Building of communal infrastructure and management of all traffic areas along the Despot Stefan Boulevard, in the north area and of road between so-called Kineska Quarter and student dormitories starts in the second half of October.

The devastated space of the ‘Petar Drapšin’ former industrial complex enters the new phase of reconstruction and development. The part of the Despot Stefan Boulevard, from the crossroad with Shakespeare Street to the Liberty Bridge and drive-ins and roads in the zone of nearby student dormitory are planned to be reconstructed and widen. Pavements, cycle paths and parking space will be built as well. Besides traffic areas, water supplies will be reconstructed and new electrical substations will be built, heating network will be installed in order to enable heating and optical cables will be run. The whole location will get street lighting, greenery will be planted and paved. New network of waterworks and sewer system will precede all works. The place for new green surface with parking for visitors of the future Creative Polis will be set in the part of the ‘Mostogradnja’ warehouse. Besides communal infrastructure, the city of Novi Sad is at the end of the preparation for reconstruction and upgrade of the facility intended for the ‘Opens’ Cultural Station, whose implementation should start by the end of this year. Intensive work on reconstruction of the biggest facility along the Despot Stefan Boulevard whose implementation is being expected for the beginning of the next year is carried out. The city of Novi Sad will start the process of reconstruction plans of all other existing objects in the Kineska Quarter, which will be implemented in the following years. In this manner, so-called Kineska Quarter, intended for the needs of cultural and creative industries, will become the unique place in our country and one of few in the region.

After adopted plan of detailed regulation, by which architectural and industrial heritage of the ‘Petar Drapšin’ former industrial complex was preserved, five points of development of the Youth Creative Polis were adopted on the foundations of extensive research and surveys, expressed through the series of public discussions of expert and general public. According to decisions based on the facts and democracy that were important for the development of culture of dialogue, working group for capital and infrastructural projects of the European Capital of Culture, with the support of the Committee for Development of the ‘Youth Creative Polis’, coordinated the meetings between competent enterprises, city administrations, which took into consideration all the needs, as well as laid down technical conditions for work on the system of communal infrastructure.

In accordance to this, illegal, unsafe and non-hygienic objects have been removed so far. The Committee for existing tenants in the so-called Kineska Quarter was created. Despite the lease contracts defined that the stay is possible ‘until the change of function’, on the initiative of the ‘Novi Sad 2021’ Foundation, with consent and according to wishes of tenants and with the help and possibilities of the Administration for Property and Property Law, temporary or permanent locations for their further work are provided. Special attention was devoted to artists from the so-called Kineska Quarter in order to help them.

Simultaneously with these processes, according to five points of improvement and development of the so-called Kineska Quarter, the ‘Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture’ Foundation will gather eminent regional, European and world experts who work in revitalisation and management of similar creative districts in Novi Sad from 23 until 25 October.

Besides Ms Nina Rappaport-Hall and Mr Srđan Jovanović Weiss, lecturers from Yale, Columbia and New York Universities, President of the ‘Creative Industry Košice’ non-profit organisation from Slovakia, as well as Maja Lalić, Creative Director of Mixer House will address the audience at the ‘Management of Creative Districts: Kineska – Creative Polis’ conference.

Foreign experts will share answers to following questions with representatives of the ‘Novi Sad 2021’ Foundation, as well as city institutions and experts: what is creative district for development of cultural and creative industries, what are the best models of managing their potentials, what are conclusions and further steps when it comes to the future creative polis of Novi Sad.

The precise start of works on placement of communal infrastructure in the future creative polis of Novi Sad, as well as the details about the conference will be published during the press-conference held in the new premises of the ‘Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture’ Foundation at the Liberty Square no.3 on 12 October.