In recent decades, cities have faced numerous problems related to the accelerated process of urbanization, which leads to ecological, spatial and social consequences. At the same time, globalization destroyed productive activities and created structural problems related to unemployment. For these reasons, cities are trying to attract new and growing industries that will provide jobs and enable the physical and economic regeneration of cities. One of the activities that increases employment and enables the urban regeneration of certain city zones is tourism. Urban tourism at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, with the process of globalization and the use of shorter vacations by tourists, experienced an expansion in the number of visitors, as well as the number of urban destinations. Urban destinations, as powerful financial, traffic, political, trade, etc. centers, in addition to cultural, architectural, construction, artistic, historical and environmental heritage, provide diversity and quality of tourist offer, completed by organizing congresses, professional gatherings, sports fairs, etc. Large world agglomerations, as the most important destinations of urban tourism, are visited annually by several million tourists.

Many European countries have faced the process of urban shrinkage in recent decades. Due to the various theoretical aspects of urban shrinkage, there are numerous approaches to the interpretation of this process. The most widely accepted of these refers to the demographic component as the starting point for defining this phenomenon, with the decline of the total population as the main indicator. The demographic shrinkage of cities in Serbia is a process that has been in place since the 1960s, with the dynamics of spatial-demographic and socioeconomic transformation during the post-socialist transition having exacerbated urban shrinkage. As a result, over 80% of urban settlements are affected by it. This paper identifies the trajectory and spatio-temporal patterns of the intensity and dynamics of urban shrinkage for the period from 1961 to 2022. The aim of this work is to show the diversity of shrinking cities and to explore the driving forces behind this process in Serbia. In this study, we conducted an analysis of population trends in 167 urban settlements in Serbia. Further analysis included the identification of contrasting spatio-temporal and demographic dynamic patterns characterized by either natural losses or out-migration. Due to the complex urban trajectories, a typology was created that distinguishes four different types of shrinking cities: continuously shrinking cities, episodically shrinking cities, recently shrinking cities, and resurgent cities. The results are important to achieving a better understanding of how patterns of local population trends change over time and space. The result will thus be a step towards explaining the main demographic factors causing population change and inter- and intra-regional differences between shrinking cities in Serbia, as well as towards examining urban renewal opportunities in the future.

Tourism is one of the most complex, most dynamic economic and socio spatial phenomena of the modern world, which has become a global phenomenon in a relatively short period of time (from the 1950s). This is best reflected in significant quantitative, qualitative, structural, spatial and other transformations both in the sphere of demand and in the sphere of supply. In the observed period, the volume of demand was constantly increasing, accompanied by the expansion of diverse motives and the needs of tourists for traveling, which led to the increasing heterogeneity and complexity of the emitting markets. At the same time, the supply market has been expanded so that almost every space on the earth has become available to modern tourists, even Antarctic.

Sustainable spatial transformation, urban governance, and the constraints of urban-rural development can be traced through migration. In the Republic of Serbia, after the rapid increase in the number of people living in urban areas due to internal migration, structural changes in settlements have begun with natural decline and emigration. However, the far-reaching effects of migration on shrinkage have received little attention in policy or practice. To shed light on and predict possible future patterns, this paper looks at the attitudes and intentions of the population towards migration and identifies determinants that influence migration plans for possible future flows inside and from the Republic of Serbia. The paper is based on data from a survey and interviews conducted in the area of the City of Leskovac (N = 1124) with the population 20 + years, local authorities, civil society and the private sector, i.e. those who play a central role in addressing the challenges and optimizing the opportunities created by the growing trend of migration. The survey results show that most respondents support the emigration process, which is mainly influenced by economic factors. In this context, the trend of emigration is expected to continue in the future, and it is perceived as an obstacle to achieving sustainability goals and rarely as an opportunity.

Mountain areas with their environment and facilities, appear as important parts of tourist regions with a potential for the development of complementary activities and a year-long tourism. Possibilities for the development of mountain tourism depend on the size of the mountain area, the nature protection regime, the equipment with infrastructure, the creation of conditions for vacation and recreation and the involvement of the local population in the process of development and protection. The area of southwestern Serbia has a quality and diverse potentials for the development of mountain tourism, of which only a part has been activated. The paper analyzes the potentials and various possibilities for the development of mountain tourism with a special emphasis on the mountains of southwestern Serbia.

Demographic aging is one of the main features and significant problems of the population development of Serbia, so the analysis and the study of aging of the population are paying increasing attention in scientific research work in the field of demography. This paper aims to examine the basic demographic characteristics and changes in the age structure of the population in the city of Novi Pazar. This municipality is characterized by the most prominent and most specific demographic problems, large migrations and the inability to register and analyze them. Particularly distinguished is the fact that Novi Pazar, according to many, is considered to be the "youngest city in Europe", and that in essence the situation is very different. The authors tried to determine the spatial and temporal dimension of the population aging process of this city.