Abstract
After the war in 1999, Kosovska Mitrovica located in the north of Kosovo, became a part of the group of politically and ethnically divided cities. The process of division began in June 1999 when Serbs from the parts located south of the Ibar River were forced to flee. In the following years, antagonism between local Albanians and Serbs intensified. Since 2000, the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica and later the whole municipality has been developing rapidly, becoming an administrative, educational and cultural centre for the Serbian community in Kosovo. In accordance with arrangements of the Brussels Agreement (2013), two municipalities and two settlements emerged: North Mitrovica with Serb majority and South Mitrovica with Albanian majority. The Ibar River is a natural boundary of the two cities. This study deals with the causes and the consequences of the splitting of Kosovska Mitrovica, which has been developing into two separate (parallel) cities since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Spatial divisions of post-war development of the Kosovska Mitrovica’s urban space are discussed in their symbolic, ethno-demographic and institutional dimensions.
Danijela Vukoičić: According to the Author’s declaration. Eventually, we may give only information about the city – Kosovska Mitrovica
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Allegra M, Casaglia A, Rokem J (2012) The political geographies of urban polarization: a critical review of research on divided cities. Geogr Compass 6(9):560–574. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-8198.2012.00506.x
Anderson J (2008) From empires to ethno-national conflicts: a framework for studying ‘divided cities’ in ‘contested states’—part I. In Divided cities/contested states: working paper, 1. www.conflictincities.org/PDFs/WorkingPaper1_5.8.08.pdf. Accessed: 29 Mar 2020
Aquilué I, Roca E (2016) Urban development after the Bosnian War: The division of Sarajevo’s territory and the construction of East Sarajevo. Cities 58:152–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2016.05.008
Barać M, Stanišić S, Parlić M, Bukumirić Z, Vitas N, Manojlović P (2010). Lokalni ekološki akcioni plan Severne Kosovske Mitrovice – monografija. Opština Severna Kosovska Mitrovica, Fakultet tehničkih nauka, Kosovska Mitrovica i Medecinski fakultet, Kosovska Mitrovica
Bhaumik S, Gang I, Yun M-S (2006) Ethnic conflict and economic disparity: serbians and albanians in Kosovo. J Comp Econ 34:754–773
Boal FW (1999) From undivided to undivided cities: assimilation to ethnic cleansing. Hous Stud 14(5):585–600. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673039982623
Brdarevska M (2013) Prilog proučavanju procesa urbanizacije severnog dela Kosova i nastanka grada Kosovske Mitrovice. Kulturno nasleđe Kosova i Metohije—istorijske tekovine Srbije na Kosovu i Metohiji i izazovi budućnosti, Zbornik 2. Kosovska Mitrovica: Kancelarija za Kosovo i Metohiju, Univerzitet u Prištini
Calame J, Charlesworth E (2009) Divided cities: Belfast, Beirut, Jerusalem, Mostar, and Nicosia. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia
Ćup A (2017) Život na manjinski način u Severnoj Mitrovici. http://gracanicaonline.info/2017/04/29/zivot-na-manjinski-nacin-u-severnoj-mitrovici/. Accessed: 18 Apr 2020
Gentile M (2019) Geopolitical fault-line cities in the world of divided cities. Polit Geogr 71:126–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2019.03.002
Government of the Republic of Serbia website. www.srbija.gov.rs/specijal/283757. Accessed: 15 Apr 2020
Gül M, Dee J (2015) Sarajevo—a city profile. Cities 43:152–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2014.11.018
Kliot N, Mansfield Y (1999) Case studies of conflict and territorial organization in divided cities. Prog Plan 52:167–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-9006(99)00010-0
Kosovska Mitrovica Municipality website. www.kosmitrovica.rs/demografija/. Accessed 15 Mar 2020. Accessed: 12 Apr 2020
Legnér M, Ristic M, Bravaglieri S (2019) Contested heritage-making as an instrument of ethnic division: Mitrovica, Kosovo. In: Ristic M, Frank S (eds) Urban heritage in divided cities: contested pasts. Routledge, pp 35–52
Maciulewicz M (2019) Newcomers and locals. invisible boundaries among inhabitants of a divided city in the balkans. Colloquia Humanistica 8:203–220. https://doi.org/10.11649/ch.2019.013
Marcuse P (1989) Dual city: a muddy metaphor for a quartered city. Int J Urban Reg Res 13(4):697–708. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2427.1989.tb00142.x
Marcuse P, Van Kempen R (2002) Of states and cities: the partitioning of urban space. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Miletić M (2013) Urbanitet podeljenog grada—Kosovska Mitrovica; tretiranje javnog gradskog prostora u cilju urbane regeneracije. In Kulturno nasleđe Kosova i Metohije—istorijske tekovine Srbije na Kosovu i Metohiji i izazovi budućnosti, Zbornik 2. Kosovska Mitrovica: Kancelarija za Kosovo i Metohiju, Univerzitet u Prištini
Milentijević N, Stanković M (2017) Značaj kumanovskog sporazuma u rešavanju sukoba na Kosovu i Metohiji. Kultura polisa 34:79–91
Mollenkopf J, Castells M (1991) Dual city: restructuring New York. Russell Sage Foundation, New York
OSCE website, Municiapl Profile: Mitrovicë/ Mitrovica Region. www.osce.org/mission-in-kosovo/122118?download=true. Accessed: 12 Apr 2020
Pavlović A (2016) Svakodnevni život stanovnika Severne Kosovske Mitrovice. Doktorska disertacija. Filozofski fakultet Univerziteta u Beogradu, Beograd
Plani Zhvillimor Komunal (PZHK) Mitrovica Jugore 2019–2027. Komuna e Mitrovicës Jugore, Plani Zhvillimor Komunal
Pinos JC (2016) Mitrovica: a city (re)shaped by division, In: Ciardha ÉÓ, Vojvoda G (eds) Politics of identity in post-conflict states: The Bosnian and Irish experience. Routledge, pp 128–142
Pobric A, Robinson MG (2019) Recent urban development and gentrification in post-Dayton Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cities 89:281–295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.03.001
Procena Stanovništvo Kosova 2011. Februar 2013, Priština
Ristić D, Vukoičić D, Nikolić M, Božović S, Milinčić M (2019) Tourism value assessment model of ‘UNESCO-listed’ monasteries: Kosovo and Metohija. Curr Issues Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1622657
Sandzacke Web Portal. www.sandzacke.rs. Accessed: 16 Mar 2020
Smith S (1989) The Politics Of ‘Race’ And Residence: Citizenship, Segregation And White supremacy in Britain. Polity Press, Oxford
Spremo D (2011) Kosovska Mitrovica—jedan grad, dva sveta. www.nspm.rs/pdf/kosovo-i-metohija/kosovska-mitrovica-%E2%80%93-jedan-grad-dva-sveta.pdf. Accessed: 18 Apr 2020
Srećković-Jerosimić J (2009) Prinudne migracije sa Kosova i Metohije u centralnu Srbiju. Srpsko-geografsko društvo, Beograd
Stamenković S (2001) Geografska enciklopedija—Naselja Srbije, Knjiga II (LJ–Ž). Geografski fakultet, Beograd
Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia website. https://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G1991/Pdf/G19914009.pdf. Accessed: 15 Apr 2020
Sveštenička porodica—jedini Srbi u južnom delu K. Mitrovice. www.dnevnik.rs/drustvo/svestenicka-porodica-jedini-srbi-u-juznom-delu-k-mitrovice-03-02-2019. Accessed: 18 Apr 2020
The University of Pristina Kosovska Mitrovica website. https://pr.ac.rs. Accessed: 14 Apr 2020
Vasić M (2006) “Ekonomska (ne)održivost Kosova i Metohije”. In: Erić S (ed) Kosovo i Metohija—argumenti za opstanak u Srbiji. Beograd
“Vuk Karadžić” City Library website. https://gbvkkm.rs/. Accessed: 2020.03.16. http://pop-stat.mashke.org/kosovo-census-ks.htm. Accessed: 15 Apr 2020
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Vukoičić, D., Milinčić, M. (2020). Kosovska Mitrovica as Two Parallel Cities in the Twenty-First Century. In: Mihaylov, V. (eds) Spatial Conflicts and Divisions in Post-socialist Cities. The Urban Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61765-3_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61765-3_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-61764-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-61765-3
eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)