The sustainability of rural settlements in Serbia has become the main focus of strategic rural development planning. Although it is still difficult to measure the quality of life of the citizens of the Republic of Serbia, preliminary results show that it is necessary to go beyond the GDP as the only or one of its most important indicators. A multidimensional approach and analysis at the local level is necessary for more comprehensive insight into quality of life in order to avoid erroneous or simplified conclusions. Striving to provide more detailed insight into the attitudes and needs of the local population, this research uses a qualitative approach. Subjective measures of how people feel and function in everyday life can predict future reactions, many of which are in the domain of the interests of local public services. The aim of the research is to apply measurement indicators through six dimensions of well-being in order to determine to what extent the inhabitants of rural communities are satisfied with some indicators and how they assess their own well-being. The research results illustrate the importance of understanding the needs of the local population and the perception of overall life experience in monitoring balanced rural development. The research can be adapted and applied to any rural community. Thus, only by developing a participatory approach can one strive for community-based rural development.

Farm tourism is often considered a form of tourism whose main characteristic is sustainability. Nevertheless, the existing literature also provides a partial approach, where the development of farm tourism is analyzed within the context of sustainable development and crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the paper is to analyze environmental, social, and economic factors as vectors for the sustainable development of farm tourism by applying a specially designed SFT model. An empirical study was carried out on a sample of nine farms in the peri-urban area of the city of Novi Sad (the Republic of Serbia). Sustainable development was analyzed using dynamic social, economic, and environmental indicators with the aim of finding a model that could be used to ensure more stable economic income for the population, social equality, and environmental protection. By applying the SFT model, it was determined that the current position of farm tourism is not fully compliant with the aims of sustainable development due to its clearly dominant economic dimension and less developed social and environmental sustainability. The results were further analyzed with the aim of achieving a balanced development of farm tourism, which needs to be based on the continued application of the concept of sustainability. The results could be used by public and private institutions in the tourism sector, as well as creators of legal regulations and strategies in the field of sustainable and rural tourism, with the aim of further developing and improving its sustainability.

The study of the urban periphery has become a very current topic in contemporary urban-geographical research in recent decades. The space between urban and rural areas is often not clearly defined, and different terms are usually used: suburban areas, suburban landscape, urban edge, suburb, rural-urban interface, peri-urban belt, etc., with the most adequate term being "suburban". One of the key reasons for the aforementioned vagueness is the conceptually and geographically unclear definition of this space, because peri-urban development is not limited to individual countries or regions, but is spread all over the world. Some authors consider it a space between urban and rural, while others see it as a dynamic process of transformation from rural to urban. Consequently, the problem of defining the term is probably as old as the recognition of the process itself. Although many scholars have identified peri-urban areas regionally or globally, questions remain about exactly where it is located and what are the most appropriate methods for determining its boundaries. The answers are relevant. There is no single/generalized method for peri-urban demarcation. Rather, these approaches are geographically specific and differ between developed and developing countries, due to differences in land use patterns, socioeconomic drivers, and political circumstances.

The attachment can be directed towards the people (socially based attachment), but also can be based on the physical characteristics of the place or other factors. People in Serbia frequently change place of residence during educational stages or due to important family and life events. It also depends on other factors, such as ethnicity, tradition and environmental concerns. This study aims to re-evaluate the place attachment concept based on the well-established triple person-process-place concept and develop a new place attachment scale and apply. The survey included 1059 respondents. The SPSS was used for EFA relatedness calculations, Independent T-tests, and One-way ANOVA, while R and RStudio were used for CFA analysis. Four groups of factors were identified, leading to the development of a four-dimensional Place Relatedness Scale (4PRS): Family and Home, Social, Community and Everyday Life, Local Environment Bonding, Life Cycle. Certain differences were found between male and female respondents and in regard to other socio-demographic parameters.

Newer trends of balanced regional development emphasize the development of functional integrational areas and strong spatial and functional relations based on the nodal concept and a functional process approach. Therefore, it is essential to determine the hierarchy of settlements in the network, which defines their demographic and functional capacity. This paper identifies the nature and characteristics of urban primacy in the Srem region in Serbia, using the rank-size rule and urban primacy index, as well as the hierarchy of settlements in the network, by calculating the importance of secondary activities and the centralization of the settlements. The results confirmed that while urban primacy is not expressed, the hierarchy of the settlements remains dominated by urban and suburban centres.

Small settlements in Serbia are confronted with long-term processes of depopulation, ageing, and migration, characterised by pronounced spatial and structural heterogeneity. This raises questions about the effectiveness of uniform development policies and underscores the need for a differentiated, place-based approach. The aim of this paper is to identify the demographic heterogeneity of small settlements (with fewer than 100 inhabitants) and to analyse its implications for decentralised territorial development. The research is based on the analysis of 1302 settlements in Serbia, using 26 demographic, socio-economic, and geographical indicators. The methodological framework is based on principal component analysis and cluster analysis, complemented by nonparametric tests and logistic regression. The results indicate pronounced population ageing, low labour potential, and a clear spatial polarisation between accessible and peripheral settlements. Four clearly differentiated types of small settlements are identified. It is concluded that demographic heterogeneity represents a key determinant of development capacity, indicating the need for territorially sensitive and differentiated development policies. In this context, decentralisation and tailored development models may contribute to the revitalisation and long-term sustainability of rural areas.