Civic engagement in the protection of historical heritage and city landscape

Over the last ten years, Tirana has entered a fast-paced urban (re)development phase. Many new skyscrapers are being built around the city center, leading to a rapid urban landscape transformation. In 2018 the municipality and the national government made a controversial decision to destroy the National Theater building and develop a new one through a public-private partnership (PPP) approach. This controversial decision was taken without any prior public consultation and amidst several legal contestations regarding the process. In an attempt to recover, the municipality started a process of public consultations with a limited group of stakeholders. Meanwhile, concerns started being raised by experts and various civic actors who voluntarily gathered and raised their voices regarding the demolition proposal. Soon, an alliance of excluded stakeholders was created to protect the theater and different people became part of the alliance. This chapter analyzes public participation (institutionally led by the municipality) versus citizen-led engagement. When the theater was demolished in 2020, major protests followed as civic actors used the space of the theater as a representative space during 2018-2020. This led to significant support from the citizens of Tirana but also the periphery. Consequently, the civic alliance for the protection of the theater took the case to the prosecution office and the courts. Some important lessons can be learned from this in terms of civic engagement and the different processes of institutionalizing citizen involvement in policy and decision-making.