When Edi Rama became mayor of Tirana in 2000, he confronted a population that was disillusioned with the way democracy had played out in the capital city.  Albania had sunk into a political morass after a brief period of cheer that followed the eastern European country's emergence in the early 1990s from decades of isolation under a Marxist-Leninist dictatorship.  But change was in the air at the start of the millennium, as national reforms began with the support of a forward-thinking prime minister.  Seizing the moment, Rama aimed to restore public confidence in government by building an administration based on professionalism rather than political connections, sprucing up the drab city, improving services, encouraging citizen complaints and leading open discussions on Tirana's future.  He repaired city hall, cleared out public spaces, painted colorless communist-era apartment buildings in bright hues and planted thousands of trees.  Although his reforms lost momentum after Albania's leadership changed and he became more deeply involved in national affairs, Rama's accomplishments as mayor demonstrated the value of responsive, participatory government in regaining citizen support and attacking entrenched municipal problems.

Tumi Makgetla drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Tirana, Albania, in June 2010. 

Associated Interviews:  Dritan Agolli​

When Mohamed Abdel Salam El-Mahgoub became governor of Alexandria in 1997, he took charge of a storied Egyptian city on the verge of collapse. Garbage and trash lined streets that were clogged with traffic. Roads, highways, water and sanitation systems required urgent repair. Corrupt municipal employees exacted costly bribes for business licenses and building permits. The city’s economy had slowed, as investors, put off by the city’s fading infrastructure and poor services, took their money elsewhere. Alexandria’s fortunes began to turn at the beginning of a nine-year period that came to be called “the Mahgoub era.” Determined to restore the city’s greatness, Mahgoub encouraged citizen participation, formed alliances with key groups, and won public support via high-visibility projects.  He made government more business-friendly by tackling corruption that inflated the price of required documents, and he lured back investors with tax incentives and improved infrastructure. During his nine years in office, Mahgoub saw Alexandria’s economy bloom, fueled by construction projects and an improved business climate. Although some reforms lost momentum when Mahgoub was promoted to a cabinet position in 2006, his accomplishments as governor underscored the value of citizen participation in Egypt’s centralized government.

Rushda Majeed drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Surakarta and Jakarta, Indonesia, in November and December 2011. Case published July 2012.

Inaugurated as mayor of Medellín at the beginning of 2004, Sergio Fajardo inherited a city roiled by decades of violence and corruption. During his four years in office, the charismatic former university professor turned Medellín around. He broke up clientelistic political networks, raised tax receipts, improved public services, introduced transparency fairs, established civic pacts, and restored citizens’ sense of hope. Fajardo left office at the end of 2007 with an unprecedented approval rating of nearly 90%. Though Medellín still faced significant challenges, the city was later identified as an exemplary case of good public administration by cities across Latin America and the Inter-American Development Bank. By 2010, Fajardo had been named the vice-presidential running mate of former Bogotá mayor Antanas Mockus in that year’s presidential elections.