• Energy Research

In European documents, practice and policies of regional and spatial development, functional urban regions (FURs) are recognized as the regions with one or more urban settlements and their in (direct) impact zone(s). The historical connection of the city and its surroundings, as well as the contemporary trends in networking of cities and their hinterland, imply the issues of better modalities for the establishment of such FURs that would be economically more productive, socially inclusive and more environmentally sustainable. The concept of urban governance, along with supporting segments, is proposed as the model for future planning of resistant FURs. It was considered what cities and their functional areas should take in order to prospectively enable an establishing the sustainable spatial and regional development of the Republic of Serbia. The paper tries to answer how much are FURs adjustable, what is their “threshold” of vulnerability, to which they can face the side effects of climate change.

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.

Informal development is a specific form of urban sprawl and one of the main challenges for the sustainable development of major cities in Serbia. In this paper we examine this phenomenon with regard to the influence of spatial and urban vulnerabilities of the informal settlements on the housing and environmental deprivation, especially in the context of inhabitants? vulnerability to fuel poverty. The empirical research was carried out on the example of Belgrade?s suburban settlement Kaludjerica. The statistical analysis of the results has shown that the observed energy characteristics of housing have no relevant influence on households? financial burden of energy expenditure, but that they considerably influence households? perception on thermal comfort. The relation between a limited access to public services and the lack of amenities in the settlement and noted high household expenditure on transport has proved to be a particularly important indicator. Based on the perception on overall life commodities, a poor quality of the environment has been recognized as a key factor of deprivation related to housing.