The project titled “Population dynamics under environmental challenges in Serbia” (acronym: POPENVIROS) is led by the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Geography, with the principal investigator being Associate Professor Natalija Mirić, PhD. A member of the project team from the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Organizational Sciences is Associate Professor Milica Maričić, PhD. This project represents the first research in Serbia attempting to explain how and through which mechanisms environmental challenges impact three components of population dynamics – natality, mortality, and migration. The goal is to create population projections that take into account the influence of ecological changes based on these findings. The innovative methodology involves the use and combination of demographic, socio-economic, and ecological data from various sources at the individual, regional, and national levels. To explore causal relationships between population dynamics and environmental indicators, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) will be employed. The application of this method will also enable the examination of the direct and indirect effects of environmental challenges on population dynamics. The results will help identify sensitive areas and demographic groups and, in the long term, formulate specific public policies that consider the impact of ecological factors.

The project implementation period is from 2023 to 2025.

The lead scientific research organization (SRO) of the project titled “Future Heritage of Spa Settlements: Digital Platform for Advancing Knowledge and Innovation in Urban Morphology Approach for Environmentally-Sensitive Development in Serbia” (acronym: SPATTERN) is the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture, with the principal investigator being Prof. Vladan Đokić, PhD. The leader of the project team from the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Organizational Sciences is Prof. Dejan Simić, PhD. SPATTERN is an innovative and creative research that identifies environmentally sensitive urban patterns of spa settlements in Serbia. It promotes new and sustainable knowledge within a digitally developed research infrastructure by critically examining the challenges of sustainable land use. SPATTERN will provide a flexible methodological framework for identifying local patterns through digital tools that will be applicable on various scales and adaptable to different regional, national, and local contexts. SPATTERN brings together researchers from four scientific fields – urban planning and development, sociology, architecture, and information technologies – fostering a multidisciplinary research culture. The expected contribution of the SPATTERN project lies in the development of a digital platform and the Atlas of environmentally sensitive urban patterns based on 12 development models of spa settlements in Serbia and 26 replicators. Overall, SPATTERN will contribute with systematically and operationally organized research data that will provide insights into the morphogenesis of spa settlements in Serbia, encouraging new research and practical application of environmentally sensitive urban development from the perspective of urban morphology within the European research space.

The project implementation period is from 2023 to 2025.