Milena Panić

Name and Surname
Milena Panić

Affiliation
Geographical Institute “Jovan Cvijić” SANU

Short Biography

Milena Panić, Ph.D. in geosciences, is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Geography “Jovan Cvijić” of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Her research is focused on spatial planning, the study of regional disparities and the spatial distribution of vulnerable groups in Serbia, more precisely, on issues of rural areas, marginalized areas, social vulnerability from natural hazards as well as on the process of depopulation in Serbia. She works intensively on the issue of methodological innovation through the inclusion of alternative approaches (remote sensing) in the aforementioned research areas. She is the author of two scientific monographs of national importance, numerous scientific papers in domestic and international journals, chapters in international monographs; moreover, she has participated in numerous scientific domestic and international conferences.

Research abstract

The author’s research within the topic DECENTRALIZATION TO BETTER INTEGRATION OF THE RURAL SPACE OF SERBIA is focused on the identification of settlements in the rural area, which stand out for their characteristics and importance in the form of development and administrative rural nodes. The role of these settlements – rural nodes is to promote the integration of the surrounding area and promote the networking of urban centers and demographically depleted, economically weakened and institutionally marginalized rural areas. Developmental polarization, administrative centralization and the existing model of spatial organization are the main causes of pronounced spatial inequalities on the territory of Serbia. For this reason, this research deals with new modalities of the organization of the network of settlements in local territories with an emphasis on the transition from an urban-centric to a decentralized model of organization, where rural nodes have a crucial position. The goal of the research is the establishment of a methodological framework for the identification of settlements in the rural area of Serbia that have the necessary capacities for the role of carriers of balanced functional and spatial development of the country, as well as an overview of their spatial distribution and determining the sphere of their influence. Endogenous factors that generate development and encourage the integration of rural areas will be identified, as a basis for overcoming the current shortcomings of the administrative, functional and public-social organization of local territories. This research would not only create a new approach to the organization of the network of settlements and public institutions through the introduction of the category of carriers of development and decentralization in Serbia, but would also shed light on the issue of the non-functioning of the apparent model of decentralization and shift the focus of looking at potential solutions to this problem.