We are pleased to announce the publication of a new article in Stanovništvo, developed within the POPENVIROS project.
Author: Natalija Mirić
The paper examines how chronic exposure to pollution shapes everyday life, residential choices, and long‑term migration strategies in five of Serbia’s most polluted cities—Belgrade, Valjevo, Kosjerić, Smederevo, and Pančevo. Based on five focus groups with 35 participants, the study shows how pollution becomes an embodied and emotional experience that influences routines, health concerns, and perceptions of future risk. As one participant noted, “my hair and clothes smell after going outside.”
🔍 Key findings reveal:
▫️ a continuum of adaptive strategies—from household-level adjustments to intra‑urban moves, suburban/rural relocation, and long‑term migration aspirations;
▫️ pollution as a tangible, everyday, bodily experience that restricts activities and heightens concern for children’s health;
▫️ growing intergenerational migration intentions, with parents increasingly considering relocation for their children’s wellbeing;
▫️ weak institutional responsiveness, leading to privatization of environmental risk and mobility as one of the few available protection mechanisms;
▫️ mobility as a gradual, cumulative process, shaped by discomfort, distrust, and perceptions of future environmental insecurity.
📖 How to cite: Mirić, N. (2026). Environmental Stress and Spatial Mobility: How Pollution Shapes Everyday Adaptations and Migration Strategies in Serbia. Stanovništvo, e793. https://doi.org/10.59954/stnv.793
🔗 Full text available here: https://doi.org/10.59954/stnv.793
