How Radmilo Marković’s award-winning investigation revealed the systemic failures fuelling Belgrade’s urban chaos
The 3rd prize-winning piece for the EU Investigative Journalism Award 2024 in Serbia uncovered an alarming scale of illegal construction in and dubious legalisation of buildings in Belgrade through the meticulous investigative work of Radmilo Marković from BIRN.
His award-winning piece started in the Mirijevo neighbourhood, where buildings were legalised despite failing to meet the crucial 2015 satellite imagery requirement. Lacking support from city authorities, Marković and his team manually cross-referenced two sets of satellite images and combed through cadastral records and construction permits.
This exhaustive effort revealed over 450,000 square metres of unlawfully built or legalised structures, exposing significant infrastructure strain and urban chaos across the city.
The investigation relied on open sources and extensive visual elements, making the findings impactful and accessible. Despite the thoroughness of the work, government institutions failed to respond, highlighting systemic issues in Serbia’s governance and transparency.
Marković’s investigation demonstrates the importance of independent journalism in holding power accountable and raising awareness of the public costs of unchecked urban corruption.
Hear more in the video interview below.
