Speakers
Description
Urban fragmentation presents a critical challenge for fostering equitable, just, and sustainable urban environments, particularly in cities transitioning from socialist to post-socialist structures. This research focuses on the urban evolution of Tirana, Albania, exploring how spatial, social, and cultural fragmentations, combined with environmental inefficiencies, shape the city's development. Through interdisciplinary analysis—integrating urban design, sociology, environmental studies, and cultural theory—this work examines how urban landscapes reflect fragmented identities, informal growth, socio-economic divides, and ecological disparities.
Tirana, characterized by rapid densification, chaotic sprawl, and deteriorating environmental performance, exemplifies the tensions between centralized socialist planning, spontaneous post-socialist urbanization, and the environmental impacts of unregulated growth. The city's urban fabric demonstrates a complex morphology, where mismatched grid layouts, organic informal settlements, and large-scale socialist interventions intersect, often neglecting considerations of green infrastructure and energy efficiency. This study reveals how the morphological evolution of urban blocks, streetscapes, and land-use patterns exacerbates urban heat islands, disrupts ecological networks, and hinders sustainable resource management.
The research highlights the persistent fragmentation resulting from historical layers and informal modifications, compounded by privatized public spaces, socio-cultural disparities, and ecological degradation. By leveraging theoretical frameworks such as Lefebvre’s critique of urban space and participatory urban design methods, it proposes transformative approaches to bridge fragmented morphologies while prioritizing environmental resilience. Integrated strategies that reimagine morphological coherence, enhance energy efficiency, and incorporate green infrastructure are identified as critical to fostering physical, social, cultural, and ecological connectivity.
The findings provide actionable insights into equitable and sustainable city planning, emphasizing the need to integrate environmental performance into urban strategies. Tirana’s experience offers valuable lessons for other cities navigating similar challenges in rapidly evolving and ecologically sensitive urban contexts.
References
Hirt, Sonia A (2012). Iron curtains: Gates, suburbs and privatization of space in the post-socialist city. John Wiley & Sons.
Lefebvre, Henri (1991) The Production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell.
Stanilov, Kiril (2007). The post-socialist city: Urban form and space transformations in Central and Eastern Europe after socialism. Springer
Sykora, Luděk. and Stefan Bouzarovski (2012) ‘Multiple Transformations: Conceptualising the Post-Communist Urban Transition’, Urban Studies, 49 (1), pp. 43-60.
Tsenkova, S., & Nedović-Budić, Z. (2006). The Urban Mosaic of Post-Socialist Europe: Space, Institutions, and Policy. In Tsenkova, S., & Nedović-Budić, Z (eds) The Urban Mosaic of Post-Socialist Europe: Space, Institutions and Policy. Heidelberg: Springer.
| Keywords | Urban fragmentation, post-socialist transition, Tirana, Environmental Resilience, cultural hybridity |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
