Against the backdrop of Batumi's rapid urban development challenges, as a fast-growing coastal city, the issue of preserving and developing green spaces and public areas became critically important. In 2020, as the Monitoring Lead for the "Green Districts Batumi" project, I, along with my team, embarked on an in-depth study of this pressing problem. The project, implemented by the Civil Society Institute (CSI) with the support of "Brot für die Welt," the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF), and the "Batomi" association, aimed to assess the condition of Batumi's recreational spaces and stimulate effective policies for their protection.
Under my leadership, the monitoring group conducted comprehensive research, which included desk research, 7 focus groups with stakeholders, and detailed field surveys and inventories of green areas across all 14 administrative units of the city. The research revealed a shocking reality: officially, Batumi had only 18 green spaces with legal status, a catastrophically small number considering the city's scale and needs. However, at the same time, our team identified 168 potential areas where new recreational zones could be established or existing ones significantly improved. This discovery became a spark of hope and an impetus for action.
Based on the research findings, and now as one of the petition initiators, my team registered an electronic petition "Green Districts Batumi" with the Batumi City Council in 2021. Its purpose was precisely to grant legal status to these identified potential (initially 106, later updated to 133 based on further work with service centers ) and status-less spaces and to ensure their protection. The petition was signed by 721 citizens, once again confirming the issue's relevance. The petition review process, despite lengthy working meetings with municipal structures and some progress (such as service centers acknowledging the possibility of granting status to 107 spaces ), was delayed due to the ongoing political processes in the country.
Despite the challenges, the "Green
Districts Batumi" project and the subsequent petition campaign, which I
led and coordinated, provided me with invaluable experience. It was a fight for
a better, greener, and healthier living environment, where evidence-based
research and active citizen engagement became the main driving forces for
change. This project is a clear example for me of how complex problems can be
addressed through constructive cooperation between society, the civil sector,
and the government.