Social Component of Sustainable Development and Quality of Life: Region of the Balkans, Eastern Serbia

Introduction

Since each activity, starting from the primary biological, through production, and eventually social, takes place in a particular environment, it is necessary to research environment factors that directly or indirectly have an impact on these primary activities. From the point of sustainable development, there are many factors that have impact on the quality of life of people in some region. These are political, economic, social, environmental... The region of the Balkans has always been interesting for studying various social movements and turmoil. Because of the fact that Serbia represents one segment in the region, it is interesting for observation Serbia in terms of social development (SD). Uneven regional development is evident in Serbia. On the one hand, Belgrade, Novi Sad (big cities in Serbia) and the region of central Serbia represent the developed regions, while on the other hand the regions in the south and east of the country stand out as less developed. In less developed regions, natural resources which can be used in a sustainable way, and which can improve the quality of life of citizens are more concentrated. The concept of sustainable use of natural resources can be considered as a substitution renewable energy resources with the non-renewable. Less developed regions in Serbia are abundant with renewable energy resources, and it is advisable to use such sources. The use of renewable energy resources also depends on the level of environmental awareness of a particular community. The region of Eastern Serbia includes cities such as Zajecar, Bor and Negotin which are among the larger centers of this part of Serbia.

This part of the county are rich in geothermal energy which are not used in the properly manner - these energy is irretrievably lost. To take advantage of the renewable energy sources and to raise social awareness to a higher level (when renewable energy sources is considered for using), the PESTEL analysis applied in the Eastern part of Serbia will point the implementation of sustainable development in this part of the region. PESTEL (in its original) analyzes the environment for a new market or analyzes an existing market, providing an overview of the external situation which can affect global business, or business operators. This analysis can also be applied in cases where some factors affecting a particular phenomenon are analyzed, in this case the factors that have influence on the application of sustainability and development in a particular region. PESTEL analysis that is applied in this chapter includes political, economic, social, technological, ecological and legal aspects of the development of the Eastern Serbia region that affect the quality of life of the examined part of the country.