When it comes to designing public spaces and imagining how to improve the environments we live in, it is especially important to consider the views of young people and youth organisations.
Citizens often come together to clean their streets or playgrounds, but this is not always easy. The key question is: what can young people do in the areas between city and countryside? Whether it’s setting up improvised outdoor cinemas or mowing grass, young people, their parents, and educators from suburban areas around Belgrade are redefining what public space means.
One project that addresses these questions is SPACE. It is being implemented in Western Balkan countries with the help of Placemaking Western Balkans, and the first activities were held in Padinska Skela and Kačarevo.
Additional events will be organised in Kosovo*, Montenegro, Austria, and the Netherlands.
We spoke to Sara Nikolić, anthropologist and research associate at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory of the University of Belgrade, about how citizens self-organise in local communities, what challenges they face, and what solutions are possible. From February to April this year, she conducted research in Kačarevo and Padinska Skela, which included field visits, a youth survey, focus groups with local residents, and analysis of existing documentation.
They spoke with local initiatives, informal groups, and individuals already working on the ground to improve their living environment.
As Nikolić explained for EUpravo Zato, it was precisely this direct contact that was crucial for understanding the everyday obstacles and potential for participatory change in these communities.
“We are aware that projects come and go, but self-organised communities remain. That’s why our goal isn’t to ‘activate’ local communities but to work alongside them, respecting their years of engagement, learning from them, and creating together—not only youth-friendly public spaces, but long-term networks of solidarity and autonomy. In this sense, future stages of the project will include training for local organisers and youth workers, and co-creating knowledge, tools, and spaces that will stay with the communities even after the SPACE project ends,” she said.
She further explained that Padinska Skela and Kačarevo were chosen because they reflect the spatial and social marginalisation affecting local communities outside central urban areas.
In Kačarevo, for example, there are long-standing issues of air and water pollution, especially due to industrial livestock farming and insufficient regulation of polluters, directly affecting quality of life and the use of public spaces.
In Padinska Skela, on the other hand, the privatisation of PKB land has led to legal and administrative confusion, according to Nikolić.
“There is no clear understanding of what falls under the jurisdiction of the municipality, the city, public enterprises, private companies, or the residents themselves, which blocks any systemic intervention in managing public spaces,” she added.
As she observed firsthand, Padinska Skela and Kačarevo share a number of common problems regarding public spaces and local self-organisation.
“The key common thread is a sense of abandonment and institutional absence. In both places, residents are used to initiatives coming ‘from below’, while formal structures either don’t respond or engage selectively and with political conditions. This feeling is strongly shared among young people. Survey results show that 48.6 percent of young people in Padinska Skela and 46 percent in Kačarevo want to get involved in change, but don’t know how; an additional 27–31 percent say they have no clear idea of the available opportunities for participation,” said Sara Nikolić, sharing the findings with us.
In Padinska Skela, young people are particularly concerned about the lack of facilities for teenagers and younger residents. While there is cooperation with schools, these are isolated events such as races or film screenings followed by discussions.
One secondary school student managed to rally peers to clean a canal through a group chat – a rare but encouraging example of activism.
“There are no cafés, no youth centre, not even a proper sports club. Kids are either glued to their phones or aimlessly wandering,” said one respondent.
There are, however, important differences. Kačarevo has a distinct natural resource – a lake and surrounding park – with the potential to become a central public space for the community. However, it often remains underused due to air pollution from a nearby pig farm and a lack of organised programmes. In the survey, 63 percent of young people in Kačarevo reported regularly using public spaces, but cited unpleasant odours, lack of activities, and stray dogs as major obstacles.
Although Padinska Skela also has several micro-locations for gathering, residents lack the infrastructure needed to turn them into sustainable community hubs. The privatisation of land further complicates the management and maintenance of these areas. While 54.1 percent of young people say they regularly spend time outdoors, mostly walking or socialising with friends, these activities are ad hoc and entirely unsupported by institutions, Nikolić noted.
The research showed a common denominator in both places: a strong desire among young people to participate in the design of public spaces. As many as 67.6 percent of respondents in Padinska Skela and 61 percent in Kačarevo said they want to have a say in shaping public spaces.
“The differences lie in context and the level of informal organisation, but the underlying message is the same: young people want functional, safe, and accessible spaces where they can invest their enthusiasm, creativity, and energy,” the report states.
“What struck me most was the perseverance and dignity of people who, despite institutional silence or even open obstruction, continue to create spaces of togetherness and care. These are primarily women activists from the organisations ‘Volim Padinjak’ and ‘Zajedno Selo’, who – with no budget, no offices, no support from the system – gather, clean playgrounds, organise the community, and take on local authorities. They do all this with a deep belief that space must be returned to those who live in it.
In both places, it’s clear that the right to the city, village, and public space is not an abstract issue, but one of daily life, public health, dignity, and mutual support,” said Sara Nikolić.
What did the research process look like?
Two focus groups were held – one in Padinska Skela (in person) and one in Kačarevo (online) – with a total of 14 participants.
“Although the number of participants may seem modest, it’s important to highlight that this is an in-depth qualitative study aimed at understanding the experiences, feelings, and needs of residents, not achieving statistical representativeness. Through guided conversations, we gained complex insights into how young people and other community members perceive public spaces, institutional barriers, and the potential for local action.
Participants included young people, parents, local activists, and organisers who possess embodied knowledge of the everyday problems in their neighbourhoods. In that sense, the focus groups served as an open space for gathering experiences that are often invisible in broader public discourse. It is also important to note that the SPACE project is conceived as a process, not a one-off intervention. These focus groups are the starting point for building trust and dialogue, which will continue through long-term engagement with the communities in the next phases of the project. Therefore, the number of participants is not the most important factor – what truly matters is creating space for continuous participation and joint planning of changes in public spaces,” our interviewee explained.
What do local residents think about the SPACE project activities?
According to Sara Nikolić, the research clearly shows that local communities are not waiting for a "project" to get started – their initiatives have been present for years.
“Young people, parents, and activists in Padinska Skela and Kačarevo see SPACE as a potential ally, not as a driver of change, but as support for existing, authentic forms of local self-organisation. Whether it's informal initiatives like 'Volim Padinjak', which have been organising canal clean-ups and film nights for years, or groups like 'Zajedno Selo' in Kačarevo that mobilise the community around environmental issues, SPACE is seen as an opportunity to make their work more sustainable, more visible, and less dependent on current political will.
In that regard, parts of the project that offer infrastructural support for small actions, advisory and legal assistance, as well as empowerment through informal education, have been particularly well received. From this perspective, the SPACE project offers a platform that helps local synergies gain continuity, support, and room to act. This is especially important in communities that have been pushed to the margins for decades, where every bench, flower bed, streetlamp or bus stop is the result of collective action,” Nikolić concluded for EUpravo Zato.
(EUpravo zato)
