Author: Klevis Paloka
Although the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, through various campaigns exposes a green capital, in fact the opposite is happening. The municipality directed by him is allowing the establishment of businesses in the green, public spaces, between the buildings in the different neighborhoods of the Albanian metropolis.
In the data provided by the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism, it is shown that only for the year 2021, the Municipality of Tirana has approved 276 permits for the use of public space. The number of those who have applied is relatively high, but the number of beneficiaries is also high.
" During 2021, 394 commercial entities applied to the DPTTV to be provided with a permit for the use of public space. Of these, 276 entities were provided with a permit for the use of public space, while 118 entities had their applications rejected ," the official response from the Municipality of Tirana states.
The growth of businesses in this field is also confirmed by the data of the Institute of Statistics. According to INSTAT statistics, 5052 subjects with food and drink Services (bars and restaurants) are registered with the municipality throughout Tirana. On the other hand, the municipality's Open Data portal for 2020 counts 850,530 citizens as registered residents in the capital.
So according to the calculations made by "Sinjalizo", Tirana has 594 bars per 100 inhabitants, and with this figure it is ranked in the capital with the most coffee bars in the world per 100 inhabitants.
Tirana at the top of the list?
According to the World Cities Culture Forum, which studies the world's largest capitals, Buenos Aires in Argentina ranks among the capitals with the highest number of bars and cafes in the world, with 367 bars per 100 inhabitants. Meanwhile, in second place is Rome, the capital of Italy, with about 331 bars per 100. Tirana is not included in this list, but based on the number of bars published in this forum, Tirana tops the list as the capital with the most bars and cafes per 100 inhabitants worldwide, surpassing even the largest metropolises in the world.
Based on these data, "Sinjalizo" decided to monitor some main axes and spaces between the residential blocks of the capital of Tirana and to request information from the Municipality of Tirana about the public space occupied by bar-café subjects and when it expired. the license that was given to these businesses.
From the data made available by the Municipality of Tirana, 11 of these subjects had their license expired, but from the monitoring done it results that they continue their economic activity normally. There are even those subjects whose permission to occupy public space has expired in 2018. Only 4 subjects had permission until the middle of 2022.
According to the Municipality of Tirana, in the last three years, space permits have been revoked for 77 permits and 42634 cases have been punished with administrative measures.
"For the detected violations, the public space permit was revoked, of which 2019 permits were revoked for 21, 2020 were revoked in 26, and 2021 permits were revoked for 30. During the years 2019, 2020, 2021 from the Services of the Municipal Police in the territory of the Municipality of Tirana, a total of 42634 cases of occupying public space without the relevant permit were found. For this, fine administrative measures have been taken and the public space illegally occupied by individuals or various entities has been vacated. If we divide them according to years, it turns out that the situation for each year is as follows;
- In 2019, they were found and punished with an administrative measure16614 growing.
- In 2020, they were found and punished with an administrative measure16214 growing.
- In 2021, they were found and punished with an administrative measure 9806 cases", it is emphasized in the response of the Municipality of Tirana to the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism.
Ironic is the fact that the Municipality of Tirana asks for help in verifying the subjects that "Sinjalizo" asked for specific data, and in the documents made available, the address of each subject is also determined.
" Following your letter, the Inspectorate of Territory Protection, Tirana Municipality will verify the occupation of public spaces by unauthorized constructions in accordance with Law No. 9780, dated 16.07.2007 "On the Inspection and Protection of Territory from Illegal Constructions" ( as amended). Regarding the above, we ask for your further cooperation by providing us with the exact addresses where the entities listed by you exercise their activity. We remain awaiting a response from you so that the IMT, Tirana Municipality can begin the verification of the entities in question ", specifies the Municipality of Tirana.
How did the sidewalks disappear?
According to decision " No. 158, dated 26.12.2019 ", the zones and tariffs for the "System of local taxes and tariffs in the city of Tirana" have also been determined, providing tariffs of 1500 ALL/m 2 , 750 ALL/m 2 , 400 ALL/m 2 and 200 ALL/m 2 for Zones A, B, C and Administrative Units outside the city of Tirana, respectively.
So, based on the above table, the income for the months of January-July 2021 from the space occupancy fee is calculated to be ALL 157.748.084 for the Municipality of Tirana.
But what did the mayor of Tirana declare, in an inspection of the works of the "Karl Topia" square, near the "Zogut te Zi" area, regarding the parks and the spaces between the buildings?
" From the smoke of meatballs, the space at Zogu i Zi is transformed into a flower garden and a recreation area. I don't know how long it will take us to restore each square to its identity, but I know that not a single day will pass without at least one change ," Veliaj said in February 2016.
Although about 6 years have passed since this statement, in fact entities that offer the service of meatballs have not yet moved from "Karl Topia" square.
According to experts, the urban situation is not normal and that this will continue for a long time until there is a clear strategy.
Artan Kacani, Doctor of Sciences in Urban Studies and Territorial Policy, says that this occupation of public space has happened since the 1990s and continues to happen and that the urban plan of a city cannot be dealt with in such deep detail, but can give various directives to the urban planning office.
" The situation in terms of urban planning is an abnormal situation, we must understand that many buildings/palaces have been converted into socio-economic spaces. This is a situation that has occurred in the transition of 30 years and will continue until we have a regular address system. Address I should say in terms of steps, in terms of activities, and so on. In terms of culture, this is a problem, in terms of the cultural and urban issues that our cities are experiencing. The regulatory plan does not deal with such small details, but there may be various directives from the urban planning office, which can address first: square meters based on population density, which should be reduced to a more individual scale and the control of licenses, which does not happen. It does not happen not only for premises but also for other types of businesses. The plan can therefore provide directives on how many premises there should be for a certain area, or for a certain street, which are not made by local institutions ," he says. Kacani.
Even for the architect Doriana Musaj, the fact that the sidewalks are getting narrower and narrower and for some categories of passers-by is difficult to move freely.
" Bars and cafes are part of what we consider to be the city's economy, very important especially those located mainly along the streets. In themselves, cafes do not bring any negative consequences to the city, on the contrary, they are necessary as they provide "eyes on the street". In Tirana, what makes these economic models problematic is the dominance they make of public space. Thus, the sidewalks are getting narrower and you will often have to go inside a cafe to get to the other side of the space. What is worrying is the continuous expansion of the space occupied by tables, which often completely block the passage, diverting movement, making life difficult for passers-by, mothers with baby strollers, and especially people with disabilities ", Musaj said for "Sinjalizo".
Architect Musaj emphasizes that the public space has been deformed to the point where it is impossible to read clearly in the city, and for this reason the law does not provide for protective mechanisms, and it is often used in the opposite way.
“ Public space as a concept has been distorted to the point that it is impossible for us to read it clearly in the city. The regulator, which is the law, does not provide for protective mechanisms for public space, and it is often used in the opposite way. Thus, the sidewalk can indeed be used as a showcase for a bar-cafe, but by exposing a small part of the tables on it, and not by blocking the entire space. Often, the passerby is forced to go down to the street to cross, thus increasing the possibility of an accident. Occupying empty spaces, partially used as a resting area for the residents of a neighborhood, forces the resident to sit in a cafe even when he does not feel like drinking anything, just because the cafe has a toy corner for children, or even because it turns from a meeting place into a place to stay, in the absence of treatment of a genuine urban public space. Thus, spaces abandoned by local government, whether in maintenance or treatment, fall prey to the use of bar-cafes, transforming not only "the physical space from the point of view of form, mobility, but also the space as a social meeting point ," concludes architect Musaj.
Streets crowded with cafes
In fact, one such street overcrowded with bar-cafes is "Muhamet Gjollesha" street. According to the urban planner, this problem is not only on this road, as the density is always increasing.
" Regarding the "Muhamet Gjollesha" road, which starts at "Zogu i Zi" and ends at "Gjergj Fishta" boulevard, we must understand that it is a city ring road, which means that its importance is beyond that of a neighborhood, and being beyond a neighborhood, we must understand that both the Services and the functions are such and are acceptable and understandable to be such, but the problem is when a series of densities of buildings, various activities are added which then weigh on the burden of the city, so the solutions with a neighborhood function on a road with a city function clash interests, and here it clashes precisely with the intermediate ring road, the density is always increasing in this part of the western entrance to Tirana, and there will always be more and more clashes in terms of heavy traffic ," concludes urban planner Kacani for "Sinjalizo".
But the addition of cafes, at the expense of public space, only worsens everyday life in the capital. A successful city cannot be conceived without real public space, and it cannot be replaced by cafes, nor the plastic toys inside them, much less the tables and chairs that have occupied and continue to occupy the common space.
