Papers by Rudina Toto
TERRITORIAL RESCALING AND POLYCENTRIC GOVERNANCE IN ALBANIA, 2021
Territories as relational geographical constructs are in constant formation and reformation, or r... more Territories as relational geographical constructs are in constant formation and reformation, or rescaling, which results in spatial typologies of complex governance. The voting containers of a territory are merely one typology, often not matching the numerous functions within the other typologies. Under the assumption that voting containers are politically fixed, governance that adapts to the dynamics of territorial rescaling is required. This paper explores the relationship between territorial rescaling and polycentric governance in Albania. It concludes that polycentric governance can enable cooperation and efficiency throughout rescaling, assuming some conditions are in place for addressing the polycentricity gap.
Foreword: Territorial governance in the Western Balkans: Multi-Scalar approaches and perspectives, 2021
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Western Balkans have embarked on a complex path of transiti... more Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Western Balkans have embarked on a complex path of transition and societal transformation, that was intended to eventually lead to their integration into the European Union. The pace of this process has, however, varied, with some countries already having acquired membership, while others still struggling. Territorial governance plays a particularly important role in this process, as the internal cohesion of the region is key to its successful integration into the EU. However, knowledge on territorial governance in the Western Balkans is still limited and fragmented. This special issue aims to shed some light on the matter, discussing territorial governance contexts and practices in the Western Balkans from a multi-scalar perspective. This editorial serves as an introduction to the special issue, framing its context and guiding the reader through the articles that follow.
Policy report, 2020
This policy report is an effort to document the response of local governments in Albania during t... more This policy report is an effort to document the response of local governments in Albania during the COVID-19 emergency, focusing on the pre-outbreak period (January-February 2020) and on the isolation period (March-April 2020). With more than 7.2 million cases confirmed around the world and over 413,000 casualties until mid-June (2020), and numbers on the rising part of the curve, COVID-19 remains one of the most important pandemics of the 21st century. Besides being a health emergency, the COVID-19 outbreak has had and will have for close-to-medium-term future serious socioeconomic and financial consequences, including implications of moral, ethics and democracy. In this very complex background, local governments, being closer to citizens, can and should play an important role in managing the emergency and governing for post-disaster recovery and preparedness. However, as various reports show, the response of local governments is territorially asymmetric at international level. This is due to the characteristics of the governance systems in the different countries, the territorial and geographical features, the shape of cities and level of urbanisation, overall level of development and investments levels for enabling local resilience. In Albania, the COVID-19 emergency is being managed centrally, with a relatively soft, often weak or limited involvement of local governments. This comes in a context where legally speaking, local governments have a significant role in governing disaster events (preparedness, emergency response, recovery and planning), but are technically and financially weak in doing so. The situation is even less promising for biological disaster risks, particularly pandemics, where the effect of the disaster is not territorially bound, and the response should be well coordinated among levels of governance (vertically) and among actors (horizontally). The focus of this report is comprehending how local governments in Albania have reacted during the COVID-19 emergency. The aim is to shed light on their role and challenges, and subsequently create knowledge for disaster governance and recovery in the near future, as well as propose some stepping stones for enabling local resilience. The report is prepared based on findings from a general survey that Co-PLAN, Institute for Habitat Development and the Albanian Association for Local Autonomy conducted with the 61 municipalities of Albania during April 2020.
Co-PLAN Resilience Series, 2020
This policy report is an effort to document the response of local governments in Albania during t... more This policy report is an effort to document the response of local governments in Albania during the COVID-19 emergency, focusing on the pre-outbreak period (January-February 2020) and on the isolation period (March-April 2020).
With more than 7.2 million cases confirmed around the world and over 413,000 casualties until mid-June (2020), and numbers on the rising part of the curve, COVID-19 remains one of the most important pandemics of the 21st century. Besides being a health emergency, the COVID-19 outbreak has had and will have for close-to-medium-term future serious socio-economic and financial consequences, including implications of moral, ethics and democracy.
In this very complex background, local governments, being closer to citizens, can and should play an important role in managing the emergency and governing for post-disaster recovery and preparedness. However, as various reports show, the response of local governments is territorially asymmetric at international level. This is due to the characteristics of the governance systems in the different countries, the territorial and geographical features, the shape of cities and level of urbanisation, overall level of development and investments levels for enabling local resilience.
In Albania, the COVID-19 emergency is being managed centrally, with a relatively soft, often weak or limited involvement of local governments. This comes in a context where legally speaking, local governments have a significant role in governing disaster events (preparedness, emergency response, recovery and planning), but are technically and financially weak in doing so. The situation is even less promising for biological disaster risks, particularly pandemics, where the effect of the disaster is not territorially bound, and the response should be well coordinated among levels of governance (vertically) and among actors (horizontally).
The focus of this report is comprehending how local governments in Albania have reacted during the COVID-19 emergency. The aim is to shed light on their role and challenges, and subsequently create knowledge for disaster governance and recovery in the near future, as well as propose some stepping stones for enabling local resilience. The report is prepared based on findings from a general survey that Co-PLAN, Institute for Habitat Development and the Albanian Association for Local Autonomy conducted with the 61 municipalities of Albania during April 2020.
USAID's Urban Planning and Local Government Project, 2016
Infrastructure is a pre-condition for most economic opportunities, a high quality of life, and su... more Infrastructure is a pre-condition for most economic opportunities, a high quality of life, and sustainable patterns of urban development. According to the European Commission, the typical member nation of the European Union has seven times more kilometers of roads per 100.000 residents than Albania and more than three times more rail lines. Moreover, Albania invests only 25% of what is required to maintain current infrastructure.
Political and fiscal decentralization, territorial reform, shifting demographics, and growing community demands are increasing pressure on local government authorities in Albania to increase investment in infrastructure. However, increased pressure is not matched by increased income, and local governments are seriously under-resourced and hence unable to meet the demand for basic services and infrastructure.
Western Balkan Network on Territorial Governance, 2018
All Western Balkan countries share a common aspiration for a future with the European Union (EU).... more All Western Balkan countries share a common aspiration for a future with the European Union (EU). As a region, our territorial governance systems and practices face common imperfections that render the translation of EU policies into practice challenging. These challenges are mounting in a context in which the EU has not included the Western Balkans in its efforts to enhance Territorial Governance, hence leading to current and future unpreparedness for dealing with territorial development in both an EU and domestic fashion.As the EU has recently reconfirmed its perspective on enlargement, as a network, we find this to be a timely moment to explicitly introduce Territorial Governance into the enlargement agenda. We, the Western Balkans Network on Territorial Governance, suggest that the credible enlargement perspective could do more under the frame of territorial governance to address and offer a credible solution to underlying structural issues. These underlying issues affect the successful fulfilment of the enlargement perspective’s priority objectives; constitute core barriers to the sustainable development of the Western Balkans; and are critical to the achievement of intra-regional integration. By being addressed, we believe that the enlargement perspective would have a greater potential for delivering the much-anticipated results.
THREE DECADES OF POST-SOCIALIST TRANSITION - Conference Proceedings, 2019
The theme ‘urban commons’ receives a lot of (scholarly) attention. A miscellany of approaches loo... more The theme ‘urban commons’ receives a lot of (scholarly) attention. A miscellany of approaches looks at urban commons, from an institutionalist approach of governing the commons, to a ‘third way’ - an ‘anti-capitalist’ view moving beyond state and market. Urban commons like public spaces differ from ‘traditional commons’; they are considered more of indirect value and generally less as common-pool resources (like forests, grazing areas). In the city, the commons is an inherently relational phenomenon, where (social) value is created through interaction. Public spaces as urban commons‚ in their free accessibility‚ bear the potential for practices of commoning founded in a community process. Urban commons have hardly (if at all) been related to the post-socialist Balkan city, though collective action and ownership was strongly proclaimed by these countries before the fall of Berlin Wall. Practices (experiences, social capital, governance)
of urban commons in post-socialist cities differ from those in Western cities, due to at least 3 reasons: i) after 1990/91 private sector led urban development has dominated; ii) government authorities and urban institutions are searching for new roles and responsibilities, resulting in ambiguous urban spaces exposed to neglect or commercialization; iii) communities have strong and negative memories of forced collective action. In this paper we review theory on [new] commons and give a contextualization of urban commons in post-socialist cities. Then, follow results of a study conducted in two Western Balkan capitals: Podgorica and Tirana. A number of public spaces typologies (squares / public spaces of different size and status) are analysed in both cities from the perspective of design principles of robust commons. The mixed methods used in the investigation and analysis deals with the common resource, the institutions and the community. The study concludes with suggestions for potential handling of the commons studied. The paper will reflect on the potential of the concept of urban commons for post-socialist cities.
Annual Review of Territorial Governance in Albania, 2018
The evolution of land development in Albania has gone through several important stages since the ... more The evolution of land development in Albania has gone through several important stages since the fall of the totalitarian regime in the beginning of the 1990s. The legal framework and the instruments used for managing land development have been significantly expanded and enriched, including the introduction of innovative financial instruments, which allow for land value capture in the public interest. However, the practice of land development and management remains incomplete, hidden, and driven by financial interests, which do not aim to produce public benefits. In most cases, land development is implemented by entrepreneurs aiming at profit maximization, whereas the public receives little or no benefit. This article analyses the evolution of land development in Albania in legal, institutional, and practical terms, focusing on challenges experienced so far and on possible means for innovation. The purpose of the latter is to establish practices that: prove to be applicable in the Albanian context; are understood and widely accepted by all of the interested stakeholders; provide socioeconomic results; are transparent; respect actors' development rights; and, most importantly, provide public benefits, hence moving beyond limited stakeholders' interests. In this regard, this article shares (among others) the experience of the application of the Quadruple Helix (QH) as a platform for innovation in land development and provides recommendations on how to improve land development processes. The practice of the QH has been described by the authors in two cases of land development in the municipalities of Fier and Tirana
Brief 2019:9, 2019
This joint Co-PLAN and Spatial Foresight Brief brings together two parallel discussions on how to... more This joint Co-PLAN and Spatial Foresight Brief brings together two parallel discussions on how to improve public policy making through a stronger focus on the spatial dimension and in particular on territorial governance. At European level, the revision of the Territorial Agenda is currently discussed stressing the need for a stronger territorial dimension in policy making and the empowerment of local and regional players to engage in cooperation and visioning processes. At the same time, in the Western
Balkans, there is a bottom-up discussion about the need to strengthen territorial governance and empower civil society players at local and regional level, to improve the quality of public decision making
and prepare for European integration. We believe it is the right moment that these two parallel debates are brought together.
The paper is based on the work of the Western Balkan Network on Territorial Governance1, the Territorial Thinkers2 and the ESPON study on a European Territorial Reference Framework3.
Co-PLAN Resilience Series, 2020
Uncertainty from natural hazards and disaster risks is high in Albania. Located in the western pa... more Uncertainty from natural hazards and disaster risks is high in Albania. Located in the western part of the Balkan, Albania has faced over the years several disaster events and the future, especially in the light of climate change, does not hold any positive news. Multiple hazards are present over the territory and extend beyond the administrative boundaries, revealing the need for an integrated local - to national – to regional approach to resilience building, as a response to uncertainties. The following paper analyses the role and challenges of the local governments, from and institutional perspective, for enabling local resilience. Local resilience has social, institutional, governance, economic, ecological and territorial dimensions. This paper addresses local ecological and territorial resilience.
Books by Rudina Toto
Annual Review of Territorial Governance in the Western Balkans , 2020
During the last few decades, extreme weather events and global and regional economic crises have ... more During the last few decades, extreme weather events and global and regional economic crises have been forcing us to rethink the way that governments approach territorial development. The inherent links between social, economic, and ecological systems are proving to be increasingly signi cant, and exist only in a complex whole characterised by multiple feedbacks (Berkes et al. 2002). In this light, managing the relationship between the social, economic, and ecological aspects of development is of paramount importance for those interested in establishing sustainable development trajectories in the long-run. This is particularly true since the COVID-19 pandemic has added further entropy to the picture of socio-ecological interactions. During the early stages of the pandemic, decision making, regulations, and communication had converged at the national level. However, throughout the course of the pandemic, there has been growing room for improvement in policy-making. As such, there is a need to rethink development objectives and their governance according to a new long-term perspective – one that takes better account of di erent issues and needs. Key concepts such as multi-level governance, place-based development, circular economy, and the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals can all help Western Balkan countries to achieve a better quality of life while preserving productivity, social inclusion, and the environment (Cotella and Vitale Brovarone, 2020).
Toolkit for local governments, 2019
Local Detailed Plans and Financial Instruments for Land Development
Integrated Support for Decentralization Project "Working for Regional Development" Regional Disparities in Albania, 2010
Co-PLAN and POLIS University , 2018
In view of current socio-political ambitions and regional dynamics in Albania as part of the West... more In view of current socio-political ambitions and regional dynamics in Albania as part of the Western Balkans, Co-PLAN, Institute for Habitat Development and POLIS University, introduce the first issue of the
‘Annual Review of Territorial Governance in Albania’. This is a platform aimed at furthering the research on territorial governance on a domestic and regional level, bringing together research and policy-influencing
actors from the Western Balkan countries.
This annual publication is dedicated to the territory, given its intrinsic relation to resources, development, and consequently governance. The articles focus mostly on territorial or place-sensitive governance in
Albania, but provide analyses and insights on the connections between national territorial frameworks and policies, and those in the European Union and in the Western Balkans, to enhance the domestic territorial
governance (TG) and impact in a ‘unique voice’ the EU integration of the Western Balkan countries from a TG perspective.
We focus on territorial governance precisely for its place-sensitive dimension. This is governance that cares for the territory and resources, regardless of administrative boundaries and political representations, and
as such, it ought to be implemented in each sector considering that all sectors are resource-dependent.
Whilst planning is an important domain that emphasises the role of the territory in policy-making, it is only one form of territorial governance. The success of the latter depends on the coordination it manages
to achieve with other development sectors, and on the synergies among sectors. This implies dynamic interactions among stakeholders (formal and informal) at any institutional levels and territorial scales.
Therefore, the articles, as you will find, deal with a number of sectors and their interrelation to the territory, and the various multi-level, polycentric forms of governance. Each article is a policy brief that makes use of research, information, and analysis carried out by the authors,
and provides policy recommendations mostly to domestic institutions, while also contributing to reducing the information gap on Albania at an international scale. We remain hopeful that such analyses of territorial
governance and sectors will provide bottom-up contribution to the Albania’s EU integration process from a territorial development perspective. Furthermore, our intention is to catalyse a regional discourse on
the complex, multi-level, polycentric and network-based mechanisms of territorial governance, still an ‘abstract sounding’ and difficult to comprehend and apply concept. Through this review, we aim to explain
the concept of territorial governance and break it into implementable components for the Albanian institutions. Wishing you a pleasant reading of our ‘Annual Review of Territorial Governance in Albania’, I take the opportunity to extend the invitation to all interested researchers and the wider body of experts and practitioners in Albania and the region, to view this periodical as a platform for sharing, and exchanging research-based know-how on territory and governance.
JOURNAL OF THE WESTERN BALKAN NETWORK ON TERRITORIAL GOVERNANCE (TG-WeB), 2019
All Western Balkan countries share, despite their diversity and idiosyncrasies, a comm... more All Western Balkan countries share, despite their diversity and idiosyncrasies, a common aspiration for a future within the European Union, similarities with respect to development and integration agendas, as well as face imperfections of their planning systems and Territorial Governance (TG) practices. The current socio-political ambitions and regional dynamics in the Western Balkan Region, call for societal actors to actively participate in the discourse on territorial governance. Territory as a policy dimension and as a resource, is inherent to any decision-making that addresses sustainable development, socio-ecological interactions, and resilience. Political dynamics also build on the territory, distressing territorial functionalities and capital, both vital to the mere existence of the society, and shared in common by communities. Such a complexity is highly present in the Western Balkan, a region where diversity and commonalities are utterly intertwined and deeply rooted in its historical course. Such a complexity, is also understood to underpin the challenges faced by the region in its efforts to integrate internally and with the European Union, hence pursuing the path set by the Berlin Process. The Western Balkan Network on Territorial Governance, a group of civil society organisations and researchers believes that a prosperous, cohesive, yet diverse Western Balkans demands for territorial governance and necessitates cooperation: cooperation between places, actors, and sectors, with sustainable territorial development as the final aim. As part of the societal actors, the Network, which comprises of civil society actors based in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia, believes that cooperation should be nourished from the bottom-up, with non-state actors inducing and driving governments towards endorsing a common approach for the region. Yet, while this process is desirable, it is also complex and necessitates well-versed stakeholders to shape it. In this frame, the Network proposes the ‘Annual Review of Territorial Governance in the Western Balkans’, an annual periodical, as a platform for informed policy interaction, aiming at bringing together research and policy-influencing actors, to enable good territorial governance in the Western Balkan Region, in line with its sustainable development goals and European Union integration ambitions. This periodical welcomes contributions focusing on territorial development and governance matters in the Western Balkans, as well as context framing articles with varying territorial perspectives, relevant to the territoriality and developments in the Western Balkans countries. As such, all articles aim to bring a policy outlook relating to sectors, institutional capacities, polycentricity in place-based governance, politics of the territory, and geostrategic decisions that affect the region.
Conference Presentations by Rudina Toto
Co-PLAN Resilience Series - Webinar with SHAV on June 19th, 2020, 2020
The focus of this research is comprehending how local governments in Albania have reacted during ... more The focus of this research is comprehending how local governments in Albania have reacted during the COVID-19 emergency. The aim is to shed light on their role and challenges, and subsequently create knowledge for disaster governance and recovery in the near future, as well as propose some stepping stones for enabling local resilience. The report is prepared based on findings from a general survey that Co-PLAN, Institute for Habitat Development and the Albanian Association for Local Autonomy conducted with the 61 municipalities of Albania during April 2020.
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Papers by Rudina Toto
With more than 7.2 million cases confirmed around the world and over 413,000 casualties until mid-June (2020), and numbers on the rising part of the curve, COVID-19 remains one of the most important pandemics of the 21st century. Besides being a health emergency, the COVID-19 outbreak has had and will have for close-to-medium-term future serious socio-economic and financial consequences, including implications of moral, ethics and democracy.
In this very complex background, local governments, being closer to citizens, can and should play an important role in managing the emergency and governing for post-disaster recovery and preparedness. However, as various reports show, the response of local governments is territorially asymmetric at international level. This is due to the characteristics of the governance systems in the different countries, the territorial and geographical features, the shape of cities and level of urbanisation, overall level of development and investments levels for enabling local resilience.
In Albania, the COVID-19 emergency is being managed centrally, with a relatively soft, often weak or limited involvement of local governments. This comes in a context where legally speaking, local governments have a significant role in governing disaster events (preparedness, emergency response, recovery and planning), but are technically and financially weak in doing so. The situation is even less promising for biological disaster risks, particularly pandemics, where the effect of the disaster is not territorially bound, and the response should be well coordinated among levels of governance (vertically) and among actors (horizontally).
The focus of this report is comprehending how local governments in Albania have reacted during the COVID-19 emergency. The aim is to shed light on their role and challenges, and subsequently create knowledge for disaster governance and recovery in the near future, as well as propose some stepping stones for enabling local resilience. The report is prepared based on findings from a general survey that Co-PLAN, Institute for Habitat Development and the Albanian Association for Local Autonomy conducted with the 61 municipalities of Albania during April 2020.
Political and fiscal decentralization, territorial reform, shifting demographics, and growing community demands are increasing pressure on local government authorities in Albania to increase investment in infrastructure. However, increased pressure is not matched by increased income, and local governments are seriously under-resourced and hence unable to meet the demand for basic services and infrastructure.
of urban commons in post-socialist cities differ from those in Western cities, due to at least 3 reasons: i) after 1990/91 private sector led urban development has dominated; ii) government authorities and urban institutions are searching for new roles and responsibilities, resulting in ambiguous urban spaces exposed to neglect or commercialization; iii) communities have strong and negative memories of forced collective action. In this paper we review theory on [new] commons and give a contextualization of urban commons in post-socialist cities. Then, follow results of a study conducted in two Western Balkan capitals: Podgorica and Tirana. A number of public spaces typologies (squares / public spaces of different size and status) are analysed in both cities from the perspective of design principles of robust commons. The mixed methods used in the investigation and analysis deals with the common resource, the institutions and the community. The study concludes with suggestions for potential handling of the commons studied. The paper will reflect on the potential of the concept of urban commons for post-socialist cities.
Balkans, there is a bottom-up discussion about the need to strengthen territorial governance and empower civil society players at local and regional level, to improve the quality of public decision making
and prepare for European integration. We believe it is the right moment that these two parallel debates are brought together.
The paper is based on the work of the Western Balkan Network on Territorial Governance1, the Territorial Thinkers2 and the ESPON study on a European Territorial Reference Framework3.
Books by Rudina Toto
‘Annual Review of Territorial Governance in Albania’. This is a platform aimed at furthering the research on territorial governance on a domestic and regional level, bringing together research and policy-influencing
actors from the Western Balkan countries.
This annual publication is dedicated to the territory, given its intrinsic relation to resources, development, and consequently governance. The articles focus mostly on territorial or place-sensitive governance in
Albania, but provide analyses and insights on the connections between national territorial frameworks and policies, and those in the European Union and in the Western Balkans, to enhance the domestic territorial
governance (TG) and impact in a ‘unique voice’ the EU integration of the Western Balkan countries from a TG perspective.
We focus on territorial governance precisely for its place-sensitive dimension. This is governance that cares for the territory and resources, regardless of administrative boundaries and political representations, and
as such, it ought to be implemented in each sector considering that all sectors are resource-dependent.
Whilst planning is an important domain that emphasises the role of the territory in policy-making, it is only one form of territorial governance. The success of the latter depends on the coordination it manages
to achieve with other development sectors, and on the synergies among sectors. This implies dynamic interactions among stakeholders (formal and informal) at any institutional levels and territorial scales.
Therefore, the articles, as you will find, deal with a number of sectors and their interrelation to the territory, and the various multi-level, polycentric forms of governance. Each article is a policy brief that makes use of research, information, and analysis carried out by the authors,
and provides policy recommendations mostly to domestic institutions, while also contributing to reducing the information gap on Albania at an international scale. We remain hopeful that such analyses of territorial
governance and sectors will provide bottom-up contribution to the Albania’s EU integration process from a territorial development perspective. Furthermore, our intention is to catalyse a regional discourse on
the complex, multi-level, polycentric and network-based mechanisms of territorial governance, still an ‘abstract sounding’ and difficult to comprehend and apply concept. Through this review, we aim to explain
the concept of territorial governance and break it into implementable components for the Albanian institutions. Wishing you a pleasant reading of our ‘Annual Review of Territorial Governance in Albania’, I take the opportunity to extend the invitation to all interested researchers and the wider body of experts and practitioners in Albania and the region, to view this periodical as a platform for sharing, and exchanging research-based know-how on territory and governance.
Conference Presentations by Rudina Toto
With more than 7.2 million cases confirmed around the world and over 413,000 casualties until mid-June (2020), and numbers on the rising part of the curve, COVID-19 remains one of the most important pandemics of the 21st century. Besides being a health emergency, the COVID-19 outbreak has had and will have for close-to-medium-term future serious socio-economic and financial consequences, including implications of moral, ethics and democracy.
In this very complex background, local governments, being closer to citizens, can and should play an important role in managing the emergency and governing for post-disaster recovery and preparedness. However, as various reports show, the response of local governments is territorially asymmetric at international level. This is due to the characteristics of the governance systems in the different countries, the territorial and geographical features, the shape of cities and level of urbanisation, overall level of development and investments levels for enabling local resilience.
In Albania, the COVID-19 emergency is being managed centrally, with a relatively soft, often weak or limited involvement of local governments. This comes in a context where legally speaking, local governments have a significant role in governing disaster events (preparedness, emergency response, recovery and planning), but are technically and financially weak in doing so. The situation is even less promising for biological disaster risks, particularly pandemics, where the effect of the disaster is not territorially bound, and the response should be well coordinated among levels of governance (vertically) and among actors (horizontally).
The focus of this report is comprehending how local governments in Albania have reacted during the COVID-19 emergency. The aim is to shed light on their role and challenges, and subsequently create knowledge for disaster governance and recovery in the near future, as well as propose some stepping stones for enabling local resilience. The report is prepared based on findings from a general survey that Co-PLAN, Institute for Habitat Development and the Albanian Association for Local Autonomy conducted with the 61 municipalities of Albania during April 2020.
Political and fiscal decentralization, territorial reform, shifting demographics, and growing community demands are increasing pressure on local government authorities in Albania to increase investment in infrastructure. However, increased pressure is not matched by increased income, and local governments are seriously under-resourced and hence unable to meet the demand for basic services and infrastructure.
of urban commons in post-socialist cities differ from those in Western cities, due to at least 3 reasons: i) after 1990/91 private sector led urban development has dominated; ii) government authorities and urban institutions are searching for new roles and responsibilities, resulting in ambiguous urban spaces exposed to neglect or commercialization; iii) communities have strong and negative memories of forced collective action. In this paper we review theory on [new] commons and give a contextualization of urban commons in post-socialist cities. Then, follow results of a study conducted in two Western Balkan capitals: Podgorica and Tirana. A number of public spaces typologies (squares / public spaces of different size and status) are analysed in both cities from the perspective of design principles of robust commons. The mixed methods used in the investigation and analysis deals with the common resource, the institutions and the community. The study concludes with suggestions for potential handling of the commons studied. The paper will reflect on the potential of the concept of urban commons for post-socialist cities.
Balkans, there is a bottom-up discussion about the need to strengthen territorial governance and empower civil society players at local and regional level, to improve the quality of public decision making
and prepare for European integration. We believe it is the right moment that these two parallel debates are brought together.
The paper is based on the work of the Western Balkan Network on Territorial Governance1, the Territorial Thinkers2 and the ESPON study on a European Territorial Reference Framework3.
‘Annual Review of Territorial Governance in Albania’. This is a platform aimed at furthering the research on territorial governance on a domestic and regional level, bringing together research and policy-influencing
actors from the Western Balkan countries.
This annual publication is dedicated to the territory, given its intrinsic relation to resources, development, and consequently governance. The articles focus mostly on territorial or place-sensitive governance in
Albania, but provide analyses and insights on the connections between national territorial frameworks and policies, and those in the European Union and in the Western Balkans, to enhance the domestic territorial
governance (TG) and impact in a ‘unique voice’ the EU integration of the Western Balkan countries from a TG perspective.
We focus on territorial governance precisely for its place-sensitive dimension. This is governance that cares for the territory and resources, regardless of administrative boundaries and political representations, and
as such, it ought to be implemented in each sector considering that all sectors are resource-dependent.
Whilst planning is an important domain that emphasises the role of the territory in policy-making, it is only one form of territorial governance. The success of the latter depends on the coordination it manages
to achieve with other development sectors, and on the synergies among sectors. This implies dynamic interactions among stakeholders (formal and informal) at any institutional levels and territorial scales.
Therefore, the articles, as you will find, deal with a number of sectors and their interrelation to the territory, and the various multi-level, polycentric forms of governance. Each article is a policy brief that makes use of research, information, and analysis carried out by the authors,
and provides policy recommendations mostly to domestic institutions, while also contributing to reducing the information gap on Albania at an international scale. We remain hopeful that such analyses of territorial
governance and sectors will provide bottom-up contribution to the Albania’s EU integration process from a territorial development perspective. Furthermore, our intention is to catalyse a regional discourse on
the complex, multi-level, polycentric and network-based mechanisms of territorial governance, still an ‘abstract sounding’ and difficult to comprehend and apply concept. Through this review, we aim to explain
the concept of territorial governance and break it into implementable components for the Albanian institutions. Wishing you a pleasant reading of our ‘Annual Review of Territorial Governance in Albania’, I take the opportunity to extend the invitation to all interested researchers and the wider body of experts and practitioners in Albania and the region, to view this periodical as a platform for sharing, and exchanging research-based know-how on territory and governance.