Within the project "Initiative for urban garden communities" on 8th December 2021, associations Ekonaut and CEUS, organized online conference Let's plan garden communities together, which considered opportunities to encourage urban agriculture and garden communities in Belgrade. Through the presentation of examples of good practice in the European and regional context (in the Netherlands, Sweden and Croatia), possible types and models of garden communities were considered, as well as the challenges they bring. During the event, the existing strategic documents that provide the basis for planning city garden communities were discussed with the representatives of the city administration, but also the necessary changes in the regulatory framework in order to implement this concept operationally. The discussion considered the potential formation of garden communities on some of the existing agricultural lands, but also the possibilities for the formation of such communities on public construction land for public purposes.
The conference was moderated by Ana Mitic Radulovic, who is on behalf of the professional association CEUS, which is included as one of the main partners and collaborators in the project. At the beginning of the conference, Mariana Radovanović addressed the service and greeted the attendees and expressed the readiness of the Chief Urban Planner to support Ekonaut and CEUS in further implementation of the project, as well as the need to implement the concept of garden communities in strategic and regulatory plans.

Cvijeta Biščević, a permaculture designer and participant in some of the first initiatives for urban gardening in this country, spoke about her experiences from Croatia. She shared her personal and professional experiences in advocating for urban and social gardens in Zagreb (within the initiative, and later the association Parkticipacija) and Rijeka (within the organization Zone 00)During her speech, she presented the planning and administrative practices of establishing and managing urban and social gardens. She also presented various models of organization in Varaždin, Pula and Križevci, as well as other cities in Croatia, which in some way enabled citizens to legally, even temporarily, use public space for growing food. It was shown which models have proved more successful after a decade of practice and in what way and how individual cities have implemented legal, planning and administrative changes to enable the use of public space for urban agriculture. The conference participant also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of practices in which urban structures autonomously regulate public space and content for citizens, as well as those in which the model of participatory planning and active participation of citizens and all subjects relevant and interested in the development of urban or social garden projects is represented.
Milena Ivković, a Dutch-Serbian architect from Blok 74 studio and the Placemaking Western Balkanspresented examples of good practice and models of organizing garden communities and associations in the Netherlands. It was shown how this country, which relies on industrial agriculture, at the same time nurtures the tradition of growing plants in small, cultivated areas in a highly urbanized area or on the outskirts of the city, and which are not intended. Milena Ivković presented illustrative and relevant examples of the use of schoolyards for garden communities, as well as the formation of such communities outside the school, but with the help of parents, children and teaching staff, which is used for teaching.
Slavica Čepić from the Faculty of Forestry in Belgrade shared academic research on the organization of local initiatives of garden communities on the example of Malmö in Sweden. Referring to the problems of accelerated construction in this city, she presented the existing models of shared urban gardens on publicly owned land in Malmö and pointed out the environmental and numerous other benefits of such communities, including social value and revitalization of neglected spaces. The research in Malmö led to the conclusion that the key factors for the success of garden communities are political will, financial support, intersectoral cooperation and communication between all actors. After that, Slavica Čepić presented the results of a survey conducted in 2018 in three Belgrade municipalities, when the residents of New Belgrade expressed great interest in shared gardens, and as many as 60% of respondents had experience in agriculture, which already indicated a positive attitude and the tendency of citizens towards this topic.

On behalf of the newly formed Secretariat for Agriculture, Alena Zlatanović Gopić addressed the possibilities of implementing garden communities through agricultural activities in the city of Belgrade. She clarified the legal framework concerning state agricultural and city construction land, concluding that schools and faculties already have the opportunity to access the use of state agricultural land, but that new planning acts would be needed for the city. She also presented possible improvements and innovations in the system of using agricultural land in the city for this purpose through cooperation with other city secretariats, especially the Secretariat for Environmental Protection.
Nenad Krcum spoke on behalf of the Directorate for Construction Land, explaining that the Directorate has not dealt with agriculture so far, but that if the plan defined zones owned by the city, with a clear indication of the purpose for garden communities, this Directorate could certainly issue of such land for lease. He also added that it would be necessary to conduct a study that would combine experiences and mark locations that could be used for these purposes.
On behalf of the Belgrade Urban Institute, Marija Lalošević and Sara Tilinger directed participants to the place of garden communities in existing urban plans and studies, revealing that the City of Belgrade recognizes the possibility of forming garden colonies on public areas, agricultural land and other green areas including undeveloped land and existing agricultural land. They also presented the existing plans of the Institute, including the development of the General Urban Plan 2041.
Sonja Mitrović from the Secretariat for Environmental Protection presented the strategic framework for encouraging urban garden communities within the regulations dealing with green infrastructure. As the City of Belgrade recognized climate change as a real threat, she presented the plans and programs of the Secretariat that were developed in response to this issue, as well as which actors are key to their implementation. She also announced how this city Secretariat plans to support the Initiative for Garden Communities in its efforts to define further legal property proposals for their implementation in city procedures and plans, including conducting a study with detailed analysis of land quality, microlocation characteristics and site selection.
Sabina Kerić, founder of the association and eco-social company Ekonaut, shared her experiences in forming two garden communities in Belgrade, and referred to examples of attempts to establish garden communities in Šabac and Novi Sad, which did not survive due to volunteering and vandalism. As a representative of the Initiative for Urban Garden Communities, she presented the next steps for further implementation of the idea of realization of the garden community system and the continuation of networking of actors towards that goal.
Ksenija Lalović, associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade, spoke about the research by the students of the master's program for integrated urbanism at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade, and about the possibilities of developing garden communities in the capital. Students' research on this topic was created in cooperation with Ratko Colic, assistant professor at this faculty, and with the support of the Ekonaut association. In the course "Integral Urbanism", this semester students began a case study "Integral projects to support the development of garden communities in Belgrade." They researched the existing examples of garden communities in the world and made an overview of urban development policies, i.e. an analysis of existing strategies and plans. One of the conclusions of their analysis is that Belgrade has a good regulatory and planning framework for starting garden communities, but that there is a lack of communication between key actors.

After the presentation of all participants, a discussion followed in which the participants touched on the numerous positive effects of staying in a garden. Participants stressed the importance of locating future garden communities close to where they live. They also referred to the existing, so-called wild, garden communities and the possibilities for their inclusion in future plans. In the end, Ana Mitić-Radulović presented the results of the research of the CEUS, organization, which indicated the great interest of citizens in urban agriculture and involvement in the arrangement of public green areas.
The conference Let's plan garden communities together was organized within the project "Initiatives for Urban Garden Communities" with the aim of designing adequate roles for actors from different sectors and creating a basis for specific legal acts that would enable the development of urban agriculture and thus contribute to the fight against climate change, environmental protection, development and strengthening of social structures in local communities.
The project "Initiative for Urban Garden Communities" is implemented within the project of the Belgrade Open School "Green Incubator", with the financial support from the European Union and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The content of this event does not necessarily reflect the views of donors or the Belgrade Open School, and "Ekonaut" is solely responsible for it. The project is supported by the Open Society Foundation.
