Belgrade MAPPING

By Andrea Boschetti, Federico Parolotto - 27 September 2018

The CityPlan returns to Eastern Europe, looking for the first time at a city of the former Yugoslavia: Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. One of Europe's most ancient cities, its name - given to it by Pope John VIII - derives from the Cyrillic Beo Grad, meaning “White City” on account of the white walls of the Kelemegdan Fortress before the invasion of the Slavic tribes. The Balkan peninsula has always been characterized by low population densities, especially when compared to the Italian peninsula a short distance away across the Adriatic. The capital of Serbia, however, is one of the region's most populous areas, with approximately 1,200,000 inhabitants. As usual, we will look at six maps: population density, worker distribution, geographical features, public services, public transport and business density and the presence of natural vegetation in the city. The population and worker density maps show the city center still to be the main hub, evoking the history of Belgrade and the importance of its location at the confluence of the rivers Danube and Sava. The population map also shows how the city has grown eastward on higher, more protected ground, but also to the west across the River Sava. Expansion north of the Danube appears less intense, probably on account of the danger of flooding. The worker density map shows that Belgrade’s old town center is not the only tertiary activities hub. Workers are fairly evenly distributed throughout the city, with areas of concentration in business parks and other spots on the map signaling the presence of large petrochemical plants. However, the old town center and area contained within the old walls show the highest concentration of services and amenities. The map indicating public transport accessibility evidences an “octopus-shaped” network with a suburban train network mainly serving the south of the city. The head of the octopus is represented by the old center. There is also a...