Successful cooperation with local authorities in the preparation of urban and technical documentation for substandard Roma settlements

In addition to urban and technical documentation, local self-governments will also receive support in establishing a system for selecting and relocating Roma families from the settlements they currently live in and preparing them for changing housing patterns

Although the preparation of technical documentation requires a lengthy process, the project team continues to cooperate successfully with the selected 14 local self-governments, with the aim of improving the living conditions of Roma in these areas. The project is currently supporting Novi Sad, Vrsac, Sombor, Subotica, Smederevska Palanka, Smederevo, Lebane, Odzaci, Kostolac, Loznica, Trstenik, Beocin, Novi Pazar and Boljevac.

During visits to local self-governments in the previous period, recognizing the extent of support provided by the project, the cities and municipalities have shown a full willingness to cooperate with the project team, which, among other things, is reflected in the submission and provision of geological and planning documentation and cadastre-topographic plan and geo-technical elaborates .

Preparation of urban and technical documentation is a precondition for the development of housing and infrastructure projects in substandard Roma settlements. The technical documentation that will result from the project activities is the basis for the construction of apartments in single and multi-family housing facilities, construction of streets, water supply, sewage system, rain drainage system and installation of public lighting. For example, in Odzaci, the possibility of constructing a new facility in Lalić, at the site of the pre-war facility, was considered. A social center is planned on the ground floor of the new apartment building. This approach of solving Roma housing issues, in addition to providing basic living conditions, contributes to the integration of Roma in the local community and facilitates access to public services, especially in the field of education. The stages of the project technical documentation that will be prepared within the project are conceptual designs, projects for obtaining a building permit and main designs.

In addition to the preparation of project technical documentation, within the project, towns and municipalities will be supported in establishing a system for selecting and relocating Roma families from the settlements in which they currently live, preparing them for changing housing habits and supporting inclusion in the new location, through training, mentoring support and exchange of experience with other cities and municipalities.

Towns and municipalities have shown full readiness to submit data on all substandard Roma settlements for inclusion of this data in the national GIS database of substandard Roma settlements. This database is a necessary precondition for effective and efficient decision-making of investment-action decisions by the line ministry in order to improve the position of Roma community in the Republic of Serbia.