Paper Title
The Lack of Public Participation in the Revitalization Processes in City of Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Revitalization is one of the most often used terms when it comes to urban planning practices of the 21st century. It is supposed to be interdisciplinary process of making the urban areas better functioning and more pleasant to live in. Revitalization as a process has appeared in the Western Europe already in the 1960. However, due to socio-economic changes, post-socialist countries are just currently going through the process of revitalization. Revitalization practices which were applied in the western Europe countries are often not applicable, as the historical and socio-economic circumstances in post-socialist countries are highly different, but some lessons and faults observed during the process can be observed and avoided. Urban planning processes cannot be divided from the political and economical processes, therefore public participation as a method in revitalization processes was proven to be effective and necessary. This article observes process of revitalization currently happening, through the example of the street, neighborhood improvement and revitalization of architectural heritage, in the city centre of Zagreb, capital of Republic of Croatia. The lack of public participation and dialogue between professionals results in various problems and devastation of urban space, architectural heritage and city identity.
Keywords - Revitalization, Urban Planning, Architectural Heritage, Urban Regeneration.