Four-Monthly Monitoring Report: Natural and Urban Degradation 19 pages, pdf  Download Back

Four - Monthly Monitoring Report 
Natural and urban degradation

Publisher: Emancipimi Civil Ma Ndryshe (EC MA Ndryshe), Kosovo

Date: 2013

Volume: 19 pages, pdf


Description

This paper titled “Natural and Urban Degradation” summarizes four-monthly work on monitoring local executive’s activities (December 2012, and January, February and March 2013) within “Online Transparency of Prizren Municipality” project. Although it includes developments in different departments of Prizren’s municipal government, a particular focus in this analysis was given to the current state of urban affairs in Prevallë/Prevala, providing a retrospective overview of uncontrolled constructions in the city and within the Historic Centre. As the the connoisseurs of the field would voice, urbanism is described as a distinctive manner of interaction between the residents of the cities or small towns with the built environment whereby infrastructure and buildings are put in service for the improvement of living environment and public services. Regrettably, such concept has not been accommodated in public policies of municipal government related to urban and spatial planning, both in the city and in special natural zones. Postwar and overall transition period have brought to uncontrolled developments in Prizren as well, marked with urban collapse, unbalanced spatial planning, loss of agricultural land and deep to the degradation of natural heritage in rural areas. Lack of transparency in decision-making and seizure of power by certain groups of interest, whether from business or politics, to the detriment of living environment of the citizens had the city and protected natural areas being gobbled up by a devastating urban chaos, consequences of which are deemed long-lasting.