Last updated: May 2025
Rinia Park has been a significant social and recreational area in the center of Tirana since the 1950s. Over the years, it has undergone several phases of development and restructuring, each linked to the socio-political regime of the time (Ref. 1). Its most recent rehabilitation was driven by the need to revitalize public spaces and improve the quality and accessibility of urban green areas. In 2019, extensive work on enhancing the park’s infrastructure and amenities began. By June 2020, installations were completed, including new and diverse playgrounds for children, improved lighting and drainage systems, expanded walking paths as well as designated chess and dog areas (Ref. 1,2,6). Both children and the elderly benefit from these new features, which promote social interaction and make the park more inclusive for different age groups (Ref. 2). To protect the Independence Monument from vandalism, a surrounding water feature was added. An additional benefit of the the new lighting installation is the extended access of the park well into the evening (Ref. 1,6). Given the park’s profound history, it stands as a symbol of urban renewal and continues to serve as a central gathering spot for people and cultural events (Ref. 7).
d Dog Park (right) and walkays - visible issues with rainwater drainage
https://faktoje.al/projekti-i-parkut-rina-me-vlere-1-miliard-leke-dhe-mungesa-e-parkingut-te-premtuar/
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Improving physical health
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social interaction
- Sense of community and community engagement
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Inadequate access to recreational opportunities
- Poor community engagement
Key priorities
Social Justice and community
Focus
Maintenance and management of urban nature, Maintenance or upgrade of exisiting green spaces (e.g. parks)
Project objectives
Goal 1: Enhance the amenities available to visitors and increase the overall attractiveness and accessibility of the park by:
Goal 1.1.: Installing updated infrastructure in the park for rainfall management and other needs (lighting, walkways) (Ref. 1)
Goal 1.2: Facilitate interaction between visitors of the park, especially children and the elderly (Ref. 2)
Goal 1.3: Increasing the number of hours the park can be visited (Ref. 1)
Goal 1.4: Incease the amount of park trees (Ref. 5)
Goal 1.5.: Install new amenities for physical activity of children and youth (Ref.1)
Goal 2.: Protect the Independence monument from vandalism and enhance its appearance (Ref. 6)
Goal 3: Promote cultural and festive events in the park to foster a sense of community (Ref. 6,7)
Implementation activities
Goal 1:
Goal 1.1.:
- Upgraded the park’s lighting system (Ref. 1)
- Enhanced road infrastructure with new paving and tiling
- Installing drainage to manage runoff from precipitation effectively. (Ref. 1)
- Dedicated Dog Park (Ref. 1)
Goal 1.2.:
- Constructed a new amphitheatre square, addressing a key missing feature in the old park design. (Ref. 1)
- Improved internet connectivity in the park (Ref. 1)
- Seating options on the stairs leading to the amphitheatre were created for visitors to mingle. (Ref. 2)
- Installed games for the elderly, such as chess and domino tables, promoting social interaction. (Ref. 2)
Goal 1.3.:
-Upgraded the park’s lighting system to extend use during evening hours. (Ref. 1)
Goal 1.4.:
- Plant 60 new trees (Ref. 5)
Goal 1.5.:
-Developed several mini-squares, labyrinths, and playgrounds and dirt tracks to foster interaction and physical activity. (Ref.2)
Goal 2: Construct a water feature surrounding the Independence Monument to enhance its aesthetic appeal and protect it from vandalism. (Ref. 6)
Goal 3: Organize festivals and host events at the park, such as the annual summer festival (Ref. 7)
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
- Other
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- The project didn't involve any form of stakeholder participatory activities
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
"The Municipality of Tirana announced the tender for the rehabilitation of Rinia Park. In the competition with 8 companies, the operator "Agi Kons" was declared the winner"
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Type of enablers
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
€500,000 - €2,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
No
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Environmental quality
- Reduced noise exposure
- Achieved reduced noise exposure
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Achieved improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Achieved increased opportunities for social interaction
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Achieved gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Improved physical health
- Expected improved physical health
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
- Achieved protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Environmental quality and environmental hazards, Inadequate drainage that leads to stagnant water accumulation, Other
References
1.
APR Tirana (n.d.). Parku Rinia . Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
2.
BalkanWeb (2020). “Parku Rinia” gati për të pritur të vegjlit nesër për 1 Qershorin. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Brakaj, M. (2020). The Rinia Park project worth 1 billion ALL and the lack of the promised parking lot. Faktoje. al, Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Gazeta Express (2020). 1 milion dollarë investime, por parku “Rinia” në Tiranë përmbytet nga uji 6 ditë pas inagurimit . Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
5.
OraNews (2020). Parkut "Rinia" i thahen pishat . Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Shqiptarja.com (2019). Transformohet Parku 'Rinia', rrethohet me ujë Monumenti i Pavarësisë (FOTO +VIDEO). Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Live The World (2024). Rinia Park. Accessed on September 15, 2024, [Source link];
New Sign in Park Rinia
https://aprtirana.al/parqe-rekreative/parku-rinia/
Southwestern area of the Park
https://www.enturitaget.se/parku-rinia-och-taiwan/
Newly Installed Playground
https://shqiptarja.com/lajm/transformohet-parku-rinia-gati-per-te-pritur-te-vegjlit-neser-per-1-qershorin
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.