The "Be part of the plan" platform is the first step towards establishing eSpace
Citizens from all over Serbia who have registered on the "Be Part of the Plan" platform have received their first notifications about the ongoing process of amending the city planning documents of Kragujevac, to which they can submit any objections until May 7th. This marks the first time that the public has been involved in spatial and urban planning in such a manner, and the entire project represents an important step towards the formation of a unified national eSpace system.
Since the platform was launched three months ago as part of the "Citizens' Voice in Urban Planning" project, citizens not only receive information about proposed changes or adoption of plans but also have a space where they can educate themselves to better understand the purpose of plans, the planning system, and why they should get involved.
According to Jasmina Radovanović, Senior Advisor for Property and Investments at NALED, parallel research results have shown that the majority of respondents feel insufficiently involved in the planning process.
"On one hand, we have 90% of citizens believing that the procedure for adopting planning documents should be digitized and made more transparent, and on the other, two-thirds of local governments wanting to improve communication to build trust between citizens and institutions. Currently, there is public doubt about the transparency of the planning process, so we will advocate for more educational activities, as well as for the obligation to organize an information day during the public consultation where citizens could receive all information in an understandable way," says Radovanović, hoping that other local governments will recognize the benefits of communicating with citizens through the platform.
Under current regulations, objections to amendments to planning and urban documents can only be submitted in writing, at the registry offices of local governments or by mail, often resulting in documentation not reaching the competent authorities within the specified period. It also consumes citizens' time to visit local government counters, and most often, they are unaware that plan amendments are underway, as announcements are made in daily newspapers, official gazettes, or on the websites of local governments. Hence, there is a need to enable the digitalization of the planning process.
Đorđe Milić, Director of the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism of the Republic of Serbia, states that in the upcoming amendments to the Planning and Construction Law, the issue of electronically submitting objections during public consultations will be unequivocally regulated, as well as in the Regulation on Data Exchange, to transition the entire planning documentation into digital format.
"The pilot project carried out in Kragujevac provides a good basis for by the end of 2026, the majority of the planning process to be in electronic format, from documentation, through public consultation and submission of objections, to document adoption. If the platform were connected to the eGovernment portal, registered citizens could automatically, via their eCertificate, sign and submit objections," says Milić, adding that based on recommendations and project results implemented in Kragujevac, a working group could be activated to develop the concept of eSpace.
Through the "Be part of the plan" platform, citizens have been informed that the city of Kragujevac has announced a public consultation on the Draft Detailed Regulation Plan, "Roadways extending from Belodrimska Street to the Northern Bypass of the City of Kragujevac," and the Draft Amendments to the Detailed Regulation Plan "Parts of Work Zone I Industrial Zone Kragujevac and Work Zone II Lepenica-Warehouse Center-Freight Terminal."
Deputy Mayor of Kragujevac, Dejan Ružić, states that the City has always published all decisions on the official website and in the Official Gazette; however, this required citizens to visit the website every day.
"Thanks to the platform, now anyone who wants will receive notifications as soon as an initiative to amend the plan is launched, during early and public consultations, and then they can also go to the website and see the plan without the obligation to check it every day to avoid missing something, thus increasing the transparency of the work of local government," pointed out Ružić.
The "Citizens' Voice in Urban Planning" project, implemented by NALED, was funded by the Civil Society Support Fund of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), with support in implementation provided by the Faculty of Geography in Belgrade.
