On the slopes of Vodno, where the terrain is steep and prone to erosion, the municipality of Centar is planning a new detailed urban plan (DUP) for the Barutana location - one that envisions the construction of dozens of large buildings. And it is right here that a dispute begins which reopens the old question: is Skopje built according to the experts, or according to the interests?

The „Chance for Centar“ initiative is sounding the alarm. According to it, the planned zone is already marked as erosion-prone in the municipal Energy and Climate Plan, with a recommendation that quality forests be planted there - not that residential buildings be raised. Even more contentious: the project programme itself states that erosion protection is a „mandatory protective measure,“ yet the plan, critics say, contains no measures for erosion protection, nor against possible fires and torrents.

The warnings are not pulled out of thin air. There have already been landslides on the slopes of Vodno - including near a children's clinic and a hotel. „Why are the expert opinions being ignored?“ those from the initiative ask, recalling that there are concrete cases of collapse in the Vodno neighbourhoods, and yet dozens of large buildings are planned on the steep mountain terrain.

This is not a story about a few buildings - it's a story about who decides what the city looks like and whose interests weigh more. When an engineering document says „plant a forest,“ and an urban plan says „build buildings,“ someone consciously chose which opinion to heed. The question every citizen of Skopje should ask is simple: how much are „new opportunities“ worth if they open only new dangers - landslides, floods, fire - for those who will live beneath them?