Local Community building in Block 70
The first forms of local self-governance were established during World War II when liberation committees managed the freed territories. In the post-war period, these committees were transformed into people’s councils and housing communities in urban areas. With the constitutional changes in 1963, local councils and housing communities were merged into local communities, creating a unified form of local self-governance. Under the 1974 Constitution, local communities became a mandatory form of self-governing organization for workers and citizens.
The socio-political life in socialist Yugoslavia was centered in those local communities, defined as self-governing associations of citizens. According to socialist theory, these communities allowed citizens to directly exercise self-governance through a variety of activities, including business, political engagement, social initiatives, crafts, hospitality, commerce, and the arts. At that time, local communities were not considered state organs; rather, they functioned on the principle of self-organization, creating their own statutes and addressing the needs of the local population.
The establishment of local communities was spurred by a decision from the City Assembly in 1975 to construct local community centers across Belgrade. While Belgrade already had numerous local communities, the newly developed areas of the city lacked local governance structures. By 1980, a total of 37 local community centers had been built throughout the city. In New Belgrade alone, 28 local communities were founded by that time, with plans for an additional four. These communities generally included standardized partner facilities featuring administrative offices, commercial spaces, and craft shops, designed to meet the diverse needs of the residents.
