The classification of rural and urban areas presents an important topic both in scientific research and in the practice of spatial planning, regional policy making, and territorial governance. Taking into account the multidimensionality of these areas, this paper aims to provide a classification framework design for rural areas in Serbia. After selecting the relevant indicators, which were included to reflect the main demographic, economic, and physio-geographical characteristics of the Serbian rural areas, multivariate analysis (principal component method and factor analysis) was used to determine the main factors in the delimitation and classification of rural and urban areas. The last step of the conducted methodology used cluster analysis (CA) that identified six types of areas with similar characteristics. The results of this study and applied methodology can improve the existing rural–urban classifications and help planners and policy makers in the adaptation of strategic development documents.

Identification of urban and rural areas has been a widely present topic in the past decades, both in scientific research and in the policy and practice of spatial/regional development and territorial governance. The internationally accepted OECD definition does not produce appropriate results that are able to include the multidimensionality of these territories. In this context, the aim of this paper is the analysis and selection of relevant criteria and indicators of urbanity/rurality that may be significant for the establishment of a methodological framework for identifying urban and rural areas in Serbia. Multivariate analysis (PCA, FA and CA) was used to group local self-government units (LSGU) in Serbia that share similar characteristics. The research resulted in five types of areas which indicate that rural and urban areas in Serbia are very diverse in terms of physiogeographical, socio-economic and functional characteristics. The results of this paper offer a more detailed analysis based on scientifically and empirically selected indicators and can be applied in the practice of spatial and urban planning, and in the adaptation of strategic development documents at the regional or national level.

Food security is becoming an increasingly important issue worldwide, and in this respect, urban agriculture has a substantial role. Nonetheless, pressure for agricultural land conversion and fragmentation is highest in peri-urban areas. In order to respond to these challenges, urban farmers use different adaptation strategies and business models, including product differentiation based on geographical indications (GIs). The paper considers land take (LT) issues in Futog, the settlement of the City of Novi Sad, registered as the GI of Futog cabbage, as an illustrative example which reflects the attitude of land use policy and planning in Serbia towards the specific conditions and requirements that growers of GIs have to meet. The purpose of this study is to identify the role of urban land use planning within LT processes and the implications this has on urban agriculture, accordingly. The supporting framework used for quantifying LT in the period 2000–2018 was CORINE Land Cover (CLC), specifically Urban Atlas (UA) datasets for two time series between 2012 and 2018. Since a significant part of agricultural land registered as a GI in Futog was planned for conversion into construction land, the authors conclude that current forms of land use planning in Serbia are not adequate to ensure the protection of either urban agriculture or GIs. Given that there is a clear correlation between GI products and their place of origin, this study recognized the necessary inclusion of all protected agricultural areas, as well as areas with GIs, into legislation binding for land use planning in Serbia, with limitations in terms of new LT.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for waste management planning (WMP) has been applied around the world for fifteen years now. In addition to identifying potential trends in space and the environment by means of WMP, the SEA process contributes to involving the general public in issues relevant to the environment. In turn, the endpoint of the SEA process is a set of results that enable appropriate decisions to be made related to WMP. Bearing this in mind, it is necessary for all the segments of the SEA process to be supported by specific spatial analyses and presentations enabling visual monitoring of the results. In this context, an important role is played by GIS tools, since they offer support to the SEA process and give it a new quality, which, in addition to visualizing the results, also increases objectivity in the evaluation of the planned solutions. This paper presents the deployment of GIS tools in spatial analysis and the support they provide for the SEA process during the development of the Agro-Waste Management Plan for Oplenac Vineyard in Serbia (AWMP). The results indicate the possibility of applying GIS tools to increase objectivity in the Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) of the planned solutions in the SEA process.

Delimitation of rural and urban areas is one of the preconditions for receiving financial support through appropriate funds. International organizations apply different methodological approaches for defining these areas as a basis for different development policies. The paper gives an overview of contemporary methodological approaches which are applied for defining rural and urban areas. The aim of the paper is to indicate the potential approaches for creating the methodology for delimitation of rural and urban areas in Serbia.

Changes in the trends, distribution and structures of the population identified through censuses (such as the changes in total population, gender, educational, age and other structures) are crucial for understanding spatial phenomena and processes like urbanization. Numerous urban geography studies researching the development of systems of settlements in former Yugoslavia, which carried on in Serbia, were the foundation for a singular theoretical and methodological framework for researching spatial phenomena and processes focused precisely on the understanding of dynamic changes in the structures of the population and their territorial manifestation. Other than in scientific research, this approach found direct application in spatial and urban planning, when defining the measures directing demographic development, arrangement of urban functions, formation of a system of settlements, planning infrastructure development, etc. More recently, this theoretical and methodological framework was enhanced using GIS technologies, which allow for the integration of spatial and statistical data and provide for a powerful analytical tool. Data integration has spurred new research on the correlation between demographic and spatial phenomena and the mutual relationships and influences between spatial and demographic development. This paper presents an overview of existing research on the mutual influence between population development trends and spatial changes manifest through the fluctuations in the intensity of built-up areas, population density, infrastructure development, etc. A model of population distribution was created by using selected census statistical data and correlating them with phenomena in actual geospace. Emphasis is placed on the significance of using this and similar models in further research on the population?s impact on the environment, directing economic development, protection in emergency situations, and numerous other areas.