With this project, the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute (RERI), together with the Institute for Urban Politics and A11 – Initiative for economic and social rights, aims to improve the legislative framework in the area of urban and spatial planning and construction towards more transparent, accountable and participative decision making processes. Together with project partners, RERI aims to reduce the space for corruption practices in the early stage of decision making processes (development of urban and spatial plans). In that sense the project will have a positive long-term impact on the effectiveness of public authorities (responsible for urban planning and construction) on central and local level. Besides legislative changes, the project strives to influence behavior of the public officials who will become more exposed to the public scrutiny, thus less exposed to the risks of corruption.
Having in mind the low level of participation in the current procedures and institutional framework for urban and spatial planning, a research will be conducted with the aim to contribute to the body of knowledge available to both academia, institutions and activists involved in planning related issues, thus assisting them in future policy analysis, policy creation and advocacy towards democratization of urban development.
Through capacity building activities the project aims to improve capacities of CSOs and, particularly, their legal standing and recognition of active legitimation. The initiative aims to initiate not only legal but social change by implementing human rights standards and values into the political and judiciary system of the Republic of Serbia. This social and legal change should influence the balance of power between state and non-state actors, since CSOs will be enabled to approach legal remedies once their rights are jeopardised.
Activities:
- Advocacy campaign on just and transparent development of spatial and urban planning documents;
- Research on significant cases of corruption in urban and spatial planning and breaching of human rights;
- Capacity building activities for the civil society.
Target groups:
Civil society organisations and grassroot movements, private investors, officials employed in local self-government units in environmental protection, urban planning, construction and inspection, associations and local initiatives for environmental protection, urbanism and spatial planning and protection of cultural heritage, legal experts, international organizations that are actively involved in environmental impact assessment and protection of cultural heritage.
The project is financed by the European Union through the programme ‘Rule of Law – Support to Civil Society capacities’ and is implemented from December 2020 until December 2022.