Urban Planning for Social Resilience –
Learn to Build Impact from the Ground Up

Urban Planning for Social Resilience – Learn to Build Impact from the Ground Up

Urban Pockets

Through the ‘Urban Activisms for Civic Democracy’ project, Co-PLAN and its partners engaged citizens directly in reclaiming and greening neglected public spaces in Tirana. The two-stage, participatory intervention stands as a strong model of community-led planning, transforming overlooked areas into vibrant, well-used neighborhood spaces.

About The Case Study

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, Deutscher 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 was the 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 reasons, 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 neighborhoods.

Addressed Challenges:

Economic & livelihood resilience
Environmental and ecological issues
Social and cultural resilience

Types of Civic Engagement:

Art- and culture-based civic engagement
Collaborative planning projects or processes
Resident-led and grassroots initiatives

Level of Civic Participation:

Collaboration or co-operation
Involvement or participation

Main Stakeholders Involved:

Academic and research institutions
Community members
Local Government
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

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