Modernisation of Novi Sad in Six Stories / Short Documentary Video Collage

The Modernization of Novi Sad in 6 Stories is a short documentary video collage composed of footage from the Neoplanta Film archive. These recordings serve as a valuable testimony to the urban and social transformation of Novi Sad in the second half of the 20th century. The original footage has been collaged into six short videos, accompanied by text contributed by the authors, summarizing their research on the modernization of Novi Sad’s urban environment in the past century.

Birth of a Modern City 

It is rare for a settlement to be called a city from the very moment of its creation. Historical circumstances at the intersection of ethnic and political influences led to Novi Sad and its just over 4,500 inhabitants receiving the status of a free royal city by decree of Empress Maria Theresa in 1748. This decision will forever link the term city to the name of Novi Sad.

Long Live Work!

The relocation and zoning of industry is one of the most successful and radical moves in the modernisation of Novi Sad. This decision enabled the further industrialisation of the city, an increase in the population, but also opened up new spaces along the Danube for the expansion of the city.

Novi Sad Boulevards: Life In-Between Spaces

In the modernisation process, the construction of boulevards in Novi Sad was a reflection of the radical transformation of the city. The General Urban Plan from 1950 consistently followed the concept of introducing boulevards, defining the extension of the Bulevar Crvene armije, today’s Bulevar Mihajla Pupina, as well as two more large boulevards— Bulevara 23. oktobra and today’s Bulevar Evrope. These boulevards would completely change the previously radial urban matrix.

City on the Sand 

Since the end of World War II, Novi Sad has increased its population almost 8 times. The large influx of people required a significant expansion of the urbanised area of the city. Given that Novi Sad is largely defined by the Danube, which created marshes on large areas in the vicinity of the historic city centre, new city spaces had to be “conquered”. The construction of embankments, digging canals, drying and filling soil were all prerequisites for the development of new residential areas.

City Life 

The seventies brought great changes in the political system of Yugoslavia. The initiation of the “Yugoslav experiment” through the concept of self-management completely changed social relations. This primarily refers to the culture and daily life of citizens, the accelerated development of the consumer society, and the development of a network of facilities dedicated to social care, health, culture and sports.

Mišeluk: YU-optimism Epilogue 

At the end of the seventies, a large-scale Yugoslav competition was announced for the area of Mišeluk, on the Srem side of Novi Sad, which was supposed to mark the final planned expansion of the city to the opposite bank of the Danube. The competition and plans for Mišeluk opened new topics for Yugoslav architectural practice and social progress. The story of Mišeluk is one of the last urban planning stories from the time of “Yugoslav optimism” and an authentic answer to the question of planning a self-governing socialist city.