Urban System in Serbia—The Factor in the Planning of Balanced Regional Development

Abstract

This paper analyzes the basic characteristics of Serbia’s urban system after World War II. The term urban system is largely determined by the use and functioning of the space in which it exists. We used the methods common in urban geography, notably the Rank-Size Rule and the Law of the Primate City with the aim of identifying the basic regularities, as the first step in an in-depth study of an under-researched topic. The research seeks to contribute to explaining the causes of the previous and current situation in the national settlement network, as a prerequisite for planning the future organization of the settlement network. Our study, conducted in Serbia, finds polarization apparent in the prominent domination of the capital city in terms of population, and this is a key feature of Serbia’s urban system. The current situation is the result of an intensive process of urbanization, but also of the establishment of new administrative boundaries after the disintegration of Yugoslavia. The study also seeks to suggest the most appropriate development model for Serbia’s urban system that could help overcome the extreme population concentration in Belgrade and create a basis for organizing an optimal system of centers. Keeping in mind that uneven regional development is determined by the features of the urban system, polycentric development is a common model for overcoming extreme polarization on a global level.

Concept of polycentricity-the differences between development policies and spatial reality

“…For the purpose of this paper we have used four analytical methods, which represent an integral part in the analysis of many researches in the field of regional geography and planning (Aydan, 2018;Đerčan et al, 2017;Filipović, 2020;Krunić, 2012aKrunić, , 2012bNevenić, 2013;Živanović et al, 2019). The aim is to use those methods which will represent Vojvodina's urban structure in the most efficient way, as well as the horizontal (spatial) and vertical (functional) hierarchy of the settlements and their interrelation.…”

“…It has been applied in urban geography since the 1960s. This method provides information about the hierarchy of settlements in one administrative unit, usually based on the analysis of demographic and economic data (Aydan, 2018;Burger & Meijers, 2012;Đerčan et al, 2017;Sinclair-Smtih, 2015;Živanović et al, 2019).…”

“…On the other side, the existence of a large number of cities at the second and third level in urban hierarchy (see chapter Spatial-urban structure of Vojvodina region) represent an excellent basis for achieving a high level of functional polycentrism. A balanced spatial distribution of urban centers may ensure the overall development of the region i.e., may have a positive effect on the development of underdeveloped sub-regions (Živanović, Tošić, Nikolić, & Gatarić, 2019). "Compared to the other regions of Serbia today, Vojvodina has the best polycentric settlement network conditioned by favorable morphological distribution of settlements, high degree of urbanization, low rate of mobility of daily migrants, i.e., relatively good distribution of economic activities located in smaller settlements, which keep people in local environment" (Nevenić, 2013, p. 81).…”

Economic Evaluation, Use of Renewable Energy, and Sustainable Urban Development Mamminasata Metropolitan, Indonesia

“…Thus, the distribution pattern of settlements and urban service centers will be directly related to the pattern and distribution of the energy network system services being developed. Urban settlements that develop and tend to differ based on location in line with the increase in population will have an impact on differences in the distribution of energy services [29]. The conceptual framework of this study is presented in Figure 1.…”

India’s Urban System: Sustainability and Imbalanced Growth of Cities

“…It has increased to 70.2%, in 2011, of the total urban population in the country from 68.6% in 2001. This implies that if the urban system of a country follows a rank-size rule distribution, the estimated coefficient of the downward sloping line will be −1; higher values (−1 to 0) will indicate that bigger cities are disproportionately larger and have a large share of the total urban population, while values less than −1 indicate that the population is dispersed in a large number of cities [28]. The empirical results of the rank-size distribution of Indian cities over the period 1901-2011 can be found in Figures 3 and 4.…”