Urban design, ideology, and power: use of the central square in Tirana during one century of political transformations

Abstract

This article recounts the history of urban design in the centre of Tirana, the capital of Albania, during five political periods (Ottoman Empire, Italian domination, communist regime, post-communist anarchy, and Western-style planning). Starting in the 1910s, successive governments have imposed their urban design visions for a grand city centre and tried to erase the built heritage of their predecessors, thus creating an eclectic space. In the post-communist era, the city government has made attempts to develop a new grand vision for its use but has met with failure. The author argues that the reasons for this outcome lay in the contemporary nature of the state, as well as the nature of development in a market economy.