A public opinion poll, conducted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) this July, showed that air pollution, public transportation, roads, parks, and green spaces are regarded as the top problems in Tbilisi by Tbilisi residents. There are up to 500,000 cars in Tbilisi and their vast majority is more than 10 years old. Meanwhile, green spaces are shrinking quickly at the expense of new construction projects in Tbilisi.
To respond to these fast-growing problems, and foster a multi-stakeholder dialogue over urban and environmental challenges of the city, ACCESS decided to hold open pre-election discussions with the Tbilisi Mayoral candidates. For this purpose, in September, ACCESS held five separate discussions with the following candidates: – Aleksandre Elisashvili (independent candidate), Zaal Udumashvili (“United National Movement”), Elene Khoshtaria (“European Georgia”), Tengiz Shergelashvili (“Development Movement”), and Giorgi Vashadze (“Unity New Georgia”). Public transportation, parking, green spaces and recreational areas, capital constructions, and preservation of the cultural heritage monuments were the main topics of discussions. Field experts, representatives of the relevant non-governmental and international organizations, and other stakeholders attended the discussions and shared their views and recommendations with the candidates.
Two more meetings with other mayoral candidates (Kakha Kaladze and Kakha Kukava), will be held in early October.
