Older buildings give way to new along Tirana’s central Deshmoret e Kombit Boulevard.
Photographer: GENT SHKULLAKU/AFP
A Denser City, But at What Cost?
Albania’s capital is getting a makeover intended to stop urban sprawl. But critics say the plan could leave Tirana changed beyond recognition, and erase its history.
Over the next decade, Tirana is poised for a dramatic makeover. In the center of the Albanian capital, modern high-rises are taking the place of the current mix of informally constructed and historic buildings, under a plan called Tirana 2030. The government says its aim is to stop urban sprawl by concentrating construction in the city’s core, and to turn Tirana into a greener city with bike lanes, more electric vehicles and forested areas encircling the center.
Albania remains one of Europe’s poorest countries, with a per capita GDP that’s around 30% of the European Union average. And according to the city, the dramatic reboot is needed to turn Albania’s vibrant but chaotic capital into a modern European metropolis. “Tirana is a city that grows by about 30,000 people a year, [so the question is] how to plan this growth in a sustainable way,” says Mayor Erion Veliaj, a member of the governing Socialist Party. “I think we broke the myth that only rich cities could do this.”