Rudina Toto

POLIS University · Co-PLAN Institute for Habitat Development Territorial Governance and Spatial Planning; Workshop on Territorial Governance

During the year 2020-22, millions of people around the world had to quarantine, self-isolate, and apply physical and social distancing[1]. Our lives, our family and work have drastically shifted into what many are increasingly calling the “new normal”[2]. People work, study, shop and even get health advice remotely. Yet, not everyone enjoys suitabl...

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 b...

This paper looks at the uncommonness of open space Urban Commons, i.e., squares, playgrounds, plazas, etc., in Central and Eastern European Countries. Such spaces are complex urban commons in terms of governance and are often contested in the frame of urbanisation and market-led processes of city-making, as well as for what they represent as constr...

The purpose of this paper is to examine policies and planning for sustainable city tourism in Amsterdam and Rotterdam and relate them to the notions of 'tourism reset' that emerged during the COVID pandemic period. Amsterdam is a prime European tourist city and has been suffering from problems associated with overtourism. Rotterdam receives much le...

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including mitigation and recovery, has varied across countries and territories around the world, often influenced by the respective model of governance and preparedness of communities and local governments. To argue the importance of local governments’ proactive engagement in managing pandemics’ disasters thro...

The purpose of the survey on "Citizen perception on local taxation and public services" is to investigate the perception of citizens ‐ taxpayers ‐ on local taxation, determinants of local tax compliance or noncompliance behaviour, perception of taxes paid ‐ services provided and their willingness to pay for better services. Exploring citizens' perc...

Exposed to various natural hazards including earthquakes, floods, mudflows, landslides, forest fires and droughts, Albania faces one of the highest levels of disaster risk in Europe. Over the period 1995– 2015, an average of 30,000 people were affected annually by natural disasters, and more than 95 per cent of Albanian municipalities were affected...

Qëllimi i vrojtimit mbi “Perceptimin qytetar mbi taksimin vendor dhe shërbimet publike” është hulumtojë perceptimin e qytetarëve – taksapaguesve mbi taksimin vendor, faktorët përcaktues të vendimit për të paguar apo jo detyrimet vendore, perceptimin mbi taksat e paguara – shërbimet e ofruara dhe gatishmërinë e tyre për të paguar për shërbime më të...

The objective of the study: explore citizens' perceptions - family taxpayers - on local taxation, determinants of the decision to pay or not local obligations, perception of the relationship between taxes paid - services provided and their willingness to pay for better services.

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 po...

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. Terr...

Following the end of the socialist regime in the 1990s, land development in Tirana, Albania, has been driven mainly by private interests and development has occurred following a plot-based approach. The absence of appropriate planning instruments and institutional capacities to respond to the socio-economic dynamics at the time led to an increase o...

Territorial governance has emerged in European policy discourse pertaining to social cohesion, spatial planning, multilevel governance and socio-economic development. However, despite the extensive literature, territorial governance still contains definitional ambiguities and faces criticism, especially in terms of practical implementation. This ch...

Urban open spaces for public use in Eastern European cities are often poorly maintained, abused and abandoned, leading to their dehumanization. Public space is a common or shared resource, as it relates to communities and social interaction. Collective action to maintain and govern the open spaces in Eastern Europe is however faced with various cha...

Gjirokastra. Between the "UNESCO City" status and the phenomenon of "Shrinking Cities". Gjirokastra is one of the most beloved cities in Albania and beyond in the region. The city with extraordinary historical values, and with unique traditions and landscape, is rightly included in the UNESCO list. Gjirokastra has always been, and continues to b...

Annual Review of Territorial Governance in the Western Balkans is a periodical publication with select policy briefs on matters related to territorial governance, sketching the present situation, the Europeanisation process, the policy and the research and development agenda for the near future. The publication targets policy-makers and policy-in u...

Even though the ADRION countries have been converging, on average, with EU27 for the period 2007-2018, they still present a heterogeneous set of countries spanning from EU higher-income group, the intermediate-income Croatia and non-EU lower-income countries - when measured as GDP per capita in PPS1. During that same period, the GDP PPS differences...

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). In Albania, the COVID-19 emergency is being managed centrally, with a relatively soft, often weak or limited involvement o...

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 i...

Uncertainty from natural hazards and disaster risks is high in Albania. Located in the western part of the Balkans, 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...

Rotterdam's tourism grows rapidly but is still modest compared to cities like Amsterdam and Brussels. Until 2018, Rotterdam's municipal tourism actions were economically oriented and focused attention on marketing, hotels, congresses, and events. Local authorities became aware of potential negative impacts of tourism, associated with over-tourism,...

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 reg...

The proposed vision of territorial development and governance in the Western Balkans is the result of an interactive workshop held in May 2019 with the members of the Western Balkan Network on Territorial Governance (TG-WeB)1. As such, the vision reflects the opinion of the network, with individual perspectives being well-balanced towards a common...

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 d...

Territorial governance enables territorial development, moving away from sectorial approaches, towards place-based and highly adaptable models. Most territorial governance studies take a socio-institutional, or spatial planning perspective. Still, territorial governance happens in and through other policy domains, interacting among them and with th...

Annual Review for Territorial Governance in Albania is a periodical publication with select policy briefs on matters related to territorial governance, sketching the present situation, the Europeanisation process, the policy, and the research and development agenda for the near future. The publication will be in both languages, English and Albanian...

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, whic...

This position paper reflects input and feedback gathered from all Western Balkans Territorial Governance Network members. 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...

forest commons' regimes in Albania

This is about the first ever participation of Albania in the Triennial of Milan, done thanks to the concept and implementation of a team of Polis University Tirana and Co-Plan Institute for Habitat Development. The main curators: Besnik Aliaj and Antonino Di Raimo, with a support from Sotir Dhamo,and Dritan Shutina, The implementation was supported...

A toolkit of territorial planning and development for practitioners, politicians, and academia in Albania.

Background: Between 1945-1990, Albania experienced one of the harshest authoritarian regimes of the Cold War period, and was considered the “Northern Korea” of Eastern Europe. The country prohibited any form of organized religion, private initiative, and freedom of movement. No foreigners could enter the country, practically. Indeed it was consider...

The Regionalisation of Albania – The Governance, Administrative and Territorial Reform that Albania needs on a Regional Level, was prepared by Co-PLAN, Institute for Habitat Development, based on the analytical work conducted in years - at least since 2005. This proposal builds up considerably on the role of Co-PLAN in the frame of the “Regional De...

POLIS University publishes the “Forum A+P” – Interdisciplinary Journal of Architecture and Scientific Environment”, the only scientific and cultural magazine in the Albanian –speaking countries on the fields of architecture and territory planning. This magazine is recognized by the Ministry of Education and Science, the Academic Degrees Evaluation...

POLIS University publishes the “Forum A+P” – Interdisciplinary Journal of Architecture and Scientific Environment”, the only scientific and cultural magazine in the Albanian –speaking countries on the fields of architecture and territory planning. This magazine is recognized by the Ministry of Education and Science, the Academic Degrees Evaluation...

POLIS University publishes the “Forum A+P” – Interdisciplinary Journal of Architecture and Scientific Environment”, the only scientific and cultural magazine in the Albanian –speaking countries on the fields of architecture and territory planning. This magazine is recognized by the Ministry of Education and Science, the Academic Degrees Evaluation...