Novi Sad pedestrian zone from the perspective of local inhabitants: Potentials for urban development

Abstract

Urban tourism has gained much significance recently, and is especially important for the countries with underdeveloped tourism offers. The demand for its forms in which the main source of information about the city are local residents has also increased. This is why it is important to study the ways in which the inhabitants experience the environment they live in. Hence, this research concerns the local inhabitants' experiences of the Novi Sad pedestrian zone, the most attractive part of the city. The goal of the research is to present their different experiences and constructs they use to describe and evaluate it. Since there are no previous attempts to gain insight into it, the approach to the subject is qualitative and exploratory. 22 residents (21-63 years of age) were interviewed and were assigned to elicit constructs. The research gave an insight into a spectrum of different experiences of the whole pedestrian zone, as well as its many parts and aspects. The inhabitants elicited many constructs which they use to describe and evaluate it, some of which are similar to the ones found in other parts of the world, while others are specific for Novi Sad. The results provide guidelines for urban and cultural development of the city.

Keywords

• urban psychology
• Novi Sad pedestrian zone
• personal constructs