Research interests
urban sociology, city branding, festivals and city identity, cultural policies, citizen participation.
Biography
Milena Toković completed her undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies in Sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. She also obtained a master’s degree from the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Department of Marketing Management and Public Relations. She worked as a Research Associate at the Institute for Sociological Research of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, where she was engaged in the research project Challenges of New Social Integration in Serbia: Concepts and Actors. Since 2022, she has been employed as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade. Over the past ten years, she has participated in numerous national and international projects, including: Research and Innovation Strategies in the Field of Social Sciences and Humanities (World Bank), Political Leaders in European Cities (SCTM), Eurostudent (UB), European Social Survey (European Research Consortium, Institute for Sociological Research, Institute of Social Sciences), Man and Society in Times of Crisis (University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy), E-Mindful (OSCE, ILO, EUI/OPAM), Culture for All Youth (NAPOR; CeGraDI/AzBuki), Equality and Diversity (Helsinki Committee for Human Rights), and Study on Youth (Friedrich Ebert Foundation). She is currently engaged in the MINIPART project (Improving Participation in Spatial Planning of Mining Regions) within the PRISMA program of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia.
Selected publications
Pantić, M., Toković, M., Maričić, T., Milosavljević, D. & Vuković, M. (2026). Mining-scapes of participation in Serbian extractive regions: Enhancing participatory processes in decision-making. Urban Science, 10(1), 5.
Toković, M., Milosavljević, D., Vuković, M., Pantić, M. & Maričić, T. (2025). Resistance and engagement in mining communities: Experiences from Bor and Majdanpek (Serbia). Spatium. Advance online publication.
Pantić, M., Maričić, T. & Toković, M. (2025). Ski resort vs. altitude and latitude: Competitiveness from the perspective of the consumers. Sustainability, 17, 601.
Josifovski, A. & Toković, M. (2024). The city as a stage: Runaway International Street Art Festival. Kultura, 185, 203–216.
Petrović, M., Backović, V. & Toković, M. (2022). Rebuilding postcommunist city identity: The case of Novi Pazar, Serbia. Urbani izziv, 33(2), 91–102.
Janković, S. & Toković, M. (2021). Why are institutional injustice and the lack of fairness omnipresent in Serbia? A pragmatic assessment of plural orders of worth. Sociology, 63(2), 236–261.
Petrović, M. & Toković, M. (2018). Gradovi u ogledalu: između identiteta i brend imidža. Beograd: Institut za sociološka istraživanja, Filozofski fakultet, Univerzitet u Beogradu.
Selected presentations
Pantić, M., Maričić, T., Toković, M., Milosavljević, D. & Vuković, M. (2025). Methodological advances in participatory processes in Serbia:Enhancing spatial planning and living environments in mining regions. U: Mirić, N. (ur.), Book of Abstracts, 31–32. International Scientific Conference “Population and Environment: Challenges and Perspectives”, 24. oktobar 2025, Beograd, Srbija.
Toković, M., Vuković, M. & Maričić, T. (2025). Political Trust and Potential of Participatory Dialogue in Mining Areas in Serbia: The Perspective of Local Population of Bor and Majdanpek. Book of Abstracts, International Forum on Urbanism (IFoU25) – “Future Living”, 1–4. jul 2025, Lisabon, Portugal.
Toković, M., Milosavljević, D. & Vuković, M. (2025). Participation, Conflicts and Community Engagement in Mining Areas: The Case of Bor and Majdanpek. Book of Abstracts „New Divisions, Struggles, and Solidarities in South East Europe”, Sociološko naučno društvo Srbije, 13–14. jun 2025, Beograd, Srbija.
Ilić, V. & Toković, M. (2023). Migranti na sceni i iza scene: svet umetnosti i migrantska kriza. Naučni skup „Neizbežnost interkulturalnosti”, 13–15. oktobar 2023, Beograd, Srbija, Univerzitet u Beogradu – Filozofski fakultet, Institut za sociološka istraživanja.
Toković, M., Resanović, M., Nišlić, I. (2023). Uloga digitalnog prostora i savremene tehnologije u promociji kulturnog identiteta grada u kriznim situacijama. XII naučno-stručni skup sa međunarodnim učešćem „Planska i normativna zaštita prostora i životne sredine”, 05–07. oktobar 2023, Novi Pazar, Srbija.