Niš Residents Launch Petition Against High-Rise Construction in Donja Vrežina

Residents of the Donja Vrežina neighborhood in Niš are protesting the construction of multi-story buildings, with over 500 individuals signing a petition to halt such developments. The petition calls for adherence to the original Urbanistic Plan, which envisioned buildings with only a ground floor, first floor, and attic. Residents are also demanding that city-owned land be repurposed for parks and green spaces, rather than further residential construction.

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The infrastructure of Donja Vrežina was not designed for this degree of development. Citizens are already feeling the consequences of unplanned construction, and the continuation of such urbanization could lead to serious communal and security problems.

The petition, submitted to the President of the Niš City Assembly, Darko Nikolić, highlights the negative impact of "investor urbanism" on the quality of life. Residents argue that the local infrastructure was not designed to support the current density of construction. They warn that continuing this pattern of urbanization could lead to significant communal and safety issues, including problems with utilities and potential landslides.

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Experts who created the Urbanistic Plan clearly determined that the Donja Vrežina area is geologically unstable, with the presence of underground water and an increased risk of landslides, which we are facing today.

Citizens are urging authorities to urgently review the current urban policy and reinstate the core principles of the Urbanistic Plan. They emphasize that the plan was based on expert geological and hydrological analyses, which identified the Donja Vrežina area as geologically unstable with a high risk of landslides due to underground water presence. The current plan's prescribed construction coefficient of 1.2 was intended to protect residents, buildings, and infrastructure.

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We are witnessing uncontrolled and excessive construction which, without adequate research and for the sake of short-term investor benefit, leads to serious problems, to landslides and cracking of buildings and sewage overflows because new construction seriously burdens the already outdated sewage and water network.

Despite the plan, residents observe uncontrolled and excessive construction driven by short-term investor interests. This, they claim, is causing landslides, structural damage to buildings, and sewage overflows due to the strain on outdated water and sewage systems. They argue that this development is permanently damaging the neighborhood's identity and diminishing the quality of life for long-term residents. The petition also requests the creation of parks, green areas, transparent urban planning, and publicly accessible data on new construction projects.

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Donja Vrežina does not lack multi-story buildings but parks, green areas, planned public spaces for children and families, protection of existing trees, and adequate transport and communal infrastructure.