After several years of hard work, interrupted by COVID, an exchange program with the University of Belgrade, Serbia, has finally come about. For four weeks this semester, the School of Planning and Public Affairs (SPPA) hosted two master’s students from Integral Planning at Belgrade as visiting scholars, Jovana Kolasinac and Iva Stojanov. Associate Professor Jerry Anthony conceived the idea with Uros Radosavljevic, Associate Professor in Architecture at University of Belgrade and former visiting scholar in SPPA, and led the initiative to put it into action. 

Jovana and Iva had the opportunity to learn about urban planning in the US, hear from guest speakers, take part in the campus decarbonization summit, attend the American Planning Association’s annual national conference and view planning in practice in San Diego, Los Angeles and Chicago. Master’s students from SPPA will visit the University of Belgrade in 2022 or 2023 to gain an international perspective on planning.

Jovana and Iva’s visit was made possible by support from the office of International Students and Scholars and the School of Planning and Public Affairs at Iowa, the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Belgrade, and the American Councils for International Education.