Co-producing development: Yugoslavia and the UN Centre for Housing, Building, and Planning

This article examines the reciprocal relationship between Yugoslavia and the United Nations Centre for Housing, Building and Planning (CHBP) within the framework of the United Nations Development Programme's technical assistance. Situating this cooperation within the geopolitical dynamics of the Cold War and the growing significance of the Global South in international development, it argues that the UN’s technical assistance apparatus was shaped less by the dominant powers of the Global North than by intermediate actors operating between North and South and closely engaging with Global South priorities. While the CHBP facilitated the circulation of planning knowledge and technical expertise, Yugoslav experts, institutions, and planning practices simultaneously influenced the Centre’s agenda, professional networks, and operational strategies. Using the South Adriatic Regional Development Plan as a case study, the article analyses this mutually constitutive relationship, highlighting both the opportunities generated through international cooperation and the practical challenges encountered during implementation. In doing so, the paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the development of international planning expertise and situates Yugoslavia’s role within the complex configuration of the UN technical assistance apparatus.