Urban Pockets in Tirana’s Neighbourhoods
This initiative comes in the frame of the ‘Urban Activisms for Civic Democracy’, implemented by Co-PLAN in cooperation with the Municipality of Tirana and POLIS University, supported by the US Embassy in Tirana, Deutche Zentrum, and the Balkan Art Angle. The project tackles the need for the community to assume its role and responsibility in city-making processes through increased participation in the processes that identify, raise, and address issues of collective concern. The focus of this project were greening of the areas, and an improved organization/division of the public space, through urban activisms and the contribution of the citizens themselves.
The complete intervention, makes for a very good example of participatory planning as well as that of the active participation of citizens in decision-making. The project, which was implemented in two stages, addresses problems identified by the community itself, in a way that was developed and agreed jointly.
Such interventions are particularly important at times when public space has been affected by the great pressure and need to develop. Due to such reaons, they are often left unused, unattended, and are often treated as transitory spaces belonging to nobody. With some good will, and commitment we can transform these spaces into the most popular and frequented places in our neighbourhoods.