‘100 Villages’ is a new Albanian state programme that aims at establishing the first successful model on the integrated rural development of Albania. The Albanian ministries of Agriculture, Infrastructure and Energy, Culture, Tourism, and Environment cooperate with mayors and (international) agencies to foster regional development. They developed a map of 100 villages throughout Albania that are going to be the first 100 models of rural development. The programme will provide both improved public services and economic well-being.
In the framework of the 100 villages program, superwien urbanism ZT OG supports the Albanian Territorial Planning Agency with knowledge about placemaking and techniques of civic engagement in urban planning. Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. It capitalizes on a local community's assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces that promote people's health, happiness, and well-being.
In the Albanian context, the result is a simple participatory urban planning guide for small towns on how to develop urban strategies with place-based solutions. This methodology will be tested in the village of Kanina (Vlora) and then replicated in other towns through this methodology guide.
A video on the pilot project in Kanina can be found here and a relevant report can be downloaded here.
This project is part of BACID II - Building Administrative Capacities in the Danube Region and Western Balkans“ (2018-2021). The Austrian Association of Cities and Towns (AACT) and KDZ (Public Administration Research Center) implement the programme „Building Administrative Capacity in the Danube Region and Western Balkans“, co-funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). BACID started 2014 with the support of ADA. Main project partners are the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) of the Western Balkans and the Network of Associations of Local Authorities in South-East Europe (NALAS).