Dorćol
Dorćol is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, located in the municipality of Stari Grad, with a population of around 22,000.
Dorćol begins already some 700 meters north of Terazije, the central square of Belgrade. It can roughly be divided in two sections: Gornji (or upper) Dorćol (formerly known as Zerek), which covers the area from Academy Park to the Cara Dušana street, and Donji (or lower) Dorćol, formerly called Jalija, which occupies the area between the Cara Dušana and Bulevar despota Stefana streets and the right bank of the Danube. It borders (and largely overlaps) the neighborhoods of Stari Grad and Jevremovac (east and south) and the fortress of Kalemegdan (west), which is sometimes considered as part of Dorćol as well.
The name of the neighborhood comes from Turkish words dört (four) and yol (road), literally meaning ‘four roads’ or colloquially "intersection (of four roads)", "crossroads".
Western and northern sections of Dorćol are mainly residential, but eastern and riverside regions are heavily industrialized, with depots and warehouses of Belgrade’s transportation company, the waterworks and sewage company and numerous power plants. The area along the promenade on the Danube bank, called Obala majora Gavrilović,a is well developed with a long bicycle path for recreation and night clubs on water.
Traffic facilities include the railway which circles around the fortress of Kalemegdan, from the main railway station of Belgrade, through Dorćol, and over the Pančevo Bridge further into Vojvodina. The small marina is, in the future, projected to be one of the most modern and expensive parts of the neighborhood.
Be part of CLEVER Cities in Belgrade
CLEVER Cities plans
The vision for CLEVER Cities in Dorćol is to transform the area around a historic railway track into a high line park. This park ‘Dorćol’ will be more than just a park: it will be a hybrid public space where families and other groups can view art, walk through gardens, experience performances, explore local history and horticulture, enjoy delicious food or just connect with friends and neighbours - while enjoying a unique perspective of the city. pecial tour options will be available for schools and summer camp programmes. Ultimately the vision is of a place where locals can retreat from city life and connect to nature - and themselves. The aim with this project is to reduce crime and improve public health in the Dorćol area.
Latest news from Belgrade
Belgrade’s Urban Greening Plan Makes History
13 September 2022
Urban Greening Plans (UGP) are taking Europe by storm as a tangible and actionable strategy for both mitigating and adapting to environmental challenges by improving air quality, storing carbon, supporting biodiversity, and reducing temperatures. UGPs are an opportunity to mainstream nature-based solutions (NBS) by explicitly and intentionally integrating biodiversity-enhancing practices and structures into legally binding urban plans and policies.
Early Pioneers: CLEVER Fellow Cities blaze possible trails towards the EU Urban Greening Plans
27 August 2021
To help reverse biodiversity loss within and around urban areas, the EU has called on European cities of more than 20,000 inhabitants to develop ambitious Urban Greening Plans in support of its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
Through their involvement in CLEVER Cities, the project’s Fellow Cities Belgrade (Serbia), Larissa (Greece), Madrid (Spain), Malmö (Sweden) and Sfântu Gheorghe (Romania) are conducting pioneer work that is already making significant contributions to the EU Urban Greening Plans initiative. So is Quito (Ecuador), the only non-European Fellow in CLEVER Cities.
New study on nature-based solutions in Belgrade suggests ‘CLEVER Cities Linear Park’ as a model planning project
15 July 2021
CLEVER Fellow City Belgrade has been featured in a recent study analysing the challenges that arise when trying to implement cohesive, inclusive and effective nature-based solutions (NBS).
The article “Multi-Level Perspective on Sustainability Transition towards Nature-Based Solutions and Co-Creation in Urban Planning of Belgrade, Serbia" was published in Sustainability’s special issue on “Greening Cities Shaping Cities: Pinpointing Nature-Based Solutions in Cities between Shared Governance and Citizen Participation.”
New linear park to bring nature back to the heart of Belgrade
24 February 2020
Over a hundred Belgrade citizens took part in the first public event to exchange ideas and proposals for the co-creation of the city's new Linear Park: a green, hybrid space that will bring nature, art and science to the heart of the Serbian capital.
Organized by the city administration and the Center for Experiments in Urban Studies (CEUS), the event took place on 12 February in the Dorćol district on the occasion of a 3-day multi-stakeholder meeting of the CLEVER Cities Steering Group in Belgrade.
Belgrade sets plans in motion for co-creating nature-based solutions
18 December 2019
On 19 November 2019 Belgrade’s city administration hosted almost 60 representatives from over 35 local and national institutions from civil society, academia, and the public and private sectors, to launch its CLEVER Cities Urban Innovation Partnership. This partnership is a city-wide informal alliance, which has come together to guide and plan the process towards co-creating nature-based solutions in Belgrade.
This event included an information session, an open discussion and initial interactive workshop on mapping needs, wishes and first proposals of nature-based solutions for the area of Dorćol.
Malmö welcomes fellow cities to kick-off in Lindängen
31 May 2019
“Green rush to Lindängen”: this is the vision that the CLEVER Cities team in Malmö (Sweden) has set for its CLEVER Action Lab. The Malmö team - hosts of the Kick-off Workshop for fellow cities, which took place on 16-17 May 2019 - presented their vision of a peaceful, healthy, biodiverse and proud neighbourhood, with future headlines covering the green rush to visit Lindängen’s buzzing bee hotels and trails of plants from North to South.
Participants from Belgrade (Serbia), Larissa (Greece), Sfântu Gheorghe (Romania) and Quito (Ecuador) also presented the visions for their CLEVER Action labs.
