- Civic Networks : Yugoslav cities   45 kb by    Danijela, Milovanovic & null, null & null, null | danijela@arh.arh.bg.ac.yu    Short Outline · What is your contribution /case study about? This research is dealing with identifying the development stages of civic networks (CN) in the cities of Yugoslavia for better determination of the development potentials for better and more efficient future planning. · What makes it interesting for participants? In the context of resuming the process of exchange between Yugoslavia and European and World associations, Yugoslavia is becoming a potential partner in a lot of issues of regional development. That is why we believe, that this presentation of current situation and trends in Yugoslavia in the field of application of informational and communicational technologies in city management, could be of some interest to participants as an incentive for cooperation and initiation of the projects aiming at knowledge and technology exchange in the field of civic network development. · Could you please sketch in what way and how you would like to present the content of your contribution? ''The only way to achieve a sustainable future is to envolve the public in the design and decision-making process''. Contemporary advanced informational and communicational technologies provide efficient processing and picturesque presentation of information, a direct contact with the public, i.e. perception of a new pattern of life quality management. Local administrations are faced with considerable pressure, increasing requirements of citizens for better services, lower prices, better transparency and clearness of decision-making process and administrative procedures. Contemporary informational and communicational technologies and telematic applications can be a very efficient instrument in the strategy which local authorities follow in trying to accomplish mentioned expectations and requirements. One of standard civic services developed as a response to these growing needs is the civic network (CN). ''A civic network is a system organized to ensure distribution and collection of local information and provide exchange and interactive communication to the users. CN is intended for a very specific physical space, namely a city. Basic objectives of CN existance are to provide access to information, democratic participation of citizens and community development.'' CNs increase the efficacy of public administration, ensuring a closer relationship with citizens and their involvement in decision-making process, i.e their assistance in creating a more uniform distribution of responsibility. At this moment, in ex-Yugoslav countries there are certain indications of civic networks. The state institutions of Yugoslavia still do not recognize the importance of CNs for community development, i.e. the issue of CNs has not been institutionalized yet. This is confirmed by a fact that there are still no state conducted initiatives in starting web sites, regulations to control it, and therefore no financial support as well. The standard relative to the structure and content of a city site has not been set and as a consequence civic networks differ considerably from city to city. This paper will present the results of an analysis of civic networks according to the content and types of information, city management affairs in which they are used, types of communication they provide, structure and method of presentation, development strategies, target groups they are intended for, way and sources of financing. Different types and different levels of city network development have been recognized. Their difference tells us about the differences among the areas they cover, as well as of different approaches to their position and role in the development. Way and structure of the work: 1. Recording the number of cities with CN; 2. Recording their acceptance by citizens; 3. Defining of criteria for distinguishing different forms of occurrence, i.e. indicators for measuring the levels of CN development and quality; 4. Distinguishing different forms of occurrence; 5. Presenting characteristic proto-types. This research is based on interviews with those involved in formulation and implementation of CN policies and technologies, as well as on observations and analyses of contents of available sites. Although the cities vary in size and level of development, we believe that the selection represents the potential for further development and usage of telematic applications. On the basis of this and similar analyses it would be possible to establish a necessary informational basis intended for defining development strategies of civic networks in Yugoslavia. · How are you involved into it personally? This research represents a part of work done on the master's thesis with the objective to shape a structure of civic informational network content in terms of its usage in city planning domain. · Which one of the 4 sessions would you propose for it? We propose the session No. 3. Abstract At this moment, in Yugoslavia there are certain indications of Civic Networks (CN). This research is dealing with identifying the development stages of CN in the cities of Yugoslavia. This paper will present the results of an analysis of CN according to the content and types of information, city management affairs in which they are used, types of communication they provide, structure and method of presentation, development strategies, target groups they are intended for, way and sources of financing. Keywords -Civic Networkc, Yugoslav cities, Urban telematic Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2001: Honey, I Shrunk the Space   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper