SR 
At the beginning of May, together with partners from Placemaking Western BalkansEkonaut sent an open, public invitation to associations and informal groups of citizens active in the areas of protection and development of green areas in the local community from Belgrade and Novi Sad to apply for the competition "Let's plan green areas together".
The idea behind the launch of this contest by our associations is to empower local groups of citizens who gathered to improve their immediate environment in residential blocks, and it was especially intended for associations that were active in order to preserve green areas in their neighborhood. Seven local groups of citizens applied for the competition, and after reviewing the applications and interviews at the beginning of June, we selected one group from each city based on their current needs in the local community. In Novi Sad, together with tenants from MZ (the local community) Ivo Andrić, we will jointly create a conceptual solution for the green area in Narodnog fronta street, while in Belgrade we will cooperate with the residents of Block 19a in New Belgrade who want to save the area in their block from investor urbanism and potential construction.
The first workshop with tenants from MZ "Ivo Andrić was held on June 19 in the premises of the local community. Those present, with the help of Milena Ivković and a team of final-year landscape architecture students, were guided through the elements that were chosen in a survey that preceded the workshop, in which about 140 people declared that they would like to have a "Livada" (eng: Meadow) area, which is bordered by the streets of Narodni Front and Banović Strahinje, get as much greenery as possible in the form of a mini urban forest, as well as an area for children to play that is not a standard children's playground. They also stated that they need a space for the dogs to run, as well as areas for sitting and socializing. Based on the results of the survey and the workshop, the Ekonaut and Placemaking Western Balkans team will develop conceptual solutions that will be further used to advocate the development of this green area into a space attractive to all generations and users from the local community. According to urban plans, the area is intended for the construction of a public purpose building, but it has been used as a green area for decades.
At the end of August, in cooperation with citizens, the next participatory workshop will be held in Block 19a, which will also be preceded by a survey of citizens about their needs in the public space that they want to arrange and save from the construction of a parking lot.
We hope that the conceptual solutions that will be the final product of these workshops, as well as the whole process of participatory design, will contribute to making these associations and informal groups more visible both in the local community and among decision makers. "Placemaking" is a method that, through various types of activities, contributes to a deeper reflection on how devastated and insufficiently maintained public spaces in our cities can be revitalized with the creative participation of citizens.
Konkurs je deo projekta „Inicijativa za gradske baštenske zajednice“ u okviru koga radimo sa građanima i donosiocima odluka za poboljšanju lokalne zelene infrastrukture kroz formiranje zelenih površina sa različitim sadržajima.
The project "Initiative for urban garden communities" is implemented as part of the "Green Incubator" project of the Belgrade Open School, with the financial support of the European Union and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The activities of the "Initiative for urban garden communities" are also supported by the Open Society Foundation and the creative hub Nova Iskra.
