SUPPORT URBAN PLANNING - HELP SAVE THE PALACE OF DIOCLETIAN! The palace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, erected in the 4th century AD in what is now the Croatian Adriatic city of Split is a world-class cultural monument inscribed on UNESCO\'s World Heritage List. In the course of history, layers of the subsequent periods have grown into the body of the original Roman structure, creating an eclectic mix that is highly valued by architectural historians. Construction of new buildings in the historic core of the city of Split has continued up to the present day. However, some of the buildings erected or demolished in the course of the 20th century have stirred a large public controversy. The consensus of the experts and engaged citizens of Split alike is that any new construction on the territory of the Palace of Diocletian should be undertaken with utmost care and be based on painstakingly developed urban planning projects. It is felt that the Palace should continue to be a lived place, however without putting its cultural heritage traits under threat. On November 24th, 2006, the City Government of Split made a decision to start a process that represents a great danger to the city\'s cultural heritage. It has decided to selectively amend an old urban planning document, dating back as far as the years 1990 and 1978, in order to enable commercial construction at 21 locations in the historic core of the city. The previous City Government attempted to the same at the end of the year 2002, but interventions were then planned at 14 locations. The petition against the decision, launched in February 2003, and public pressure that ensued have at that time managed to prevent construction based on the plan. We are now asking again for a painstaking process of urban planning and solutions obtained by public competition, as opposed to bending the rules in the service of sheer commercialism. Sign the petition to help us preserve cultural heritage and urban identity of the city of Split: SUPPORT URBAN PLANNING - HELP SAVE THE PALACE OF DIOCLETIAN! ------------------------- (below is the petition text in the Croatian language) PODRZIMO URBANIZAM - SACUVAJMO DIOKLECIJANOVU PALACU! Dioklecijanova palaca u Splitu, podignuta u 4. stoljecu nase ere, arhitektonski je spomenik upisan na UNESCOv popis svjetske kulturne bastine. Osim sto cuva obiljezja rimske arhitekture vremena u kojem je nastao, najvrjedniji arhitektonski spomenik na tlu Republike Hrvatske svjetski je poznat po tome sto su na njemu ostavili traga svi kasniji povijesni graditeljski stilovi. Izgradnja novih povijesnih zgrada u povijesnoj jezgri Splita nastavila se do danasnjih dana. Medjutim, neke gradjevine podignute ili srusene tijekom dvadesetog stoljeca bile su predmet velikih javnih prijepora. Strucnjaci, bas kao i angazirani gradjani Splita, smatraju da bi svaku novu gradnju na prostoru Dioklecijanove palace trebalo poduzimati samo na osnovu pomno razvijanih urbanistickih rjesenja dobivenih javnim natjecajem. Opci je osjecaj da bi Palaca trebala nastaviti biti mjesto na kojem se zivi, medjutim pod uvjetom da to ne dovodi u pitanje njezin karakter kulturne bastine covjecanstva. Dana 24. studenoga 2006. godine, splitsko je Gradsko poglavarstvo donijelo odluku o zapocinjanju procesa koji predstavlja veliku opasnost za kulturnu bastinu grada Splita. Poglavarstvo je, naime, odlucilo selektivno izmijeniti stari urbanisticki plan gradske jezgre, koji je izradjen 1990., na temelju jos znatno starijeg plana viseg reda iz davne 1978. godine. Unatoc postojanju novog plana viseg reda, koji je usvojen potkraj prosle, 2005. godine, splitsko Poglavarstvo krenulo je u proces izmjene starih planova, da bi omogucilo komercijalnu gradnju na 21 lokaciji u staroj gradskoj jezgri. Prethodno Gradsko poglavarstvo pokusalo je uciniti posve isto potkraj 2002. godine, s tom razlikom sto je onda nova - iskljucivo komercijalna â