Urban Decay

For the past few years, due to economic hardships, Belgrade, along with the whole county has undergone a sharp change from an urban city to a city that feels like a small-provincial town. One thing that reinforces this is the public transportation system, which to most cities, adds to the feel of a truly urban environment. In Belgrade, that feeling has been taken away. This article illustrates this.

My new hobby costs 7 dinars a piece. I could win and I could come out short—fair game depending on the line and time of my journey. My hobby is related to moving through the city. Mostly same destinations, same fare, and always a new score. I am not sure if this started out as a joke, is it as a result of shame toward a bad design, or from a sorrow that there is nothing urban about the public transportation in what should be urban surroundings. Not sure…but the idea is there…collection is growing. I collect.

For the ones reading this, living in Belgrade, I advise you to become collectors of tickets sold in private-public transportation. Make your own collection while trekking around the city. Exchange them, paste them, ride just for the sake of buying the ticket. Look on the bottom of your bags, your mother’s bags, empty your back pockets, and start collecting. If nothing else, your ride will at least gain a new dimension. On the left, my favorite collectible.