The Impact of civil society on the Agenda of Tbilisi's urban policy

Abstract

Tbilisi is a unique example of urban development with an individual face, which has changed its face over the centuries, often due to overly active and incorrect intervention. The famous saying is a modernized version: "Tell me how you live in the city, and I will tell you what it represents" (Vardosanidze, 2015, p. 10). If we believe this statement, the people living in Tbilisi will face a series of chaotic construction, traffic, and ecological problems. Despite this, urbanism, as a professional activity of city development, in Georgia, still needs to reflect the ideology of building a new state or the effective practical tool of national or municipal policies (Vardosanidze, 2015, p. 92). A law in Georgia, "On the Basics of Spatial Arrangement and Urban Development," states that the population has the right to be involved in the formation and adoption of urban planning decisions (Parliament, 2005).The city is facing urban challenges, and it makes perfect sense that the topic of urban protest has become particularly active in recent years. Although small-scale, successful protests against the decision of the Tbilisi City Hall and the investors started in 2008 from Leonidze 2 (Tarknishvili et al.., 2019). During this time, the rally participants faced many objections from the state. However, their protest also showed that the struggle brings results. An example of such a successful protest is the eight-year battle to save Vake Park, which ended successfully. Green activists consider "Panorama Tbilisi" to be the most disappointing failure. This is a minor chronicle of critical urban protests to save the city's urban environment. Although it is necessary to have factual information about the mentioned protests, it is also essential to study the groups involved in urban movements and their role in shaping the agenda of the urban policy of the capital.Accordingly, the mentioned research aims to study the challenges faced by groups involved in urban movements; Ways to try to make more effective decisions, and means to get more citizens interested in urban protest. According to the goals, the research tasks are a study of non-governmental organizations, associations, or groups related to urban protest; Therefore, the research objects are non-governmental organizations involved in the urban protest, green activists, and urbanists.The main questions of this study are: What is the influence of civil society on the process of forming Tbilisi's urban policy priorities; what resistance do urban movements face; In what ways do they try to involve citizens in mobilization and urban protest?One of the leading theories on the formation of social movements, the political process theory, also known as the "political opportunity theory" (Tilly, 1978), is considered the study's theoretical framework. According to this theory, political opportunities for change must be present before a movement can achieve its goals. The social movement tries to make changes in the system using already existing political structures and processes. Therefore, the more liberal the current regime, the greater the possibility of its breakthrough.The research will be carried out using a qualitative method, namely, a semi-structured interview. As for the selection, purposive sampling was used. Five respondents from different non-governmental, research, or initiative groups were selected, and semi-structured interviews lasting 30 minutes will be conducted with them. The next step is processing the received information: turning the conducted interview into a transcript and analyzing them.As a result of this research, the experience of urban movements, the structure of these groups, and future action strategies will be highlighted. The study will also highlight the achievements of urban policy and the challenges faced by groups involved in urban movements. Finally, as a result of the research, it will be possible to outline the role of civil society in forming urban policy in the capital.