Through the implementation of 12 projects selected through the EU PRO Plus public call, the local self-governments will receive technical support in developing strategies, as well as training that will help them learn and apply key aspects of integrated territorial development and establish mechanisms to support strategy implementation. The local self-governments will also have the opportunity to exchange experiences and learn about best practice examples through networking and study visits to the EU member states.
The cities of Bor, Kruševac, Leskovac, Loznica, Novi Pazar, Smederevo and Šabac will be involved in developing strategies for sustainable urban development (SUD), which will be the starting point for using the potential of these urban areas, including economic and tourist potential, as well as preserving cultural heritage. The strategies should also envisage solving problems in these cities, such as pollution, insufficiently used and neglected locations, endangered urban structures and public spaces, issues of informal settlements, etc.
In addition, the cities of Kragujevac, Niš, Pirot, Užice, and Zaječar will work in partnership with 19 other local self-governments and regional development agencies to develop integrated territorial investment (ITI) strategies that will cover certain geographical areas in order to define common solutions to the issues that go beyond the administrative borders of individual self-governments, such as key infrastructure corridors, brownfield sites and industrial zones, solving social or environmental problems, tourism development or the protection and promotion of the cultural heritage of the area.
The list of approved projects is available here on the EU PRO Plus website.