Deponija, Belgrade
Encyclopedia
Deponija is an urban neighborhood (informal settlement) of Belgrade
, the capital of Serbia
. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula
.
. It is bordered by the neighborhood of Ada Huja
to the east, Viline Vode
to the west and Bogoslovija
to the south.
, Brazilian type favela
, officially classified as an unhygienic settlement. Settling of the area began in the mid 1970s. As the area became informal (wild) landfill (deponija, Serbian for landfill, thus the name), tens of thousands of cubic meters of garbage were dumped in the area in the next few decades.
Major influx of population occurred after the expulsion of the non-Albanian
population from Kosovo
after the Kosovo War
in 1999. Roma people who took refuge in Germany
were deported back to Serbia and some of them settled in the area . Already as of 2000/01, name Deponija emerged as a name of the settlement.
It is estimated that Deponija is the largest of the 15 unhygienic settlements in the territory of the municipality of Palilula where altogether 15,000 people live. Exact number of population of Deponija itself is not know and the estimates vary from 900 to 2,000. After cleaning and destruction of Kartonsko naselje
in Novi Beograd
, it is the largest slum of Belgrade.
, recently destroyed by the Danube floods, is probably even worse. However Deponija do have some of the worst life conditions as it has absolutely no sewage and electricity and only very small number of houses have running water.
Houses are made of hot clay and dryed mud, cardboard and tin, between the hillocks of garbage and feces-infested ponds of dirty water. For the time being, the problem can't be solved as informal settlements can be turned into a formal ones (which would mean the city government would have to introduce power, sewage, water) only if they are built on city land, and the land Deponija is built on is privately owned. The project of relocating population from Deponija to the new container-based temporary settlement in Reva
, neighborhood of Krnjača, from 2003, remained on paper only.
Also, Deponija is the name of a suburb in Klisa neighbourhood of Novi Sad
.
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, the capital of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula
Palilula Belgrade
Palilula is an urban neighborhood and one of 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It has the largest area of all municipalities of Belgrade.- Location :...
.
Location
Deponija is located under the bridge of Pančevački most, spawning along the Vuka Vrčevića street, near the right bank of the DanubeDanube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. It is bordered by the neighborhood of Ada Huja
Ada Huja
Ada Huja is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula.- Location :...
to the east, Viline Vode
Viline Vode
Viline Vode is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula.- Location :...
to the west and Bogoslovija
Bogoslovija
Bogoslovija is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is mostly located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula, with some parts belonging to the municipality of Zvezdara....
to the south.
History
Deponija is actually a slumSlum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
, Brazilian type favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
, officially classified as an unhygienic settlement. Settling of the area began in the mid 1970s. As the area became informal (wild) landfill (deponija, Serbian for landfill, thus the name), tens of thousands of cubic meters of garbage were dumped in the area in the next few decades.
Major influx of population occurred after the expulsion of the non-Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
population from Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
after the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
in 1999. Roma people who took refuge in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
were deported back to Serbia and some of them settled in the area . Already as of 2000/01, name Deponija emerged as a name of the settlement.
It is estimated that Deponija is the largest of the 15 unhygienic settlements in the territory of the municipality of Palilula where altogether 15,000 people live. Exact number of population of Deponija itself is not know and the estimates vary from 900 to 2,000. After cleaning and destruction of Kartonsko naselje
Kartonsko naselje
Cardboard city was an informal settlement, or locally classified as unhygienic settlement, basically a slum in the capital of Serbia. It was located in Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd...
in Novi Beograd
Novi Beograd
Novi Beograd or New Belgrade is the most populous municipality that constitutes the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is a planned city, built in 1947 on the left bank of the Sava river which was previously an uninhabited area, opposite of the old Belgrade...
, it is the largest slum of Belgrade.
Quality of life and future
Some NGOs claim it has the worst conditions of any unhygienic settlements in Belgrade, but the case of the Goveđi Brod in ZemunZemun
Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
, recently destroyed by the Danube floods, is probably even worse. However Deponija do have some of the worst life conditions as it has absolutely no sewage and electricity and only very small number of houses have running water.
Houses are made of hot clay and dryed mud, cardboard and tin, between the hillocks of garbage and feces-infested ponds of dirty water. For the time being, the problem can't be solved as informal settlements can be turned into a formal ones (which would mean the city government would have to introduce power, sewage, water) only if they are built on city land, and the land Deponija is built on is privately owned. The project of relocating population from Deponija to the new container-based temporary settlement in Reva
Reva (Belgrade)
Reva is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula.- Neighborhood :Reva is one of the sub-neighborhoods of Krnjača...
, neighborhood of Krnjača, from 2003, remained on paper only.
Also, Deponija is the name of a suburb in Klisa neighbourhood of Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
.