Megaprojects as an instrument of urban planning and development: example of Belgrade Waterfront

The research analyzed the theoretical and methodological background of urban megaprojects (UMPs) as instrument of urban planning and development, with specific reference to the Belgrade Waterfront Project (BWP). In analysis we combined a contextually appropriate ap-proach, some elements of the phronetic planning approach and the benchmarking analysis of megaproject planning and development. BWP induced a change of the institutional framework (introduction of specific legal and policy instruments), as a key source of future changes in the metropolitan tissue. Preliminary impact assessment of the BWP indicates: slow development & economic effects, low transparency, social inequalities, marginal social mobilization and weak networks between the key actors, public funds overuse, impact on law-making, displacement impacts, high public financial risk, deep urban transformations, environmental impacts, medium-technological modernization, etc. This research highlights the differences in the political, institutional, social and economic environment that shape the BWP. It provides recommendations for future research and application, improvement of planning approach and continuing in-depth analysis for managing the undesirable consequences of the UMPs, including the determination of the interplay between different pools of power.Slična verzija rada bila je prezentovana na konferenciji UNESCO (2016) pod istim naslovom Megaprojects as an Instrument of Urban Planning and Development: Example of Belgrade Waterfront Project, in UNESCO Chair in Technologies for Development: From Innovation to Social Impact, UNESCO Chair Conference on Technologies for Development: From Innovation to Social Impact, 2-4 May 2016, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne - EPFL, Cooperation & Development Center - CODEV, Lausanne, Switzerland, pp.104, http://cooperation.epfl.ch/files/content/sites/cooperation/files/Tech4Dev%202016/Tech4Dev2016_Brochure_14Apr_WebVersion.pdfEditors: Silvia Hostettler, Samira Najih Besson, Jean-Claude Bola