The Mornings after…Serbian Spatial Planning Legislation in Context

This paper explores the changes in the Serbian spatial planning legislation and system as they relate to the political, socio-economic and institutional context and reflect societal dynamics and broad democratization processes. Drawing on the literature on societal and institutional embedding of planning, evolution of planning systems and the theory of transition, we present the case study of the changing societal context and planning legislation in the Republic of Serbia by comparing the contents, processes, and tools prescribed by the laws enacted in 1985—before the fall of communism—and in 1995 and 2003—in the post-communist era. We find that the societal context and the level of political centralization in particular, are strong determinants of spatial planning legislation and system in Serbia. Other factors, such as the economic system and circumstances, professional culture and institutional maturity also significantly influence planning laws and their implementation. Planning systems and laws, indeed, mimic the societal dynamics with tendencies in path-dependency and discontinuity as well as innovation and re-invention that evade easy qualifications. The case study exposes the complex nature and meaning of societal transition vis-à-vis evolutionary and transformational views of planning.