What makes a city truly livable? For Serbian cities, the answer increasingly lies in reimagining urban spaces to put people, nature, and climate resilience at the heart of development.

This question guided seventeen municipal leaders and urban planners from five Serbian cities during a four-day study visit to Vienna. The visit was organized by the World Bank Group in collaboration with superwien urbanism and the Vienna Development Knowledge Center (VDKC), and supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The lessons learned point to practical solutions for tackling urban challenges and building a greener future.

“Cities play a pivotal role in both economic growth and climate protection,” said Barbara Jäggin, SECO representative. “That’s why SECO supports urban development through a climate lens. The GLRC Program perfectly matches our agenda to promote sustainable economic development.”

Learning from Vienna’s People-Centered Urbanism

Vienna’s urbanism offers a blueprint for balancing growth with livability. The city prioritizes walking, cycling, and greenery, transforming streets and public spaces into places where people and nature thrive. Adaptive reuse of riverside areas like the Donaukanal shows how underused spaces can be revitalized for recreation and mobility.

The “sponge city” concept, seen on Praterstraße, uses permeable surfaces and tree pits to capture stormwater and cool urban areas, demonstrating how infrastructure can work with nature to address climate risks.

As landscape architect Daniel Zimmermann put it, “Urban infrastructure can work with nature rather than against it.”

From Inspiration to Action

Reducing car traffic and reclaiming street space, as in Vienna’s Superblocks, creates calmer, greener neighborhoods that foster community and well-being. Mixed-use districts such as Nordbahnviertel blend affordable housing, energy efficiency, and green spaces, proving that urban regeneration can be both inclusive and environmentally sound.

The visit highlighted actionable solutions for Serbian municipalities: integrating trees, permeable surfaces, and green corridors into redesigns to reduce heat and manage stormwater; expanding pedestrian and cycling infrastructure to encourage healthier lifestyles and reduce emissions; and ensuring urban design considers gender, age, and accessibility needs. Grounding design decisions in data and dialogue with local communities ensures solutions reflect real needs and foster public support, while sharing knowledge and coordinating investments across cities can accelerate best practices.

Co-Designing Serbia’s Urban Future

Workshops in Vienna allowed Serbian planners to apply these principles to real cases from cities like Niš, Kragujevac, Užice, Leskovac, and Novi Sad. By co-designing improvements for public spaces, participants saw how collaboration and creativity can drive urban transformation.

“The goal goes beyond building lanes,” said Roland Krebs from superwien urbanism. “It’s about rethinking entire corridors—removing parking, widening sidewalks, planting trees, and redesigning intersections for pedestrians and cyclists.”

The Road Ahead

Looking ahead, Serbian cities aim to turn inspiration into action—integrating nature-based solutions, expanding networks for walking and cycling, making public spaces more inclusive, and strengthening partnerships for knowledge exchange and investment.

Reflecting on the experience, Silvija Kacenberger, City Council of Novi Sad, said: “Everything we saw in Vienna was inspiring and instructive for our work in Novi Sad. I plan to share these innovative solutions with my colleagues—from urban design and traffic organization to greening methods, citizen participation, and the renewal of urban blocks.”