Urban Shrinkage in Serbia: The Domination of Economic over Environmental Causes

Abstract

Although present in Serbia, the phenomenon of urban shrinkage has not been identified as a problem by local decision-makers. The purpose of this study is to present this phenomenon and to show the causes and consequences of urban shrinkage in Serbia. The analysis covers a recent period, 2002-2011, when this process was the most intensive. This study employs the method of grouping towns affected by the shrinkage process. The multi-criteria evaluation method was used to determine the types of towns according to the cause of shrinking, the intensity of the shrinkage factors and the character of the process. In the study of urban shrinkage in the territory of Serbia, environmental factors were considered as one of the causes. Environmental problems are an important factor of urban shrinkage in the developed world. Nevertheless, in Serbia, the economic causes are so dominant that they overpower major environmental issues as potential factors of the shrinking process. Apart from the key factors in this process in most East European and South-East European countries, urban shrinkage in Serbia has its roots in other factors – namely, the political instability caused by inter-ethnic conflicts in the Western Balkans during the 1990s.