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Plural city: layered singularities and urban design: case of Belgrade City (RS)

Plural city: layered singularities and urban design: case of Belgrade City (RS) A growing urban population, a new social dynamism, and fast-changing urban contexts, together with a lack of urban planning, lead to intensifying contradictions that threaten to harness urban prosperity, cohesion, and sustainability. All this creates a need for reframing the perspective on the city and its management. By analysing connecting concepts to the plural city in literature, the paper offers new ways of understanding and reading the city. We describe plural qualities of an inclusive city from the perspective of urban design—a city as a plurality of unique places and subjec- tivities in time—i.e. the plural city. Following the case study methodology, we critically discussed and evaluated the case of Belgrade as a plural city due to its lasting diversity and heterogeneity in both urban matrix and social tissue. As a result, we defined the elements, relationships, and plurality of views within the plural city in multiscale. Based on 18-years of experience gained through the Public art & Public space program, we have shown that public art strate- gies can be used as a method and tool to initiate spatial transformations and offer different ways of experiencing the urban landscape. Keywords: Urban design, Placemaking, Public art, Public space, Plural city Serreli 2020). Thus, increasingly urbanized and multi - Introduction cultural existence and its spatial structures and com- During the last decades, rising urban populations and plications require us to reexamine social and political increasing migrations are producing new social dynamics categories and concepts—i.e. citizenship, justice, rights, and fast-changing urban contexts (United Nations 2019). legitimacy and democracy (Moroni and Weberman As the world’s urban population grows, cities become 2016)—and diminish equity in public spaces (Harvey spaces where increasingly diverse people negotiate such 2009; Zukin 2010). differences as language, lifestyles, citizenship, class and Despite a growing body of literature and widespread wealth, ethnicity and race, etc. (Moroni and Weberman use in the study of space, politics, and society, the terms 2016). Increased contradictions, growing inequality and ‘plural’ and ‘plurality’ have remained broad and ambig- marginalization threaten to take advantage of urban uous. Some authors question political conceptions and prosperity, cohesion and sustainability (The British Acad - rights while reconfiguring the contemporary model emy & The National Institute of Urban Affairs 2019). of citizenship (e.g. Purcell 2003). Some other authors At the same time, global development strategies that focus on urban segregation as a complex mechanism challenge new social dynamics, emerging urban com- that causes inequality in several dimensions of urban plexities and spatial transformations centralize the social life—from deficient urban access, services, or infra - dimension of space and cohesion politics (Ramsden and structure to social isolation, safety issues and lack of Colini 2013; Chaline and Coccossis 2004; Monno and economic opportunity (Rawls 1971/1999; Espino 2015; Blanco and Nel·lo 2020). All the authors prevalently *Correspondence: nberectic@uniss.it have a background in social sciences (e.g. sociology, Faculty of Architecture, Scientific Laboratory “Participatory Urban Design and Participatory Public Art”, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia urban geography, etc.), and their starting hypothesis Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 2 of 13 relay on the concept of a plural society, which promotes potentials of the plural city in the process of understand- respect for diversity, whereby diversity itself becomes a ing, imagining, and governing the city. public good. Analyses of the case study base on 18  years of experi- Defining cities as places of contrast, plurality and inter - ence and some previous findings gained through the actions, global e-debate by UN-Habitat (Rio de Janeiro, Public art & Public space (PaPs) program founded in 2010) challenged urban policy to recognize culturally 2003 at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Bel- heterogeneous cities, including diversity within a given grade. PaPs is an international, multidisciplinary, scien- culture of the many in a city. The debate focused on being tific, research, and educational program of artistic design able to respect personal cultural belonging while living of public spaces. A wide range of PaPs’s activities pro- together in a society where ethics and common values are duces positive changes to places and people, improving guidelines. Accordingly, urban development is rooted in the public spaces by making small but significant steps the mutual obligation of individual choices and collective toward active citizenship. However, in this paper, our compromise. focus was not on the outcome of the projects themselves. We can note that the political conception of multi- We selected projects that used public art as a strategy culturalism and cultural pluralism are foundations for and demonstrated positive urban transformations while both academic research and global urban policy. These examining the diversity of elements and relationships researchers examine concepts and terms as open/close within a plural city. society, diversity, inclusion, justice, rights, and plu- ral society to explain the plurality of the city as a space Urban design and place as a strategy for the plural city of tolerance. However, we wondered how urban design Written in the form of a manifesto, a recent publica- research, theories and practices, could give rise to a tion by Brent (2017) even proposes the “plural urban- public sphere and a plural city. Thus, the purpose of this ism” as the new discipline, namely “The Largest Art”. paper is to discuss and reframe the concept of the plural He reframed urban design as a discipline of multiplic- city—the plurality of views in public space practices and ity (scale, time, property, agency, form) based on three urban design. principles of change, incompleteness and flexible fidel - The research departs from a literature review on place ity. Bharne (2016) explains that pluralism in urban design theories in urban design, plural urbanism, the public comprehends singular act of various disciplines, which dimension of space and conecting conncepts to plural ensure various aspects of the city, as well as differences city. We understand urban design as both the process and between and within cities (e.g. mechanisms, cultural dif- product of inextricably entwined and layered subjectivi- ferences, etc.). Defining urban design as city-making, the ties, which represent the qualitative dimension of public author explains that plural urban design includes agen- spaces. Without ignoring the high potentials of the con- cies, processes, products, and physical things. cept, we explore the plural city as a dialogue and encoun- Although the concept of the plural city could have a lot ter between own and shared commitments of being/ of potential, this research does not aim to reframe the existing and living in a specific place. discipline. Nevertheless, we strongly encourage, support Without lapsing into prescriptive conclusions, the and promote multidisciplinary research; the mix of dis- paper aims to reshape existing and offer a new per - ciplinary backgrounds of authors’ in this paper include spective on the plural character of the city as a possi- an architect, a landscape architect, an urbanist and a ble method for reading the city—i.e. an inclusive way to philosopher. respond to the need for developing new ways of under- Urban design is a process and a product of designing standing, imagining, and governing the city. and shaping the physical features of artificial environ - The city of Belgrade (Republic of Serbia) is an ideal con - ment by creating connections between people and places, text for exploring the plural city due to its lasting diver- nature and built fabric, movement and form. As a mul- sity and heterogeneity in both urban matrix and social tidisciplinary activity of shaping and managing artificial tissue. We used theoretical research to review the issues environments, it is ʺinterested in both the process of of plural perspective on the city. Following the case study this shaping and the spaces it helps shape” (Madanipour methodology, we critically analyzed the case of Belgrade 1996, p. 117). to (1) define the elements and relations, which constitute Although historically there are two broad traditions the plural city, (2) examine the public art strategies as a of urban design, namely ʺvisual‐artisticʺ and ʺsocial method and tool to govern the spatial transformation in usageʺ tradition, in recent years they became blended a plural city, and (3) to examine how experience and plu- into a third—ʺmaking placesʺ tradition. With a purpose rality of views interact with space, form the urban qual- of making places for people, this urban design approach ity, and affect the plural city. As a result, we identified the simultaneously refers to urban space as an aesthetic B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 3 of 13 entity and as a behavioral setting (Carmona 2003). public sphere, and publicness. The public sphere is the Uniqueness of place—i.e. singularity of place—is under- space of civil society (Arendt 1985/1991; Habermas stood as the result of layering of build forms and infra- 1962/2001). It is ‘an atmosphere of democracy’ based structure, natural ecosystems, communities and cultures. on the existence of a life in common and it enables the Therefore, urban design—together with the society, eco - formation of public opinion, which takes place through nomics, politics, and drama that surround, inform and discussion and deliberation at publicly owned space create it—captures the moment of the plural city while (Habermas 1962/2001; Young 1990). involving all elements of the unique place. This precious City as a complex and dynamic system is the place moment informs us about the current condition, contex- of manifestation of the urban phenomenon that con- tualize our imagination of future and conditions its gov- tinually transforms under the influence of many factors ernance in a certain degree. and over different periods. Plural city does not merely Slightly different from making places, the placemak - seeks to enrich the human dimension by harmonizing ing is a complex and multi-faceted approach to plan- social relations and cultural pluralism. Indeed, it repre- ning, design and management of public spaces. Practiced sents the plurality of “spaces of place” as “a locale whose within the PaPs program, placemaking is a process of form, function, and meaning are self-contained within making public space a living place through artistic place the boundaries of physical contiguity” (Castells 2000, p. design and recognition of experiences that produce all 453). Shared, unique, identifiable meanings and images of sorts of consequences on daily life. It is a process of crea- spaces of place are acquired by virtue of the built form, tion of place and philosophy of acting in it—the art of liv- cultural or political function, way of life, or other charac- ing. Placemaking is a tool for authentic space production, teristics (Castells 2000). with the specific character of the location—sense of place “But the city is never singular; it is never a place, an (PaPs 2003). image, a representation, a public.” (Alcubilla Troughton Therefore, in the context of applying the plural 2003, online). approach to the city, and based on understanding urban Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space reminds us design both as a process and a product of placemaking, that, to address the urban, we must think of its spatial- we argue that the plural city is a possible way to respond ity as a simultaneous dialectic of the spatial triad—con- to the need for developing a new way of understanding, ceived, perceived and lived space. In this position, city is imagining, and governing the city. an immoderate oeuvre, a daily-lived struggle, an opportu- nity for inhabitation. Explaining space as a social reality, Publicness and plural city Jane Jacobs argued that public space is a stage of every- Aiming to describe plural qualities of an inclusive city day life or “sidewalk ballet”. For such a performance, she from the perspective of urban design, we understand states, spontaneous social interactions are enough—e.g. the plural approach to the city not as a new theoretical simple greetings, or just seeing and being seen. Hence, or practical understanding. Indeed, Aristotle said “The we, each of us individually and all of us together, daily city is composed of different kinds of men; similar peo - imagine, inhabit, contest, subvert, colonize and impose ple cannot bring the city into existence” (Aristotle, cited our meanings, values and uses on space. in Sennett 1970, p. 13). The city by its nature is hetero - Departing from Lefebvre’s theory, De Certeau defines geneous, and composed of many singularities that each the city as a plurality of temporalities and subjectivities; person brings by its being. City unites a certain people city is a product of memory, present awareness, and fore- to ultimately improve the quality of life of every person. sight. Arguing cautiously against thinking of the city as Diversity aspects of the just city relate to the capacity to the “creation of a universal and anonymous subject”, he welcome and embrace a variety of people with differing states that city is, instead, the product of the “microbe- cultural and personal views and practices, as well as land like, singular and plural practices” of its inhabitants (De uses (Montgomery 1998). In these terms, the city is a Certeau 1984, p. 94 and 96). Harvey (1990) explains that socio-cultural system or “projection of the society on the the city is the “swarming mass” of pedestrian move- ground” (Lefebvre 1974/1991), and public spaces are the ments—a system of singularities—that constitutes and manifestation of the public realm. activates the city. Various public space qualities closely associate with Moreover, Radović argues that “Everything about us some aspects of the just city and its public realm: diver- is au pluriel, and thus about the relationships between sity, equity, and democracy (Fainstein 2010; Griffin 2015). various, and variously interacting subjectivities.” (Radović Studies on public space and urban lifestyle indicate the 2014, p. 13). The urban, for him, is an essential theatre of primary area of theorization theorisation and research co-presences where we constantly face the otherness of on the ‘public’ of public spaces—i.e. public domain, the the other subjectivities. This situation is an irrepressible Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 4 of 13 complexity that makes the city in which we have the right We choose the case of Belgrade for this research due for the difference. And, our presence alone gives us that to its lasting diversity and heterogeneity in both urban right because we relate to the space, people, and environ- matrix and social tissue, which can be red in a unique city mental context by our presence. structure (Fig. 1). Therefore, the plurality of spaces of places—or the Located on a fluvial border between East and West, places—composes the plural city, which is between sub- many often describe Belgrade as the “gateway to the Bal- jective and collective still subjective, which pleads to be kans and door to Central Europe” because of the unique objective. In other words, heterogeneous and unique position where cultures and civilizations meet, struggle, places and different subjectivities at different levels make interact, interfere—relate in space and over time. the plural city so that it is inclusive by its nature. Other- Observing from the “eye-level”, Belgrade could seem wise, it would be an oxymoron. A plural city represents fragmented by wounds of recent wars and multicultural the capacity of the community to maintain the continuity character. This fragmentation, however, is indivisible of urban values versus the individual capability to change because every element that might cause division simul- them. taneously integrates the city into a single whole. On the other hand, Belgrade is very personal due to an infinite number of urban details. By waking the street, one can Belgrade city perceive numerous details such are daily life routines, Belgrade is the capital of the small European state of Ser- people, textures, materials, forms, colors, smells, sounds, bia and by far its largest city. The population of Belgrade lights, movements, and nature. All of these details are makes 24% of the total population of Serbia. The popula - relational in space through interaction; they overlap, tion density of 513 inhabitants / km2 is five times higher superpose, and merge with plural views and over time, in Belgrade than in any other region. Still, economic representing layered singularities (Fig.  2). These rela - dominance of Belgrade is the most visible indicator of its tions are not solely visible at the spatial level but espe- high development comparing with the national context. cially at the cultural and semiotic levels, making Belgrade Belgrade is also political, administrative, tourist, com- an exceptional case study for the plural city. For exam- mercial, industrial, transport, financial, cultural, scientific ple, Old Belgrade becomes one with Zemun and New and educational center (Đukanović and Živković 2017). Belgrade. The high-density city rises on the Danube’s Fig. 1 Unique structure of the city of Belgrade; a the general structure of the city; b First Belgrade—historic center; c Second Belgrade: New Belgrade and Zemun; d Third Belgrade—planned, but prevalently spontaneously developed; e Forth Belgrade—living with the water—rivers as public spaces. Source: Authors elaboration on Đukanović and Giofrè, 2017 B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 5 of 13 Fig. 2 Two illustrations of layered singularities on the example of Belgrade city. Photos by Jelena Živković shore, contrasting the emptiness of the natural oasis of Projects Step towards River (2003) and Belgrade Boat the uninhabited Great War Island on the other river- Carnival (2004) are consecutive projects presented as bank. Classicism and art nouveau buildings stand next to cases for XL and M levels. The Study of development of the traditional Ottoman houses. Modern high-rise glass public spaces in the municipality of Stari Grad (2008) was buildings resist next to bombed ruins. Probably at the used in the description of L, S and XS levels. same shop, one can buy both an excellent Sacher Torte and Baklava or Kebab and Wiener Schnitzel. And so on. Projects step towards River (2003) and Belgrade Boat Carnival (2004) Case studies selected for the discussion and evaluation Located at the confluence of two international, navigable Perspective of relational space recognizes space as the rivers—the Danube and the Sava—Belgrade is situated product of interrelations, constituted through interac- at the top of the hill, above the flat land of the Pannonia tions. Space is perceived as the sphere of possibility of the Plain, on the north border of the Balkan Peninsula. Dan- existence of multiplicity; space is always in process, never ube and Sava, the two biggest water boulevards, define a closed system (Massey 2005). Therefore, to discuss the unique structure of the city of Belgrade by separat- and evaluate elements and relations of the plural city we ing its territory into three units and integrating the interpret layered singularities of Belgrade in multiscale whole city structure around centrally located "Great War of multiplicity as follows (1) urban whole—XL level; (2) Island"—Belgrade’s green, natural oasis (see Fig. 1). Urban area—L level; (3) Urban ambience—M level; (4) Situated between the three visible stone-based parts of Urban relations—S level; (5) Urban Sparks—XS level. the city, there is another invisible, fragile and liquid one— Scaling down from the level of the urban whole, we the aquatic Belgrade. Unfortunately, the fourth Belgrade selected the Municipality of Stari grad in Belgrade and still does not exist in official planning documentation one of its areas—Kosančićev venac. Strategic positions despite its predispositions to be recognized as a space and the historical and cultural importance of these spatial of public life—inhabitants of Belgrade traditionally live units allow the direct connection of the city center with on and with rivers. Since establishing the PaPs program, rivers. Aiming to strengthen this connection, celebrate we have worked to make rivers more visible and officially rivers as public spaces, and improve the general quality of recognized as public spaces. In particular, the projects urban spaces, we have implemented a few projects using Step towards River and Belgrade Boat Carnival demon- public art as our strategy years ago. We included, in this strate these intentions in areas of the Sava River and its research, three of these projects as relevant for the plural Riverfront—Municipality of Stari grad. city conception, making these two spatial units an inte - Stari Grad is the central, oldest and most significant gral part of this research. Alongside lasting diversity and municipality of Belgrade. It gathers principal natural and heterogeneity in both urban matrix and social tissue, the cultural values, faces both Sava and Danube rivers and selection criteria for the cases were the scale and period Big War Island. It has strong symbolic meaning, and vari- of implementation that makes it possible to discuss the ous cultural influences, which shape the urban tissue. At effects at a distance. The description of urban context is the same time, Stari Grad is a place of high contrasts and relative to the period of projects realization—the begin- hidden potentials. It is rich in public spaces of different ning of the 2000s. types, including parks, squares, streets, pedestrian zones, Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 6 of 13 riverbanks, etc. Unfortunately, a few public spaces are At the time, the area was prevalently residential, managed well, while others are misused. neglected, degraded and disintegrated from the city The contact with rivers is visual, and the waterfront is center and Sava River. Many significant public buildings (was) physically inaccessible. Waterfront and its back- and institutions, such as the University of art or churches, ground area towards the historic center are composed of are located there. The area is nominated for cultural pres - marginal public spaces that hide a potential beauty. These ervation and has the most beautiful panoramic views on spaces include residential areas and post-industrial zone, the river Sava and New Belgrade. Kosančićev venac is an which are vacant and degraded. But, these spaces could urban area with a physically "empty" but symbolically gloriously connect the historic center with the river as "full" heart. irregular and continuous network of public spaces and The area is rich in different types of public spaces, paths. among which numerous have high, but not affirmed, The central part of the municipality is the main pedes - environmental value and ambience. Despite this high trian, commercial, cultural, and tourist area, which pre- potential and the fact that the quality design and use of sents the principal axis of the city life—the pedestrian public spaces present important urban quality indicators, street Knez Mihailova and Terazije square. The level of the public spaces of Kosančićev venac are (were) usually urban activities declines by distancing from this axis. For unproperly used and managed. example, Kosancicev venac or Sava mala has a low level The Study of the development of public spaces in the of urban activities, which makes them passive, almost municipality of Stari Grad aimed to points out the need unused, and forgotten. These areas became physical and for enhancement of public spaces. The research aimed to: mental barriers instead of enjoyable connections between a) Identify types, characteristics and conditions of pub- two main city magnets: the pedestrian zone and the river lic spaces on territory of urban municipality Stari Grad, of Sava. b) Identify and select public spaces that have specific The project Steps toward River focuses on the connec - potential for improvement by various forms of public tion between downtown Belgrade and the area around art, c) Research various possibilities for improvement of the old Sava port, which remained an abandoned area for selected public space’s by their activation and redesign decades. Beautiful but shabby facades and derelict port through different art forms. structures were witnesses to the waterfront’s merchant and industrial past. As a part of the most attractive and the most memorable city view, it became a symbol of Bel- Method grade’s big vision—to finally descend to its rivers, creat - In order to answer the research question, this study ing new attractions that will lure people into taking these examines elements and relashionships of a plural city in shortcuts between the existing public spaces. The aim the specific context of Belgrade in multiscale. was not to speed up the walk but to make it more enjoy- This study, to some extent, continues the previously able (Đukanović and Živković, 2015). conducted research within the PaPs program for the The success of this project led to the implementation of needs of the international symposium „Measuring non- the Belgrade Boat Carnival a year after. The Waterfront of Measurable “ held in Tokyo, Japan, 2012. Searching the Sava river was chosen as a public space to celebrate, for the qualities of the urban in Belgrade, the previous offering a memorable experience with the river. research identified some elements and relations of urban density and urban intensity. In this paper, we applied a qualitative case study The study of development of public spaces in the municipality research strategy to identify elements and relationships of Stari Grad (2008) between layering singularities of the plural city, inter- Kosančićev Venac is adimistrative unit of the Municipal- preting its nature and revealing the factors that vary due ity of Stari Grad and it is the oldest urban part of Bel- to the spatial scale and different cultural viewpoints. grade, located between Knez Mihailova street, Belgrade We captured also these relational views as manageable Fortress, Branko’s Bridge, and the Sava River. Situated through public art due to our experience in implement- on the Danube slope, it historically counterbalanced ing PaPs projects over time. the Ottoman downtown. Ottoman and Austrian influ - Theoretical findings of placemaking and the public ences are still visible, primarily in the shapes of streets, dimension of space allowed us to define the plural city the bastion’s pathways and their subsequent transforma- as composed of a plurality of places. In other words, the tions. Emilian Josimović made the first plan for this area plural city is a socio-spatial dialectic of layered singulari- at the end of the nineteenth century when it was the ties and an encounter between own and shared commit- most significant part of urban life and commercial nod ments of being/existing and living in a specific place. (Đukanović and Živković 2017). B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 7 of 13 Singularities are interpreted as vivid, qualitative cate- insight into the possibility of change—i.e. the context of gory, and directly related to the culture because the qual- imagination and management. We interpreted those pos- ity directly depends on specific value system of the origin sibilities through public art interventions and strategies. culture. In the context of urban design research, singu- In our work, public art becomes a method for examining larities represent perceptual dimension of space. Percep- becoming of space or placemaking—i.e. possibilities of tual dimension implies the process of becoming aware of urban seen as art of living. physical objects, phenomenon or social relations through senses (Carmona 2003). It involves the images, experi- Experience ences and meanings that people attach to the environ- Singularities depend on experience and, therefore, they ment; it key attributes are symbolism and meaning. are interpreted as a plurality of personal views. This Singularities represent at least two fundamental spatial specifically applies on smaller scales and it is expressed relations: (1) the relation between place and “me”, and (2) through the dialogs of inhabitants and one of the visitors relation between “we”, “me” and “other” in place or urban to Belgrade. The dialog includes drawing expressions of space. First, our relation with a space is perceptual which Momo Kapor (writer and painter), Aleksandar Deroko means that it subsists of cognitive, affective, interpreta - (architect, writer, and pilot), Jovan Nanic (economist, tive, and evaluative perception. In short, it depends on who lives in Kosancicev Venac area from 1947), and Her- our knowledge of place. Second, the relation between ceg Slobodan (student of Architecture), while the visitor “we”, “me” and “other” in place or urban space depends is Sibel Bash (student of architecture from Turkey, who on both cultural and social values, and our knowledge of came to Belgrade for the very first time). space. Taking all these aspects of plural city into account lead Discussion and evaluation us to the main propositions that set the frame for reading XL level—Urban whole: Green Heart, fluvial Boulevards the plural city, which we used to discuss and evaluate the and panoramic view of Belgrade case of Belgrade in this research. We interpreted plural Private/public interface: This space is more symbolic than city through three main citeria: (1) Private/public inter- real because natural structures and elements such as riv- face, (2) public art, and (3) experience. ers, islands and relief defined city structure. Geographical position and fluvial border introduced cultural divisions Private/public interface and separate histories of the three main parts of the con- The spaces of place or places are perceived spatial catego - structed city. Despite various densities and forms of built ries between the qualitative and quantitative dimensions structures at the waterfront, rivers are daily-lived public of the urban in which qualitative prevails. Simultaneously spaces (Fig. 3). representing physical and psychological relations, places demonstrate how people relate in and with space—the Public art relations between place and “me”, and between “we”, “me”, Public art strategy at this level is to intensify, densify and and the “other”. We examined these relations in public diversify the meaning and perception of the main struc- urban space and we interpret them as the private/public tural elements of the city: rivers becoming blue boule- interface in which singularities interrelate while forming vards of public life. layered singularities. Public art Experience Layered singularities are space-related; therefore, along- Inhabitant feels symbolical Belgrade, representing its side describing the current condition, they give us an green heart and panoramic view. Visitor recognizes Fig. 3 City structure, Green Heart, fluvial Boulevards and panoramic view of Belgrade city Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 8 of 13 geographical referent points of Belgrade due to its pres- renewed meanings—placemaking by using public art entation in media (Fig. 4). (Djukanovic and Zivkovic 2008). In this way, the inclu- sion of marginal spaces in the network of public spaces L level—Urban area: municipality of Stari Grad in Belgrade by using public art and creating a new perception of peo- city—networks of representative and marginal spaces ple has enabled an increased intensity of urban experi- Private/public interface: The network of public spaces ence (Fig. 5). represents spaces as a flow of hubs and connections per - ceived by people and intensively lived on a daily basis. Experience Inhabitant recognizes paths as everyday experience, Public art enjoying intensity of change while going through known Public art strategy starts with the hypothesis that rep- places. Visitor "reads" and experience network as it resentative and marginal spaces together make the net- encounters new spaces, gaining meaning through repeti- work of public spaces. In the Municipality of Stari Grad, tion (Fig. 6). there is a need to strengthen connections and relations between elements of the network of public spaces. M level—Urban ambience: Kosancicev Venac—between The “Study of development of public spaces in the the city center and the river municipality of Stari Grad” by PaPs (2008) focused on Private/public interface marginal public spaces, identification and linkage of their People’s relations in space demonstrate different mean - singularities. Some of the elements include urban sym- ings, intensities, and feelings of ambience and sequences bols, landmarks, unique places, differential and transi - of places. It includes several levels and types of separa- tional spaces, etc. Networking of public spaces goes well tion and connections—physical, functional, visual, psy- beyond physical linking and accessibility. Places with chological, emotional, social, and cultural. The feeling of different kinds and levels of meaning were merged in an ambient depends on numerous factors, such are rela- various degrees, producing mutual or shared values and tions between built and built structures, built and open Fig. 4 Experience of the urban whole of Belgrade city—inhabitant (left) and visitor (right) Fig. 5 Public art strategy for networking representative and marginal spaces. Case of Stari Grad B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 9 of 13 Fig. 6 Experience of the public space network. Case of Stari Grad—inhabitant (left) and visitor (right) spaces, built and green or green and green areas, levels of streets leading to the Sava river, choir concerts, thea- use and activity, the density of memories, etc. In an urban tre plays, workshops for children, redesign and reuse ambience, “me” and “we” directly relate with the “other”. of local trams, video art, fashion and music shows on For this reason, the plural city requires full public partici- railway wagons in the old Sava Port, waterfront party pation in the decision-making process to make the ambi- and boat tours (Đukanović and Živković 2015). As a ent truthfully inclusive. result, an optimal increase in the density of public art stimulated people to use targeted shortcuts and mar- Public art ginal spaces. By navigating people’s movements, ordi- Aiming to integrate Kosancicev venac with the river Sava nary places become more visited and enjoyed. Besides and city center, public art strategy is twofold and devel- helping to re-discover and experience marginal spaces, oped through two annual projects realized by PaPs: Step they gained the opportunity to become unique places towards River (2003) and Belgrade Boat Carnival (2004). (Fig. 7). The project Step towards River (2003) aimed to The project Belgrade Boat Carnival (2004) used an intensify urban singularities by densifying public art inverted strategy. Instead of revealing marginal spaces it interventions in the selected area of Kosancicev venac took place at the strategically most representative public that connects the city center with the Sava River. It space—the Sava River. Leading strategical guideline was used the strategy of small steps towards a big vision. to increase the intensity of place, at least temporary, con- This strategy used ordinary and mostly unpracticed centrating people and activities on the river, and putting pedestrian pathways, transforming them into a series attention on its qualities. Thus, we realized a daily event, of short distant and visual or sensorial artistic attrac- a new tradition of carnival for the Belgrade context, a tions. A wide range of public art installations and per- memorable event that celebrated the place itself. This formances included: turf (grass) labyrinth set up on the project was realized in full participation of all relevant Fig. 7 A step towards river by PaPs (2003); a public art strategy and program; b realization of the project Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 10 of 13 stakeholders and has changed the meaning of place, at integration of spaces, including, in the first place, the least temporary. riverfront and Kosancicev venac. All this led to diverse Carnival took place on 24th of July 2004 and included: long-term spatial and social effects, and transformation daily events on the river (water jumps, sailing boats, row- continues, as the event became an official annual event of boats and jet ski parade), events on the riverfront (stu- Belgrade city, held until today (Fig. 8). dent design exhibition, children’s theatre and workshops, boat models exhibition, fish soup cooking competition), Experience and the final event: 250 boats in a carnival parade. Thir - Inhabitant relates to past, present, and future qualities of teen academic institutions, 24 national and 23 local pub- ambience, while the visitor relates to the present (Fig. 9). lic institutions, 25 institutions from the civic sector and 37 private sector participants were included in planning S—urban relations: Kosančićev venac and delivering the project. Approximately 100,000 peo- Private/public interface: Urban elements of the Kosan- ple attended this one-day event and it was followed by cicev venac are various: greenery, buildings (existing and more than a hundred journalists. It was one of the most missing), public stairs, landmarks, barriers, openings, etc. attended events in Belgrade that year (Đukanović and Their diversity allows numerous relations to generate— Živković 2015). e.g. expressions of division and connection, domination, The event dramatically increased density and diver - occupation, or appropriation of space, etc. All these rela- sity of use in the area and displayed possibilities for its tions constitute urban elements perceivable also through further development—intensified urban experience and colors, textures, and signs. Thus, each constitutional part Fig. 8 Belgrade Boat Carnival by PaPs (2004); a public art strategy and program; b realization of the project Fig. 9 Experience of ambiences in Kosančićev venac—inhabitant (left) and visitor (right) B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 11 of 13 of urban elements highlights the specific characteristic of details—to reveal history, nature, or meanings—to con- the urban scene, generating a new meanings and uses due nect the seemingly unconnected (Fig. 12). to our daily perception—layering singularity in time. Experience Public art The relevance of spatial elements become irrelevant for Public art actions change the urban scene by adding new both inhabitant and visitor. Space of intimacy, personal elements to the existing ambience or changing their roles values and meanings prevail over physical forms and and ways of seeing (Fig. 10). functions, while inhabitant and visitor project their inner space outwards (Fig. 13). Experience Inhabitant relates to the position of the element in Conclusion its everyday scenery and reacts to the change. Visitor From Belgrade’s experiences, we learn, first, that inclu - observes and experiences elements as they are (Fig. 11). sive city must reassess what constitutes a city, acknowl- edging the inherent human-ness, public-ness, plurality of XS—urban sparks: Kosančićev venac singularities, and dynamism of the urban environment in Private/public interface: In contact with urban details, a particular context. Consequently, management of cities their variability, and intertwined meanings, we intimately evolution does not depend on physical spatial develop- relate to the space. This relation can be based on den - ment alone, but urban design requires an understand- sity of details in space, variety of details, complexity of ing, articulating and effecting the civic visions and urban observed sequence, or intensity of a singular detail. This realities of the city’s multiple publics. Second, in order to space is a stage for the dialog with our past, present and articulate that plurality of visions, one must take stock of future feelings, thoughts, and actions. Urban sparks rep- the city’s multiple singularities and its individual inhab- resent the most personal space in the city in which we itants’ varied ways of experiencing the urban landscape. form our sense of belonging based on emotional and sub- Third, plural city is about relational space and intensifica - jective values rather than rational and objective. tion of public life, and it can be managed by using public art strategies. Strategies and actions in the field of public Public art art are different and depend on spatial scale. Accordingly, Public art actions at this level aim to intensify and express public art can be used as a method or tool for govern- relations, contrasts, or similarities between various ing the relations between people and space—the relations Fig. 10 Public art interventions at Kosančićev venac Fig. 11 Experience of urban relations in Kosančićev venac—inhabitant (left) and visitor (right) Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 12 of 13 Fig. 12 Study of urban details in the Municipality Stari grad. From “Study of development of public spaces in the municipality of Stari Grad” by PaPs (2008) Fig. 13 Experience of urban sparks in Kosančićev venac—inhabitant (left) and visitor (right) between place and “me”, and between “we”, “me”, and scale, the plural city is about contextual and relational the “other”. Forth, defined through personal experience urban design. Thus, it would be challenging to examine and drawing dialog, plurality of views demonstrated the the concept of plural city at territorial level due to the direct relations between perception of space and our progressive conception of territory as a complex system knowledge about it. Despite the differences in personal of cultural and social interspatial connections. views and knowledge, some similarities between observ- Therefore, we concentrated on understanding the plu - ers become apparent due to the spatial scale. Analysis of ral city more than governing it. Although our experience the opposite spatial levels—i.e. XL and XS—showed the in using public art showed that plural city is inclusive most similar observations due to the highest symbolism when the participation is full, we plan to conduct more of space. research on this aspect to operationalize it. Finally, “Cit- All these findings about plural city opened up a pos - ies have the capability of providing something for every- sibility for new research challenges. First, we examined body, only because, and only when, they are created by multilayered singularities in spatial terms from the aspect everybody,” (Jacobs 1961, p. 138). of spatial scales, but their evolution over time requires Acknowledgements deepened research. Second, our multiscale analysis com- We acknowledge JŽ and PJ for conducting a research with ZĐ for the prehend levels from urban whole to the urban detail. The symposium “Measuring Non-measurable”, Tokyo (Japan), 2012. Originals of visual materials were presented at the symposium. We also acknowledge scale can seem as a misconception because we are always JŽ for implementing the projects of PaPs, namely, Step towards River (2003), projecting for a real, everyday life, and feeling in a scale Belgrade Boat Carnival (2004), and “Study of development of public spaces in 1:1. However, based on that very individual and subjec- the municipality of Stari Grad” (2008) together with ZĐ. tive view, the urban quality forms at the spot where the Author contributions differences between us become apparent. Showing how Conceptualization: NB, ZĐ, and GC. Original draft preparation, analyses physical space captures a sense of place regardless of the and interpretation, and a major contributor in writing the manuscript: NB. B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 13 of 13 Review and editing: NB, ZĐ, and GC. All authors read and approved the final Harvey D (1990) The condition of postmodernity: an enquiry into the origins manuscript. of cultural change. Blackwell, Cambridge Harvey D (2009) Social justice and the city. University of Georgia Press, Athens Funding Jacobs J (1961) The death and life of great American cities. Norton, New York Research received no external funding. Lefebvre H (1974/1991) The production of space (trans. Donald Nicholson- Smith). Blackwell Publishing, Malden (US), Oxford (UK), Carlton, Victoria Availability of data and materials (Australia). The original published 1974 and 1984. Not applicable. Madanipour A (1996) Design of urban space: an inquiry into a socio-spatial process. Wiley, New York Massey CD (2005) For space. SAGE, London Declarations Monno V, Serreli S (2020) Cities and migration: generative urban policies through contextual vulnerability. City Territory Architect 7:6. https:// doi. Competing interests org/ 10. 1186/ s40410- 020- 00114-x The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Montgomery J (1998) Making a city: urbanity, vitality and urban design. J Urb Design 3(1):93–116 Author details Moroni, Stefano and Weberman, David (2016) Introduction: Space, Pluralism Faculty of Architecture, Scientific Laboratory “Participatory Urban Design and Tolerance. In Moroni and Weberman (eds) Space and Pluralism. Can and Participatory Public Art”, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia. F acult y Contemporary Cities Be Places of Tolerance? , pp 1–14.Central European of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia. Dipartment of His- University Press, Budapest–New York. tory, Human Sciencies and Education, University of Sassari, Sassri, Italy. Public art & Public space—PaPs (2003) https:// www. publi cart- publi cspace. org/ Received: 26 December 2021 Accepted: 28 March 2022 Purcell M (2003) Citizenship and the right to the global city: reimagining the capitalist world order. Int J Urban Regional 27:3. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1111/ 1468- 2427. 00467 Radović D (2014) Subjectivities in Investigation of the Urban. 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Plural city: layered singularities and urban design: case of Belgrade City (RS)

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10.1186/s40410-022-00154-5
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Abstract

A growing urban population, a new social dynamism, and fast-changing urban contexts, together with a lack of urban planning, lead to intensifying contradictions that threaten to harness urban prosperity, cohesion, and sustainability. All this creates a need for reframing the perspective on the city and its management. By analysing connecting concepts to the plural city in literature, the paper offers new ways of understanding and reading the city. We describe plural qualities of an inclusive city from the perspective of urban design—a city as a plurality of unique places and subjec- tivities in time—i.e. the plural city. Following the case study methodology, we critically discussed and evaluated the case of Belgrade as a plural city due to its lasting diversity and heterogeneity in both urban matrix and social tissue. As a result, we defined the elements, relationships, and plurality of views within the plural city in multiscale. Based on 18-years of experience gained through the Public art & Public space program, we have shown that public art strate- gies can be used as a method and tool to initiate spatial transformations and offer different ways of experiencing the urban landscape. Keywords: Urban design, Placemaking, Public art, Public space, Plural city Serreli 2020). Thus, increasingly urbanized and multi - Introduction cultural existence and its spatial structures and com- During the last decades, rising urban populations and plications require us to reexamine social and political increasing migrations are producing new social dynamics categories and concepts—i.e. citizenship, justice, rights, and fast-changing urban contexts (United Nations 2019). legitimacy and democracy (Moroni and Weberman As the world’s urban population grows, cities become 2016)—and diminish equity in public spaces (Harvey spaces where increasingly diverse people negotiate such 2009; Zukin 2010). differences as language, lifestyles, citizenship, class and Despite a growing body of literature and widespread wealth, ethnicity and race, etc. (Moroni and Weberman use in the study of space, politics, and society, the terms 2016). Increased contradictions, growing inequality and ‘plural’ and ‘plurality’ have remained broad and ambig- marginalization threaten to take advantage of urban uous. Some authors question political conceptions and prosperity, cohesion and sustainability (The British Acad - rights while reconfiguring the contemporary model emy & The National Institute of Urban Affairs 2019). of citizenship (e.g. Purcell 2003). Some other authors At the same time, global development strategies that focus on urban segregation as a complex mechanism challenge new social dynamics, emerging urban com- that causes inequality in several dimensions of urban plexities and spatial transformations centralize the social life—from deficient urban access, services, or infra - dimension of space and cohesion politics (Ramsden and structure to social isolation, safety issues and lack of Colini 2013; Chaline and Coccossis 2004; Monno and economic opportunity (Rawls 1971/1999; Espino 2015; Blanco and Nel·lo 2020). All the authors prevalently *Correspondence: nberectic@uniss.it have a background in social sciences (e.g. sociology, Faculty of Architecture, Scientific Laboratory “Participatory Urban Design and Participatory Public Art”, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia urban geography, etc.), and their starting hypothesis Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 2 of 13 relay on the concept of a plural society, which promotes potentials of the plural city in the process of understand- respect for diversity, whereby diversity itself becomes a ing, imagining, and governing the city. public good. Analyses of the case study base on 18  years of experi- Defining cities as places of contrast, plurality and inter - ence and some previous findings gained through the actions, global e-debate by UN-Habitat (Rio de Janeiro, Public art & Public space (PaPs) program founded in 2010) challenged urban policy to recognize culturally 2003 at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Bel- heterogeneous cities, including diversity within a given grade. PaPs is an international, multidisciplinary, scien- culture of the many in a city. The debate focused on being tific, research, and educational program of artistic design able to respect personal cultural belonging while living of public spaces. A wide range of PaPs’s activities pro- together in a society where ethics and common values are duces positive changes to places and people, improving guidelines. Accordingly, urban development is rooted in the public spaces by making small but significant steps the mutual obligation of individual choices and collective toward active citizenship. However, in this paper, our compromise. focus was not on the outcome of the projects themselves. We can note that the political conception of multi- We selected projects that used public art as a strategy culturalism and cultural pluralism are foundations for and demonstrated positive urban transformations while both academic research and global urban policy. These examining the diversity of elements and relationships researchers examine concepts and terms as open/close within a plural city. society, diversity, inclusion, justice, rights, and plu- ral society to explain the plurality of the city as a space Urban design and place as a strategy for the plural city of tolerance. However, we wondered how urban design Written in the form of a manifesto, a recent publica- research, theories and practices, could give rise to a tion by Brent (2017) even proposes the “plural urban- public sphere and a plural city. Thus, the purpose of this ism” as the new discipline, namely “The Largest Art”. paper is to discuss and reframe the concept of the plural He reframed urban design as a discipline of multiplic- city—the plurality of views in public space practices and ity (scale, time, property, agency, form) based on three urban design. principles of change, incompleteness and flexible fidel - The research departs from a literature review on place ity. Bharne (2016) explains that pluralism in urban design theories in urban design, plural urbanism, the public comprehends singular act of various disciplines, which dimension of space and conecting conncepts to plural ensure various aspects of the city, as well as differences city. We understand urban design as both the process and between and within cities (e.g. mechanisms, cultural dif- product of inextricably entwined and layered subjectivi- ferences, etc.). Defining urban design as city-making, the ties, which represent the qualitative dimension of public author explains that plural urban design includes agen- spaces. Without ignoring the high potentials of the con- cies, processes, products, and physical things. cept, we explore the plural city as a dialogue and encoun- Although the concept of the plural city could have a lot ter between own and shared commitments of being/ of potential, this research does not aim to reframe the existing and living in a specific place. discipline. Nevertheless, we strongly encourage, support Without lapsing into prescriptive conclusions, the and promote multidisciplinary research; the mix of dis- paper aims to reshape existing and offer a new per - ciplinary backgrounds of authors’ in this paper include spective on the plural character of the city as a possi- an architect, a landscape architect, an urbanist and a ble method for reading the city—i.e. an inclusive way to philosopher. respond to the need for developing new ways of under- Urban design is a process and a product of designing standing, imagining, and governing the city. and shaping the physical features of artificial environ - The city of Belgrade (Republic of Serbia) is an ideal con - ment by creating connections between people and places, text for exploring the plural city due to its lasting diver- nature and built fabric, movement and form. As a mul- sity and heterogeneity in both urban matrix and social tidisciplinary activity of shaping and managing artificial tissue. We used theoretical research to review the issues environments, it is ʺinterested in both the process of of plural perspective on the city. Following the case study this shaping and the spaces it helps shape” (Madanipour methodology, we critically analyzed the case of Belgrade 1996, p. 117). to (1) define the elements and relations, which constitute Although historically there are two broad traditions the plural city, (2) examine the public art strategies as a of urban design, namely ʺvisual‐artisticʺ and ʺsocial method and tool to govern the spatial transformation in usageʺ tradition, in recent years they became blended a plural city, and (3) to examine how experience and plu- into a third—ʺmaking placesʺ tradition. With a purpose rality of views interact with space, form the urban qual- of making places for people, this urban design approach ity, and affect the plural city. As a result, we identified the simultaneously refers to urban space as an aesthetic B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 3 of 13 entity and as a behavioral setting (Carmona 2003). public sphere, and publicness. The public sphere is the Uniqueness of place—i.e. singularity of place—is under- space of civil society (Arendt 1985/1991; Habermas stood as the result of layering of build forms and infra- 1962/2001). It is ‘an atmosphere of democracy’ based structure, natural ecosystems, communities and cultures. on the existence of a life in common and it enables the Therefore, urban design—together with the society, eco - formation of public opinion, which takes place through nomics, politics, and drama that surround, inform and discussion and deliberation at publicly owned space create it—captures the moment of the plural city while (Habermas 1962/2001; Young 1990). involving all elements of the unique place. This precious City as a complex and dynamic system is the place moment informs us about the current condition, contex- of manifestation of the urban phenomenon that con- tualize our imagination of future and conditions its gov- tinually transforms under the influence of many factors ernance in a certain degree. and over different periods. Plural city does not merely Slightly different from making places, the placemak - seeks to enrich the human dimension by harmonizing ing is a complex and multi-faceted approach to plan- social relations and cultural pluralism. Indeed, it repre- ning, design and management of public spaces. Practiced sents the plurality of “spaces of place” as “a locale whose within the PaPs program, placemaking is a process of form, function, and meaning are self-contained within making public space a living place through artistic place the boundaries of physical contiguity” (Castells 2000, p. design and recognition of experiences that produce all 453). Shared, unique, identifiable meanings and images of sorts of consequences on daily life. It is a process of crea- spaces of place are acquired by virtue of the built form, tion of place and philosophy of acting in it—the art of liv- cultural or political function, way of life, or other charac- ing. Placemaking is a tool for authentic space production, teristics (Castells 2000). with the specific character of the location—sense of place “But the city is never singular; it is never a place, an (PaPs 2003). image, a representation, a public.” (Alcubilla Troughton Therefore, in the context of applying the plural 2003, online). approach to the city, and based on understanding urban Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space reminds us design both as a process and a product of placemaking, that, to address the urban, we must think of its spatial- we argue that the plural city is a possible way to respond ity as a simultaneous dialectic of the spatial triad—con- to the need for developing a new way of understanding, ceived, perceived and lived space. In this position, city is imagining, and governing the city. an immoderate oeuvre, a daily-lived struggle, an opportu- nity for inhabitation. Explaining space as a social reality, Publicness and plural city Jane Jacobs argued that public space is a stage of every- Aiming to describe plural qualities of an inclusive city day life or “sidewalk ballet”. For such a performance, she from the perspective of urban design, we understand states, spontaneous social interactions are enough—e.g. the plural approach to the city not as a new theoretical simple greetings, or just seeing and being seen. Hence, or practical understanding. Indeed, Aristotle said “The we, each of us individually and all of us together, daily city is composed of different kinds of men; similar peo - imagine, inhabit, contest, subvert, colonize and impose ple cannot bring the city into existence” (Aristotle, cited our meanings, values and uses on space. in Sennett 1970, p. 13). The city by its nature is hetero - Departing from Lefebvre’s theory, De Certeau defines geneous, and composed of many singularities that each the city as a plurality of temporalities and subjectivities; person brings by its being. City unites a certain people city is a product of memory, present awareness, and fore- to ultimately improve the quality of life of every person. sight. Arguing cautiously against thinking of the city as Diversity aspects of the just city relate to the capacity to the “creation of a universal and anonymous subject”, he welcome and embrace a variety of people with differing states that city is, instead, the product of the “microbe- cultural and personal views and practices, as well as land like, singular and plural practices” of its inhabitants (De uses (Montgomery 1998). In these terms, the city is a Certeau 1984, p. 94 and 96). Harvey (1990) explains that socio-cultural system or “projection of the society on the the city is the “swarming mass” of pedestrian move- ground” (Lefebvre 1974/1991), and public spaces are the ments—a system of singularities—that constitutes and manifestation of the public realm. activates the city. Various public space qualities closely associate with Moreover, Radović argues that “Everything about us some aspects of the just city and its public realm: diver- is au pluriel, and thus about the relationships between sity, equity, and democracy (Fainstein 2010; Griffin 2015). various, and variously interacting subjectivities.” (Radović Studies on public space and urban lifestyle indicate the 2014, p. 13). The urban, for him, is an essential theatre of primary area of theorization theorisation and research co-presences where we constantly face the otherness of on the ‘public’ of public spaces—i.e. public domain, the the other subjectivities. This situation is an irrepressible Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 4 of 13 complexity that makes the city in which we have the right We choose the case of Belgrade for this research due for the difference. And, our presence alone gives us that to its lasting diversity and heterogeneity in both urban right because we relate to the space, people, and environ- matrix and social tissue, which can be red in a unique city mental context by our presence. structure (Fig. 1). Therefore, the plurality of spaces of places—or the Located on a fluvial border between East and West, places—composes the plural city, which is between sub- many often describe Belgrade as the “gateway to the Bal- jective and collective still subjective, which pleads to be kans and door to Central Europe” because of the unique objective. In other words, heterogeneous and unique position where cultures and civilizations meet, struggle, places and different subjectivities at different levels make interact, interfere—relate in space and over time. the plural city so that it is inclusive by its nature. Other- Observing from the “eye-level”, Belgrade could seem wise, it would be an oxymoron. A plural city represents fragmented by wounds of recent wars and multicultural the capacity of the community to maintain the continuity character. This fragmentation, however, is indivisible of urban values versus the individual capability to change because every element that might cause division simul- them. taneously integrates the city into a single whole. On the other hand, Belgrade is very personal due to an infinite number of urban details. By waking the street, one can Belgrade city perceive numerous details such are daily life routines, Belgrade is the capital of the small European state of Ser- people, textures, materials, forms, colors, smells, sounds, bia and by far its largest city. The population of Belgrade lights, movements, and nature. All of these details are makes 24% of the total population of Serbia. The popula - relational in space through interaction; they overlap, tion density of 513 inhabitants / km2 is five times higher superpose, and merge with plural views and over time, in Belgrade than in any other region. Still, economic representing layered singularities (Fig.  2). These rela - dominance of Belgrade is the most visible indicator of its tions are not solely visible at the spatial level but espe- high development comparing with the national context. cially at the cultural and semiotic levels, making Belgrade Belgrade is also political, administrative, tourist, com- an exceptional case study for the plural city. For exam- mercial, industrial, transport, financial, cultural, scientific ple, Old Belgrade becomes one with Zemun and New and educational center (Đukanović and Živković 2017). Belgrade. The high-density city rises on the Danube’s Fig. 1 Unique structure of the city of Belgrade; a the general structure of the city; b First Belgrade—historic center; c Second Belgrade: New Belgrade and Zemun; d Third Belgrade—planned, but prevalently spontaneously developed; e Forth Belgrade—living with the water—rivers as public spaces. Source: Authors elaboration on Đukanović and Giofrè, 2017 B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 5 of 13 Fig. 2 Two illustrations of layered singularities on the example of Belgrade city. Photos by Jelena Živković shore, contrasting the emptiness of the natural oasis of Projects Step towards River (2003) and Belgrade Boat the uninhabited Great War Island on the other river- Carnival (2004) are consecutive projects presented as bank. Classicism and art nouveau buildings stand next to cases for XL and M levels. The Study of development of the traditional Ottoman houses. Modern high-rise glass public spaces in the municipality of Stari Grad (2008) was buildings resist next to bombed ruins. Probably at the used in the description of L, S and XS levels. same shop, one can buy both an excellent Sacher Torte and Baklava or Kebab and Wiener Schnitzel. And so on. Projects step towards River (2003) and Belgrade Boat Carnival (2004) Case studies selected for the discussion and evaluation Located at the confluence of two international, navigable Perspective of relational space recognizes space as the rivers—the Danube and the Sava—Belgrade is situated product of interrelations, constituted through interac- at the top of the hill, above the flat land of the Pannonia tions. Space is perceived as the sphere of possibility of the Plain, on the north border of the Balkan Peninsula. Dan- existence of multiplicity; space is always in process, never ube and Sava, the two biggest water boulevards, define a closed system (Massey 2005). Therefore, to discuss the unique structure of the city of Belgrade by separat- and evaluate elements and relations of the plural city we ing its territory into three units and integrating the interpret layered singularities of Belgrade in multiscale whole city structure around centrally located "Great War of multiplicity as follows (1) urban whole—XL level; (2) Island"—Belgrade’s green, natural oasis (see Fig. 1). Urban area—L level; (3) Urban ambience—M level; (4) Situated between the three visible stone-based parts of Urban relations—S level; (5) Urban Sparks—XS level. the city, there is another invisible, fragile and liquid one— Scaling down from the level of the urban whole, we the aquatic Belgrade. Unfortunately, the fourth Belgrade selected the Municipality of Stari grad in Belgrade and still does not exist in official planning documentation one of its areas—Kosančićev venac. Strategic positions despite its predispositions to be recognized as a space and the historical and cultural importance of these spatial of public life—inhabitants of Belgrade traditionally live units allow the direct connection of the city center with on and with rivers. Since establishing the PaPs program, rivers. Aiming to strengthen this connection, celebrate we have worked to make rivers more visible and officially rivers as public spaces, and improve the general quality of recognized as public spaces. In particular, the projects urban spaces, we have implemented a few projects using Step towards River and Belgrade Boat Carnival demon- public art as our strategy years ago. We included, in this strate these intentions in areas of the Sava River and its research, three of these projects as relevant for the plural Riverfront—Municipality of Stari grad. city conception, making these two spatial units an inte - Stari Grad is the central, oldest and most significant gral part of this research. Alongside lasting diversity and municipality of Belgrade. It gathers principal natural and heterogeneity in both urban matrix and social tissue, the cultural values, faces both Sava and Danube rivers and selection criteria for the cases were the scale and period Big War Island. It has strong symbolic meaning, and vari- of implementation that makes it possible to discuss the ous cultural influences, which shape the urban tissue. At effects at a distance. The description of urban context is the same time, Stari Grad is a place of high contrasts and relative to the period of projects realization—the begin- hidden potentials. It is rich in public spaces of different ning of the 2000s. types, including parks, squares, streets, pedestrian zones, Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 6 of 13 riverbanks, etc. Unfortunately, a few public spaces are At the time, the area was prevalently residential, managed well, while others are misused. neglected, degraded and disintegrated from the city The contact with rivers is visual, and the waterfront is center and Sava River. Many significant public buildings (was) physically inaccessible. Waterfront and its back- and institutions, such as the University of art or churches, ground area towards the historic center are composed of are located there. The area is nominated for cultural pres - marginal public spaces that hide a potential beauty. These ervation and has the most beautiful panoramic views on spaces include residential areas and post-industrial zone, the river Sava and New Belgrade. Kosančićev venac is an which are vacant and degraded. But, these spaces could urban area with a physically "empty" but symbolically gloriously connect the historic center with the river as "full" heart. irregular and continuous network of public spaces and The area is rich in different types of public spaces, paths. among which numerous have high, but not affirmed, The central part of the municipality is the main pedes - environmental value and ambience. Despite this high trian, commercial, cultural, and tourist area, which pre- potential and the fact that the quality design and use of sents the principal axis of the city life—the pedestrian public spaces present important urban quality indicators, street Knez Mihailova and Terazije square. The level of the public spaces of Kosančićev venac are (were) usually urban activities declines by distancing from this axis. For unproperly used and managed. example, Kosancicev venac or Sava mala has a low level The Study of the development of public spaces in the of urban activities, which makes them passive, almost municipality of Stari Grad aimed to points out the need unused, and forgotten. These areas became physical and for enhancement of public spaces. The research aimed to: mental barriers instead of enjoyable connections between a) Identify types, characteristics and conditions of pub- two main city magnets: the pedestrian zone and the river lic spaces on territory of urban municipality Stari Grad, of Sava. b) Identify and select public spaces that have specific The project Steps toward River focuses on the connec - potential for improvement by various forms of public tion between downtown Belgrade and the area around art, c) Research various possibilities for improvement of the old Sava port, which remained an abandoned area for selected public space’s by their activation and redesign decades. Beautiful but shabby facades and derelict port through different art forms. structures were witnesses to the waterfront’s merchant and industrial past. As a part of the most attractive and the most memorable city view, it became a symbol of Bel- Method grade’s big vision—to finally descend to its rivers, creat - In order to answer the research question, this study ing new attractions that will lure people into taking these examines elements and relashionships of a plural city in shortcuts between the existing public spaces. The aim the specific context of Belgrade in multiscale. was not to speed up the walk but to make it more enjoy- This study, to some extent, continues the previously able (Đukanović and Živković, 2015). conducted research within the PaPs program for the The success of this project led to the implementation of needs of the international symposium „Measuring non- the Belgrade Boat Carnival a year after. The Waterfront of Measurable “ held in Tokyo, Japan, 2012. Searching the Sava river was chosen as a public space to celebrate, for the qualities of the urban in Belgrade, the previous offering a memorable experience with the river. research identified some elements and relations of urban density and urban intensity. In this paper, we applied a qualitative case study The study of development of public spaces in the municipality research strategy to identify elements and relationships of Stari Grad (2008) between layering singularities of the plural city, inter- Kosančićev Venac is adimistrative unit of the Municipal- preting its nature and revealing the factors that vary due ity of Stari Grad and it is the oldest urban part of Bel- to the spatial scale and different cultural viewpoints. grade, located between Knez Mihailova street, Belgrade We captured also these relational views as manageable Fortress, Branko’s Bridge, and the Sava River. Situated through public art due to our experience in implement- on the Danube slope, it historically counterbalanced ing PaPs projects over time. the Ottoman downtown. Ottoman and Austrian influ - Theoretical findings of placemaking and the public ences are still visible, primarily in the shapes of streets, dimension of space allowed us to define the plural city the bastion’s pathways and their subsequent transforma- as composed of a plurality of places. In other words, the tions. Emilian Josimović made the first plan for this area plural city is a socio-spatial dialectic of layered singulari- at the end of the nineteenth century when it was the ties and an encounter between own and shared commit- most significant part of urban life and commercial nod ments of being/existing and living in a specific place. (Đukanović and Živković 2017). B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 7 of 13 Singularities are interpreted as vivid, qualitative cate- insight into the possibility of change—i.e. the context of gory, and directly related to the culture because the qual- imagination and management. We interpreted those pos- ity directly depends on specific value system of the origin sibilities through public art interventions and strategies. culture. In the context of urban design research, singu- In our work, public art becomes a method for examining larities represent perceptual dimension of space. Percep- becoming of space or placemaking—i.e. possibilities of tual dimension implies the process of becoming aware of urban seen as art of living. physical objects, phenomenon or social relations through senses (Carmona 2003). It involves the images, experi- Experience ences and meanings that people attach to the environ- Singularities depend on experience and, therefore, they ment; it key attributes are symbolism and meaning. are interpreted as a plurality of personal views. This Singularities represent at least two fundamental spatial specifically applies on smaller scales and it is expressed relations: (1) the relation between place and “me”, and (2) through the dialogs of inhabitants and one of the visitors relation between “we”, “me” and “other” in place or urban to Belgrade. The dialog includes drawing expressions of space. First, our relation with a space is perceptual which Momo Kapor (writer and painter), Aleksandar Deroko means that it subsists of cognitive, affective, interpreta - (architect, writer, and pilot), Jovan Nanic (economist, tive, and evaluative perception. In short, it depends on who lives in Kosancicev Venac area from 1947), and Her- our knowledge of place. Second, the relation between ceg Slobodan (student of Architecture), while the visitor “we”, “me” and “other” in place or urban space depends is Sibel Bash (student of architecture from Turkey, who on both cultural and social values, and our knowledge of came to Belgrade for the very first time). space. Taking all these aspects of plural city into account lead Discussion and evaluation us to the main propositions that set the frame for reading XL level—Urban whole: Green Heart, fluvial Boulevards the plural city, which we used to discuss and evaluate the and panoramic view of Belgrade case of Belgrade in this research. We interpreted plural Private/public interface: This space is more symbolic than city through three main citeria: (1) Private/public inter- real because natural structures and elements such as riv- face, (2) public art, and (3) experience. ers, islands and relief defined city structure. Geographical position and fluvial border introduced cultural divisions Private/public interface and separate histories of the three main parts of the con- The spaces of place or places are perceived spatial catego - structed city. Despite various densities and forms of built ries between the qualitative and quantitative dimensions structures at the waterfront, rivers are daily-lived public of the urban in which qualitative prevails. Simultaneously spaces (Fig. 3). representing physical and psychological relations, places demonstrate how people relate in and with space—the Public art relations between place and “me”, and between “we”, “me”, Public art strategy at this level is to intensify, densify and and the “other”. We examined these relations in public diversify the meaning and perception of the main struc- urban space and we interpret them as the private/public tural elements of the city: rivers becoming blue boule- interface in which singularities interrelate while forming vards of public life. layered singularities. Public art Experience Layered singularities are space-related; therefore, along- Inhabitant feels symbolical Belgrade, representing its side describing the current condition, they give us an green heart and panoramic view. Visitor recognizes Fig. 3 City structure, Green Heart, fluvial Boulevards and panoramic view of Belgrade city Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 8 of 13 geographical referent points of Belgrade due to its pres- renewed meanings—placemaking by using public art entation in media (Fig. 4). (Djukanovic and Zivkovic 2008). In this way, the inclu- sion of marginal spaces in the network of public spaces L level—Urban area: municipality of Stari Grad in Belgrade by using public art and creating a new perception of peo- city—networks of representative and marginal spaces ple has enabled an increased intensity of urban experi- Private/public interface: The network of public spaces ence (Fig. 5). represents spaces as a flow of hubs and connections per - ceived by people and intensively lived on a daily basis. Experience Inhabitant recognizes paths as everyday experience, Public art enjoying intensity of change while going through known Public art strategy starts with the hypothesis that rep- places. Visitor "reads" and experience network as it resentative and marginal spaces together make the net- encounters new spaces, gaining meaning through repeti- work of public spaces. In the Municipality of Stari Grad, tion (Fig. 6). there is a need to strengthen connections and relations between elements of the network of public spaces. M level—Urban ambience: Kosancicev Venac—between The “Study of development of public spaces in the the city center and the river municipality of Stari Grad” by PaPs (2008) focused on Private/public interface marginal public spaces, identification and linkage of their People’s relations in space demonstrate different mean - singularities. Some of the elements include urban sym- ings, intensities, and feelings of ambience and sequences bols, landmarks, unique places, differential and transi - of places. It includes several levels and types of separa- tional spaces, etc. Networking of public spaces goes well tion and connections—physical, functional, visual, psy- beyond physical linking and accessibility. Places with chological, emotional, social, and cultural. The feeling of different kinds and levels of meaning were merged in an ambient depends on numerous factors, such are rela- various degrees, producing mutual or shared values and tions between built and built structures, built and open Fig. 4 Experience of the urban whole of Belgrade city—inhabitant (left) and visitor (right) Fig. 5 Public art strategy for networking representative and marginal spaces. Case of Stari Grad B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 9 of 13 Fig. 6 Experience of the public space network. Case of Stari Grad—inhabitant (left) and visitor (right) spaces, built and green or green and green areas, levels of streets leading to the Sava river, choir concerts, thea- use and activity, the density of memories, etc. In an urban tre plays, workshops for children, redesign and reuse ambience, “me” and “we” directly relate with the “other”. of local trams, video art, fashion and music shows on For this reason, the plural city requires full public partici- railway wagons in the old Sava Port, waterfront party pation in the decision-making process to make the ambi- and boat tours (Đukanović and Živković 2015). As a ent truthfully inclusive. result, an optimal increase in the density of public art stimulated people to use targeted shortcuts and mar- Public art ginal spaces. By navigating people’s movements, ordi- Aiming to integrate Kosancicev venac with the river Sava nary places become more visited and enjoyed. Besides and city center, public art strategy is twofold and devel- helping to re-discover and experience marginal spaces, oped through two annual projects realized by PaPs: Step they gained the opportunity to become unique places towards River (2003) and Belgrade Boat Carnival (2004). (Fig. 7). The project Step towards River (2003) aimed to The project Belgrade Boat Carnival (2004) used an intensify urban singularities by densifying public art inverted strategy. Instead of revealing marginal spaces it interventions in the selected area of Kosancicev venac took place at the strategically most representative public that connects the city center with the Sava River. It space—the Sava River. Leading strategical guideline was used the strategy of small steps towards a big vision. to increase the intensity of place, at least temporary, con- This strategy used ordinary and mostly unpracticed centrating people and activities on the river, and putting pedestrian pathways, transforming them into a series attention on its qualities. Thus, we realized a daily event, of short distant and visual or sensorial artistic attrac- a new tradition of carnival for the Belgrade context, a tions. A wide range of public art installations and per- memorable event that celebrated the place itself. This formances included: turf (grass) labyrinth set up on the project was realized in full participation of all relevant Fig. 7 A step towards river by PaPs (2003); a public art strategy and program; b realization of the project Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 10 of 13 stakeholders and has changed the meaning of place, at integration of spaces, including, in the first place, the least temporary. riverfront and Kosancicev venac. All this led to diverse Carnival took place on 24th of July 2004 and included: long-term spatial and social effects, and transformation daily events on the river (water jumps, sailing boats, row- continues, as the event became an official annual event of boats and jet ski parade), events on the riverfront (stu- Belgrade city, held until today (Fig. 8). dent design exhibition, children’s theatre and workshops, boat models exhibition, fish soup cooking competition), Experience and the final event: 250 boats in a carnival parade. Thir - Inhabitant relates to past, present, and future qualities of teen academic institutions, 24 national and 23 local pub- ambience, while the visitor relates to the present (Fig. 9). lic institutions, 25 institutions from the civic sector and 37 private sector participants were included in planning S—urban relations: Kosančićev venac and delivering the project. Approximately 100,000 peo- Private/public interface: Urban elements of the Kosan- ple attended this one-day event and it was followed by cicev venac are various: greenery, buildings (existing and more than a hundred journalists. It was one of the most missing), public stairs, landmarks, barriers, openings, etc. attended events in Belgrade that year (Đukanović and Their diversity allows numerous relations to generate— Živković 2015). e.g. expressions of division and connection, domination, The event dramatically increased density and diver - occupation, or appropriation of space, etc. All these rela- sity of use in the area and displayed possibilities for its tions constitute urban elements perceivable also through further development—intensified urban experience and colors, textures, and signs. Thus, each constitutional part Fig. 8 Belgrade Boat Carnival by PaPs (2004); a public art strategy and program; b realization of the project Fig. 9 Experience of ambiences in Kosančićev venac—inhabitant (left) and visitor (right) B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 11 of 13 of urban elements highlights the specific characteristic of details—to reveal history, nature, or meanings—to con- the urban scene, generating a new meanings and uses due nect the seemingly unconnected (Fig. 12). to our daily perception—layering singularity in time. Experience Public art The relevance of spatial elements become irrelevant for Public art actions change the urban scene by adding new both inhabitant and visitor. Space of intimacy, personal elements to the existing ambience or changing their roles values and meanings prevail over physical forms and and ways of seeing (Fig. 10). functions, while inhabitant and visitor project their inner space outwards (Fig. 13). Experience Inhabitant relates to the position of the element in Conclusion its everyday scenery and reacts to the change. Visitor From Belgrade’s experiences, we learn, first, that inclu - observes and experiences elements as they are (Fig. 11). sive city must reassess what constitutes a city, acknowl- edging the inherent human-ness, public-ness, plurality of XS—urban sparks: Kosančićev venac singularities, and dynamism of the urban environment in Private/public interface: In contact with urban details, a particular context. Consequently, management of cities their variability, and intertwined meanings, we intimately evolution does not depend on physical spatial develop- relate to the space. This relation can be based on den - ment alone, but urban design requires an understand- sity of details in space, variety of details, complexity of ing, articulating and effecting the civic visions and urban observed sequence, or intensity of a singular detail. This realities of the city’s multiple publics. Second, in order to space is a stage for the dialog with our past, present and articulate that plurality of visions, one must take stock of future feelings, thoughts, and actions. Urban sparks rep- the city’s multiple singularities and its individual inhab- resent the most personal space in the city in which we itants’ varied ways of experiencing the urban landscape. form our sense of belonging based on emotional and sub- Third, plural city is about relational space and intensifica - jective values rather than rational and objective. tion of public life, and it can be managed by using public art strategies. Strategies and actions in the field of public Public art art are different and depend on spatial scale. Accordingly, Public art actions at this level aim to intensify and express public art can be used as a method or tool for govern- relations, contrasts, or similarities between various ing the relations between people and space—the relations Fig. 10 Public art interventions at Kosančićev venac Fig. 11 Experience of urban relations in Kosančićev venac—inhabitant (left) and visitor (right) Beretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 12 of 13 Fig. 12 Study of urban details in the Municipality Stari grad. From “Study of development of public spaces in the municipality of Stari Grad” by PaPs (2008) Fig. 13 Experience of urban sparks in Kosančićev venac—inhabitant (left) and visitor (right) between place and “me”, and between “we”, “me”, and scale, the plural city is about contextual and relational the “other”. Forth, defined through personal experience urban design. Thus, it would be challenging to examine and drawing dialog, plurality of views demonstrated the the concept of plural city at territorial level due to the direct relations between perception of space and our progressive conception of territory as a complex system knowledge about it. Despite the differences in personal of cultural and social interspatial connections. views and knowledge, some similarities between observ- Therefore, we concentrated on understanding the plu - ers become apparent due to the spatial scale. Analysis of ral city more than governing it. Although our experience the opposite spatial levels—i.e. XL and XS—showed the in using public art showed that plural city is inclusive most similar observations due to the highest symbolism when the participation is full, we plan to conduct more of space. research on this aspect to operationalize it. Finally, “Cit- All these findings about plural city opened up a pos - ies have the capability of providing something for every- sibility for new research challenges. First, we examined body, only because, and only when, they are created by multilayered singularities in spatial terms from the aspect everybody,” (Jacobs 1961, p. 138). of spatial scales, but their evolution over time requires Acknowledgements deepened research. Second, our multiscale analysis com- We acknowledge JŽ and PJ for conducting a research with ZĐ for the prehend levels from urban whole to the urban detail. The symposium “Measuring Non-measurable”, Tokyo (Japan), 2012. Originals of visual materials were presented at the symposium. We also acknowledge scale can seem as a misconception because we are always JŽ for implementing the projects of PaPs, namely, Step towards River (2003), projecting for a real, everyday life, and feeling in a scale Belgrade Boat Carnival (2004), and “Study of development of public spaces in 1:1. However, based on that very individual and subjec- the municipality of Stari Grad” (2008) together with ZĐ. tive view, the urban quality forms at the spot where the Author contributions differences between us become apparent. Showing how Conceptualization: NB, ZĐ, and GC. Original draft preparation, analyses physical space captures a sense of place regardless of the and interpretation, and a major contributor in writing the manuscript: NB. B eretić et al. City, Territory and Architecture (2022) 9:11 Page 13 of 13 Review and editing: NB, ZĐ, and GC. All authors read and approved the final Harvey D (1990) The condition of postmodernity: an enquiry into the origins manuscript. of cultural change. 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Journal

"City, Territory and Architecture"Springer Journals

Published: Apr 19, 2022

Keywords: Urban design; Placemaking; Public art; Public space; Plural city

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