Territorial Governance and Development constitutes one of the core expertise units in Co-PLAN. Since 1995, Co-PLAN has worked with communities and government institutions to address urban development issues. Co-PLAN was established as a grassroots organization, working to increase quality of life in the neighborhoods of Albania’s cities and towns. Since then, it has gradually developed into a professional civil society organization aiming at bringing together various stakeholders, while simultaneously providing knowledge and innovations in the fields of urban and regional development in Albania.Though Co-PLAN has expanded its area of expertise to include all aspects of territorial governance and sustainable spatial development, urban and regional planning and development remain at the core of Co-PLAN’s agenda. Urban and regional planning and development are core objectives of Co-PLAN since its foundation, and over time this orientation has matured. Co-PLAN now undertakes activities at multiple scales (i.e., the neighborhood, city, regional, inter-regional, and national levels) and with a spectrum of actors such as communities, local and central government, businesses, donors, and civil society organizations. The expertise, services, and products that Co-PLAN provides include:
Products
1. Preparation of Strategic Plans, City Development Strategies, and Municipal Development Plans, both for cities facing the pressures of rapid development, and for settlements facing scarcity of energy and resources;
2. Preparation of comprehensive territorial, urban, regional and sectorial plans, both strategic and regulatory;
3. Design and implementation of Territorial Municipal Information Systems, focusing on territorial databases for both planning and overall service management purposes;
4. Design and Implementation of Action Plans for public services and neighborhood planning;
5. Preparation of local/area detailed plans, facilitating negotiations among stakeholders and formulating the respective urban design and financial land development instruments;
6. Preparation of feasibility studies and design of Public Private Partnership PPPs, including support for implementation;
7. Implementation of institutional analysis of local governments in order to support decision-making, institutional restructuring, and revision of information flows in favor of municipal information systems;
8. Preparation of Neighborhood Development Agendas for urban neighborhoods, informal settlements, and vulnerable communities;
9. Formulation of long-term Housing Programs for local governments;
10. Strategic and spatial plans and operational programs for the development of regions and metropolitan areas;
11. In depth studies on public transportation;
12. Establishment of Knowledge Management Platforms;
13. Development of instruments and standards for land administration in order to control and steer land development in the urban and rural territory, as well as creating funding opportunities for public infrastructures at local level;
14. Drafting of legislation (laws and bylaws) and of implementation manuals and toolkits in the area of territorial planning and governance.
Services
1. Community/Neighborhood Planning;
2. Planning for the urbanization and integration of Informal Settlements;
3. City Planning;
4. Regional Planning;
5. Institutional Strengthening and Organizational Development for Local Government;
6. Sectoral Planning;
7. Training and On-the-Job Assistance;
8. Lobbying and Networking;
9. Strategy and Action Planning;
10. Facilitation and support of Community Based Organizations (CBOs);
11. Neighborhood upgrading support for local communities;
12. Drafting of and provision of support in drafting legislation;
13. Design of financial instruments for land development and facilitation of negotiation processes during implementation.
Our Approach
1. Being vanguard, flexible and contemporary in the field of territorial governance, by creating authentic models or appropriating international best-practices and adjusting and adapting them to the local context and culture; aiming at developing best cases and instruments for further replication;
2. Implementation of multi-dimensional and multi-tiers approach for territorial governance, aiming at achieving sustainable environmental, social, institutional and economic development for the current and future generations;
3. Implementing scientific and policy research next to development work, with the purpose of consolidating and disseminating know-how as well as assessing impacts;
4. Work with communities to enable them to address neighborhood upgrading and quality of life issues;
5. Enabling citywide participatory processes aimed at generating public input into the design of strategic, regulatory and financial instruments used in territorial governance;
6. Cooperate and establish partnerships with local and central government institutions, and assist government officials in improving management of services and in designing strategic instruments for urban and regional development;
7. Disseminate knowledge and share information with stakeholders in decision-making processes and strengthen the capacities of citizens and government officials.
Below is a list with key publications of the governing entity and territorial development:
1. Technical Manual – Territorial Planning and Development in Albania
2. New practices for land development and management in Albania
3. Planning and territorial development in Albania – Technical planning and development manual for decision makers, professionals and developers
4. Territorial Planning and development in Albania – A Guideline for the citizens
5. Inclusive [comprehensive] planning – Manual for Citizens and Authorities