Historical Enquiry as a Critical Method in Urban Riverscape Revisions: The Case of Belgrade’s Confluence

Marija Milinković, Dragana Ćorović and Zlata Vuksanović-Macura
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Marija Milinković: University of Belgrade—Faculty of Architecture, Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 73/II, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Dragana Ćorović: University of Belgrade—Faculty of Forestry, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia
Zlata Vuksanović-Macura: Geographical Institute “Jovan Cvijić” SASA, Djure Jakšića 9, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: This article aims to underline the necessity of including historical enquiry in reaching the complex goals of sustainable development of urban riverscapes. Its proposed method is a survey conducted through selection, interpretation and systematization of the relevant historical data that consider the Belgrade cityscape, and specifically, the New Belgrade public spaces at the river confluence. The theoretical framework, which relies on the concepts of ‘landscape urbanism’ and ‘critical practice of landscape architecture’, has affected the selection and interpretation of dense historical layers of modernization, formed in diverse socio-economic and political conditions. We have distinguished five historical strata that contribute significantly to comprehension of the present state. By looking at the traces of the formative period of Belgrade urban landscape, the moments of New Belgrade’s inception , inerasable impacts of war , vigorous post WWII socialist transformation and, finally, the series of Danube riverscape revisions , we intend to depict the complexity of the modern city legacy and thus stress the interconnectedness of past and future endeavours. As a counterpoint to globalizing tendencies in re-designing city riverfronts, this work is conceived as a lateral contribution to a broader investigation that informs, supports and constitutes more ecologically viable practices.

Keywords: New Belgrade riverscape; Danube; urban landscape; urban open spaces; historical enquiry; landscape urbanism; critical practice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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