Reimaging Belgrade: The Case of Savamala District

Abstract

Belgrade is now becoming one of the most vibrant Southeast European urban centers, and it is attracting many tourists, mostly among the younger population, due to its hedonistic alternative culture and club scene reputation. Belgrade’s Savamala district has transformed over the last few years into an energetic creative urban district where the old buildings in this historical neighborhood are gaining a new role of reimaging Belgrade. The cultural renaissance of Savamala began in 2007 and transformed it into a creative district through various informal research activities, small-scale cultural projects, and creative clusters. The very first activity of this kind was Magacin cultural space in Kraljevića Marka Street, which opened in 2007. This continued with CK Grad in 2009 and with the founding of Mixer House in 2012. Another important project that has influenced the development of Savamala as a creative district is the Urban Incubator Belgrade project, initiated in 2012 by the Goethe-Institute Belgrade. After the Belgrade Waterfront project was announced in 2014, changes in Savamala have intensified. Savamala is in the process of deep change: On one hand, it has the building site of Belgrade Waterfront, and on the other hand, culture venues which are the result of a long process of creative and culture-led urban development. This chapter discusses the role of Savamala in reimaging Belgrade, while positioning the district as the center of Belgrade’s new urban renaissance.