UB-GEF visits POLITO
The teaching exchange activities planned in GreenFORCE continue. Three researchers came from the University of Belgrade (UB-GEF) to pass knowledge onto Polytechnic University of Turin (POLITO) students from November 6 to 10, 2023, during a week-long stay. The exchange process allowed contributions from Prof. Marija Jeftić, Velimir Šećerov and Zora Živanović to selected modules taught at POLITO in planning and architecture courses, a public seminar and an institutional twinning meeting.
The exchange began with a lecture from Prof. Zora Živanović, within the module “Planning theory and comparative planning studies” (resp. Prof. Giancarlo Cotella). The course provides students of the Master’s degree in Planning for the Global Urban Agenda with:
- a theoretical standpoint on the nature of spatial governance and planning systems and how they change and evolve through time;
- a critical comparison of selected spatial governance and planning systems in Europe and beyond;
- an informed perspective of the institutional and operational influence of transnational organizations over domestic contexts, with particular attention for the European Union.
The lecture “Spatial Planning in Serbia: From Yugoslavia to European Integration” presented, was with the aim to present the spatial planning system in Serbia, its basic characteristics, its development path, kinds of spatial plans in each territorial level, the contents of spatial plans and spatial planning procedures.
In parallel, Prof. Velimir Šećerov participated in the introductory seminar “Resilience and Cultural Heritage” (resp. Prof. Ombretta Caldarice, Prof. Benedetta Giudice and Prof. Michela Benente). The seminar is part of the Master’s degree programme in Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Turin. It supports students in dealing with emerging issues related to the resilience of cultural heritage and acquiring specific skills to design resilience strategies. Based on discussions with the local actors, the seminar assumes a territorial perspective to envisage future scenarios and to define strengths and weaknesses to enhance the resilience of cultural heritage.
Prof. Ombretta Caldarice made the initial introduction to the seminar, then Prof. Šećerov provided the lectures “Novi Beograd (New Belgrade) – From Grey Dormitories to the Modern City”, and “Public Interest and City Planning in Serbia – Development of Belgrade on the River Banks”, on the turbulent history of the development of the city of Belgrade in the 20th century, particularly interesting and visible on the left banks of its rivers (Danube and Sava), and a reflection on the accelerated urban development and transformation of Belgrades physical structures due to the pressure of new construction. The discussants of the seminar were Prof. Francesca Bragaglia, Prof. Benedetta Giudice, Prof. Michela Benente and Prof. Irene Ruiz Bazan.
Prof. Marija Jeftić was involved in the module “Economic feasibility of plans and projects” (resp. Prof. Isabella M. Lami), with bachelor students in Spatial, Urban and Landscape Planning. The course provides students with a knowledge of the methods of investigation relating to the needs of users and the limits imposed by economic factors for the development of sustainable and feasible architectural projects. At the end of the course the students will have developed the ability to identify the key elements of the real estate market in order to develop a quality architectural project able to respond to the challenges of today’s society. The lecture presented “Resilient Belgrade: Spatial Planning in the Light of Climate Change” provided students with the concept of resilience in spatial planning, in general and specifically for the City of Belgrade.
The visiting teaching exchange continued with a public seminar on “Functional Areas and Urban/regional development: what nexus”, that delved into the significance of functional areas in addressing the myriad challenges that territories have encountered over the past three decades. While not a new concept, functional areas is indeed increasingly gaining prominence as an approach to define new spatial configurations and territorial alliances based on functional factors, including economic, social, and institutional interrelations. The seminar was introduced by Prof. Erblin Berisha, with a presentation on “Functional Areas: what do they stand for?”. Then, Prof. Marija Jeftić provided a lecture on “Functional urban areas (FUA) as the instrument of polycentric spatial development of the Republic of Serbia” on the importance of FUA in the interregional and intraregional integration of Serbia and its environment. Also, Prof. Zora Živanović presented a contribution entitled “Urban System in Serbia. The Factor in the Planning of Balanced Regional Development”, about basic characteristics of Serbia’s urban system after World War II, and the results of the Rank-Size Rule and the Law of the Primate City analysis on the case study.The discussants of the seminar were Prof. Giancarlo Cotella and Prof. Loris Servillo.
Finally, an institutional twinning meeting for sharing of research experiences and interests was organized, in which representatives from the Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST) and UB-GEF met at the OGR under the coordination of R3C. The meeting discussed the structure of each institution, shared details about their main research projects, and explored potential areas of research interest and cooperation initiatives in relation to internationalisation and EU projects.
