Urban transformation of the Almaš Neighborhood, one of the oldest parts of Novi Sad, includes a complete reconstruction of the infrastructure, paving, landscape design, facades conservation, public lighting, traffic regime, new pedestrian zone, urban furniture, visual identity, and tourist signage. The Almaš Neighborhood is proclaimed a protected spatial cultural-historical unit in 2019. The urban transformation is planned in accordance with the preservation of the ambiance and genius loci. In this part of the city, characterized by winding narrow streets, there has been no investment for years. The aim of the urban transformation is to provide Novi Sad with a new cultural district. The current situation is that streets are clogged with cars, the infrastructure is in poor condition, and there is a lack of greenery. The transformation concept is based on freeing streets from cars, which is achieved by expanding the pedestrian zone, calming traffic, and parking exclusively for residents on the streets, while parking for visitors is transferred to parking garages around the perimeter of the space. Great attention in the project was devoted to the formation of new tree lines, as well as the design of small squares. The design of the lighting is inspired by the traditional street lantern. Natural materials are used in paving – cobblestone in earth tones. Urban furniture is carefully selected for ambient. For the entire space, a unique visual identity is designed through details in paving, tourist maps, street name signs, etc. The project is unique because one part of the city is treated comprehensively, from
infrastructure to facades and roofs. The project holder is the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Novi Sad, the financiers are the city of Novi Sad and Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. All relevant institutions in the area and the local community ’Almaš Association’ are actively involved in this project.