About anthropogeographic researches of settlements in South Eastern Serbia

Abstract

Settlements in South Eastern Serbia (1439 in total) were anthropogeographically researched in past, mostly several decades ago. Some newer studies of settlements and origins of population, since the beginning of the 1990s until present, have mostly been treating the issues of particular settlements. Cvijic's anthropogeographic conception, established in the early phase of development of scientific geography in Serbia at the end of 19th century, has been prevailing in the research of villages. In the research of urban settlements, modem complex geographical approach has been prevailing, neglecting the anthropogeographical attributes. The necessity of scientifically founded anthropogeographic knowledge on settlements, in this as well as in other areas of Serbia, is evident, both in science and in different fields of social practice. This knowledge would be based on traditional achievements of Serbian anthropogeographic school, as well as on contemporary achievements in the area of investigations of settlements.

Naselja jugoistočne Srbije, kojih sada ima ukupno 1.439, su antropogeografski proučena znatnim delom u prošlosti, pre više decenija. Novija izučavanja naselja i porekla stanovništva, od početka 90-ih godina XX veka do danas uglavnom tretiraju probleme pojedinih naselja, s tim što je kod seoskih naselja preovlađujuća Cvijićeva antropogeografska koncepcija izučavanja koja je utemeljena još u početnoj fazi razvoja naučne geografije u Srbiji krajem XIX veka, a kod gradskih savremeni kompleksni geografski pristup koji u velikoj meri zanemaruje antropogeografska svojstva. Izvesna je potreba, kako u nauci tako i u različitim područjima društvene prakse (politika, državna statistika, prostorno planiranje itd), za naučno fundiranim antropogeografskim znanjima o naseljima ovog dela Srbije, ali i drugih delova, koja bi bila utemeljena na tradicionalnim dostignućima srpske antropogeografske škole, kao i savremenim dostignućima u oblasti istraživanja naselja.