to get familiar 

and analyze different theories and approaches and present the most interesting. The aim was 

to understand better the relation of environmental changes with the decision making process 

and political changes that they involve. 

To go back to the framework for upgrading the existing building stock, I conclude that it is most 

logical to position the political sphere in the created framework in the triangle defining the area 

of human activity (Pic 18). 


TO ACHIEVE 

ECONOMICAL SECURITY 

political decisions 

POLICY 


TO ACHIEVE 

SOCIAL EQUITY 

POLITICAL APPROVAL, 

CREATION OF POLICIES 

FOR IMPLEMENTATION 

ECONOMY 

SOCIETY 




IMPLEMENTATION 

PHYSICAL 

BUILT-UP 

SURROUNDING 



ENVIRONMENT 




INSTRUMENTS/MEANS TO ACHIEVE ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY 

Pic 18 Political sphere in the theoretical framework 

The political sphere is an inner tangent to the triangle. As it is in the current political system, in 

order to implement the instruments and means for achieving the better future they need to go 

through a political approval (decision making process). It can be done by creating policies, 

which can support such changes. As stated earlier in most societies there is a delayed response 

by the political sphere to the new developments and needs of the society and the environment. 


26



This delay I see as an impact bubble (of suggested/needed instruments and political system 

(sphere)). The position of the “impact bubble” can be anywhere along the Policy sphere. 

In June 2005 the European Parliament has endorsed the Draft Declaration on the Guiding 

Principles for Sustainable Development proposed by the European Commission. The declaration 

defines Sustainable Development following four key objectives: 26 

- Environmental protection 

- Social equity and cohesion 

- Economic prosperity 

- Meeting our international responsibility 

The first three objectives are incorporated in the theoretical framework, whereas the fourth is 

actually one of the reasons for doing this research study. One might say that the fourth 

objective is incorporated in the political sphere as one of the drivers for assessing policies and 

instruments for the necessary development. 

What follows after the political approval and decision-making at different levels is the actual 

implementation of the means and instruments proposed by the stakeholders and professional 

groups. The implementation should be done by the stakeholders themselves, in my opinion best 

with the aid and guidance of local authorities and professional groups. Depending on the level 

of change, professional groups could be hired by the local authorities to ensure that the 

implementation is well and fully done. As in the analysis of defined instruments and means, 

implementation should be grounded on principles of sustainable architecture. According to John 

Norton, ‘sustainable architecture brings together at least five key characteristics with adequate 

questions: 

a) environmental sustainability - does the approach avoid depleting natural resources 

bases and contaminating the environment? 

b) technical sustainability: can the skills be introduced and passed on to others, and are 

the tools needed accessible? 

c) financial sustainability: can money or service exchange be accessed to pay for the work 

that needs to be done? 

d) organizational sustainability: is there a structure of sorts that allows one to bring 

together the different stakeholders without, for example, needing to call on outside 

expertise on each occasion? 

e) social sustainability: does the overall process and the product fit within and satisfy the 

needs of society?’ 27 

On the other hand, it is necessary to ensure the long term effects of the implementation. It can 

be done only if the stakeholders are involved and if the process continues over time. 

4.2.1 Framework cycle 

It is important to realize that the process of upgrading is not a one time event; rather it works 

as a cycle in terms of time, and a spiral in terms of upgrading (Pic 19). It has elements of the 

so called ‘action research’ which is often seen as a spiral of steps and an ongoing process rather 

than a project. The first step is planning of the action addressed, followed by acting and 

evaluating the result of the action. Then another cycle of planning, action and evaluation 

26 The Draft Declaration on Guiding Principles for Sustainable Development can be downloaded from the 

Internet site of the EPHA Environment Network http://www.env-health.org/a/1779, date retrieved 

2005-09-05 

27 Norton, J (1999) Sustainable Architecture: A Definition, Habitat Debate, UNCHS (Habitat), Nairobi, Vol.5 

No.2 


27



starts 28 . Therefore a framework cycle of this research can be defined as a cycle which starts 

from initiation of the upgrading process, involvement of stakeholders, identification of problems 

by a stakeholder group, which proposes instruments and means for upgrading, their approval 

by the decision makers and finally implementation. Within one framework cycle some problems 

can be solved easier and faster, while others need more time and resources (arrows on the 

graph are shorter or longer). The complete image of the Theoretical framework in the form of 

one cycle is presented in the Appendix 1. 

time 

solution of problems 

some problems are easier to solve and 

require less time while others not 

fragmentation of problems 

requirements for upgrading rise which 

results in identification of new 

problems 

one cycle 

cycle path 

(spiral) 

cycle function 

Pic 19 Framework cycle in function of time 

The process doesn’t end with the implementation of instruments for upgrading. To ensure its 

success it is necessary to monitor and evaluate implemented means, which can be an initiator 

of a new cycle. New cycles might occur from the already involved stakeholder group or another 

one. Together they form a spiral (cycle path) (Pic 19). 

One can discuss if the cycle path (spiral) should be upwards (widening) or downwards 

(narrowing) since the number of identified problems might rise or fall as well as the level of 

upgrading. At the beginning it is necessary to assure upgrading of basic and most problematic 

elements, while in time it is expected to have fragmentation of problems due to the rise in 

requirements for upgrading – lowering level of emissions or resource use might lead to new 

upgrading processes. Also, as the stakeholders’ awareness of the necessity for protection of the 

environment develops, and benefits of the upgrading show results, new processes for change 

might be initiated by inhabitants themselves. Therefore I would expect that the cycle path 

(spiral) widens exponentially at the beginning and later on gradually narrows. Also, earlier it is 

mentioned that to achieve sustainability, the upgrading process should be a continuous process 

that allows adjustments in time as the needs of the inhabitants and global community develop. 

28 McTaggart, R. (Ed) (1997a). Participatory action research: International Contexts and 

Consequences. SUNY Press, Albany, referenced by Susanna Elfors in Action Research for 

Environmentally Sustainable Housing, Using research as a tool for change (12/10/2005) 


28



4.2.2 Discussion 

After work on the theoretical framework I sum up into important conclusions: 

Sustainable development has three main dimensions: environmental, economic, and social. The 

political dimension is institutional and important for securing the success of changes. Since 

society represents all social relations among humans, it includes the political interactions 

among humans. Politics is also dependent on economy and the state of the environment. 

Therefore it is an important dimension for any process of change. 

The built environment, as a major supporter to human existence, is related to all human 

activities. It has a significant impact to the environment, since nature provides all the resources 

needed for construction, operation, and maintenance, while nature receives back all waste 

products. It can be seen from the same three dimensions. With economic progress, humans 

tend to create their habitat, which occupies and affects the environment. Changes initiated in 

the three dimensions can contribute to sustainable development. Each situation requires a 

different set of changes, which are drawn from local conditions (‘by the capacity of its people 

and its institutions, as well as by ecological and geographical conditions’ 29 ). 

The main agents of change are the local stakeholders – owners and residents in cooperation. 

But the local government is needed as initiator and coordinator of the changes. Involvement of 

local stakeholders is important for identification of problems, implementation of changes, and 

securing the success of changes for a long term. Local government is important to initiate and 

guide the process, along with the sustainable principles. It is also important to facilitate the 

changes through different policies. Therefore, this process can be seen as a participatory 

process. 

Since this thesis focuses on the upgrading of multifamily housing, main stakeholders which 

should be involved in the described framework are the users of the housing facilities, i.e. the 

owners. However, as mentioned earlier and described in the Section 3.3 Housing in Belgrade, 

the problem of ownership is not fully clear, so it is difficult to have full involvement of all 

occupants. The main reason for that I see in the insecure future for people living in the 

nationalized apartments, not knowing if and how the law will be changed. In that respect it is 

difficult to fully involve them in the upgrading process especially due to the necessary time and 

money they should spend. Also, people that bought out the public apartments do not have the 

same attitude to the area outside their apartments as do people that have the so called ‘old 

ownership’ (before the World War II). 

Due to all stated above it is difficult to find the appropriate solution for getting the full 

cooperation of all stakeholders (inhabitants) for the process of upgrading. That is why I believe 

it is necessary that the local authorities should be the carriers of organizing the upgrading, 

having different means of involvement for different owner group types. 

There are a couple of issues that I see as problems: 

- the level of knowledge or awareness of sustainability issues of the employees at the local 

authorities, which leads to a question: 

• what are the priorities of the local authorities for the actions of change? 

- The level of knowledge or awareness of sustainability issues of the inhabitants, which leads 

to a question: 

• willingness for participation of stakeholders in the process of change? 

29 Agenda 21: Chapter 37, United Nations, Division for Sustainable Development, document can be 

obtained from the Internet site: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/, date 2005-11-15 


29



However, it is not the objective of this thesis to analyze the social and educational conditions on 

sustainability of the authorities and the inhabitants. It should be a project per se to find the 

best way for involvement of all stakeholders in the right way, so that the effects of upgrading 

could be long term and as sustainable as possible. However, proper education should be a 

matter of urgency in order to initiate the overall process of sustainable development in all levels 

of the society. 

All arguments stated above are taken into consideration while analyzing the stakeholders and 

choosing the right stakeholder group for involvement in this research. 

The created framework is tested through an attempt to define instruments and means for 

upgrading the existing multifamily housing in the centre of Belgrade. 


30



5.0 THESIS SITE 

5.1 Physical conditions 

5.1.2 Location 

I have decided to focus on the upgrading of a part of the urban Municipality Stari Grad (Old 

Town). The Municipality covers a significant part of the city centre and most public authorities 

and institutions are within its premises. It covers an area of 698 hectares, which is inhabited by 

a population of around 55 543 (figures from census in 2002). The selected area for the Thesis 

covers 11.88 ha in total. 

The name of Stari Grad (The Old Town) reflects a historical position and the role of the old 

downtown area from which Belgrade further developed. The present-day Municipality emanated 

from and got the present-day name with the merging of the municipalities of Stari Grad, 

Skadarlija, and a part of Terazije in 1957. 49 

Pic 20 Site area 

This thesis covers several city blocks (Pic 20). The area is defined by the streets Nusiceva, Lole 

Ribara, Takovska and Kosovska. In total there are eight built up blocks in the selected area (Pic 

23). 

The altitude of the area varies from 108.11m above sea level, in the North, to 120.01m in the 

South. Due to the average height of buildings of approximately 20m and the orientation of the 

streets, buildings have sunlight most of the year. 

The area is mostly housing in character with a couple of blocks having commercial and public 

utilities: Municipality Assembly building, a primary school, police station, publishing company, 

bank building, post office, three museums, four office buildings, and many small shops and 

services operating in the ground floor of housing buildings. The buildings are mostly five to six 




31



storey high (¨23m), depending on the building time and function. Several buildings in the 

analyzed area were built at the beginning of the last century and are less in height (two to 

three floors), mostly residential in character. The surrounding streets, of the analyzed area, are 

mainly commercial and trade in character located in the ground floors of the buildings (Pic 21). 

Pic 21 Zone utilities in the selected site and it’s surroundings 

In close proximity of the selected area are the buildings of the Assembly of Serbia and 

Montenegro (the Federal Parliament building) and the City of Belgrade Assembly, Main Post 

Office building, two major newspaper companies (Politika and Borba), the State television 

building, ex Trade Union Hall, and many other. Also it is only a couple of minutes away from 

the main Republic square and Knez Mihajlova walking street that connects the centre to the old 

Fortress and the Sava and Danube delta. 

5.1.2 Population 

In Stari Grad at the 2002 census there were 55543 inhabitants and 28336 dwellings 

registered. 50 In the same area from 1991 to 2002 there has been a population decrease of 

13009 inhabitants. According to the Census in 2002 total population under age of 7 is 2636 

which is 4.75% from the total number of people living in Stari Grad. There are 3643 inhabitants 

aged 7-14, which is 6.56% of total number. It is interesting to compare the figures with the 

statistics for the City of Belgrade where 6.23% of inhabitants are under age of 7 and 8.29% of 

population are aged 7 to 14. 51 Furthermore, 26.23% of population in Stari Grad is aged 60 and 

over, whereas in the City of Belgrade the figure is 21.65%. The conclusion might be that young 

people with children do not want to live in the central area due to the unsatisfactory living 

conditions or due to the high apartment prices. Most of older people moved in when the 

buildings were built, in the first 35 years of the last century. Unfortunately, there are no specific 

data concerning population statistics of the selected site. 

50 Census of population, households and dwellings, 2002, First Census Results by Municipalities and 

Settlements of the Republic of Serbia(Belgrade, 2003), Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 

www.statserb.sr.gov.yu, document retrieved 2005-11-23 

51 Statistical data obtained from the Official Internet site of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia: 

http://webrzs.statserb.sr.gov.yu/axd/en/pok.php?god=2004, date: 2005-11-22 


32



5.1.3 Building stock 

The site is characterized by compact building blocks. The built up area is significant in the depth 

of the plot mostly covered with housing and auxiliary buildings. The coefficient of built up area 

and built up percentage on the plot are high. Inner courtyards are unarranged. There is a 

shortage of parking spaces for the inhabitants as well as for the people using the office spaces. 

Also, there is a shortage of green surfaces. 52 Most of the site area, as well as the mainly north 

and north-east surroundings, were built in the period after the World War I, in the mid 1930s. 

According to the official statistics, in 2001 there were 60 new dwellings built in the municipality 

Stari Grad, while in 2002 there were only 16. In 2003 there were no new dwellings. 53 

Pic 22 Site area 

stopped. 

According to the Master Plan to 2021 

there are no priority plans for the site 

area. The area is located in the preprotected 

entity defined by the Institute 

for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, 

Belgrade. 54 It means that for any 

changes the Institute should be 

consulted. 

According to the same Master Plan, for 

the compact city block that characterizes 

the selected area, there should be a 

minimum of 10% of green and not 

covered surfaces in relation to the block 

surface (Tab 1). 

There is also a concern for the ratio of 

people living and working in the area and 

one of the tasks presented in the 

document is to obtain the ratio to the 

percentages given in the table. Therefore 

it is necessary to focus on providing good 

living conditions so the population 

decrease recorded in the area could be 

Unfortunately, current available statistical data does not give the same information as defined 

in the document of the Master Plan of Belgrade. In the municipality Stari Grad, the only 

calculable data regards the number of inhabitants/ha which in 2004 was 80 persons. In the 

same municipality there are 110 people employed per hectare. 55 The figures given in the Master 

Plan are much higher. The reason for that I can see in the fact that there is a lot of free which 

wasn’t calculated in the Master Plan. Those free, not built-up areas include city parks and areas 

around Assembly buildings. 

52 Master Plan of Belgrade to 2021, prepared by the Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade plan, adopted by 

the Assembly of the City of Belgrade in 2003, page 58 

53 Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Data available at the official Internet site: 

http://webrzs.statserb.sr.gov.yu 

54 Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Belgrade. Information can be obtained from the 

Internet site: http://www.belgradeheritage.com/eng/, date retrieved 2005-11-23 

55 

Institute for Development, Republic of Serbia. Data obtained from the Internet site: 

http://www.razvoj.sr.gov.yu/RAS_new/RAS-index.htm, date retrieved 2006-01-18 


33



Block 

GEBS ratio 

of housing 

and 

commercial 

activities 

Max. 

density 

housing 

pers/ha 

Max. 

density 

employee 

pers/ha 

Max. Density 

users 

(inhabitants 

+employees) 

/ ha 

% of green and 

not covered 

surfaces in 

relation to the 

block surface 

Children 

playgrounds 

aged 3-11 

years m 2 /ch 

Existing 

blocks in the 

central zone 

50 - 90% 

/ 50 - 10% 

400-800 500 1000 10 % 

1 m 2 /ch. 

min 100 m 2 

Existing 

blocks 

outside the 

central zone 

over 70%/ 

to 30% 

250-450 200 500 20 % 1 m 2 /ch. 

more than 

100 m 2 

Table 1 Urban parameters for the level of block or wider entity area 56 

The term presented in the table as GEBS is the Gross Expanded Building Surface (GEBS) of a 

plot (block) defined as a sum of surfaces and reduced surfaces of all useful floors of all 

buildings of the plot (block). Some surfaces are calculated with a certain percentage (reduced 

surfaces) depending on the usage (attic surfaces, basements…). Unfortunately, I was not able 

to find documents on the actual calculated GEBS of the existing building stock. Therefore I will 

use approximate calculations for GEBS with the main reference as manually calculated built-up 

vs free surface areas. 

Pic 23 Site area with specified blocks 

56 Table taken from the Master Plan of Belgrade to 2021, prepared by the Urban Planning Institute of 

Belgrade plan, adopted by the Assembly of the City of Belgrade in 2003, page 59 


34



Calculated surface areas of each block (Pic 23) with comments are presented in the Tab 2. 

Total 

Block 

Surface 

Area m 2 

Built-up 

ground 

surface 

area m 2 

% of block 

free 

surface 

area 

Comments 

Block 1 5824 4337 25.5 

Block 2 14198 9284 34.6 

Block 3 11863 6425 45.8 

Block 4 14219 8128 42.8 

Block 5 13743 7858 42.8 

Block 6 12505 7839 37.3 

Block 7 10588 8551 19.2 

Block 8 9557 7624 20.2 

46.6% of the built-up block surface area is office 

space: Municipality building Assembly and JU Bank. 

The free space is mostly paved and very irregular. 

Within the block Car museum occupies 17.55% of the 

total built-up area. Built-up area is very irregular and 

therefore the open surfaces are disconnected and 

small in size. 

All buildings in the block are residential. Ground floor 

is in some cases occupied by commercial services. 

One part of the inner block is open, but most of it is 

currently used by a private company (a fence has 

been installed). The same area was once used by a 

local library. 

Most buildings are residential. There are only two 

other buildings: a high school and an office building 

that cover 10% of the built-up block surface area. 

Most ground floors to the main streets are occupied 

with commercial services. 

Public services cover 32.82% of the built-up surface 

area. The free surfaces are very irregular (some are 

front yards and some are in the back of the 

buildings). 

Most of the buildings are residential in character with 

commercial ground floor areas. One building is a 

publishing company. The inner block area is mostly 

compact with a basket field, maintained by local 

inhabitants. 

Within the block is a primary school covering 23,33% 

of the total built-up area. Most of the inner block 

surface is used by the school as a playground, all of 

which paved since the atomic shelter is located 

underneath. Residential buildings have almost no free 

surface areas. 

Public and office buildings (post office, publishing 

company, hotel, cinema, offices) cover 37% of the 

built-up area. Inner block area is irregular and mostly 

used by public buildings. 

Table 2 Surface areas of each block at the site, with comments 


35



In almost all inner blocks, except 1 and 7, certain areas are used as parking areas for the 

inhabitants (Pic 24 and 25). Parking in the inner blocks is not regulated, so the cars are often 

parked freely blocking the pedestrian pathway and entrance to the buildings. Parking in the 

area is planned as side parking, alongside the streets. It is meant for inhabitants of the area 

and short and long term visitors. Parking is charged with a fee depending on the distance of 

street from the main city centre. 

Pic 24 Parking in the inner block area of Block 3 Pic 25 Parking in the inner block area of Block 4 

In some courtyards there is evidence of major changes on the buildings, as well as newly built 

single family houses (Pic 26-29). The reasons are already discussed in the section 3.3.2 

Housing in the city centre (page 13). 

Pic 26 Block 2 court yard 


One can see different building materials added to the original buildings. In most cases the 

decision was made according to the financial possibilities of the owners, but in some the 

decision was made according to personal design preferences. 


36





Most of the buildings built between the World War II were built in the same construction 

system. Builders used full brick blocks dim 30x15x7.5cm in one and a half depth for the walls 

and concrete for the ceilings. Above the concrete ceiling they used wooden beams in two 

directions with sand in between as a noise insulation. Over the beams were wooden planks with 

wooden flooring as a cover. Underneath the concrete ceiling was rattan with gypsum boards as 

a cover. The walls didn’t have any insulation, but the cover was plaster, usually 5cm thickness. 

In total the walls were around 50cm thick. Windows were double, with 12cm in between, 

wooden. 

After World War II concrete was widely used as a material for construction, in combination with 

hollow brick blocks. The construction system was mostly visible skeleton with hollow brick 

blocks as a filling (25x20x12). The buildings have no insulation. Last official housing buildings, 

in the selected area, were built in the middle of the ’60. Until 1976 there were no regulations on 

insulation in buildings. 

Elements added to the buildings during the last 10-15 years were mainly built using brick, 

durisol 57 , gypsum walls, with covers such as plaster or sheet-iron. One of the prerequisites was 

that the material was cheap and light since most redecorations were done on the existing 

terraces. The aim was to increase the apartment indoor floor surface. 

Most new buildings, built during the last 15 years, have concrete construction elements and 

brick blocks as a filling. Thermal insulation is mainly styropor (Expanded PolyStyrene) with 

plaster as the final façade cover. Roof cover defers from roofing clay tiles to sheet-iron and 

bituminous roof tiles (Tegola Canadese). Windows are mainly PVC. 

Knowledge about the building stock is important for understanding the existing conditions and 

the upgrading process so that appropriate measures are planned. 

57 More on Durisol can be found on http://www.durisol.com/p1what.htm 


37



5.1.4 Energy 

Since the area was mainly planned and built before the World War II, the main energy source 

used for heating was coal and wood (until the beginning of ‘80s), which later transferred to oil 

and subsequently electricity. Heaters were mainly closed fireplaces with ceramic-stove tiles as a 

cover. They were placed between two rooms or in bigger apartments, in each room. Therefore, 

basements were planned and used as storage areas for coal and later fuel oil. Some buildings 

that were built in the ‘60s have a central heating system that is located in the basement of the 

buildings. It used to operate on coal and oil. In the beginning of the ’80, due to the energy 

crisis, almost all buildings transferred to electrical heating (electrical storage heaters). The 

basements were mostly transferred to storage areas. During the NATO bombing in 1999 they 

were used as shelters. 

Electrical heating was widely used until the beginning of 

this century, when the government announced the 

necessity for optimization for energy usage. Prices of 

energy substances rose significantly (coal for 247%, 

natural gas for 305%, wood for 513% electricity for 536% 

electrical boilers for 849 and fuel oil for 1080% price 

increase) 58 . 

Since 2001, the area is subject to introducing district 

heating, which is a result of the District Heating 

Implementation Program. By now, most of the streets are 

equipped with the installations. The decision on whether 

the heating system will be installed into the apartments 

was up to the majority of the building occupants. After a 

public tender, the city authorities have appointed private 

companies for the execution of works. Unfortunately, after 

visual inspection of the work done in the buildings, I 

believe that the work was badly done. Absolutely no 

attention was paid to the visual and functional effects (Pic 

30). Even security measures are not appropriately done 

(valves are easily accessible by everyone). Inside the 

Pic 30 Stairways of a housing 

apartments, the distribution of pipes were done along the 

building in Block 1 

walls with a significant sloping, which influenced the 

dislocation of high furniture. The result is in lowering the quality and value of apartments. 

Since most buildings are more than fifty years old, the apartment equipment is outdated. 

Windows are mainly double, made of wood which in time, due to none or not good 

maintenance, are the cause of high energy losses. 

5.1.5 Water and sewage 

Water Supply and Sewage of Belgrade is still a public utility company. At the moment there are 

many discussions on privatization of the company, in order to secure better water supply and 

new sewage system. 

Water is distributed from the main city water system which was founded in 1892. Water is 

obtained from the river Sava, purified and distributed through the network. The age of the 

pipes is different: 62% are up to 25 years old, 23% are from 25-50 years old and 15% are over 

58 Disharmony in Serbian power supply, Price for freezing (2001-10-17) Internet issue of daily paper “Glas 

javnosti” http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.co.yu/arhiva/2001/10/17/srpski/AV01101613.shtml date retrieved: 

2005-11-29 


38



50 years old. 59 There are no publicly known records on which streets have the oldest water pipe 

lines. 

In Belgrade one of the biggest environmental problem is the sewage-waste water system. Even 

though the initiation for building of a central sewage system dates back to the end on the 19th 

century, today figures show that in the central city area 75% of the area is covered with the 

sewage-waste water system, and 65% for rainwaters. In the wider city area only 54% of the 

area is covered with the sewage-waste water system and 47% for the rainwaters. All waste 

waters mostly go to the river Danube, but also into the Sava River, through 29 outlets. 3 

The selected area is fully equipped with the sewage-waste water system. At the site all 

buildings are connected to the central sewage-waste water system. Rain water from the roofs 

and balconies is let out to the sideways, so it runs freely to the streets. That causes creation of 

holes in the pavements so the water remains for a longer period. For that reason many 

pedestrians avoid sidewalks, which obstruct the local traffic. At the site, street rainwater is 

collected into the main waste water system. 

5.1.6 Waste 

Waste in Belgrade is collected by the public utility company City Sanitation which was founded 

in 1884. The basic operations of the company include up-keeping of the public areas, removal 

of refuse and garbage and their dumping. The Company is responsible for removing minor 

dumping areas, as well as bulky refuse and vehicle wrecks. Nowadays, Belgrade has only one 

dumping area at Vinca, which has been in use since 1977. Although the dumping area covers 

65 hectares, thus being the largest one in Europe, it is insufficient for Belgrade. 60 The situation 

in the operation of the City Sanitation has significantly improved after the year 2000, but is still 

unsatisfactory. 

Pic 31 Garbage containers at the cross road 

opposite Blocks 6 and 7, at the entrance to a park 

Pic 32 Garbage containers at the crossroad between 

Blocks 3,4,5, and 6 

Before 2000 the central city area was insufficiently equipped with garbage containers, so people 

used to leave the garbage in front of the buildings main entrances, which was collected by the 

59 Data on Belgrade water system obtained from the official Internet site of the company Water Supply 

and Sewage of Belgrade: http://www.bvk.co.yu/ date retrieved: 2005-11-29 




39



City Sanitation trucks during the night. If in some case the truck wouldn’t operate during one 

night the trash would remain with additional piled the next evening. With narrow sidewalks and 

many people passing by the area looked dirty. Also it attracted rats and pigeons. 

Nowadays there are almost enough containers which now face a different problem – not defined 

space to keep them. So the streets look a little bit more clean but still untidy. Due to the lack of 

parking spaces and the wish of the City Parking Services to acquire as much as possible of free 

space for parking, garbage containers are most often blocking the pedestrian pathway (Pic 31 

and 32). They are also blocking the visibility of the drivers at the crossroad, which is a cause of 

many accidents. Unfortunately, the right cause of the accident is never determined but the 

costs go to the drivers. 

Nowadays, in Belgrade there is no official centre for garbage separation, let alone a recycling 

company. However, there are companies that recycle paper, glass, and metal but they rarely 

have collecting sites, so people are obliged to take the waste to the companies themselves. 

According to a research study performed by Ms Jana Babic on willingness of people living in 

New Belgrade to separate garbage for recycling, in New Belgrade 85% of people were willing to 

do it, while 8% refused and 7% were not sure. 61 It means that even without any organized 

campaigns, people are aware of the waste problems and are willing to contribute to solve the 

waste problem. 

While old containers were 

made from metal, new 

containers are made from 

reinforced plastic, which in 

case of fire burn and melt 

down. It happens often, 

sometimes as an accident 

and most often it is 

intentional, typically caused 

by children. The 

environmental impact is high 

since everything in the 

container as well as the 

container itself causes 

significant air pollution from 

burning. Furthermore, 

containers are designed to be 

easily completely open (the 

top of the container slides), 

which adds to the possibility 

of catching fire. They are on 

Pic 33 Ransacking containers 

Pic 34 Searching for 

something useful 

wheels so they can be easily moved, which is a cause for their often being misplaced and 

blocking pedestrian pathways. In addition, because of the easy access to the garbage, they are 

often ransacked by homeless and poor people (Pic 33). 

Still, in the core centre of the city due to the unpleasant appearance, containers are located in 

alleys so garbage is still thrown out to the streets (usually left next to a light pole, post 

61 File downloaded from the internet site: 

http://www.vibilia.co.yu/nemacki/izvestaj/0407/smece_tabele_160103.pdf, date retrieved 2005-11-30 


40



boxes…). Soon after disposal of garbage by a local restaurant employee, I have recorded a 

woman searching for something she could use (Pic 34). 

The aim of this research is to find the best way for upgrading the physical environment in order 

to ensure long term improvements in the ESE conditions leading to better quality of life and 

sustainable living. During the research study of the central area of Belgrade, my attention was 

brought to waste as one of the most visible problems in the city. Unfortunately, the problem 

range exceeds the limitations of this thesis and requires a separate study. I have however seen 

it as a responsibility to present the problem as briefly as possible since it largely influences the 

quality of life in the city. 

5.1.7 Summary of the site’s physical conditions 

Physical conditions of the site are important as a basis for redevelopment. It is important to 

analyze it through the historical development, in order to understand conditions that led to the 

current situation. 

The analyzed area is located in the very centre of Belgrade. It occupies 8 city blocks with the 

total area coverage of 11.88 hectares. Blocks are compact. The coefficient of built up area and 

built up percentage on the plot are high. Buildings are mostly 5-6 storeys high. Inner 

courtyards are unarranged and there is a shortage of green surfaces. 

The area is mostly housing in character with a couple of blocks having commercial and public 

utilities. In the central Belgrade area there has been a population decrease during the period 

1991-2002. There might be two reasons for that: bad living conditions and high apartment 

prices, so apartments are increasingly turning into offices. Most of the site area was built in the 

period after the World War I, in the mid 1930s. In the last couple of years there was almost no 

legal building activity in the centre of Belgrade. According to the Master Plan to 2021 there are 

no priority plans for the analyzed area. 

Since there are almost no buildings built at the site for the past 30 years, buildings lack thermal 

insulation and therefore suffer from major energy losses. Also, due to bad maintenance during 

the past 15 years, buildings and their infrastructures have deteriorated and need renovation 

and upgrading. Some buildings have introduced central heating as a government measure for 

reducing electric energy consumption for heating. 

The surrounding blocks are diverse in character, mostly covered with public buildings or private 

company buildings (formerly state owned). 

There is a big parking shortage in the central area. Inhabitants are using inner block areas for 

unregulated parking which causes occupancy of the valuable free space meant for leisure 

activities of the inhabitants. Due to the not regulated (illegal) building over the past decade, in 

some inner blocks, there is evidence of major changes on the buildings, as well as newly built 

single family houses. 

Besides lack in parking space, there is another street problem caused by inadequate collection 

of rainwater. Rainwater from the roofs and balconies is let out to the sideways, so it runs freely 

to the streets. The water is collected into the main city sewage system, which causes problems 

in the proper functioning of the system. 

Another problem in the city centre is caused by inadequate waste collection systems. 


41



5.2 Environmental conditions 

Since 1974, in Belgrade, the quality of environment is monitored on a continuous basis. The 

control is being done for the quality of air, drinking water, surface waters, as well as for the 

levels of radioactivity, pollution of soil, and the level of communal noise. 

The latest published data on Environmental Quality of Belgrade for 2004 gives analysis of 

environmental quality during the last 4 years in Belgrade. The presented data is taken from 

that publication. 62 

5.2.1 Air quality 

In Belgrade measurements are being done for substances as a result of industry, vehicle 

exhaust, and radioactivity. 

The polluting substances from industry are measured for the level of SO 2 , Soot, NO 2 , Air 

sediments, Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), Specific polluting substances from industry, and Suspended 

particles. Nowadays there are only 16 measuring points in the Belgrade area. The 

measurements are performed regularly and in continuity so that the results can be analyzed 

and compared. The results show that the central area of Belgrade is characterized with high 

concentrations of soot and NO 2 . There have been recordings of series of days (3 connected 

days) with concentrations of those elements above allowed limits. Between the years 2000 and 

2004 the results show that there has been an overall increase of SO 2 , which when displayed as 

an average figure is lower than the allowed limits. In 2002 the amount of air particles is less 

than in 2003 but is still higher than the allowed limits for 68.25%. The amount of both 

Benzo(a)pyrene and suspended particles are higher than the allowed limits at all measured 

places. 

It is interesting to note the high values of certain substances in the central areas of Belgrade, 

since they come from the industry, which is mostly located in the suburbs. 

From vehicle exhausts, measurements are being done for CO and CO 2 , Lead (Pb), NO 2 , 

Formaldehyde (HCHO), total amount for Carbon-Hydrogen’s (HC), and SO 2 . For CO, Pb and NO 2 

at almost all measuring points the yearly average values were above the allowed limits. 

Maximal values were measured during the winter period. Within the immediate proximity of the 

site selected for this thesis research there are 2 measuring points. One is at the exit of the 

tunnel in Nusiceva street (corner of Block 8) and the other is at the Assembly building of Serbia 

and Montenegro next to the Blocks 5 and 6. The results show that the maximum values for CO, 

Pb, NO 2, HCCO, and total amount for HC are measured at the exit from the tunnel in Nusiceva 

Street. They exceed the allowed limits as 1.8 times for CO, 5.2 times for Pb, and 1.85 times for 

NO 2 . Therefore the most endangered city area is the central area, within which is the thesis 

site. 

The measurements for radioactivity in the air were done for gamma radiation, 137 Cs (Cesium) in 

the air, and 137 Cs in the rainfall. The measured values for gamma radiation respond to annual 

values for natural radiation. As for levels of 137 Cs in the air and rainfall they were not 

detectable. 

5.2.2 Water 

In Belgrade, water quality is measured for surface waters, radioactivity in the river waters, 

quality of water at the two bathing sites at the banks of the rivers Sava and Danube, quality of 

drinking water from the main water supply system, and quality of drinking water from public 

62 The Environmental quality of the City of Belgrade in 2004 (2005), published by the Secretariat of the 

Environmental Protection and the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe 


42



natural fountains. I will give data only for the quality of the drinking water from the main water 

supply system, provided by the Public Utility Company Water Supply and Sewage of Belgrade. 

The results of the analysis done during the year 2004, show that out of 6579 taken samples, 

1.3% didn’t fulfill the physical-chemical norms set by the Regulations and 5.3% didn’t fulfill the 

norms set by the Regulations on bacterial analysis. The control for water radioactivity was done 

on 10 samples, which gave results for alpha activity being



6.0 CASE STUDY METHODOLOGY 

6.1 Public participation in the research process 

As stated in chapter 4, citizens can play an important role in providing information, monitoring 

compliance with governmental laws and regulations, and formulating innovative solutions. It 

can be assumed that local government officials are realizing that when citizens are involved in 

helping to make decisions — and thus have some ownership of the solutions — they will be 

much more likely to support specific investment decisions by the local government. 63 

By the Aarhus Convention 64 , adopted in June 1998, sustainable development can be achieved 

only through involvement of all stakeholders. The Convention links environmental rights and 

human rights, and acknowledges that we owe an obligation to future generations. 65 Also, it has 

been widely acknowledged that citizens can play an important role in providing information, 

monitoring compliance with governmental laws and regulations, and formulating innovative 

solutions during the development process. Local government officials, around the world, are 

realizing that when citizens are involved in helping to make decisions — and thus have some 

ownership of the solutions — that they will be much more likely to support specific investment 

decisions by the local government. 63 

The Aarhus Convention fortified the importance of public involvement in decision making. There 

are many projects where community involvement in rebuilding or building new areas has 

proven to be very successful. One of the first major schemes to fully involve local people was 

the Byker estate in Newcastle. It was initiated in 1969 when Ralph Erskine (1914-2005) - a 

British born architect, resident of Sweden since 1938 - was appointed as planning consultant. 

The main objective of the redevelopment, as Mr Erskine defined it was to: ‘prepare a project for 

planning and building a complete and integrated environment for living in its widest sense, at 

the lowest possible cost to the residents, and in intimate contact and collaboration with them’ 66 . 

He was involved in the redevelopment for 14 years during which local residents interacted with 

the design team influencing the final outcome of the plan. In 1977 Peter Malpass was 

commissioned by the Department of the Environment to carry out research on the 

redevelopment project. His findings were interesting to compare and discuss with trying to 

combat the same issue today: 

‘unless local groups can exert effective political pressure, the amount of power 

relinquished by the authorities will be slight’ and that ‘for participation to be 

successful from the public’s point of view it is necessary to oppose the 

authorities’ tendency to organise the process in ways which result in minimal 

redistribution of power’ 66 . 

‘In fact, public participation should be seen as a means of discovering and 

understanding conflicting views and interest within the community. By offering 

participation for the public in Byker, the corporation not only gained the 

initiative in defining the course that participation would take, but also 

63 Guide to Implementing Local Environmental Action Programs in Central and Eastern Europe, February 

2000, financed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in cooperation with the United 

States Agency for International Development, document retrieved from 

http://www.iscvt.org/leapguide.htm 

64 Information on the Aarhus Convention is available at: http://www.unece.org/env/pp/ 

65 Full text of the Aarhus Convention available at: http://www.unece.org/env/pp/treatytext.htm 

66 Quote taken from the paper Paper presented at the ENHR Conference, Reykjavik, Dilks, C (2005) 

Resident Participation: History Repeating Itself?, document downloaded from: 

http://borg.hi.is/enhr2005iceland/ date retrieved:2005-12-02 


44



demonstrated its intention to develop the area in co-operation with local 

people’ 66 . 

Furthermore, Malpass warned that ‘Participation is all about power and politics’, the same 

conclusion I made during the formulation of the framework. Once we faced the top-down 

approach, which assumed that we were dependent on the solely political decisions. Nowadays 

more attention is given to the bottom-up approach, but still hoping that we will find 

understanding at the political barrier (sphere) for the needs of the commons. 

Many other redevelopments followed, such as, St Wilfreds in Hulme, Manchester, which started 

in the late 1980s with the Homes For Change cooperative. This time the accent was not only on 

community involvement but also on environmentally friendly solutions. The original brief gave 

options for a carefully considered variety of recycled materials, softwood timber or sustainable 

hardwoods, alongside innovative alternative energy criteria. The clear and concise brief for 

Phase Two was written by residents and included examples and explanations for requirements 

such as high levels of surveillance, with the building to be designed to ensure that there were 

no unsupervised places in the public areas of the development. The scheme won the 1997 

Housing Design Award, a 1997 RIBA award, a Best Practice in Urban Regeneration Award from 

BURA in 1998, and was involved in many good housing demonstrations 67 . The community 

involvement is successful both in redevelopment and new housing schemes. One of the good 

examples is BO 100 in Malmö, Sweden 68 . In order to assure the success, it is necessary to 

identify the residents in advance and give them time and skills so they could work alongside 

with planners and architects. 

However, the challenge in community involvement is greatest in inner city areas where often 

processes of marginalization and stigmatization corroded the feelings of belonging, a pride in 

the area and a sense of responsibility. On the other side, there are many unsuccessful 

redevelopment projects where decisions and designs were made by government officials 

without consultation of the tenants. Redevelopment agents’ not understanding how the 

community functions, can lead to many problems leading to even worse deterioration of the 

community, and the necessity for a second redevelopment. 

Thus I conclude that it is necessary to involve stakeholders in the development processes. It is 

a responsibility of the authorities and agencies for development, if they want to secure the 

future of our communities. Therefore in this research stakeholders are involved. 

The research itself can be seen as action research. The main aim of action research is to 

accomplish change within the research project and to create the research processes where 

researcher and the people in the study collaborate. 69 

6.2 Applied methodology 

One of the applied methods for approaching and conducting this research was to use elements 

of the Logical Framework Approach (LFA). The LFA is an analytical process and set of tools used 

to support project planning and management. It can be thought of as an ‘aid to thinking’, 

because it allows information to be analyzed and organized in a structured way so that 

important questions can be asked, weaknesses identified. The decision makers can make 

67 Information obtained from the Internet site: 

http://www.cabe.org.uk/library/casestudy.asp?id=47&show=analysis&PARAMS, date 2005-11-20 

68 Rudlin, D. and Falk, N. (1999) Building the 21st Century Home, The sustainable urban neighborhood, 

Architectural press, Oxford, UK, page 204 

69 

Reason and Bradbury (2001) quoted in the paper of Elfors (b. Nilsson), S. (2005). "Environmental 

Research as A Tool for Change: Action research theory applied to case studies of the environmental 

management of two Swedish housing areas", submitted for publication in International Journal for 

Sustainable Development. 


45



informed decisions based on their improved understanding of the project rationale, its intended 

objectives and the means by which objectives can be achieved. The output of LFA is the Logical 

Framework Matrix (LogFrame), which is a documented product of the analytical process. 70 Each 

project proposal for EU financial assistance must be presented in the form of a LogFrame 71 . 

Due to its systematic analysis approach I have decided to use it as a basic tool for structuring 

the research part of my thesis. 

In global LFA consists of two phases: the analysis and the planning phase. The Analysis phase 

was done in four stages. 

6.2.1 Analysis phase 

6.2.1.1 Stakeholder analysis 

Identifying and characterizing potential stakeholders and assessing their capacity 

I have identified several major stakeholder groups: 

1. Inhabitants. They are divided into two subcategories: 

a) by age: children, young, middle aged and elderly 

b) by time of moving into the area: new and old inhabitants 

2. People that work in the area. They are divided into two subcategories: 

a) people that live in the area 

b) people that commute from other parts of the city 

3. Children that go to school in the area. They are a separate category because of the 

school which is in the area. They are divided into two subcategories: 

a) children that live in the area 

b) children that commute from other parts of the city 

4. Politicians including local authorities 

5. Potential investors (future owners of office buildings, businesses, future inhabitants…) 

6. Visitors - Passers by – people that come into the area for various reasons – for short or 

long term business, relaxation or shopping or are just passing through the area 

For this research it was necessary to analyze which group as a major stakeholder would be 

most interested to be involved and could benefit most from the process. All groups would 

benefit, some more than the other, but in different ways. People that live in the area would get 

a more pleasant living environment. By upgrading the built environment and their 

surroundings, people that work in the area could have pleasant working places, outdoor view 

and possibility for enjoying a break in the local recreational area. The overall upgrading would 

increase the value of the area, which would be more interesting for potential investors. With the 

goals I’ve set and by analyzing the identified stakeholder groups, I have concluded that there 

are three major stakeholder groups: people that work and live in the area (2a), elderly that live 

70 The LFA material obtained at a Logical Framework Approach Workshop LFA conducted by Ms. Mariana 

Ling, at Sustainable Project Management course, KTH, Period 3, Spring 2005. 

71 Project Preparation – The Logical Framework Approach and Logical Framework Matrix, Training Material, 

Regional Environmental Centre, document downloaded from: 

http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/LocalInitiatives/Training/TrainingMaterials.html, date retrieved 2005- 

12-05 


46



in the area (1a) and children that live and go to school in the area (3a). The first group (2a) is 

difficult to asses but from the logical conclusion it is not big in number, because the area is 

mainly housing with several public institutions and smaller businesses. The second group (1a) is 

higher in quantity but is very difficult to locate, contact and perform the research. Also in terms 

of interest they are less interested to get involved since they don’t have the same attitude to 

future issues as do younger generations. Nevertheless they shouldn’t be forgotten in research. 

The third group (3a) is the biggest in number and definitely has highest stakes for the future. It 

is the children that spend almost all their time in the area. The school system in Belgrade is 

designed so that children do not commute but are allocated to go to local schools. 

Nevertheless, in the central area there are some cases where children live in the suburbs but 

since their parents work in the centre they commute with them. 

Involving children as long term - and therefore one of the primary stakeholders in the research 

- is in line with sustainable development initiatives to achieve long term effects and results. It is 

recognized that unsustainable patterns of consumption need to change and for that reason 

focus should be given to the root of such patterns of behavior. Children being the youngest 

population have the longest stakes for the surroundings they live in, and thus I assume that 

they should be the most interested in its appearance and functionality. 

In many cases around the world, environmental education has been successfully introduced in 

primary schools. In a number of separate studies children were involved in creating their school 

grounds and playgrounds. In the UK, a number of projects were designed as participatory 

exercises between children and adults to develop childrens' skills and views on the design of 

sustainable housing infrastructures. In Singapore, Environmental Education Advisors were 

introduced in each school in 1990s. In Japan, The Kids’ ISO 14000 Programme was designed on 

the principles of the ISO 14000 standards on environmental management systems. By February 

2004, 50000 Japanese children have taken the Programme and it has been widely 

acknowledged that it works to preserve the environment. The thinking goes thus: if you instil 

an environmentally positive attitude of mind in children, they will grow up with “conditioned 

reflexes” that will ensure environmental consciousness throughout their lives. They in turn will 

spread this consciousness to their school friends, around their families, and later to their own 

children, thus building up a broad national framework of support. 72 

In addition, there are rather strong arguments for involving children: 

a) In September 1990 the Convention on the Rights of the Child was endorsed. In the 

article 14 of the document it is stated: 

States Parties shall respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and 

religion. 73 

b) The UN Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, the Earth Summit, gave 

high priority in its Agenda 21 to the role of education in pursuing the kind of 

development that would respect and nurture the natural environment. 

Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 emphasized that education is critical for promoting sustainable 

development and improving the capacity of the people to address environment and 

development issues. 

72 Article from ISO Focus, The magazine of the International Organization for Standardization, February 

2004, page 33. More information about The Kids ISO 14000 Programme can be found on the Internet 

site: http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/kidsiso14000/index.html 

73 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 

Geneva, Switzerland. Document retrieved from: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm date: 

October 11, 2005 


47



Therefore, I have decided on doing one part of my research with children from the local primary 

school. 

After assessing and analyzing the capacity and other benefits of children involvement, I argue: 

• Changes in lifestyles and environmental awareness can be achieved much easier with 

children than with adults, especially in communities with no or little awareness of 

environmental problems. The environmental awareness they develop when they are 

young will shape the impact they make on the environment as adults. 

• Children can have a large influence on their parents and other members of the 

community. Benefits could expand to the second level of stakeholders. 

• Awareness of the immediate surroundings and identifying problems is better done by 

children than by adults. They observe their surrounding in more detail since their 

movements are limited and depend on adults. 

• Children can give good and fresh ideas for the development. Until certain age they are 

still not inhibited with everyday life constrains. “…they are a population with special 

energies and insights that they can bring to the process of human settlements 

development.” 74 

• By giving them the right to opinion and thought they can feel that they contribute to the 

development, which ensures long term benefits. They are the citizens and future 

decision makers of the city and therefore their opinion should be regarded as equally 

important as the adults. 

• Children are easier to work with. It is easier to gain contact with children than with 

adults. They do not need to be given many detailed explanations for the reasons of 

conducting the research. 

• Among developing countries as a whole, more than one-third of the population is under 

age 15, compared with less than one-fifth of the population in the industrialized 

countries. Twenty per cent of the world’s population is aged between 10 and 19. In 

Belgrade 6.23% of inhabitants are under age of 7 and 8.29% of population are aged 7 to 

14. 75 

6.2.1.2 Problem analysis 

Identifying key problems in research with children, constraints and opportunities; determining 

cause and effect relationships 

I have also discovered some drawbacks and constraints in using children in this research: 

• The school officials or/and parents could oppose in involving children in research 

• There could be problems in connecting with children and getting their response, affection 

and motivation for participation 

• Understanding of the world we live in is different with different age groups and therefore 

in order to get better results it is necessary to do the same research with different 

groups 

• To achieve better results it is necessary to change approach and methodology with 

different age groups. Primary school children develop very fast so only one year in age 

difference gives totally different results and needs different approaches. 

74 Chawala, Louise (editor) (2001), Growing up in an Urbanizing World, Earthscan, London and UNESCO, 

Paris 

75 

Statistical data obtained from the Official Internet site of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia: 

http://webrzs.statserb.sr.gov.yu/axd/en/pok.php?god=2004, date: 2005-11-22 


48



• Children are easy to manipulate both by adults and among each other. They easily adopt 

opinion of other children once they realize that it is well taken by the authority. It might 

lead to a lack of original ideas. 

• Some children might be shy and reserved from giving their opinion. It is often that loud 

and more dynamic children ‘take charge’. Thus, all children in the group should be given 

the equal opportunity to express their opinion. 

• Results can be interpreted in different ways, with high possibility of manipulation. For 

that reason transparency in analysis of the research results is very important. 

6.2.1.3 Objective analysis 

Developing solutions from the identified problems; identifying means to end relationships 

• I asked for an official permission from the headmaster of ‘Drinka Pavlovic’ primary 

school, to do the research. The idea was very well taken and I was fully allowed to 

conduct it. It wasn’t necessary to ask the permission from parents since it was not a big 

scale project and didn’t have any privacy disturbance. 

• The research area includes a primary school which I have attended most of my primary 

school years. One of the reasons why I decided to do the research there is that I know 

the surroundings and some of the school teachers. In that way it wasn’t necessary to do 

additional research on the school itself. Also, it turned out that children connected to me 

easier once I told them I attended the same school. To them I could understand their 

problems better than the other adults, so they showed more willingness to contribute. 

• In order to avoid mutual manipulation with answers, different research methods should 

be applied. One is combining open discussion with written answers. Also, motivating the 

children to give different answers can be achieved with introducing a new technique in 

dialogue, for example, with colorful papers that are handed out only to those who give a 

new and different answer. This might also lead to stepping out of the question boundary 

so should be taken with care. Combining work in pairs with individual tasks can also lead 

to better results, negotiating the answer and being able to express their own opinion. 

6.2.1.4 Strategy analysis 

Identifying different strategies to achieve solutions; selecting most appropriate strategy 

In order to achieve best results, it was necessary to learn more about the right approach to 

children. Working with children is very different from working with adults. Involvement of 

children in this research should be planned appropriate to their level. I have read some articles 

about children involvement in research and methods that were used there. For designing the 

right approach and working method, I have found a very useful paper on Methodologies for 

Understanding children’s experience of their physical environment, by Sofia Cele 76 . Also, after I 

made a preliminary concept, I consulted the school teacher of the first class I worked with. 

76 Cele, S. (2003) Methodologies for Understanding Children’s Experience of their Physical Environment, 

paper presented at the International Conference on Methodologies in Housing Research in Stockholm, 

Sweden September 2003. 


49



6.2.2 Planning phase 

6.2.2.1 Developing the Logical Framework matrix 

Defining the project structure, testing its internal logic and risks, formulating measurable 

indicators of success 

I have structured the steps for research as follows: 

A. Defining questions for the research 

B. Designing methods for the right approach and interactive work with children 

C. Acquiring necessary work material 

D. Executing the research 

E. Analysis of results 

Due to the specific type of research it was necessary to allow space for modifications and 

changes in steps. If the results show necessity, additional research sessions should be planned. 

A. Questions for research and table of expected answers 

Questions are based on the goal of research and the possibilities of children of a certain age to 

answer. It was important to make a connection to something they have already studied at 

school, as a gradual introduction into the topic. The sessions were planned to last 45 minutes 

each, so not many topics could be discussed. 

Since I didn’t have any idea of the children’s attitude towards the city and their surrounding the 

questions had to be simple and if the discussion allowed they could be easily widened. I decided 

to approach the children with questions, hoping that in that way I could be in control of the 

boundaries for discussion as well as the time. 

I found that one of the topics children were acquainted with that I could relate my research was 

about healthy life. 

Main questions for discussion were as follows: 

Introduction in form of discussion with serving sweets (a challenge to healthy life) 

1. What is a healthy life? What is healthy and what is unhealthy? 

Main questions 

2. What is a city? What is the difference between the city and the countryside? – in 

connection to living healthily and unhealthily. 

3. What characterizes Belgrade? 

4. What do you like about Belgrade? 

5. What do you dislike about Belgrade? 

6. What would you like to change in Belgrade and how? 

The questions were intentionally made with relation to the whole city and not just one area, 

because as I argued before, children are aware and can communicate only about the places 

they know. They allocate the part to the whole. It was also interesting for me to know how 

much they knew about Belgrade and what was their attitude towards it. 

Since working with children can lead to unexpected events with a variety of results I concluded 

that it was necessary for me to try to put myself in their position and predict their behavior and 


50



answers. Therefore I made a table of expected answers (Appendix 3). Also it is very difficult to 

predict their behavior and response to the theme of research. 

B. Designing methods for the right approach and interactive work with children 

Different age groups need different approach methods. Methods should be flexible for adapting 

to different groups. Also, it is necessary to plan different types of methods to gain a more 

diverse picture and to minimize the loss of information due to different individual, sociological, 

psychological and biological development of children. One of the methods is change in 

environment – from school to natural environment. In order to be accepted by the children it is 

very important to carefully plan the initial, first, contact. 

I found it challenging to try and predict the behavior of children and make appropriate 

preparations, then during each session of research to listen and observe, and finally draw 

conclusions and improve the approach for the next session. 

I considered combining several methods: 

• interactive discussion on given topic 

• writing answers to questions on beforehand given papers 

• writing answers to questions – papers were given only to children which gave new answers 

(not to children that repeated somebody else’s answer) 

• combination of drawing and writing with different time limitations 

• free choice of technique in expressing opinion and ideas 

• change in environment (indoor, outdoor, in school premises, outside school) 

C. Acquiring necessary work material 

Working material included paper in different colors, thick paper as a board base, pens, camera, 

and voice recorder. Also, the idea was to get as close as possible to children and gain their full 

attention as well as willingness to work and deliver results. They had to understand that it 

wasn’t a school assignment but a research with a goal to make our and their future better. I 

remember that when I was a child we liked getting different sweets. So I asked which sweets 

children like most now and bought some to serve after the short introduction. It helped to 

loosen up the tight atmosphere among children – the necessary connection was made and they 

became more responsive. 

D. Executing the research 

The three sessions were planned in three days so that I could analyze the response and the 

results and if necessary modify the approach for the next session. 

Initially I planned to conduct a more comprehensive research with only one class – grade 2 

(age 8). After analyzing other case studies with children involvement and consultation with a 

teacher from the school, Ms Ivana Andrejic, I decided to do the research in three sessions with 

three different age groups – grade 2 (age 8), grade 3 (age 9), and grade 4 (age 10). The above 

steps present the strategy for the first session of research. 

6.2.2.2 Activity Scheduling 

Determining the sequence and dependency of activities; estimating their duration 

For the research it was necessary to prepare everything before the actual research session. As 

it is in other research studies, to achieve best results, it required a lot of preparation when 

compared to the 3 times 45 minutes of research. 


51



The research was performed with children in the primary school ‘Drinka Pavlovic’. The school is 

located within the research site. 

The first session of research was conducted at the end of the school year, in the second half of 

June 2005. I was very satisfied with the results and searched for a second opportunity to 

conduct research. 

Fortunately, the opportunity occurred with the ECO Camp that is annually organized by the 

same school during the summer vacation. I got the permission from the school headmaster and 

the school psychologist to join the camp and perform my research. The idea that evolved was 

to discuss about the city and the problems in the city in a natural environment, outside the 

school and the city. The camp was organized at the outskirts of Kopaonik, a mountain and 

National park in southern Serbia, at the beginning of July 2005. 

The camp was planned in two shifts with 27 and 28 pupils each. The first shift was composed of 

children aged between 7 and 11 and the second shift had children from 7 to 14 years old. My 

initial concern was that the results will be much different from the research done in the school 

because the children at the eco camp were with similar interests, whereas in school they were 

more diverse in interests and opinions. What I didn’t predict was that most of the younger 

children were actually sent by their parents, without their free will, some as an additional 

holiday vacation and some as a parents wish to solve social and emotional problems of their 

children. Older children applied of free will for social reasons. Only two girls, one in each shift, 

took part in the first session of research performed previously at the school. I was surprised to 

learn that none of the children were interested in the eco-prefix of the camp. The plan was to 

perform the same research as I did in school, with the same questions but divided in more 

separate sessions, so more time was devoted to each question. To get better results it was 

necessary to balance well the sequence and length of sessions, so that it did not create a 

negative response to research. Also, it was more difficult to keep the attention of children 

outside school premises. In order to get closer to the children I behaved as part of the group, 

doing with them all other activities on programme beside the research (from morning 

gymnastics to evening activities). 

The third and final stage of research was performed, in the same primary school, as a result of 

the thesis development and analysis of the previous two sessions. I realized that in order to 

ring in (conclude) participation of children in the development process it is also necessary to 

ask them what would they like their flat, building, courtyard or street to look like. After analysis 

of the results gained in the first two studies I realized that children in grade 3 gave best results 

for research. Therefore, I performed the last part of research with two classes in grade 3, one 

with which I already worked in the first study and the other that had no previous knowledge of 

my research. The reason for this choice was to compare the results and see if and how much 

the previous research made influence on the last session of research. The last session was 

conducted at the end of September 2005. 


52



7.0 RESEARCH PROCESS AND RESULTS 

7.1 First session – conducted on 15 th , 16 th and 17 th June 2005. 

7.1.1 Grade 2 (8 year olds) - 15 th June 

From the very beginning it turned out that personal contact with serving the sweets was very 

good because each child got a chance to personally make a contact with me. Also, it was good 

for me to get better acquainted with them. On the other hand, getting closer to them lessened 

my authority which added more open discussion and less obedience. 

The discussion started with the topic of healthy living. Almost all children concluded that it is 

much healthier to live in the county-side but almost all didn’t want to live there. Rather, they all 

concluded that it would be nicer if they could make the city look more beautiful. On my 

question how, the answer was: “by not throwing papers and garbage on the street, but rather 

in the bins and garbage containers”. They also concluded that there are not enough bins in the 

city. Most children expressed a wish to ride bicycles but one opposed because he thought it was 

unsafe. 

After 10 minutes of discussion I introduced the first question on what characterizes Belgrade, 

and handed out the papers – each table (2 pupils) got one paper. At the beginning it appeared 

that some of the children wrote down answers they heard from others so I had to change the 

approach for the next question. I tried motivating them to give more diverse answers by 

reading the answers they gave and asking for more ideas. 

The answers can be summarized into two groups: 

- Material: buildings, factories, schools, traffic, cars, parks 

- Non material: people, pets, trees, plants, flowers 

Some of the interesting answers are: 

• Almost half of the handed in papers have an answer: “City is a place where (many) people 

live” 

• “The city characterizes: buildings, cars (trucks), parks, people, pets, schools, trees and 

other plants.” 

• “City is called because it has factories. City is called because it is bigger than a village” 

After 10 minutes I asked the second question: 

What makes Belgrade beautiful? 

I handed out the papers in different colors only to children that gave new answers and not to 

the ones that repeated somebody else’s answer. It made children shout out the answers and 

me moving fast around the classroom. Even though, in the end almost every child got a paper, 

answers showed that only a couple of beautiful things were identified, and they include the old 

fortress Kalemegdan and a couple of city parks. Some children mentioned the city zoo. Only 

two children mentioned the two rivers, Sava and Danube. 

The third question was on: 

What makes Belgrade ugly? 

I continued with giving out papers only to individually different answers. Children showed a 

great reaction to the question and had much more different answers. 

Most of the answers had one word in common – pollution. Answers can be summarized in the 

environmental sphere. They have identified several ugly specifics of Belgrade: 


53



- polluted air (car exhaust), polluted streets, polluted rivers, garbage, smoking 

Some of the interesting answers are: 

• Four answers were almost the same: “in the city it is ugly: garbage, smoking, factories 

and cars” 

• “ the city is ugly because the rivers are polluted” 

• “smoke is ugly” 

• “In Belgrade polluted air is ugly” 

• “It is ugly because: the streets are very dirty and because the air is extremely 

suffocated” 

• “polluted parks, dirty cinemas” 

Problems that were identified were all palpable to them, they concluded by observation of their 

surrounding and what they could feel with their senses. They still didn’t have any comments on 

social and economic issues. It is interesting that children have associated smoking to a city 

problem! 

The final questions I proposed were on what would they change in the city and how. They were 

given papers in two colors, one for each question. Answers to these questions were much more 

in depth. They were more motivated to give their own ideas and to present their own opinion 

on issues that they were not asked before. Therefore the answers are more diverse. Many 

children would like to change the pollution in the city, mainly air and water as well as garbage. 

Some would change the cars, buildings, schools. The solutions they see in cleaning up the 

streets from garbage (“with a broom”, as one child suggested), parks, polluted air (“dirty air”, 

as they define it). One girl said that she would change the city by recycling waste. A boy wrote 

he would change the city by “cleaning, renovating, culture”. One boy wrote: ”We should 

become strict like in Switzerland, throwing paper – 100 euros” 

Here are some notes and ideas suggested: 

“I would change Belgrade with a broom, 

taking care not to throw garbage on the 

street, not to pollute the water (air)…” 

“I would change it with: a car, culture, water, 

broom and washing! 

“That we don’t shout on streets” 

“With beauty, and how: with culture, broom, 

washing, fresh oxygen, tidiness” 

“I would change Belgrade with a magic wand” 

“With broom, water, brush, detergent, cloth 

and hands” 

“I wouldn’t like to have cars in the city 

because they create polluted air” 

When the class ended some of the children 

asked if they could draw something extra on 

the subject (Pic 35). Two girls and a boy 

Pic 35 After the session two girls stayed to finish the 

drawings 


54



were mostly involved and produced a couple of drawings with writing question and answer: 

“what is a city – answer: school”, “what is ugly – answer: car”, “what is beautiful – answer: 

nature”. 

Pic 36 Board with all answers by children in Grade 2 

Pic 37 Drawing by one of the children in grade 2 

(What is beautiful? (nature-answer)) 

Pic 38 Drawing by one of the children in grade 2 

(What is ugly? (car-answer)) 


55



7.1.2 Conclusions after the first day 

7.1.2.1 Applied Methodology 

• As a starting point, it was good to get close to the children by serving sweets. At the 

same time it was important to keep some authority by defining how many sweets each 

child gets (the conclusion came as an outcome from children asking how many sweets 

they could take, and their behavior in the end of the session when the remaining sweets 

were distributed. Since I didn’t define a specific number of sweets they could take 

children made a big mess, each trying to take as many as possible). However, serving 

sweets resulted in children getting acquainted to me, as well as me to them, so further 

communication went easier. Before buying the sweets I asked some children in the store 

which sweets they liked. I wanted to make sure that I bought the right ones. 

• As an introduction to research, it was good to connect the subject of research with a 

subject that is familiar to the children, healthy life. 

• The approach to questions and answers should be motivational – children can be given a 

paper to write their answer only after they give an answer that is not a repetition of 

somebody else’s. 

• The first couple of questions should be conducted more as an overview and introduction 

for thinking. More emphasis should be given to the questions on what would they 

change and how. 

• Children that are not so active should also be included in the process of giving opinion, 

by asking them directly and motivating them to join the discussion. 

• I should motivate the children more in choosing the mode of expression they prefer 

most (writing, drawing…). 

7.1.2.2 Overall conclusion 

After the first session it was evident to me that children had very strong opinions and were very 

willing to participate in the discussion. The subject of improving their environment seemed 

interesting and new to them so their attention stayed throughout the session even though it 

was the end of their school day. I noticed that problems that were identified were all palpable 

to them, they concluded by observation of their surrounding and what they could feel with their 

senses. Some problems, such as smoking, they allocated to the city problem. It was good that I 

didn’t insist on focusing only on specific spheres – physical, social or environmental since it was 

obvious that every child had a different understanding of what city problems were. 


With the third grade children I started by giving more information about myself and explaining 

about the reason for doing the research. They were more concentrated and gave more diverse 

and detailed answers. 

To the question on what characterizes Belgrade, some children chose to draw but most of them 

gave written answers. I started with giving out papers to different answers but in the end each 

child had one paper. It was very interesting to realize the big difference in opinion and 

awareness about the surroundings between eight and nine year olds. Written answers were 

more in depth and detail, while drawings were presenting usually tall buildings with cars, some 

additionally added people. One drawing identified Belgrade with a monument of the Victor 

(winner) at the famous fortress of Kalemegdan. 


56



Almost all written answers included social and physical identification of what characterizes 

Belgrade. It was obvious that they could understand much better the question and give more 

precise and detailed answers. 

Almost all children in the third grade class, defined Belgrade as a place where many people live, 

that has important institutions, monuments, squares, places for recreation, parks, and rivers. 

One child wrote that Belgrade is characterized by “its various geographical and cultural 

contents, nicely arranged parks, different customs and nice places for walking and fun. All that 

characterizes Belgrade and that is why we love it.” Another child wrote: “- important 

institutions in which very educated people work; people that control different works in 

Belgrade; people that are controlling that in Belgrade there are no murders or injuries 

(police)”. 77 

“Belgrade characterize rivers, forests, mountains and everything that surrounds us” 

“Belgrade characterize: important institutions; shops; a big number of people; high buildings; 

parks” 

“Squares, monuments, nicely arranged places, shopping centers, places for recreation” 

“Belgrade characterize old buildings, people that live in it, important institutions that are in it, 

rivers that run through it.” 

On the second question: What is beautiful in Belgrade, more answers were given than in Grade 

2. Most answers were in writing but some added drawings or gave only drawings as an answer. 

Answers included both social values and physical. Children identified as beautiful: 

- people: friends, children, people, 

- buildings: the tallest building in Belgrade (Beogradjanka), museums, 

galleries, theaters, schools, cinemas, churches, hotels 

- plants: flowers, trees, self grown plants, 

- places: squares, parks, Ada (artificial lake), playgrounds, the zoo 

The third question was: What is ugly in Belgrade? It is interesting to note that there were more 

answers to this question than to the previous ones. As in Grade 2, answers were mainly 

observations of physical faults but also social problems and included from single faults to global 

issues: 

- environmental: garbage and trash; chemicals; gasses; faeces on the streets, 

broken benches 

- Social: thieves, alcoholics, kidnappers, wars, bombing, lies, murders, car 

crashes, fights, fire 

- weapons, pistols and guns, drugs, wine, beer, cigarettes 

- physical: cemeteries, factories, high rise buildings (because a lot of people 

are falling from them) 

When the children were asked to identify what would they change in Belgrade and how, they 

identified different things from the ones they recognized in the previous question. They were 

given two papers only after answering both questions. Now they were put in the position of 

being able to identify and change something they disliked in the city. 

77 Direct translation of the child’s comment – in order to keep the transparency and originality of answers 

I translated them to as similar as possible but not to loose the meaning. 


57



Most things that would children change are connected to the pollution, and the summary is 

presented in Table 3. 

Sphere What would they change How 

Environmental 

Pollution - garbage recycling 

- people would use only underground 

metro 

- factories on natural force (direct 

translation)* 

- plant flowers and trees in the house 

and the courtyard 

Contaminated plants 

No dog faeces 

Air pollution Less number of cars or transfer to 

different (not dryable) sources of energy 

– solar. Dryable is a child’s interpretation 

of non-renewable – in Serbian the term is 

translated to resources that can dry-out) 

Garbage not to be thrown 

in front of the bin 

Cars 

Polluted air 

Dirt 

Garbage to be thrown in front of the bin* 

(they see a solution by just following 

rules to use the bin for throwing garbage) 

Transferring them to batteries* 

No factories and garbage 

Implementing new laws 

Gasses in the city No factories on fertile land but on 

unfertile 

Physical 

Social 

Old buildings 

City grays (the colors of 

the city children allocated 

as gray, and called them 

city grays) 

Buildings 

Crime 

Walking to school 

Tear them down and build new ones 

Renovate the buildings 

Paint them, punish for writing on the 

walls 

Police arresting criminals 

To go to school by buss 

* direct translation of the child’s comment – in order to keep the transparency and originality of 

answers I translated them to as similar as possible but not to loose the meaning. 

Table 3 Results from research with third Grade children, performed on 16 th June 2005 


58



Some children saw problems in the city in a more social context. One child would ban running 

in the school corridors by law; another would like to have more physical education; then, one 

would like to change the people so the city would become beautiful and the waters not polluted. 

One child expressed a wish to have “…cities next to each other.” 

There was one surprising and unexpected answer: “solve the problem with drug addicts”. To 

my question how? the child answered: “by killing them”. To my question why? he answered: 

”because they will create us problems anyway in the future by stealing and buying drugs and 

with this we release them and us from troubles”. Obviously, this kind of thinking doesn’t solely 

come from the child’s’ personal thinking, but was introduced by an adult. It only proved that 

even when unannounced and new questions are proposed, children allocate their answers to 

the things they are aware of or surrounded by. 

Pic 39 Working with grade 3 


59



7.1.4 Conclusion after the second day of research 


• Conclusions and changes in approach made 

after the first session were useful and resulted 

in better structuring the second day of 

research 

• It is important to insist on getting answers 

before giving out papers to children to write 

down the answers. The approach to the 

children should be dynamic and highly 

interactive – holding a paper in the air and 

waiting for the answer motivates them to 

think of the answer fast but also to be 

imaginative and do their best because if the 

answer is not good or not so connected to the 

question they will not get the paper. 

• It is good to make an atmosphere of 

Pic 40 Taping answers to the board in grade 3 

competition among children because it develops their thinking and imagination. I should 

behave as a filter to the answers and try to keep the answers within the question subject. 

• The level of my voice is very important - in the children’s passion to answer questions, they 

raise their voices, so the level of my voice should stay authoritative in order to keep a 

certain level of order in the class. On the other hand it is important not to loose the 

children’s passion because it will influence their brain activity and thinking. 


One year in age difference (between 8 and 9 year olds) gives incredible difference in answers. 

Children were much more attentive and mature. They had a better understanding about the 

surroundings. As in grade 2, they identify mostly environmental problems as cause for 

deterioration in Belgrade. Children in grade 3 had good and innovative ideas, but mostly 

founded on rational thinking. Seeing dirt as a city problem and suggesting implementation of 

new laws shows high awareness of the surrounding but also to some extent how city 

governance works. Also, it is evident that at this age they gradually develop the social 

awareness of their surroundings and find the cause of some problems in the city in human 

behavior, as in the comment on throwing garbage into the bin instead by its side. 


At the beginning of the class I introduced the topic of my research in more depth. I described 

the aim and goal in short lines. Initially I started giving out papers as I did in with the previous 

groups, after getting an individual answer. For the later questions I distributed the papers to 

each child, since I realized that they were more interested in the topic and getting involved. 

Fourth grade children described Belgrade almost the same as the children in the third grade. 

There was a slight difference in observation and awareness of the surroundings. The only 

notable difference is that some of the answers included problems such as polluted air and 

water. Also, all children chose to write down the answers – there were no drawings. Otherwise, 

both material and non-material things were identified as in Grade 3. 

To the question on what is beautiful in Belgrade, answers were given in full sentences. All 

papers contained more than one answer which is a difference from the previous groups. 

However, that created repetition in individual answers which was not due to cheating or mutual 


60



influence. They were much more interested in giving their opinion and giving full answers. All 

papers were signed. 

As in third grade answers can be summarized as: 

- places: Kalemegdan (old fortress with a park), city parks, botanical garden, 

- buildings: swimming pools, libraries, sport halls, fountains, monuments, 

important buildings, many schools, hospitals, Mc Donald’s restaurants, 

museums, theaters, many cinemas, old buildings 

- beings: children 

- greenery: trees, grass, flowers 

- social reasons: place of birth and upbringing, different sport events, place of 

living 

According to the ten year olds Belgrade is ugly because of: 

- environmental (pollution): polluted air, a lot of waste, it is dirty, 

- social (human misbehavior): people cutting down trees and pulling flowers 

from their roots, people writing graffiti, police officers not doing their job, 

many criminals, drug dealers, drug addicts, many politicians, beggars, 

pedestrians crossing on red light, people using entrance halls of housing 

buildings as public toilets, drunk drivers, 

- physical: many destroyed buildings, graffiti on the walls 

It is interesting to note that children in Grade 4 identified most social problems that they 

disliked in Belgrade. Compared to the previous grade, social issues where much more identified 

as problems in Belgrade (or things that make Belgrade ugly). 

To the question what would they change and how, totally different problems were identified. My 

conclusion is that they identify things they have a solution to, because they were asked at the 

same time questions what and how. As in previous groups there were more ideas and answers 

compared to previous questions. Results are summarized in Table 4. 


Environmental 

Social 

Waste thrown on streets 

Polluted air 

Parks 

Trees 

People writing on the 

building walls 

Drug addicts, drug 

dealers, drunk people, 

thieves 

Dogs with rage 

Introducing money penalties 

Put filters on pollutants *(end of pipes) 

Clean them from dog faeces 

Plant more trees 

Introduce punishment by jail or money 

fee 

Put them in jail* 

Take all dogs to the veterinary 


61



Child trafficking (people 

that trade with children) 

Beggars 

Drunk drivers 

Arrest them and sentence them to life in 

prison 

Give them some money so they could 

buy some food and clothes 

Forbid them to drink and drive* 

Lower the prices Kill the president and become the 

president herself 

Physical 

People throwing glass on 

the street 

Deteriorated buildings 

Communicationinfrastructure 

Holes in the street and the 

pavements 

Parks 

Call the inspection* 

Renovate them 

Install public phones on every street 

corner 

Fill them up very quickly 

Renovate them to amusement parks 



Table 4 Results from research with fourth Grade children, performed on 17 th June 2005 

As with the previous question, again more problems were seen in social sphere. I tried 

motivating them to think more about the environmental problems so I proposed an additional 

question: How would they change Belgrade with the aim to have healthier life in it? Answers 

are summarized in Table 5. 

Sphere 

Environmental 

How would they change Belgrade with the aim to have healthier life in 

it? 

Solve the problem of polluted air 

Install more garbage bins on the streets 

Use electric cars that don’t pollute the air 

Deal with polluted rivers, air and all surroundings 

Plant more trees 

Install filters on cars and factories 

Not to spray fruit (with pesticides) 

Social 

Less smoking and paper throwing on the streets 


62



Forbid drivers to park cars on pedestrian areas* 

No thieves* 

People not throwing waste on streets, not polluting rivers and not 

driving cars but rather going on foot 

Physical 

Have less cars and busses in the city 

Use of cars, busses, motorcycles transferred into using bicycles 

Demolish factories in Belgrade 



Table 5 Ideas for a healthier life in the city, by children attending Grade 4 

In the last question, stress was on the healthy living in the city, but still many children found 

the problem to lie mainly in people’s misbehavior. It was difficult to allocate answers in 

separate spheres because environmental and physical sphere overlap and are strongly 

connected. Nevertheless I have separated them into two categories. 

7.1.6 Conclusion after the third day of research 


• It is advisable to treat older children as adults and explain the reasons for research in 

more detail than with the younger children 

• It is necessary to show respect to the children’s opinions and suggestions so they can 

take the research serious and important. In that way they will be willing to answer and 

contribute the best they can. 

• Even with older children, serving sweets pay an important role for making the initial 

connection between the researcher and the children. But this time quantity is not 

important. 

• Older children can be given more questions on how and what would they change in a 

city. It means that the questions should be more specific on certain topics since their 

knowledge and awareness of the surroundings is much higher that of the younger 

children. 


Children in the fourth grade find most problems in the city in social issues. Their answers were 

much more mature and reasonable than answers given in grade 2 and 3. Children were much 

easier to communicate with, and understood better the questions. On the other hand they 

lacked the imagination of the younger children often stressing in the conversation that some 

things were not possible to achieve due to its costs or material possibilities. When giving them 

two connected questions they carefully think through both of them before giving the answer 

which sometimes results in not giving one of the answers because they couldn’t find an 

adequate answer to the other. 


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7.2 Conclusions after the first session 

7.2.1 Applied methodology 

• It is important to establish a good contact with children at the beginning of the research 

session. Serving sweets is a good way to make that contact. However, it is important to 

define the number of sweets being served in order to keep some authority and avoid 

chaos. It is good to asses which sweets children like before buying them. 

• Approach to children should be careful and open for adjustments during the whole 

research session. 

• It is good to connect the subject of research with a topic already studied at school and 

gradually introduce the research topic. 

• Introduction to reasons for performing the research should vary depending on the 

children age; younger need basic information while older should be given more details 

so they could feel the importance of research. 

• It is good to change the methods of work during a session, to keep up the attention of 

children. Methods such as interactive discussions, writing on given papers, asking for 

answers before distributing papers, drawings, and also changes in individual and group 

work gave good results in this research. Children should be motivated all the time to 

participate in research and therefore it is good to “listen” to the group and change the 

methods appropriately. The beginning should be organized more as an open discussion, 

to get the full attention of children. It is a faster way of exchanging opinions. Later on, 

the level of activities should gradually drop by giving them questions about their 

individual opinions on specific issues. To achieve a variety of different answers the 

approach in insisting on getting answers before giving out papers to the children to write 

down their answers showed good results. 

• Children that are not so active should also be included in the process of giving opinion, 

by asking them directly and motivating them to join the discussion. 

• Keeping an atmosphere of competition among children develops their thinking and 

imagination. However, the researcher should behave as a filter to the answers, because 

children tend to fall out of the subject once they feel a pressure to give a different 

answer from the others. 

• The mobility of the researcher and the level of voice are important for keeping the 

control of the atmosphere in the classroom. The level of voice should stay authoritative 

but also not too strict to block children from giving their opinions. 

• It is necessary to show respect to the children’s opinions and suggestions so they could 

take the research serious and important. In that way they will be willing to answer and 

contribute the best they can. 

• Older children can be given more specific questions on certain topics since their 

knowledge and awareness of the surroundings is much higher that of the younger 

children. 

• At all times it is important that the approach to the children should be dynamic and 

highly interactive, always ready for a change in method. 


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7.2.1 Overall conclusions 

Younger children strongly influence each other in giving answers and ideas. Children’s 

awareness about the city is restricted to the places they have visited and have knowledge 

about, which is very limited at the early age. As children grow and develop, their perception, 

awareness, and conclusion about the surroundings shift from the physical to more of the social 

sphere. They develop their individual thinking about the world around them. Also, as they get 

older they mature and are easier to work with. Children in grade 4 gave more detailed and full 

answers. They preferred giving their opinion in writing rather than by drawing. In grade 2 

answers about the city were given not from the logical thinking but rather from the knowledge 

gained at school. The reason for that might be because they were frightened of giving a wrong 

answer, since they couldn’t see a difference between regular school assignments from an 

individual research. On the other hand, children in grade 3 gave answers and ideas founded on 

more rational thinking clearly showing that they know and understand how certain things work 

in “real life”. 

In the part of research that involved what would they change in the city and how, children 

showed strong verbal reaction to the things they dislike. They showed interest and will to give 

opinion and ideas. Answers were more specific and creative. 

All children involved in the research show a wide awareness about their surroundings. They 

noticed good and bad things and have ideas how to improve them. They show willpower to be 

involved in the decisions about the future of the city. 

Working with children requires high attention and dynamism which is very tiring after some 

time. Therefore it is important to be fresh before the research starts. 

Overall, the choice of involving children as stakeholders in the research on upgrading of the 

existing building stock gave good results not only in gathered information but also in the 

development of a methodology for involving children in a research. 

Therefore, after the first session of research performed in the primary school, I searched for 

another opportunity to work with the children on the same topic. The opportunity showed up as 

an accompanying teacher at the ECO Camp annually organized by the same school during the 

summer vacation. 

Conclusions about applied methods, made after the first session of research in the school were 

used as a basis for the research at the ECO Camp, but always having in mind one of the most 

important findings: At all times it is important that the approach to the children should be 

dynamic and highly interactive, always ready for a change in method. 


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7.3 Second session conducted at Kopaonik, between 10 th and 14 th July 2005. 

The ECO Camp was organized in two shifts at 

Kopaonik, a mountain famous for skiing resorts in 

southern Serbia. One part of the mountain is a 

National Park protected since 1981. The ECO Camp 

was organized at the southern base of the mountain, 

in the hotel ‘Junior’ specially designed to 

accommodate children. 

7.3.1 First shift, July 10-12, 2005 

The first shift was composed of 27 children aged from 

7-11, having an almost equal mix of different ages. 

After the experience in the school research I decided 

to divide them into three groups similar in age and 

conduct the research separately. Also, I decided to 

Pic 41 Kopaonik, July 2005 

conduct more sessions with each group out of several 

reasons: 

- spend more time with each question, 

- research is done not only during the sessions but also in their free time, while going for a 

walk in nature or doing other activities, 

- avoid loosing attention and patience of the children, 

- start the thinking process in childrens’ minds and possibility for it to mature in order to get 

better results, 

- get to know children better and make a better contact with them 

Groups were made as: 

Group 1: children that have completed grade 1 and 2 



My intention was to propose the same questions as in the school in order to be able to compare 

the results. Soon after I had started the research, I realized that I will have to allow the 

children to influence the course of the research, since they strongly complained that they are 

on vacation and out of school. So I had to adjust the approach and way of communication. 

Sessions were organized as 3x3, so with each group I had three meetings. At the first meeting 

we discussed about the city, the difference between the city and a village (countryside) and 

what characterizes Belgrade. The second meeting focused on discussing what is beautiful and 

what is ugly in Belgrade. The last session focused on what would the children change in the city 

and how. 


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7.3.1.1 Day 1 - Group 1 

Children focused more on giving answers to what is the difference between the city (Belgrade) 

and the countryside so answers are summarized in Table 6. 

Sphere 

Environmental 

In city there is/are 

more gasses (in the air), 

Less grass, flowers, trees 

a lot of garbage, more dirt 

the city is not maintained 

Social 

more inhabitants 

more civilization 

has police, fire brigade 

Physical 

more shops 

more and bigger streets 

factories 

high buildings 

more garbage bins 

more cars 

Table 6 The difference between the city and the countryside, answers given by children that 

have completed Grade 2 and 3 

After identifying what characterizes a city and distinguishes it from the countryside, an 

additional questioned was discussed: where do they like to spend their free time. This time 

each child was given a paper to write or draw the answers. My intention was to identify the 

surroundings children are used to and their preferences. I asked them to include in their 

answers what they play or what they see in their favorite surroundings. Answers and ways of 

expression differed from child to child. Two boys preferred to write the answers while the rest 

drew. Answers can be summarized as indoor and outdoor spaces: 

Indoor: at home playing computer games (1 girl and 1 boy), 

Outdoor: in the school playground playing sports (football, basketball)(2 boys), at grandparents 

village (3 girls) , in the park on different utilities (1 girl), 


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Pic 42 Where do I like to play? Vrcin, by Sonja 

Jovanovic, grade II 

Pic 43 Where do I play most? I like to play most at 

grandma’s and grandpa’s in the village, by 

Isidora, grade I 

Pic 44 Where do I like to play most? At home (on 

a computer), in park, by Stasa Pribic, 

grade II 

Pic 45 Where do I like to play? At grandma’s in 

Manic, by Nadja Tulic, grade I 

7.3.1.2 Day 1 - Group 2 

Third and fourth grade pupils gave more detailed answers and were more interested to 

participate in the research. Their answers were given to the question what characterizes 

Belgrade are summarized in Table 7. 


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Sphere 

Environmental 

Belgrade characterizes 

Garbage, trash on the streets 

dirty asphalt 

Polluted rivers 

Streets full of dog faeces 

Polluted air, smelly air, gas exhausts, car exhausts 

Sewage, water system 

Trees and leaves, plants, Flowers 

Social 

People that live in Belgrade 

Rapists, criminals, drug dealers 

Children, people 

People with no culture 

Physical 

Shopping malls, shops, restaurants (Mc Donald’s), casinos, 

Cinemas, clubs, hotels, factories 

Hospitals, lunatic asylum, 

Courtyards, parks, places for walks, 

Kalemegdan (the old fortress with the city park), Danube and Sava delta, 

New Belgrade, amusement-park 

Sport stadiums, basketball courts, 

Antennas (on top of the buildings-there’s no cable TV) 

Roads, lights in the street, railroad 

Smelly garbage containers, graffiti 

Different institutions: parliament, schools, universities, 

Churches, Monuments, culture centers, the airport, 

Construction sites, housing buildings, skyscrapers 

Cars, trucks, planes, busses 

Table 7 What characterizes Belgrade, answers given by children that have completed grade 3 and 4 


69



It was interesting to see the difference between 7 and 8 year olds and 9 and 10 year olds in 

thinking and awareness about the city. Even though the time was the same for both sessions 

results are completely different. More over, thinking about the city in a different environment 

gave better results in the level of observation and thinking. Some things were not mentioned in 

any of the session done at the school. 

As with the first group, the second group was also given the task to draw/write where do they 

like to spend their leisure/free time. Answers were more detailed and some children chose to 

write them down while others drew. 

Places were identified as 

Indoor: at home, at friends’ place, at grandparents’, 

Outdoor: in the park, in the courtyard, near the church (there is an orthodox church St Mark’s, 

close to the studied area), at the countryside (there are domestic animals, fresh and unpolluted 

air), in the city park – Tasmajdan (there are dogs, swings, see saws, cafes and trees) 

Some children added what they would like to have. 

Pic 46 Where do I like to spend my free time? 

- I like spending my time with the computer 

- I like spending my time with football – in 

the courtyard 

- I like spending my time at grandpas’ and 

grandmas’ – outside (there are swings, 

would like to have sand) 

- I like spending my time cuddling with mum 

and dad 

- I like spending my time with friends 

- I like spending my time playing 

- I like spending my time driving bicycle 

By Luka Sarenac, grade 3 

Pic 47 Where do I like to play? (left) 

Amusement park (left) 

What would I like to have? (right tilted) 

Equipment for virtual reality, robot (right) 

Simulator (right) 

By Dusan Tripkovic, grade 3 


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Pic 48 Where do I like to play most? 

Where? (left up) – park 

With what? (right up) – ball 

It is necessary (lower middle) 

Volleyball court 

By Ksenija, grade 3 

Pic 49 Where do I like to play? 

Park 

By Sonja Mitrovic, grade 3 

While working with this group I noticed I could give 

them an additional task to draw/write what do they see 

when they go out to the street on their way to school. I 

gave them new papers for the task. The intention was 

to see their level of observation and awareness of their 

living surroundings. Some children chose to make a list 

of the things they noticed. It is interesting that the lists 

involved material and non material things, big and 

small, things they liked and disliked. The list includes: 

Material: buildings (individual and multifamily housing, 

news stand, hair saloon, boutiques, shops), sidewalks, 

roads, cars, motor cycles, containers, street lights, 

busses 

Non material: people (grownups, children rollerskating, 

police officers, beggars, gypsies), dogs, cats 

Some children preferred to draw and additionally 

describe in writing things they wanted to stress (Pic 51) 

Pic 50 Description of the way from home 

to school, by L.Sarenac, grade 3 


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Pic 51 A drawing by Ana Marija, grade 3 

Pic 52 When we go out to the street we can see: 

- trash on the streets, buildings, means of 

transportation, traffic lights, strayers (dogs), 

many people, dogs faeces, shops, bars, 

beggars, churches, containers, parks, cars, 

gypsies, restaurants, cats, benches, 

newsstands, street sellers, hotels 

by Stasa, grade II 

Pic 53 What do I see when I go out to the street? 

By Sonja Mitrovic, grade II 


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7.3.1.3 Day 1 - Group 3 

Children in grade 5 and 6 had interesting observations about the city, identifying different 

groups of people living in Belgrade. They were more difficult to motivate for talking about the 

city. The cause for that I find in their development phase (age), searching for strong identity 

and showing rebellion to authority. They were more interested in leisure time and the hotel 

leisure facilities. Nevertheless, some individuals were willing to discuss about the city and 

contribute to the research. Their answers are summarized in Table 8. 

Sphere 

Environmental 

Belgrade characterizes 

Polluted air 

Full garbage containers 

Dirty streets 

Plants 

Danube 

Social 

Police stations, government institutions 

People, homeless, gypsies, anti gypsies (skins) terrorists, different 

sects, drug addicts, people different nationalities, 

Animals, birds 

politicians, children, psychiatrists, pupils 

Physical 

Cinemas, pharmacies, theaters, sport halls, shopping centers, 

opera house, casino, news stands, swimming pools, schools, 

Hospitals 

Prison 

Parks, amusement parks, the zoo, 

Computer game clubs, 

Restaurants, cafes, discotheques, 

Cars, busses 

Buildings 

Open green markets 

Night city lights 

Old town streets 

Table 8 What characterizes Belgrade, answers given by children that have completed grade 5 and 6 


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Papers with written answers from all three groups were taped on one big paper, representing 

the board. They were taped in groups as were the sessions (Pic 54). 

Pic 54 Kopaonik, day 1. What characterizes a city? What characterizes Belgrade? 

7.3.1.4 Day 2 

The following day had a focus on what is beautiful in Belgrade and what is ugly. This time 

children were given a paper divided into two equal parts – one meant for identifying beautiful 

and the other ugly things. Also, due to the comment that they don’t want to feel as they are in 

school (they don’t want to write) children could choose the way of expression they preferred. 

7.3.1.5 Day 2 - Group 1 

The session started by reading the answers they wrote the previous day. Also children read 

answers from other groups. 

The task was to identify what is beautiful and what is ugly in Belgrade. They were given papers 

and freedom to choose the technique of expression. The group with grade I and II decided to 

use available material – flowers they picked in the fields to represent beautiful things and trash 

to present ugly things (Pic 55 & 56). 


74



Pic 55 left – beautiful: 

Not polluted nature and not polluted rivers 

Right: ugly: 

Polluted rivers and trash on the streets and 

smoke from the factories 

By Stasa Pribic, grade 2 

Pic 56 left: beautiful – flowers 

Right: ugly – trash 

By Ivana N., grade 2 

7.3.1.6 Day 2 - Group 2 

Grade 3 and 4 were given the same task. As in school most children identified various types of 

pollution as what makes Belgrade ugly. Trash, polluted air, and rivers were the most common 

answers. As with the previous group, children preferred different ways of expression, mainly 

combining written answers and drawings (Pic 57 – 60). 

Pic 57 left – ugly, right - beautiful 

By Ana Marija Tomic, grade 4 

Pic 58 left – beautiful, right - ugly 

By Dusan Trpkovic, grade 3 


75



Pic 59 Beautiful and ugly things in the city 

By Vlada P. 

Pic 60 Liked and disliked things in the city 

7.3.1.7 Day 2 - Group 3 

With the fifth and sixth grade I started the second session with careful reading the notes on 

what characterizes Belgrade. We focused on discussing the problems and finally focused on 

what would they change and how. Answers can be summarized in the three categories. They 

are presented in Table 9. 


Environmental 

Dirty streets Money penalties for people that are 

polluting the surrounding 

Social 

Physical 

Polluted air 

Trash bins 

Polluted rivers 

Trees 

Orphanage institutions 

Buss throng 

Police uniforms 

Ugly buildings 

Traffic jams 

Construction sites 

Changing cars 

Put filters on all air pollutants 

Trash bins should be bigger 

Forbid throwing trash to the rivers, clean 

them 

Stop cutting the trees 

Upgrade them 

Introduce more public transport busses 

They should be better (nicer) 

Paint them 

Streets should be bigger and equipped with 

better traffic lights 

Make them cleaner 

They should run on water and solar energy 


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Entrance doors 

Windows on buildings 

Change them to better and nicer – unify 

them 

Change them 

Table 9 What should be changed in the city and how? Answers given by children that completed grade 5 

and 6. 

Some of the children had a continuous argument that: ”…one thing are the wishes and another 

possibilities”. They were already aware of the social and economic problems and their mutual 

influence. 

7.3.1.8 Day 3 

The third day was most interesting for the research, since we came to the final session of 

identifying what would they change in Belgrade and how. Only with the fifth and sixth grade I 

had a different approach since they were difficult to get involved and the issue was already 

discussed at the second session. For them I prepared a set of questions about the problems in 

the city. 

7.3.1.9 Day 3 - Group 1 

Children in grade 1 and 2 have identified what would they change in the city and how. Results 

are summarized in Table 10. 


Environmental 

More free animals, as: 

birds, squirrels… 

Build a big tunnel for the cars and all the 

animals should be free around the tunnel 

Trash Clean streets more often, introduce 

penalties, use the trash bins 

Less air pollution gasses 

No animal faeces 

Grass 

Dirty city 

Drive less, less number of cars 

Introduce penalties 

Plant more grass 

Clean, take care of the nature 

Social More animals in the city Make separate parts for each animal 

Physical 

Rebuild the city zoo 

More open-space in the city 

Less cars 

Side walks 

Make the cages bigger and plant some trees 

in them 

Pull down an office building and make a 

play-ground 

Destroy the cars 

Make them wider 

Table 10 What should be changed in the city and how? Answers given by children that completed grade 

1 and 2. 


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7.3.1.10 Day 3 - Group 2 

The third session with the group 2 was most productive. They took the questions on what 

would they change in the city and how very seriously and gave detailed answers. Most 

answers covered environmental problems but some also included social issues (Pic 61-67). 

Pic 61 to the left – what should be changed in 

the city, to the right – how should it be 

changed 

Pic 62 to the left – I would change: car exhaust, 

polluted streets, factories (so there is 

no smoke), criminals 

to the right – how should it be changed 

by Stasa Pribic, grade 4 

Pic 63 to the left – what should be changed in 

the city – I would ban the cars that go 

on diesel, 

to the right – how should it be changed 

– I would introduce car that run on gas 

by Luka Sarenac, grade 3 

Pic 64 to the left - I would I would change in 

Belgrade the dirty streets to be cleaner, 

there should be more trees 

to the right –I would change it so that the 

inhabitants wouldn’t throw the trash to 

the streets but into the trash buns. 

Throwing papers on the street would be 

penalized. Young people wouldn’t pick the 

trees 

by Ana Marija Tomic, grade 3 


78



Pic 65 to the left – I would like that it is cleaner 

and that there are more trash 

containers 

to the right – More workers and trucks 

in the city sanitation services 

by Ksenija Milutinovic, grade 4 

Pic 66 to the left – school, casinos, smelly air, 

to clean the dog droppings 

to the right – not to have classes, to 

tear down the casinos, to plant more 

trees, to make more botanical gardens 

by Mihajlo, grade 3 

Some children suggested solutions to the big problem of dog faeces. They would make a 

place in the parks for the dogs by putting up fences. 

As in the research done at the school, many 

children complained about the drug dealers and 

drug addicts. To my question how do they know 

about it and if they have seen it, they answered 

that they could often see in the school courtyard 

and in the city parks leftovers of needles. They 

would like to throw them out of the city (in their 

own words) and a suggestion was to test to 

drugs every suspicious person. Apparently it is a 

very big problem in the city that children notice. 

Unfortunately in the media not enough attention 

is given to that problem. One boy made a list of 

unwanted types of people in the city. The list 

includes: drug dealers and drug addicts, anti 

gypsies, gay people, faeces, transvestites, terror, 

trash, weapons, cocaine, Mc Donald’s, money, 

alcohol… 

One boy wrote that he would like that the city 

has more sport courts. To the question how can 

he finance them, he suggested that money 

shouldn’t be spent on quiz-shows. 

Pic 67 What would the children change in 

the city and how, grade 3 


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7.3.1.10 Day 3 - Group 3 

For the final session with the children from the fifth and sixth grade I prepared questions 

based on identified problems in earlier session. As I mentioned before they were very difficult 

to motivate for discussion. I summarized the problems defined in previous sessions into two 

questions. By giving them a defined and pre set task I expected better attention and clear 

answers. 

Questions were: 

1. How would you solve the problems in the city? 

a. Polluted air, stench 

b. Traffic jams 

c. Parking 

d. Public transportation 

e. Children playgrounds 

f. Heating 

g. Light power cuts 

2. How would you improve the quality of life? 

1a) To the problem of polluted air they mostly find solutions in putting filters to the factories 

and cars, 

1b) For traffic jams they propose limiting the number of cars, lessening the number of cars, 

bigger streets, parking only on allowed parking places (drivers double park on the streets and 

by doing so they create traffic jams) 

1c) Parking problems they would solve by making more parking spaces, charging more for the 

parking 

1e) Public transportation should have more vehicles (busses) that are better and more 

comfortable 

1d) For children’s playgrounds they suggest building more parks and playgrounds which are 

separated from the public parks. Children’s playgrounds should be better equipped. Also they 

would forbid dogs on the playgrounds. Furthermore they suggest security in the parks. 

1f) For heating they suggest making solar cells, using gas. One girl notes that the question is 

for experts whose job is to take care about it 

1g) for light power cuts they suggest making more energy plants 

As for the quality of life improvements they suggest: 

- improve the city by setting examples (nature, fresh air, clean city/streets, more space) 

and respect them (what they mean is for instance the city should be cleaned and the 

people should respect it - they didn’t think of who should clean the city and how can 

we make people respect it) 

- redevelopment of old and unused factories into shopping malls and sport centers 

- bigger salaries 

- if we would improve the issues in the first question quality of life would be better 

As in former session, they find the main problem for any kind of improvements in actual 

possibilities to change something. They kept repeating: “...one thing is wishes and another 


80



thing is the possibility to fulfill them”. My argument was that if we don’t try, we’ll definitely 

gain nothing. 

Pic 68 Eco-camp, Kopaonik, July 12, 2005. Children and teachers of the first shift 


81



7.3.2 Second shift, July 12-14, 2005 

The second shift was composed of 28 children aged from 7-14, where the smallest number 

where children from grade 1 to 4. Due to the big difference in age and after the experience 

with the previous shift I decided to divide them into three groups: 

Group 1 – grade 1 to 4 (one of the girls from the previous shift stayed and participated in 

research again with the second shift) 

Group 2 – grade 5 and 6 

Group 3 – grade 7 to 8 

Compared to the previous shift, there were many children above 10 years old, and almost a 

third of the total number were aged 13 and 14, which resulted in the same problems as with 

the previous shift. I had to be very persistent and persuasive to motivate them to get 

involved in the research. Nevertheless it was interesting to see how the older children 

perceive and think about the problems in the city, since they already have built up opinions 

and to some extent way of life. 

Another problem was that the second shift had a tight schedule of different activities to which 

I had to adapt my sessions. To some extent it influenced the will of children to participate 

since they were tired and more interested in leisure activities. 

In the second shift I didn’t connect the groups with results from previous sessions due to the 

necessity of completely different approach. That is why I will present results from each group 

separately. 

7.3.2.1 Group 1 – session 1 

With the first group I managed to do two sessions. In the first session we discussed about the 

city and what characterizes the city. As with previous groups and sessions the results were 

very similar. Children have identified almost the same things in the same way (Pic 69-72). 

Pic 69 What characterizes Belgrade? 



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Pic 71 What characterizes Belgrade? To the right 

is the emblem of the Eco-camp 


It was interesting to observe that even though all the children were sitting at the same table 

drawing/writing answers, they didn’t make much influence to each other. Younger children 

(grade 1 and 2) focused more on presenting details whereas older (grade 3 and 4) on giving a 

global picture. 

Following the first discussion was identifying beautiful and ugly things in Belgrade. I started 

with giving them individual papers to motivate them to thinking but in the end each child got 

two papers in different colors. The list was a bit different from my previous research sessions. 

It included various places in the city, people, buildings, things, and emotions. Answers are 

summarized in Table 11. 

places 

buildings 

Non 

material 

Beautiful in Belgrade 

Parks, Ada Ciganlija (artificial lake), 

old streets, the old fortress, 

Kosutnjak (forest in the outskirts of 

the city), the delta of Danube and 

Sava, the Danube quay, the 

hippodrome, the city zoo 

Streets, big city parks, somebody’s 

courtyard 

Schools, health institutions, 

museums, parliament buildings, old 

buildings, swimming pools, the main 

post office building, new luxurious 

banks, shops, theaters, 

Love, good people that characterize 

Belgrade, vacation, teachers, pets 

Ugly in Belgrade 

Streets that are inhabited with homeless 

persons, bombed buildings, polluted 

places 

institutions for homeless children 

Hospitals, some swimming pools, 

buildings that are badly kept, factories, 

bars for alcoholics 

Thieves, soldiers, drug addicts, 

criminals, kidnapers, garbage collectors, 

street dogs, alcoholics, children 

throwing fireworks, beggars, people 

going through trash containers 


83



diseases, killing, drugs, poverty, 

cigarettes, wars, 

Garbage/trash 

Nature Flowers, trees Broken plants, 

Rivers 

Gasses, polluted air 

Things Swings in parks Cars (because they pollute the air), 

trucks, busses, car exhaust pipes 

Some busses 

Trash containers, 

Weapons, petards, 

Table 11 Beautiful and ugly things in Belgrade identified by children that have completed grades 

1-4 

7.3.2.2 Group 1 – session 2 

The second session was done the following day. This time the theme was what would they like 

to change in Belgrade and how. Answers were mostly written and are summarized in Table 

12. 

What would they change in Belgrade? 

Sidewalks and streets 

The key at the delta of Sava river into 

the Danube 

Polluted air 

Change the city 

Cars 

Street dogs 

Air pollution from factories 

Cigarettes 

Cutting down forests 

Factories 

Trash containers 

How? 

Forbidden trash throwing and filling up the wholes 

in the streets 

No trash throwing in the rivers, plant more trees 

and flowers 

No exhaust of polluted air 

No cars, beggars, homeless people, only shops 

without green markets… 

Change the motors 

They should be vaccinated and given to people for 

keeping 

Factories would work on steam 

Forbid selling cigarettes 

Penalties 

Put filters 

They should be emptied every day 


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Peoples attitude towards nature 

Equipment in parks for children should 

be changed and maintained more often 

Introduce penalties 

Laws should be introduced for better care of 

children and children playgrounds 

Table 12 What would children like to change in Belgrade and how? Answers are given by 

children that have completed grades 5 and 6 

7.3.2.3 Group 2 and 3 – mixed 

Older children were more difficult to organize and voluntarily involve in the research. I used 

the opportunity to combine the discussion about the city and the problems in the city with the 

activity of handy craft and needlework. It was an open discussion which resulted in interesting 

arguments. 

First we identified what characterizes Belgrade. 

Buildings: social institutions, skyscrapers, health services, schools, media buildings, 

Streets: traffic lights, holes in the asphalt, 

Animals: birds, cockroaches, street dogs, dead pigeons 

People: homeless, tramps, drug addicts, sectarians, pensioners, children, 

Garbage: organic, non-organic, technical equipment, batteries, cans, plastic, plastic bags, 

cigarette stumps 

Places where people like to go: 

Knez Mihajlova street (main walking street), Kalemegdan (park with the old foretress), Ada 

Ciganlija (artificial lake at the Sava river), Danube quay, Terazije (one of the main city 

squares), Tasmajdan (city park) – but there are many drug addicts, crazy people, criminals, 

and delinquents. 

Then we discussed what can be improved in Belgrade and how: 

Public transportation: 

- better organization of tickets for public transport 

- it should be clean 

- introduce the underground metro – to get good connections 

- introduce new bus stops - more often 

- introduce new buss lines – for better connection of different parts of town 

- paint the vehicles into the same color – make them identifiable 

Traffic problems: 

- introduce odd and even days for driving cars 

- build new bridges over the two rivers 

- build a ring-road for high way 

- tighten the control of drivers (there are many bad drivers in the city) 

Old buildings: 

- renovate facades 

- fix lifts 

- introduce security 


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- revive house council (after the World War II in the public housing it was common to 

have a house council that took care of the building. After the privatization most house 

councils stopped functioning, which led to deterioration of buildings) 

- introduce advertisements for house cleaning 

- introduce garbage collectors (vertical and containers) 

Streets: 

- put up guideposts 

- change the street pavements 

- install more trash bins 

- change and maintain asphalt on streets 

- install bins in parks with bags for dog faces 

- improve street lights in the suburbs 

- introduce more walking areas (my note: Belgrade doesn’t have enough streets which 

causes traffic jam, so it is not possible to turn streets with traffic into walking areas) 

- wash streets during the night 

Polluted air: 

- introduce underground public transport (metro) 

- cheaper taxis 

- install filters on factories 

- install filters on car exhaust pipes 

Polluted rivers: 

- prevent boat keepers and owners of houses on water to throw trash into the rivers – 

introduce penalties 

Heating: 

- introduce gas everywhere 

Street dogs: 

- find a home for them 

- sterilize them 

- create more dog exile institutions and institutions for dog adoption 

Other: 

- start a newspaper (magazine) for foreigners (monthly) 

- change the trucks for collecting garbage and introduce trucks for solid garbage 

- renovate river banks 

- plant more trees and greenery 

Finally they reached to an agreement that: Solution to all problems is to – introduce strong 

penalties! 


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7.4 Conclusions after the second session of research 


• Experience gained during the research at school was very helpful for planning and 

executing the second session. 

• It is much easier to work with children in a school environment. It is difficult to keep a 

good balance between authority and cooperation/participation. Authority is necessary for 

having the research done due to the lack of willpower outside school to contribute to a 

research to which children do not see an immediate benefit. On the other hand it is 

necessary to be part of the research (cooperate/participate) with children in order to get 

their real opinion and not what they think they should answer to satisfy me as an 

authority. Therefore I find it easier to balance between the two roles in a school 

environment. 

• In a different surrounding (than school) younger children (grade 1 and 2) are more 

relaxed in giving answers – they express their own opinion from the very beginning. 

• It is much easier and better to work with smaller groups giving the opportunity to 

everyone to participate and express opinion. Also it is easier to control if there are mutual 

influences in opinion. 

• It is good to combine 2-3 year age difference to get better results – they motivate each 

other in giving ideas. Also, if different age is combined it doesn’t influence the way and 

mode of expression. 

• Children between 10 and 13 years are more difficult to involve in research. They show 

reflectivity to authority, so it requires creating a different approach with constant and 

patient explanations for the reasons of research. It is also necessary to show credit for 

their opinions. Once they show will to participate they show good observation about the 

surroundings and present good ideas for the development. 

• Another method for involving the “problematic age” into research is to prepare a set of 

questions that are based on previous sessions (discussions) and ask the children to 

answer them. It gives a certain limitation to the session (no flexibility) but on the other 

hand focuses on specific issues. 

• Children aged 13 and 14 have already built up opinions and ways of life, which are difficult 

to influence. They are aware of their surroundings and the possibilities for development. I 

believe that if they would see a clear benefit from the research for themselves, they could 

be easily involved in the development process. Also, my impression was that it would be 

difficult to change their habits and way of life, unless it is a global trend that they are 

willing to follow. 

• As concluded after the first session of research, when asked what they would change in 

the city and how, children show great will for giving their own opinion and ideas. My 

conclusion was that it would be good to take a further step and do the third session of 

research with one task: How would they like their: flat, building, courtyard or/and street 

to look like? 

7.4.2 Overall conclusion 

Working with children showed that there is a great potential for identifying the problems in 

the city as well as giving good ideas for the improvement of city conditions. It would be 

necessary to conduct more sessions to get more detailed results. 


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7.5 Third session - conducted on 29 th September 2005 

The main aim of the third research session was to see how children imagine the surroundings 

they would like to live in. 

After close analysis of the previous sessions of research as well as other research done for the 

thesis I found that the best age for this part of research is grade 3 – age 9. Children are 

neither too young (they have developed some realistic observations and conclusions about 

the surrounding) nor too old (having the restrictions of the everyday life influence their 

creativity). 

The research was conducted in the same primary school as before (Pic 73). 

For the research purposes on 

methodology, I decided to conduct the 

sessions in two classes. I chose one 

class with which I did the research in 

the first session (‘old’ class), and 

another class (‘new’ class) that didn’t 

have the background of this research. 

The idea was to compare the results 

from the two classes and see how 

much influence the first session had to 

the children in the first class. I gave a 

short introduction to the second class 

but without any questions. There are 

45 drawings in total. 

Since the aim was to see how children 

themselves imagine their surroundings 

it was necessary to use a different 

method for the session. Children were Pic 73 Third Session, 29 th September 2005 

not supposed to be influenced by my 

opinions. Thus after a short introduction I presented the task, and distributed papers for 

drawing. The children had one task, to draw and optionally write how would they like their: flat, 

building, courtyard or/and street to look like. They could choose to present one environment or 

several. They were allowed to ask me questions but many just searched for confirmation of 

what they’ve chosen to present. By giving the children the decision to choose which of the four 

environments they would like to present gave an overview of their awareness of the 

surroundings, level of development, and personality. Presented ideas and level of details show 

their imagination and ability to communicate their ideas to the surroundings. 

7.5.1 First Class – the ‘old’ class 

In the first class most children (twelve) decided to present how they would like the building 

where they live to look like, five girls decided to present their room, four decided to present a 

street or crossroad, two presented their courtyard and only two pupils decided to present two 

environments on one paper (one presenting his room and courtyard, and the other presenting 

the building in which she lives with the courtyard). 

Children that focused on presenting buildings in which they live in or how they would like them 

to look like, mostly imagined (wished for) greenery on or around the buildings. It involves trees 

(palms and deciduous trees), flowers, grass, and bindweed. They placed trees on terraces, 

roofs, sides of the building, and in the courtyards. 


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Most children left the same shape of the building and just added elements they wished for, but 

several boys imagined the building completely different. Ivan had an interesting idea for the 

shape and material of the building (Pic 74). He drew the building he would like to live in, in a 

shape of an electric bulb, and called it ‘an electric bulb building’, made fully of glass, with a lift 

in the middle. Each floor has a one flat. The building is powered by the ‘electricity from the Sun’ 

with the wireless connection at the top of the building. It is important to note that I didn’t 

impose on how the buildings should look like, how they should function or what children should 

focus on. 

Pic 74 ‘An electric bulb building’ as Ivan Glavonjic 

imagines it 

Pic 75 Vuk’s wish house 

It is interesting that three boys added palm trees to their buildings. Palm trees can not be seen 

in Belgrade or the surrounding. Trees were either attached on the side of the buildings or to the 

terraces. Vuk Glavonjic imagined his building in a pool and planted palm trees on each terrace 

(Pic 75). As he said, each apartment has two floors, one in glass and one with a terrace with 

the palm trees. Colors of the building are also interesting. Glass floors are blue, while terrace 

floors are red with yellow terraces. Some children added to the buildings elements from 

everyday life – Matija who trains basketball imagines windows in the shape of basketball balls, 

but gives the building a different shape and color (Pic 76). 


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Pic 76 Matija’s wish house 

Nikola, placed his house on Hawaii, even though I introduced that improvements should be on 

the houses they live in. By placing the house on Hawaii he didn’t focus much on presenting the 

surrounding but rather on the house itself. He added on to it everything that he found 

necessary, from basic things such as door and windows, two terraces (one on the roof), to a 

speaker on the roof, satellite dishes, airplane (as a means of transport) and fireworks at the top 

of the building (Pic 77). 

Pic 77 Nikola’s wish house on Hawaii 


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Ana Opacic decided to present her 

room, where she placed it in a 

natural environment, with trees and 

flowers, animals and park 

playground. It is interesting that 

she caged a bird while all the rest of 

the animals are free (Pic 78). 

One of the four children that 

presented the crossroad added to 

the drawing shows different types 

of vehicles, as a car on gas and a 

van instead of a bus. He sees our 

future through a technical prism so 

he presented a man as a robot and 

wrote: ’electrical man named Aca’. 

In addition he sees even animals as 

robots: a parrot on electricity that is 

crossing a street on a pedestrian 

pathway (Pic 79). 

Pic 78 Ana’s room 

Pic 79 A city crossroad 


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7.5.1.1 Results from the ‘old’ class 

Notes from the drawings as desired future: 

Flat/room: different types of furniture, technical equipment, pets, flowers, 

Buildings: colorful, with big windows or fully glazed, terraces, trees and flowers on terraces or 

roof, mostly tilted roofs with antennas and chimneys. 

Surroundings: water in close proximity as a swimming pool or river, trees such as deciduous 

and evergreen trees, palms, fruit trees, flowers on grass, sport playgrounds for basketball, 

football, swings and sledges … They have also included trash bins and benches. Natural 

environment is very important for the children. 

Streets: cars on gas, traffic lights, vans instead of busses, trees on sideways, water running in 

a stream in the middle of the road with bridges to cross over. 

7.5.2 Second Class – ‘new’ class 

In the second class, where children didn’t have a previous session of research, children included 

more details in the drawings adding written descriptions. Some children decided to present how 

they would like the city to look like. One child even included a drawing of how the city looks like 

today in addition to the drawing of how he would like it to look like. Seven children covered 

more than one environment, seven focused on street improvements, four on the improvements 

of the building they live in with the surrounding buildings and only two children focused on their 

playgrounds. Nobody decided to present only flat improvements, instead some desired room 

improvements were presented in addition to other environments. Many drawings have detailed 

descriptions of how the system would work. 

Olga presented how she sees the city today as dirty and polluted by car exhaust, with 

multistory buildings, without trees. The city she would like to live in has ground floor buildings 

as single family houses, deciduous and evergreen trees, flowers. There are no cars, instead 

people are walking or biking (Pic 80). 

Pic 80 City today and tomorrow 

Two children, that presented four environments (Pic 81 and 82), show high level of awareness 

of the surroundings and specific wishes for improvements. 


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Pic 81 Drndarski Danja 

Pic 82 Jovicic Mihailo 

Most children that decided to present the street environment, wish for an alternative means of 

transport – either bicycle or a horse carriage. Sidewalks include trees, flowers, trash bins, and 

benches. It is interesting that one child drew buildings without windows and stressed it in 

additional writing. 

Some children are very affected by the computer games, presenting people in the environment 

of the so called ‘yu-gi-oh’, wishing for an adequate playground. One of them included in his 

drawing a recycling machine where one can through trash in and get the same but new product 

out. Also, the same child included a car on water and juice (Pic 83). In addition another child 

proposed a new invention - cars that can be folded into a suitcase. When they operate the 

exhaust is pure oxygen. As an alternative he suggests using bicycle (Pic 84). 

Pic 83 A wish for a ‘yu-gi-oh’ playground 

Pic 84 Clean and foldable transportation 

Even though there are very innovative ideas in the ‘new’ class, there are many drawings that 

are a product of pure child imagination not based on rational thinking. It was my conclusion 

that the reason for getting drawings of not realistic desired world was based on the fact that 

children didn’t have a previous research session. The not realistic desired world I found in 

drawings of the so called ‘super city with houses of iron’, people viewed as ‘medabods’ or other 

cartoon images, ‘yu-gi-oh’ playgrounds, cars on rocket fuel, big explosions in the city… Since 


93



none of the drawings in the ‘old’ class had similar images I decided not to include the drawings 

in this document. Also, I didn’t include those desired images (wish items) in the results. 

7.5.2.1 Results from the ‘new’ class 

Notes from the drawings as desired future: 

Flat/room: better heating, furniture improvements 

Buildings: colorful with different window shapes, made of steel, cheap, 

Surroundings: greenery, fountains in the parks, different equipment on the playgrounds: 

swings, seesaws, a trampoline, trash bins in parks… 

Streets: cars with oxygen exhaust, cars on water and juice, foldable cars into a suitcase, 

bicycles and horse carriages, side parking and garages, trees and flowers on sidewalks, trash 

bins, benches, traffic signs and traffic lights, walking streets for children. One child invented a 

new traffic sign – forbidden throwing trash on cars. 

7.6 Conclusions after the third session 


• Drawing is a good mode of expression for 9-year olds. It seems that they can still 

present what they wish and add color to it, without worries that it will not look good. 

Drawings point out problems in the city as well as desired images. Furthermore, 

drawings can be used as basic sketches and guidelines for a real development plans. 

• Drawing as a mode of expression requires more time to present ideas than discussion. 

On the other hand children are less influenced by each other because through individual 

drawing they focus on the subject by themselves and thus express their own opinion. 

• Giving children one task with a possibility to choose the environment they would like to 

improve (scale) resulted in a variety of ideas. It is good to give them a choice because 

not all children are at the same level of development, they have different interests and 

awareness of the surroundings. 

• Even though good results can be achieved both with children that were involved in the 

previous research and those that didn’t have that experience, a bigger variety of realistic 

ideas can be achieved with children involved in several research sessions. 

7.6.2 Overall Conclusions 

The first thing one can notice on childrens’ drawings is color and creativity. All drawings of 

desired future are doable and mostly realistic, which shows that at this age they are aware how 

things work and function. Children imagine buildings in a variety of colors, from yellow, purple, 

orange, and red, to brown and black. 

Some children are highly aware of the changes that are necessary to happen in the city 

environment – they have certain knowledge on environmentally friendly solutions for vehicles 

and buildings. They identify pollution as a major city problem and seek solutions to it. 

It is evident that children miss the natural environment (trees, flowers, and still water) in the 

city, and would like to improve it and include it in their everyday surroundings. 

The results from the third session do not differ much from the results made in the first and 

second session. But as mentioned before, drawings are more detailed and include things that 

would in other case not be part of the discussion, which shows childrens’ awareness and desired 

future without outside influences. In order to achieve more detailed conclusions, drawings 

coould be analyzed using mainly children’s psychology. 


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8. RESEARCH RESULTS 

8.1 Instruments and means for achieving sustainable future - results 

from research with primary school children 

After the three sessions with children and careful analysis of the collected data that is presented 

in the previous chapter, results can be summarized and presented in the form of a table (Tables 

13-15). As mentioned before, the physical sphere is part of the environmental sphere but it is 

presented separately since it focuses more on physical elements of the city, while the 

environmental sphere covers a wider scope. In areas where spheres overlap, problems have 

more than one source and thus proposed instruments and means can be implemented in more 

than one sphere of human activity. To give an example, waste in the parks is a socioenvironmental 

problem – it is caused by human behavior and affects the environment. 

Instruments and means for solving the problem could be for instance: 

- installing trash bins in the parks or installing signs forbidding throwing trash, and 

- education campains in schools or neighborhoods for keeping the parks clean. 

The first set of instruments and means we could define as the socio-economic set, the second 

as the social. On the whole, it is difficult to decide to which sphere does a problem and 

therefore defined instruments and means belong, and somebody else might to it differently. 

Presented tables are structured in three columns. The first column, in the table, is a summary 

of identified problems by children as stakeholders. The second column is a list of instruments 

and means identified by the children during the research sessions. I have grouped them 

according to identified problems using my common sense and context they were mentioned 

during research. The third column is the desired future children would like to have/achieve with 

the process of change. 

Problems Instruments and means Desired future 

Air pollution - cars in the city 

Clean air 

– lower the number of cars 

– ban cars in the city centre 

– transfer to other sources of power – solar, 

batteries, water 

– install filters on exhaust pipes 

– change the motors of cars 

- walk, cycle rather than drive a car 

- introduce underground metro 

- factories: 

- install filters 

- operate on natural source of power (steam) 

- no factories on fertile land 

- tear them down 

- plant flowers, grass, trees in the house, courtyards 

and parks 

- install filters on all air pollutants 

- take care of the nature 

- cheaper taxis 

- introduce gas for heating everywhere 




Street pollution 

(people throwing 

garbage to the 

streets) 

- install more trash bins 

- trash bins should be bigger 

- introduce strict money penalties 

- penalties for dog faeces 

- new laws 

- clean streets more often 

- empty trash containers every day 

Street pollution - cleaning up with a broom, water, detergent, hands 

- magic wand 

River pollution - clean them 

- penalties for throwing trash to the rivers (especially 

from the houses on water) 

Garbage - waste recycling 

- change the trucks for collecting garbage and introduce 

trucks for solid garbage 

Parks - clean from dog faeces 

- plant more trees 

Not enough 

animals in the 

city 

- build a big tunnel for the cars and all the animals 

should be free around the tunnel 

- make separate parts for each animal 

Clean streets 

Clean rivers 

Recycling 

Clean and green 

parks 

More animals in 

the city 

Destruction of 

trees 

- prevent from tree cutting 

- penalties for tree cutting 

Protected trees 

Table 13 Environmental Sphere 

The physical sphere is part of the environmental sphere, but it is characterized by only physical, 

built-up elements of the environment. Since my field of work focuses on upgrading the physical 

environment, research results are presented separately for that sphere. One might suggest that 

results for other spheres shouldn’t be presented but, as mentioned in the theoretical 

framework, the physical sphere also partly covers spheres of Society and Economy (society is 

the creator and main user of the built up surrounding and economy is the source of means for 

the execution and development of it). 

Problems Instruments/means Desired future 

Old buildings - renovate them 

Warm buildings 

- tear them down and build new ones 

Colorful facades 

- change windows, unify entrance doors 

Security 

- renovate facades 

Organized 

- fix lifts 

maintenance 

- introduce security 

Waste collectors 

- introduce garbage collectors (vertical and containers) 

- revive house council 

- introduce advertisements for house cleaning 

Cold apartments - improve heating Warm apartments 

City grays - renovate buildings 

Colorful facades 

- paint them 

- clean construction sites 

Communication/i 

nfrastructure 

- install public phones on every street corner New telephone 

infrastructure in 

the streets 




Streets - fill up the holes with asphalt, change and maintain 

asphalt on streets 

- install trash bins 

- forbid cars to park on pedestrian areas 

- make sidewalks wider 

- put up guideposts 

- change the street pavements 

- improve street lights in the suburbs 

- introduce more walking areas 

- wash streets during the night 

Good quality 

asphalt and 

street 

pavements 

Defined parking 

areas 

Wider sidewalks 

Better lighting in 

the streets 

More walking 

areas 

Clean streets 

Street equipment 

Parks - renovate them to amusement parks 

- install bins in parks with bags for dog faces 

- laws should be introduced for better care of children 

and children playgrounds 

Traffic jams - make streets bigger 

- install better traffic lights 

- introduce odd and even days for driving cars 

- build new bridges over the two rivers 

- build a ring-road for highway 

Bad conditions in 

the city zoo 

Not enough open 

city space 

Public 

transportation 

Park equipment 

Better facilities for 

children in 

the parks 

Improve and 

maintain park 

equipment 

for the 

children 

No traffic jams 

Build new bridges 

- make the cages bigger and plant some trees in them Better conditions 

for the animals in 

the zoo 

- pull down an office building and make a play-ground More open-space 

in the city 

- better organization of tickets for public transport Better public 

- it should be clean 

transport, 

- introduce the underground metro – to get good better vehicles 

connections 

and conditions 

- introduce new bus stops - more often 

- introduce new buss lines – for better connection of 

different parts of town 

- paint the vehicles into the same color – make them 

identifiable 

River banks - renovate them Attractive river 

banks 

Table 14 Physical Sphere (as part of the environmental sphere) 

I see the society sphere as a sphere that represents ‘the totality of social relationships among 

humans’ 78 . Problems identified in this sphere influence the social relationships as well as the 

environment. As suggested above, some human behaviors can cause problems in other spheres 

(environment and economy). Problems cannot be identified and solved only by viewing one 

sphere. As argued in the theoretical framework, all three spheres (Environment, Society and 

Economy), should be viewed equally because they are dependent on each other. Furthermore, 

78 Online free dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/society 




different stakeholders identify different problems and sometimes one stakeholder group can 

identify problems that are caused by another stakeholder group. Therefore, for a meaningful 

research all aspects should be analyzed. Table 3 summarizes children’s views and opinions 

about the social surroundings. 

Problems Instruments/means Desired future 

Changes can be achieved with culture 

Smoking - ban selling cigarettes No smoking 

Pollution - personal/individual taking care not to pollute the 

surrounding (air, water, streets…) 

People not 

polluting the 

surroundings 

Crime, child 

trafficking 

- police arresting criminals better security 

for the children 

Transport to 

school 

- use buses for not walkable distances Walking to 

school 

School problems - reorganize the school system spend more time 

with physical 

activities 

Drug addicts, 

drug dealers, 

drunk people, 

thieves, drunk 

drivers 

- put them in jail 

- kill them 

Graffiti writing - introduce money penalties 

clean facades 

- punishment by jail 

Street rage dogs - take them to the veterinarian 

safe streets 

- vaccinate them and give to people for keeping 

- sterilize them 

- create more dog exile institutions and institutions 

for dog adoption 

Street beggars, 

homeless people 

- give them some money no beggars and 

homeless people 

Orphanage 

institutions 

- upgrade them better conditions 

in the orphanage 

institutions 

Buss throng - introduce more public transport busses better public 

transportation 

Peoples 

attitude 

towards 

nature 

- introduce penalties maintained 

green areas in 

the city 

Traffic jams - tighten the control of drivers (there are many bad 

drivers in the city) 

Table 15 Society Sphere 

well organized 

traffic in the 

city 

The economy sphere has been slightly covered in discussions with primary school children. 

Unfortunately results cannot be summarized and used for suggesting implementation, since 

knowledge of primary school children on economic issues is not sufficiently developed. Some 

problems, identified by the children, can be allocated to the socio-economic section (overlap) 

and environmental-economic section (overlap) of spheres. 




8.2 Professional assessment 

In the Theoretical framework developed during this research work, it is suggested that 

instruments and means that are defined as a result from the research performed with children 

are consequently assessed through a professional prism and proposed for implementation into 

the analyzed study area. 

Being an engineer of architecture, specialized in bioclimatic architecture design (eco-building) 

and with additional education in environmental engineering and sustainable infrastructure, in 

this research my focus is mostly on improvements in the physical environment. One might 

assume that aesthetics, nature and technology are my main concern. In fact, they include 

visual impact, functionality, material use and specification, environmental concern, energy 

conservation, water and waste management, and maintenance. But, I find it equally important 

to analyze social and societal interactions, since people are occupants of the environment we 

live in, we are creating, and we are modifying. Overall, it is a multi-dimensional approach that 

views an individual as a member of the society, and the society as a member of the 

environment. 

The selected and analyzed site is a built up area with a layout, structure and function that was 

mainly formed before in the late 1960s. Some changes have been made during the last 15 

years, which as discussed before mainly led to deterioration of the area. 

The aim of this thesis is not to make drastic changes in the area, but to improve the quality of 

life by upgrading it, using sustainable measures, which also involve affordability of suggested 

changes as an important element of success. As already mentioned, stakeholders are the main 

carriers of change. Thus, this research might be viewed as an applied action research. As 

suggested in a paper by Susanna Elfors: ‘many action research writers emphasize that action 

research should focus on weaker groups in society that have not been paid enough attention 

to.’ 79 Children are definitely a weaker group with not enough rights in Serbia. What is more 

important they are our future, but their needs and opinions are rarely considered in decisions 

affecting the future of our communities. 

In addition, large physical changes in the area (as large scale demolition of buildings or parts of 

building blocks) are not the subject of this study. Also, due to the wide scope of research, and 

results showing that many things need to be addressed and improved, it is impossible to go 

into detailed planning of improvements. Rather, I will address improvements suggested by the 

stakeholders involved in this research. Since stakeholders are children, whose view of the 

surroundings is from an entirely different perspective, many of the necessary changes will 

probably not be mentioned in the results. Also, children have different priorities than other 

stakeholder groups. It will not be discussed in this document the appropriateness of defined 

priorities. If other stakeholders were involved, the results would have been different. Therefore, 

in the real world setting, it is necessary to include all stakeholders and address the results 

equally. As a result, it will most probably initiate negotiations in instruments and means for 

changes, and priorities for implementation since different stakeholders have different views and 

necessities. One stakeholder group might see something as problem, while the other sees it as 

a benefit. It is important to be aware of those possible conflicts and plan for their mitigation. 

8.2.1 Physical sphere – existing multifamily housing buildings 

8.2.1.1 Apartments 

Apartments are highly private areas. Children in the performed research didn’t focus much on 

analyzing apartments they live in and consequently, suggesting improvements. Some children 

79 Elfors, S. (2005). Action Research for Environmentally Sustainable Housing, Using research as a tool for 

change. Draft paper presented on a seminar held on 13 th December 2005 at KTH. 




focused on desired apartment equipment (furniture, technical equipment…). However, there are 

those who mentioned cold apartments as a problem, and desired better heating. 

Cold apartments As discussed in the description of the selected area and the energy 

conditions, since 2001, the area is subject to introducing gasification and district heating, which 

is a result of the District Heating Implementation Program. It is also mentioned that by now 

most streets are equipped with installations, but it is up to the building inhabitants if they will 

invest in the installations within the building. 

Most buildings were built before the World War II, while others were built after, until the middle 

of the 1960s. None of the buildings are equipped with the insulation, and therefore a lot of 

energy is lost. Also, since buildings are very old, building equipment is also run down. Windows 

were made of wood as double windows with 12cm of air between two window wings. Due to 

lack of maintenance and age, the wooden frames have mostly dried out, allowing air to flow 

though cracks. As a result, windows don’t meet any of the insulation coefficients defined by 

current regulations and are the most common place for energy loss and unwanted ‘ventilation’. 

Flooring is mainly wooden parquet and ceramic tiles. Hot water is heated up in boilers that use 

a lot of electricity. Since apartments have no central heating, most often there is no heating in 

the bathrooms, which causes more hot water to be used to heat them up. 

Several improvements can be made: 

Insulation of external walls – since most buildings need renovation of facades, it is 

advisable to add the insulation while doing the renovations. Type and thickness of 

insulation should be determined with consultancy of experts. It depends on the building 

structure, current insulation coefficients and possibilities to apply them as an additional 

element to the façade. 

Insulation of roof – as with the previous case, roof insulation should be done within the 

first renovation of the building. Roofs in the area are flat with a service area on top. 

During the last 15 years most of those service areas were redecorated into living areas, 

usually with low budget. They can be upgraded with the first renovation of the building 

façade by adding insulation and in some cases, if possible, additional living areas. Roof 

terraces can be upgraded into common areas, with tiled surfaces and as suggested by 

the children, plants and greenery. 

Change of windows and terrace doors – windows as areas with most energy loses and 

also humidity penetration, should be changed (hardly repaired) as one of the first 

upgrading measures. New windows should meet the JUS (Yugoslavian Standards) 

standards for insulation and aesthetic characteristics – most of the old windows were 

white, so the new ones should also be white. Glazing, that satisfies our current 

standards, is double glazing with flot low emission term-isolating glass 4+16+4mm, 

filled with Argon between the two glass planes. The window frame material should also 

satisfy JUS standards. 

Change of heat supply – with the ongoing change with the District Heating 

Implementation Program, central heating should cover the whole area. As stated in the 

description part of current conditions, companies that are installing the pipes into the 

buildings should be selected carefully according to the quality they deliver. Some people 

don’t have the funds for the costly installations. In such cases local authorities should 

make certain subsidies. Alternative sources of energy supply should also be considered. 

There are possibilities of installing photovoltaic cells at the roofs of buildings and using 

them for heating and hot water supply. In respect of manufacturing developments 

outside of the IEA PVPS countries, there is a dramatic increase in Photo Voltaic cells 




production from China and Taiwan. 80 They are significantly cheaper and could be used 

on a larger scale in Belgrade. 

Change of boilers – a lot of energy is used with heating water in old boilers. It is an 

impact to the household budget as well as to the energy supply system. Therefore 

people should be supported to change the boilers. 

The problem might occur when deciding upon priorities and time for suggested improvements. 

Changes should be regulated and defined by the government officials – either local or city 

officials, in cooperation with professionals. In the UK, for instance, the 2006 Building 

Regulations defined performance requirements, for existing buildings, and more specifically for 

small-scale replacements and improvements. In one section of the Regulations it is proposed 

that every time money is spent on renovation not related to energy efficiency an extra 10% of 

the total cost must be used on upgrading energy performance. 81 Current Building Regulations 

(especially concerning thermal requirements) should be improved to meet the future energy 

demands. 

Furthermore, there are several other instruments that can be applied in order to initiate the 

changes. Since apartment occupants are most often the owners, they are aware of the energy 

costs. However, they do not know the difference in costs they would have if some energy 

saving mechanisms were applied. Local authorities could make an assessment and calculate the 

energy costs differences for different saving mechanisms applied. It is important that the 

occupants are properly informed. Local authorities should initiate the changes on the buildings 

they occupy. By doing so, they could set an example to the public. A certain percentage of tax 

money could be used for the interventions. Additional funding could be gained from introducing 

the polluters pay principle. Those institutions or private occupants that are unfavorable 

resources for heating should pay more for the damage they are causing to the environment. 

Most of the changes are high cost, therefore there should be a strategy for private investors, as 

well as apartment occupants, to ease the costs as much as possible. Benefits from 

improvements are enjoyed both by the owner and the society. Therefore a scheme should be 

developed with banking organizations for low interest rates. 

Most of the changes can be assigned to building improvements, but since buildings are consist 

of apartments, owned by different people, recommended changes refer to the apartment 

owners. 

I think suggested instruments would be good solutions as a starting point. I would hope that 

citizens and owners themselves would initiate later developments, once benefits of 

improvements start showing. 

Level of action: on a household level and on a building level – inhabitants/owners should be the 

carriers responsible for change depending on the work being done. 

Initiators of change: the authorities 

8.2.1.2 Buildings 

Buildings are semi private areas – with access only by the inhabitants and private visitors to the 

apartments. Most children have argued that they don’t like the ‘city grays’. Facades and 

building interiors are mostly a in very bad shape. Sometimes, parts of the deteriorated facades 

fall off and cause injuries to passersby. Building corridors and stairways are run down. As 

80 Data retrieved from International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA 

PPSP): http://www.oja-services.nl/iea-pvps/isr/31b.htm date: 2006-01-03. Established in 1993, the IEA 

PPSP is one of the collaborative research and development agreements within the IEA's Framework for 

International Energy Technology Co-operation. 

81 Dyrböl, S., Aggerholm, S.,Implementation of the EPBD in Denmark, document downloaded from 

Internet site: http://www.epbd-ca.org/Medias/Pdf/2_CO_EPBD_DK.pdf date:2005-12-19 




previously mentioned there are many cases where structures were added illegally to the 

buildings, mostly on the inner, courtyard facades (Pic 27, page 36). In some cases due to 

unprofessional building, it causes a threat to the building stability or stability of some parts of 

the building. Also, it lowers the esthetic value of the area. There is evidence that additional 

weight gained by illegal building caused breaking of water and sewage pipes in the basements, 

which is a high threat to health conditions of the inhabitants, as well as to the stability of the 

building itself. Unfortunately, there was no prosecution by the authorities. The main reason for 

that are close personal contacts with the local authorities and the illegal builder. Even life risk is 

not taken seriously. I see those contacts as big obstacles to the upgrading process, but will not 

include them as a factor in this research. The reason for that is the social nature of the 

problem, which has roots in social and societal sphere, and my lack of competence to suggest 

changes. 

Old housing buildings Most buildings in the analyzed area are more than fifty years old. 

Others were built in the mid ‘60s. With the lack of maintenance mainly during the last 15 years, 

due to the bad overall situation in the country, buildings have deteriorated and are in an urgent 

need for upgrading and restoration. 


Facades - with the insulation of external walls, facades can be refurbished – restored 

and repainted. Beside thermal improvements, it would improve the overall impression of 

buildings and streets, changing the ‘city grays’ into perhaps ‘city colors’. Façade 

refurbishments would also improve the security of passersby (since currently they are in 

danger of parts of the façade falling off). Repainting the facades would cover the graffiti 

but it is necessary to secure that new graffiti are not written. It might be done with 

campaigns in local schools and neighborhood, putting up wall signs and involving local 

citizens as caretakers of their neighborhood. 

Returning back to initial condition – most illegal ‘redecorations’ were done on terraces, 

jeopardizing the stability of parts of the buildings. There have been accidents were 

terraces would fall off due to high load, for which they were initially not designed for. 

One measure would be to request from the owners the return to initial condition, and 

take away the added walls and windows. 

Building additional space - terraces – there are several 

inner courtyards where there is enough space to build 

additional ‘towers’ for terraces. Such and upgrading 

was done one housing block in Stockholm – 

Södermalm (Pic 85). Towers with terraces were added 

to the side of the buildings, which upgraded the living 

conditions. It also influenced the aesthetic values, 

giving the area a nature touch (the added elements 

were made of wood). The same material was used for 

building bicycle sheds, children’s playground 

equipment, and entrance patios to buildings. 

Installing security measures – often, inhabitants of the 

inner city area have security problems in the buildings. 

Also, sometimes building hallways are used as public 

toilets (also mentioned by the children), and homeless 

people as a shelter. This causes difficulties in 

maintenance and security risks for the inhabitants, 

especially the children. Installing security measures as 

coded entrances and interphones would solve many 

problems. Maintenance would be easier and cheaper. 

Pic 85 Upgrading of a housing 

block in Stockholm 




Change of hallway/stairway glazing – most energy losses in the building hallways and 

stairways is through broken stairway glazing. Also, it allows animals (birds, cats, and 

rats), leaves, and dirt to enter the building, resulting in health risk and dirty stairways 

and hallways. By changing glazing there would be less energy losses (even though 

hallways and stairways are not heated energy is accumulated during summer or though 

occasional open apartment doors, lights). Also, common building areas would be cleaner 

and brighter (since old glazing is dirty). More daylight would require less artificial light in 

the hallways/stairways, which results in electricity savings. 

Hallway/stairway redecoration – many old buildings had good design hallways and 

stairways – it was a representation of the owner and the inhabitants, so they invested in 

good design and equipment. Once security measures are installed it would be good to 

redecorate the interiors and bring back the initial glamour. The pavements are mostly 

still in good condition since stone and good quality tiles were used. Mainly the walls and 

ceilings are in a need of washing, repainting, and refurbishment. 

Hallway/stairway lighting – old buildings have deteriorated lighting systems, which often 

don’t work properly – either the lights don’t operate at all or they operate all the time. 

Also, due to security problems, light switches at the entrances are broken, as well as 

lights in the ceilings. With security measures implementation, broken switches and light 

might be solved but it is also necessary to install light saving bulbs as well as timed 

switches. 

Lift operation – almost all housing buildings were built with lifts. In some of the buildings 

they still operate and are in a fairly good condition. Overall, due to their age, they 

should be checked for security and those that do not operate should be fixed. 

Waste – waste is a big problem in buildings. Some children have suggested introducing 

vertical collectors with containers at the bottom. Unfortunately such measures are not 

possible in these old buildings, since they were not initially designed for that. However, 

in some cases it might be possible to install vertical collectors beside the glazed area of 

the staircases (usually on the half floor stairway resting area), with containers in the 

courtyards. This would require entering of the sanitation and waste company to the 

courtyards with trucks, which might not always be possible. Therefore, the waste 

problems should be solved in the street level. 

Organized building maintenance – some children have suggested reintroducing building 

councils as carriers of maintenance. It consisted of a building president (in charge of all 

issues concerning the building) and the building council as representatives of each 

household. It was a good way to keep things under control and make joint decisions by 

voting. Some buildings still have the building council alive as a decision making body. 

Those houses usually successfully solve maintenance problems and other issues of 

common interest. Advertising and suggesting the reintroducing of the building council 

globally might lead to a greater action for upgrading the neighborhood. 

Rain-water collectors – currently rain water is drained directly to the streets, which 

causes deterioration of the sidewalks and excess water in the streets while raining. It is 

also very unpleasant to walk on sidewalks during raining or soon after it stopped since 

one not only gets wet from the rain but also from the water that runs out of the vertical 

pipes. A solution might be connecting the vertical pipes with roof rainwater to the street 

sewage system while refurbishing sidewalks. Rainwater pipes that go to the courtyards 

can be used for watering the green areas and infiltration of land. 

Level of action: on a building level – inhabitants/owners should be the carriers responsible for 

change 




New buildings There are several new buildings in the area - mostly single-family houses, and 

several restaurants or cafes. They were built in the ´90s illegally, in the inner block courtyards. 

It would be a strong assumption that the permit was either given by a local politician of the 

previous regime, or the builders used the regulation in war conditions (the permit to build or 

reconstruct buildings as a necessity during or after the war. For a six month period, no permit 

is required for building). Buildings don’t follow any regulation or design principle. Construction 

and quality of the buildings are unknown. Their construction has created strong dissatisfaction 

among local inhabitants, unable to protest. Buildings occupy valuable land, but are also mostly 

placed with no respect to the surroundings (just as the owner wished). Sometimes they block 

part and sometimes whole courtyards. In the research, children didn’t mention illegal buildings. 

They don’t have the awareness of the difference between legal and illegal building. But they did 

argue that they would like more open space in the inner city area for playgrounds. They 

suggested tearing down office buildings and building playgrounds in their place. That would be 

a rather radical and too expensive decision, both in terms of big demolition work and bad 

economy effects that it would create. On the other hand illegal buildings occupy a lot of open 

space. I am a strong opponent to illegal building, and especially when it is in the central city 

area. It is not only the illegality of the process of building, but also the financial gain of 

occupying expensive city space. Furthermore it is stealing open space necessary for a healthy 

and good quality environment of the local inhabitants. I find illegal building primitive and an 

open mocking to the society and everything civilized world stands for. Old inhabitants of the 

area shouldn’t suffer the lack of space. Therefore, I would suggest tearing down all illegally 

built buildings in the city area with no reimbursement. The space can be used as an open space 

for relaxation and leisure activities, a necessity for people living in the central city areas. 

Level of action: local or city authorities 

Other buildings During the research with children, other buildings in the area were also 

mentioned. Since the focus of this Thesis is multifamily housing at the selected site, I will not 

make an assessment to those results. They are presented in the results section and can be 

used for another research. 

8.2.1.3 Courtyards 

Courtyards are semi private areas with highest possibilities for improvements. Currently they 

are neglected and used as parking and storage areas, mostly separated by walls. Only rarely, 

some of the local inhabitants take care of the cleaning and the greenery. Overall, they are 

areas that have high development potential into becoming neighborhood centers as meeting 

places, children playgrounds or even commercial activities. Children have expressed a desire for 

more sport playgrounds, more open space and greenery (trees, flowers, and grass) in the city 

area. Inner courtyards are excellent places for such developments. Moreover, to achieve better 

quality of life in the indoor areas it is advisable to have connection to the outdoor environment, 

which is well planed and pleasant to look at. 


- connecting courtyards – at the moment most of the building courtyards are separated 

by walls or fences and form small areas usually used for car parking or as open storage 

space. They are mostly paved so there is almost no open green space, except occasional 

trees. By connecting courtyards within a block, more space could be gained, which can 

be used in a more efficient way. Depending on block size and position of buildings within 

the block, one courtyard can be used for several activities. As a principle of sustainable 

development it is highly recommended to mix social groups such as children with adults 

and the elderly. Everybody should be treated in an equal way. Some areas can have 

double functions, so they could be designed to be used by several generations. Green 

space is of high importance. 




o Children’s playgrounds – since inner courtyards are not very big there could be 

an agreement among inhabitants of several blocks to plan a different playground 

in each block courtyard. In that way several open sport playgrounds could be 

planned. For smaller children there should be a playground in each block so that 

they could play in close proximity to the building they live in. Older children, in 

the central city area, are fond of playing basketball and annually there are sport 

competitions among children from different neighborhoods. The sports spirit 

could be further developed if the sports playgrounds were included into the 

design of the courtyards. Of course, high level of noise might be a problem, 

which could be solved by limited hours for playing, and with new windows better 

noise insulation can be achieved. 

o Area for the elderly – in the area there are still a lot of elderly people that have 

moved into the area before or soon after the World War II. They lack open places 

for meeting and are mostly used to walking to the nearest park for some natural 

environment. 

o Other services - within some courtyards there could be found restaurants and 

cafes. The central city area has high potential for such activities and I believe it is 

good to use the potentials. Those places could also serve as meeting places 

during winter. In the old times, Belgrade was known for many small restaurants 

were local people would gather to exchange opinions (many writers and artists 

can still be seen in some of those restaurants that have survived the rough 

economic changes). With their revival the old spirit of Belgrade might be brought 

to life. 

o Greenery - Grass and low bushes with flowers as well as trees should be used for 

upgrading the microclimate of the area. It is important to have open green areas 

for the infiltration of the rain water since it is not connected to the sewage 

system. Careful selection of low and high greenery is an important element for 

securing the good microclimate. Landscape architects should be employed to 

design each courtyard. Also, inhabitants could be the responsible for the 

maintenance of the inner courtyards. By respecting their work they can serve as 

a protective agent against intruders. 

- Security – it is important to secure the inner courtyards. Access should be restricted to 

local inhabitants to secure children and inner courtyards against beggars, homeless 

people, drug addicts and the rest (mentioned by the children). 

- Maintenance – it is important to use high quality, endurable, and sustainable materials 

for redevelopment of inner courtyards so that the maintenance is as easy as possible, 

and their lifetime as long as possible. Regular maintenance affects the life span of the 

equipment and peoples attitude towards them (if the area is regularly cleaned people 

will keep themselves from throwing trash outside trash bins) 

Level of action: on a building and block level – inhabitants/owners should be the carriers 

responsible for change organized in councils 

8.2.1.4 Streets 

Streets are public places with possibility for access by any passerby – on foot or by any sort of 

vehicle. In the central city areas it is very difficult to control people and vehicle passing by and 

their attitude to the surrounding. Most children expressed strong disliking of air pollution in the 

central area, blaming the cars as the main pollutants. 

There are several improvements that can be made. 




- Restricting motor vehicle access – As suggested by the children, one way of solving air 

pollution is by regulating the number of cars in the city. Within the research site several 

changes can be made: 

o Restricted street access, type 1: one full street (Majke Jevrosime street) and a 

part of two other (Kosovska street and Palmoticeva street) can be turned into 

housing streets with restricted access only for inhabitants. In the selected part of 

Kosovska street is a primary school and therefore it would be good to restrict 

traffic from that area. Part of the Palmoticeva street that is fully a housing street 

can also be turned into a housing street with a possibility for passing by people 

working in the upper part of the street (Pic 86). 

o Restricted street access, type 2: a part of two streets (Kosovska and Palmoticeva 

streets) can be turned into a housing and working street with restricted access 

for people living and working in the street. In one part of the Kosovska street 

there is a publishing company that needs access for the delivery trucks (Pic 86). 

housing street 

housing and working street 

high air pollution 

bus route 

trolley route 

traffic direction 

Pic 86 Traffic proposal within the site area 

- Parking – As mentioned in the first part of this thesis, the central city area of Belgrade 

has many problems with car parking. Research with children has shown the same 

results. People living in the central area have therefore problems in finding a parking 

place so they park in the inner courtyards of the city blocks, taking space from the 

recreational area, polluting the ground, raising noise levels and polluting the air (to 

access the inner courtyards it is normally necessary to drive through a building 




passage). By restricting access to certain streets current parking places could be used 

only for inhabitants, which would free the inner courtyards and allow their 

redevelopment. It would also lower air pollution, noise levels, and rise security for the 

children. Streets that are suggested for restricted access are not major city streets. 

However, their restricted access might cause some additional traffic jams in the 

surrounding area, due to the major traffic point (the tunnel) at the north-west corner of 

the research site. On the other side, there are no documents on the number of cars per 

household in the area so it is difficult to conclude if the available parking space would be 

sufficient to accommodate all cars whose owners live in the area. Due to the central 

position and good connection of the area by public transport to other city parts, a 

solution might be restricting the number of cars per household, or introducing high taxes 

for additional cars (children have also suggested lowering the number of cars in the 

city). Other parking should be solved on the city level – with underground garages or 

other solutions. 

- Paving – street and sidewalks – paving should be sloped for surface water drainage, 

smooth, and even, with good quality materials, maintained regularly. Sidewalks can 

differ in material from the street asphalt. All streets should be well connected to the 

sewage system to acquire the rain water. While doing redevelopment of the streets, 

vertical pipes from roof rain water should be connected to the sewage system. 

- Street equipment – waste bins, street lighting, greenery, parking pay tolls, guidance for 

the blind, and equipment for the disabled 

o Trash bins - A simple way to solve the problem of street pollution is by installing 

enough trash bins in the streets. Also, a regulation of household waste would 

lead to less trash being left in front of the building entrances and dragged along 

the streets by street dogs or other animals. That would also lead to cleaner 

surface water that is drained into the sewage. Furthermore cleaner streets affect 

the overall health of people. 

o Street lights - street lights use a lot of electricity, so they should be replaced with 

super-efficient light emitting diode or LED bulbs. Street lighting should be 

carefully planned not to introduce glare to the pedestrians or drivers. All streets 

are equipped with streets lighting but in some areas they are hidden by the tree 

branches. Also, good lighting raises security levels. 

o Greenery (trees and plants) – planting new greenery would help in lowering air 

pollution. Of course it is necessary to carefully choose appropriate trees and 

plants. New greenery would also affect the overall impression of the area, making 

it a pleasant environment for living. Some streets already have tree alleys and 

are very comfortable for walking. They are maintained by the City Greenery 

communal services. 

o Parking pay tolls –in the streets that are with restricted access parking pay tolls 

are not necessary. Other streets should be equipped with parking pay tolls that 

are used in some areas of the city – they operate on electricity generated by the 

solar panels installed on their top. 

o Guidance for the blind – sidewalks and pedestrian crossings should be equipped 

with guidance for the blind – as mild surface bulge lines. 

o Equipment for the disabled – sidewalks and pedestrian crossings should be made 

secure for the disabled. Most of the new pavements were badly done so slopes 

are not connected to the street surface well. 




o Equipment for the dogs – as children suggested, most waste at the sidewalks is 

generated by the dogs. A solution was proposed to introduce dog-trash bins with 

bags for cleaning up the mess. 

- safety measures – give priority to pedestrians and cyclists - there are strict speed 

regulations in the central city area. Unfortunately, some drivers don’t respect it and 

there are often accidents when mostly children get injured. Therefore, in some areas, 

near schools, road speed bumps are installed. Nevertheless, children have expressed 

that they would like safer streets. It would imply installing road speed bumps in all low 

traffic streets. Also, cyclists are not equally treated in traffic planning. In Belgrade there 

are very few cyclist paths, mainly by the river, as part of recreational activities. Cyclists 

are regularly exposed to danger from other members of the traffic. With the necessity to 

lower the car usage in the city, it is important to plan and provide paths for alternative 

transportation: either bicycles paths or pedestrian pathways. Also, it is important to plan 

and provide accompanying equipment for bicycle parking and storage, and resting 

places for people that walk. 

- introducing initiatives and encouraging other means of transport – once the conditions 

are made for alternative modes of transport, it is necessary to encourage people to use 

them. 

8.2.2 Additional improvements suggested by the children – city level but applied to 

the neighborhood: 

Some of the results cannot be allocated to a specific group presented above, and have a more 

global scale. Those that were frequently mentioned by the children are assessed and presented 

below. 

8.2.2.1 Air pollution 

Air pollution is a big problem in Belgrade. As the data on Environmental Quality of Belgrade 

show, the most endangered city area regarding air quality is the central area, within which is 

the thesis site. Therefore, it is not surprising, that the children have mentioned bad air quality 

very often during the research sessions. They have suggested several improvements, with 

which I strongly agree: 

- Installing filters on air pollutants’ exhaust pipes: publishing companies and factories in 

the city area should have filters installed. There is no documented data on whether 

filters are installed and which ones. Sometimes one can smell a characteristic exhaust 

smell from a local beer factory. One way of inquiry would be personal, by contacting all 

companies operating in the wider area that might cause air pollution. In the XX century, 

a serious air pollutant was heating. As mentioned in the Thesis site analysis part, until 

the beginning of the 1980s heating was mainly on coal and oil. Later due to economic 

reasons electricity was used. Nowadays there are no records if anybody is using 

conventional resources for heating due to the high electricity prices. 

- Air pollutants should be regulated by the law: Regulations on emissions already exist, 

but unfortunately they are not respected. Lack of money and investments is mainly the 

cause for its disrespect, but it shouldn’t be a justification. Therefore, strong measures 

should be introduced with tighter regulations, monitoring, and strict consequences. 

- Regulating emissions from the cars: by the legal act adopted by the Government of 

Serbia on Dec 5, 2005, people of Serbia are allowed to import cars with the minimum 

engine standard type ‘euro-3’. The main aim is to lower the emissions by the cars and 

their impact to the environment. Unfortunately, there are many very old cars still 

operating, which imply more action by the Government. As in other countries, subsidies 




can be introduced for buying less polluting cars, or exchanging old cars for new ones. A 

main problem is lack of money to finance new cars. 

8.2.2.2 Waste 

Waste problems should be solved at the city level, introducing recycling facilities and promoting 

people to use them. There are many successful examples of citizen involvement in recycling 

processes. Inhabitants can be stimulated in various ways. As a start citizens act only if they see 

direct benefits from introducing new habits. Since waste problems exceed the scale of this 

Thesis work, I will not go into further analysis of possible solutions. 




9.0 CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION 

This Thesis was initiated about one year ago when I defined the area of research and Thesis 

outline. For the first six months I did part time theoretical research. Full time work on the 

Thesis started only when I finished courses at the EESI programme and took exams in late May 

2005. Since then my work was constant. At the beginning, I developed the structure and 

defined scope of work, after which I worked on analyzing different case studies on upgrading 

the existing building stock along with the sustainable principles. One part of the research 

process was getting familiar with the best approach to primary school children and doing 

research with them. It included reading research studies on involving children in the design 

process of children playgrounds, performed workshops, as well as programmes developed for 

environmental education of children. In June, I did the first research session in a primary school 

with children 8, 9, and 10 years of age. Satisfied with results and possibilities for further 

research, I decided to do a second research session with children from the same school. It was 

at the beginning of July, during an ECO-camp, organized on Kopaonik, a mountain in the 

southern Serbia. There were two shifts of children more diverse in age: from 7-14 years old. 

The intensive research with very interesting results expanded the scope of my Thesis to the 

development of a methodology for research with children. It was very interesting to explore the 

right approach to children in a research study on upgrading their city surroundings. Thus, the 

research continued in a third session, in September. This time research was done with only two 

selected groups of children – one with which I worked during the first session and another, 

same age, without any previous knowledge of the research. The aim, of the third session, was 

to see if children with previous experience in research had different desired future of their living 

environment from the children that were introduced to the topic for the first time. 

Research with children gave results in a wider scope than the physical improvements assessed 

in the previous chapter, which leads to a conclusion that the physical environment cannot be 

viewed and assessed separately from the other spheres of human activities. It only confirms my 

arguments, in the Theoretical Framework, that all three spheres (Environment, Economy, and 

Society) have to be viewed equally and in parallel. 

During the research processes with children, I worked in parallel on the development of a 

Theoretical Framework, which I hoped would sustain the stakeholder involvement in the 

upgrading process of the existing building stock. 

Work on this Thesis ends after the professional assessment of the suggested instruments or 

means for achieving a sustainable future in the central area of Belgrade (applied in the sphere 

of the existing physical environment - multifamily housing). According to the Theoretical 

Framework, the process should continue to the decision making process, implementation, and 

consequently monitoring and evaluation of the implemented means. In total, it would form a 

cycle. Hopefully, the cycle would start functioning as a spiral, but this time initiated and guided 

by the inhabitants and local authorities. Each evaluation would be the basis for improvements 

and the new cycle. 

So, were the aims of this Thesis achieved? What are the conclusions? 

My main desire was to develop a model (Theoretical Framework) for upgrading the physical 

environment in order to ensure long term improvements in the living conditions and quality of 

life in the central area of Belgrade. After an intensive study of sustainable development issues, 

various guidelines and case studies, analyzing different approaches and developing an approach 

of my own, the result is the Theoretical framework presented in this Thesis. Framework 

development was constant as my research went on. Parallel to the work on the Theoretical 

framework was the action research with children, which helped the development of the 

framework. Conclusions from the real world experiences made me understand better 

interactions between the researcher and co-researchers (stakeholders). Also, I realized some 




problems, which might occur if the framework was used in reality, especially when more than 

one stakeholder group is involved. 

The two parallel processes (Theoretical Framework development and action research) 

influenced each other. They supported each other, adjusted, revised, and developed together. 

Results in one were often proof or support for the other. Even though, initially I didn’t plan 

using this method for my Thesis, it started out spontaneously and ended up as a necessity. If I 

worked on the two issues separately, the results would probably have been different. 

My second aim was to examine if stakeholders can contribute to the development process and if 

their involvement can lead to long term benefits. Also, it was my aim to see if the process can 

trigger involvement of other stakeholders. At the beginning of the research I had only a 

hypothesis on children’s reaction to the research, suggesting that they have the right to be 

involved, that they have a different perception about the surroundings, and that they might be 

a good source of fresh ideas. The strong justification in their involvement I found in the fact 

that children are our future and by involving them in the process of change, they would develop 

a sense of responsibility and sustainable attitude towards the surroundings. Also, I hoped that 

children might influence their parents in two ways: getting them involved in the process of 

change, and changing habits towards a more sustainable living. What I didn’t expect was the 

interest of the school headmaster in my further involvement. After the performed research 

sessions, she suggested a continuance of my involvement with children as one sort of 

environmental education. I would postulate that the scope of research was not big enough to 

trigger involvement of parents and not long enough to result in long term benefits which might 

be gained after a course in sustainable living. But it certainly resulted in possibilities for further 

research on a much larger scale. 

After doing the research and analyzing the results I can conclude that the arguments I found as 

a support for involving children in the research process at the beginning of my studies for this 

Thesis were reasonable and justifiable. Children are capable of making good judgments about 

their surroundings. My argument that changes in lifestyles and environmental awareness can be 

achieved much easier with children than with adults can not be certified since I performed the 

research only with children. I can only conclude that children have shown willingness to change 

habits practiced by adults in order to make the environment better. Also after the research I 

couldn’t conclude if the children can influence their parents to changing habits and ways of life. 

However, I have noticed that the awareness about children’s surroundings is greater than I 

previously expected. When talking about problems in the city, children have made many 

comments on adult’s behavior, air pollution and smoking, seeing them all as city problems. 

They don’t separate social from environmental problems. Rather, they compile all problems that 

they find equally important into one sphere. In a way it supported my argument in the 

Theoretical framework that all three spheres (Environment, Economy, and Society) should be 

viewed equally. 

When talking about possible solutions to the problems, children have given many interesting 

and fresh ideas. Most of them are realistic and logical, but some are in between imagination 

and reality. Nevertheless results might serve as an excellent source for new ideas for 

development. 

Research with children was not only one sided. Even though the main aim of research was to 

get the necessary data for this thesis, it was also an opportunity to transfer knowledge and 

raise awareness about the importance of the environment we live in, and offer them support to 

their opinions about how it should be managed. 

By giving the children the right to present their opinion and thought, it was evident that they 

could feel that they are contributing to the changes in their surroundings. Children showed 

great will and desire to make a change. When asked for their opinions and ideas they wanted to 

be heard. I would suggest that if the research had a more serious role where children are 




involved in the process of change, they would show willingness and take responsibility for their 

actions. 

Overall, working with children is a great satisfaction. Even though, sometimes it is hard to 

balance between keeping authority and making friendships, it is very rewarding in many 

respects. Professionally, they are great co-researchers with low personal expectations (direct 

benefits from the research are not the most important concern for the children). They are 

willing to contribute indefinitely their ideas and time as soon as they understand the reasons for 

performing the research. Children are openhearted so I found it easy to explain the benefits 

that can be achieved from the research. On the other hand, as with other action research, it is 

impossible to get the same results if the research process was repeated, specifically with the 

children, since their mind and ideas develop on a daily basis. 

9.1 Unexpected, accompanying results 

An unexpected result from the research with children was developing a methodology of 

children’s involvement in research for upgrading the existing building stock. The action research 

with children required initial research on different methods of children’s involvement in a 

research process as well as various case studies were children were involved in designing their 

playgrounds. Furthermore I saw action research as an opportunity for educating the children on 

environmental issues and sustainable living. Therefore I studied different approaches and 

programmes for environmental education of children, such as the The Kids’ ISO 14000 

Programme, and successful case studies mainly in the UK, Sweden, and Canada. However, I 

found personal involvement in the action research the best way for discovering about the right 

approach to children. 

After the first day of research with children I realized I should make some modifications to the 

applied method. Also, I realized that I should be flexible for changes and adjustments during a 

research session. So, for the next day of research, I adjusted the approach to the children. 

After each research session I made conclusions and adjustments to the approach. After some 

time it was evident that, as a side development to the research on upgrading the existing 

building stock, there was a development of a methodology on working with children. 

The methodology used for the action research and conclusions after each day of research with 

modifications, are presented in this Thesis after each analysis of a research session. I believe 

that the best way for understanding the applied methodology is to view it with the description 

of the action research. As concluded from the research, a change in setting or surroundings, of 

the action research, results in changes in the approach to the children. It is very important to 

match the right approach to the conditions of the action research. 

During the work on this Thesis, I felt great satisfaction both in theoretical part and action 

research. The results I see in a personal professional development in: 

- understanding social interactions between children and adults when it comes to 

decisions on our future 

- sustainability issues, its wide scope, multidimensional aspect, and high importance for 

the future 

- planning, acting, acquiring, analyzing, and presenting results of a research work 

9.2 Possibilities for future actions 

My initial decision on selecting Belgrade as a subject of research was the personal wish to 

contribute to the development process of Serbia and Montenegro. This Thesis doesn’t have a 

direct contribution, but rather it investigates the possibilities and potentials for the development 

process. 




One possibility for further action would be to continue the cooperation with the primary school 

and develop a course for environmental education. It might start as a regular workshop, where 

results are published and used by the local authorities for planning development actions in the 

site area of research. Workshops can cover different aspects: from improving housing and living 

conditions, to improving open spaces and parks, or other areas of human activities (such as 

improving social relations between different stakeholder groups). Furthermore, workshops could 

be used as initiators for solving other city problems – waste and different types of pollution. 

Eventually it might lead to developing a course on sustainable living, organized in different 

primary schools. 

Another possibility for further action would be to continue this research and involve other 

stakeholder groups. It would be interesting to analyze the results and compare them with the 

results from the research with children. As suggested in the Theoretical framework, it would be 

good to confront different stakeholder groups with their opinions, identified problems, and 

desired future. It would lead to the necessity for negotiations on goals, priorities, and 

possibilities. This means that many other people should be involved in the research – from local 

authorities, to different professionals and eventually decision makers and donors. I see it as a 

very challenging and interesting potential project. 

Since this Thesis has elements of action research, parts of it could be used as a case study for 

other research. 

Also, the experience from the research was very useful in the Habitat JAM session, organized as 

a support to the World Urban Forum 3 (scheduled for June 19-23, 2006). Habitat JAM was 

organized during 72-hours (December 1-3), as an open forum Internet event for registered 

participants to share and brainstorm ideas concerning urban sustainability 82 . Experience was 

useful to compare with experiences and ideas of other participants. 

82 

Information about Habitat JAM can be found on the Internet site: https://www.iamthejam.com/ 




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APPENDIXES 


118

Master of Science Thesis 2005/06 KTH, Stockholm 

Appendix 1 One Theoretic Framework cycle, a complete image 


119



Appendix 2 

The Worst Episode of Hyperinflation in History: Yugoslavia 1993-94 20 

Under Tito Yugoslavia ran a budget deficit that was financed by printing money. This led to rate 

of inflation of 15 to 25 percent inflation per year. After Tito the Communist Party pursued 

progressively more irrational economic policies. These irrational policies and the breakup of 

Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia now consists of only Serbia and Montenegro) led to heavier reliance 

upon printing or otherwise creating money to finance the operation of the government and the 

socialist economy. This created the hyperinflation. 

By the early 1990s the government used up all of its own hard currency reserves and 

proceeded to loot the hard currency savings of private citizens. It did this by imposing more 

and more difficult restrictions on private citizens access to their hard currency savings in 

government banks. 

The government operated a network of stores at which goods were supposed to be available at 

artificially low prices. In practice these store seldom had anything to sell and goods were only 

available at free markets where the prices were far above the official prices that goods were 

supposed to sell at in government stores. All of the government gasoline stations eventually 

were closed and gasoline was available only from roadside dealers whose operation consisted of 

a car parked with a plastic can of gasoline sitting on the hood. The market price was the 

equivalent of $8 per gallon. Most car owners gave up driving and relied upon public 

transportation. But the Belgrade transit authority (GSP) did not have the funds necessary for 

keeping its fleet of 1200 buses operating. Instead it ran fewer than 500 buses. These buses 

were overcrowded and the ticket collectors could not get aboard to collect fares. Thus GSP 

could not collect fares even though it was desperately short of funds. 

Delivery trucks, ambulances, fire trucks and garbage trucks were also short of fuel. The 

government announced that gasoline would not be sold to farmers for fall harvests and 

planting. 

Despite the government desperate printing of money it still did not have the funds to keep the 

infrastructure in operation. Pot holes developed in the streets, elevators stopped functioning, 

and construction projects were closed down. The unemployment rate exceeded 30 percent. 

The government tried to counter the inflation by imposing price controls. But when inflation 

continued the government price controls made the price producers were getting ridiculous low 

they stopped producing. In October of 1993 the bakers stopped making bread and Belgrade 

was without bread for a week. The slaughter houses refused to sell meat to the state stores and 

this meant meat became unavailable for many sectors of the population. Other stores closed 

down for inventory rather than sell their goods at the government mandated prices. When 

farmers refused to sell to the government at the artificially low prices the government dictated, 

government irrationally used hard currency to buy food from foreign sources rather than 

remove the price controls. The Ministry of Agriculture also risked creating a famine by selling 

farmers only 30 percent of the fuel they needed for planting and harvesting. 

Later the government tried to curb inflation by requiring stores to file paper work every time 

they raised a price. This meant that many of the stores employees had to devote their time to 

filling out these government forms. Instead of curbing inflation this policy actually increased 

inflation because the stores tended increase prices by a bigger jump so that they would not 

have file forms for another price increase so soon. 

20 

Thayer Watkins & Tornado Alley, USA, The whole article obtained from an Internet site: 

http://www2.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/hyper.htm, date: 2006-01-19 




In October of 1993 the created a new currency unit. One new dinar was worth one million of 

the old dinars. In effect, the government simply removed six zeroes from the paper money. 

This of course did not stop the inflation and between October 1, 1993 and January 24, 1995 

prices increased by 5 quadrillion percent. This number is a 5 with 15 zeroes after it. 

In November of 1993 the government postponed turning on the heat in the state apartment 

buildings in which most of the population lived. The residents reacted to this withholding of heat 

by using electrical space heaters which were inefficient and overloaded the electrical system. 

The government power company then had to order blackouts to conserve electricity. 

The social structure began to collapse. Thieves robbed hospitals and clinics of scarce 

pharmaceuticals and then sold them in front of the same places they robbed. The railway 

workers went on strike and closed down Yugoslavia's rail system. 

In a large psychiatric hospital 87 patients died in November of 1994. The hospital had no heat, 

there was no food or medicine and the patients were wandering around naked. 

The government set the level of pensions. The pensions were to be paid at the post office but 

the government did not give the post offices enough funds to pay these pensions. The 

pensioners lined up in long lines outside the post office. When the post office ran out of state 

funds to pay the pensions the employees would pay the next pensioner in line whatever money 

they received when someone came in to mail a letter or package. With inflation being what it 

was the value of the pension would decrease drastically if the pensioners went home and came 

back the next day. So they waited in line knowing that the value of their pension payment was 

decreasing with each minute they had to wait in line. 

Many Yugoslavian businesses refused to take the Yugoslavian currency at all and the German 

Deutsche Mark effectively became the currency of Yugoslavia. But government organizations, 

government employees and pensioners still got paid in Yugoslavian dinars so there was still an 

active exchange in dinars. On November 12, 1993 the exchange rate was 1 DM = 1 million new 

dinars. By November 23 the exchange rate was 1 DM = 6.5 million new dinars and at the end 

of November it was 1 DM = 37 million new dinars. At the beginning of December the bus 

workers went on strike because their pay for two weeks was equivalent to only 4 DM when it 

cost a family of four 230 DM per month to live. By December 11th the exchange rate was 1 DM 

= 800 million and on December 15th it was 1 DM = 3.7 billion new dinars. The average daily 

rate of inflation was nearly 100 percent. When farmers selling in the free markets refused to 

sell food for Yugoslavian dinars the government closed down the free markets. On December 29 

the exchange rate was 1 DM = 950 billion new dinars. 

About this time there occurred a tragic incident. As usual pensioners were waiting in line. 

Someone passed by their line carrying bags of groceries from the free market. Two pensioners 

got so upset at their situation and the sight of someone else with groceries that they had heart 

attacks and died right there. 

At the end of December the exchange rate was 1 DM = 3 trillion dinars and on January 4, 1994 

it was 1 DM = 6 trillion dinars. On January 6th the government declared that the German 

Deutsche was an official currency of Yugoslavia. About this time the government announced a 

new new Dinar which was equal to 1 billion of the old new dinars. This meant that the exchange 

rate was 1 DM = 6,000 new new Dinars. By January 11 the exchange rate had reached a level 

of 1 DM = 80,000 new new Dinars. On January 13th the rate was 1 DM = 700,000 new new 

Dinars and six days later it was 1 DM = 10 million new new Dinars. 

The telephone bills for the government operated phone system were collected by the postmen. 

People postponed paying these bills as much as possible and inflation reduced there real value 

to next to nothing. One postman found that after trying to collect on 780 phone bills he got 

nothing so the next day he stayed home and paid all of the phone bills himself for the 

equivalent of a few American pennies. 




Here is another illustration of the irrationality of the government's policies. James Lyon, a 

journalist, made twenty hours of international telephone calls from Belgrade in December of 

1993. The bill for these calls was 1000 new new dinars and it arrived on January 11th. At the 

exchange rate for January 11th of 1 DM = 150,000 dinars it would have cost less than one 

German pfennig to pay the bill. But the bill was not due until January 17th and by that time the 

exchange rate reached 1 DM = 30 million dinars. Yet the free market value of those twenty 

hours of international telephone calls was about $5,000. So the government despite being 

strapped for hard currency gave James Lyon $5,000 worth of phone calls essentially for 

nothing. 

It was against the law to refuse to accept personal checks. Some people wrote personal checks 

knowing that in the few days it took for the checks to clear inflation would wipe out as much as 

90 percent of the cost of covering those checks. 

On January 24, 1994 the government introduced the super Dinar equal to 10 million of the new 

new Dinars. The Yugoslav government's official position was that the hyperinflation occurred 

"because of the unjustly implemented sanctions against the Serbian people and state." 

Source: James Lyon, "Yugoslavia's Hyperinflation, 1993-1994: A Social History," East European 

Politics and Societies vol. 10, no. 2 (Spring 1996), pp. 293-327. 


Master of Science Thesis 2005/06 KTH, Stockholm 

Appendix 3 Table of expected answers 

What characterizes Belgrade? Beautiful? Ugly? What would you 

like to change? 

How? 

Buildings 

Open spaces, parks 

Rivers 

Streets 

Live beings 

Housing 

Public 

Recreational 

Trade and hoteliers 

For walks 

For play 

Danube 

Sava 

Housing streets (low 

traffic) 

City streets (medium 

traffic) 

Highway 

People 

Animals 

One family houses 

Multi family houses 

Mixed use 

Municipality bulidings 

The Parliament 

Press 

Banks 

Schools 

Sport halls 

Swimming pools 

Stadiums 

Shopping malls 

Shops 

Restaurants 

Bars 

Tasmajdan 

Kalemegdan 

Park near the Federal 

Parliament 

Park near the City 

Parliament 

River banks 

Houses on water 

Ships 

Driving lane 

Side walks 

Parking 

Tree alley 

Street lighting 

Trash containers 

Children, young, adults, 

people with disabilities 

Pets, street dogs, street 

cats, birds…

Ivana Stankovic

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