Illegal construction, bad urban planning, and traffic are interconnected and directly affect air pollution, so we must include all these factors when discussing their impact on air quality in Belgrade.
Air Quality Plan for Belgrade during the period from 2021 to 2031 recognizes traffic as one of the contributing factors to air pollution. However, the question arises whether the solutions offered in this plan are adequate and competent to improve air quality in Belgrade.
We cannot talk about the Air Quality Plan without mentioning the General Urban Plan (GUP) because the Air Quality Plan itself, among other things, relies on this document.
The current GUP of Belgrade was adopted in 2016 with a time horizon stretching up to the year 2021, and it does not mean that this document has expired, but that the scope of development that it directs is limited to that year.
„Unfortunately, the negative planning practice of subordinating the development of the city has been present for a long time due to predominantly economic interest. Therefore, when we observe the continuity of planning, we will identify the constant expansion of construction land for the needs of building new corporate, commercial, residential, catering, and tourist facilities and complexes, most often on the account of green areas and public spaces. Due to the absence of quality social dialogue, almost as a rule, political influences and economic interests prevail over the public good. The consequences of this approach are most acutely observed in the domain of environmental protection, which suffers the greatest pressure from intensive urbanization”, believes Dragomir Ristanović, an urban planner from the RERI organization.
All this directly affects the air quality in Belgrade, which has been very polluted lately. In the Air Quality Plan of Belgrade, it is stated that the share of air pollution from traffic ranges from 13% in Zemun to 40% in the area around the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The same Plan lists bicycle traffic as one of the provisions for improving the quality of air.
Paradoxically, the City of Belgrade has forecasted zero dinars to be allocated from the 2023 budget for the development of cycling infrastructure.
„First of all, Belgrade needs a modern, reliable, clean, ecological, frequent, branched and accessible public transport, by which we will be able to reduce the number of private vehicles and all the unnecessary costs that come with owning and maintaining them. In Europe, public transport sees a lot of investment, which we cannot say is the case in Serbia”, says Igor Velić, traffic engineer.
Elizabet Paunović, public health expert believes that there are several positive examples in Belgrade and other cities.
She, however, also reminds us that, for the impact to be higher, these activities would have to become a practice and not remain just an example.
Let’s say that time travel is possible – and that we can teleport ourselves to 2041. What will happen to us there depends on how we behave in the present moment. Early and systematic involvement of the public can prevent the implementation of harmful planning solutions. And more than that – such solutions can be replaced by more meaningful, purposeful proposals made by experts, non-governmental organizations, and ourselves the citizens, that can submit to the City Administration. To what extent will these proposals be incorporated into future ones – time will tell, however, what is certain is that the public must not neglect its right and ability to influence public discussions and thus try to prevent harmful decisions made by authorities.
0 Comments