This book aims to provide a cross-sectorial assessment in a multidisciplinary and trans-cultural context onto the innovations in urban and architectural approaches in designing next human environments within the Albanian context. The continuous concentration of the world population in the urban areas and their consequent densification require even more quantity of quality spaces and places, integrated resources and energies, alternative modalities of mobility and transports, demand of social inclusion and need for a circular economy. These have become the major challenges for this 21st Century and some of the greatest problems facing humanity in most of current vision for the future. The main objective is to feed a debate about the emerging trans-cultural (and trans-national) approaches in the whole designing field, from Albanian context and its current good practices, attempts and faults, both formal and informal. Thus, the Albanian experience may represent an opportunity through which we all may reflect about how designing is evolving in the Mediterranean arena of “praxis and experiments” aimed to a better quality of life at the human scale and in expanding the concepts of “place and space” such as it has improved by the effects in designing innovations. This book represents a useful read of theories, experiences and case studies, which can help in enlarging reflection on how the designing practice is evolving in the arena of forthcoming development strategies and tactics, all addressed to improve the quality of life, places and spaces. Additionally, it provides a range of architecture and urban design rationales and strategies for reinforcing identities and creating memorable places within the quality of contemporary architecture and urbanism. It addresses the unique needs of architects and planners to deal with topics that cut across social, economic and environmental issues and shows readers how to explore methods, theoretical frameworks and techniques to address the complex needs of architecture, urban and cultural development.

Ecological and livable cities need an objective method to be examined. This book is in search of a method to determine the level of livability, ecology and energy efficiency. Ecological and sustainable cities need to properly make up for the existent weakness of the city's construction under fine ecological environment. The intention of this comparative study is an attempt to improve life quality in Tirana, Albania. It gives examples of successful strategies, e.g. bioclimatic solution through passive solar systems and the use of underground tunnels. This book is aimed at researches, professionals, architects and city planners.

Urban Informality and the Built Environment demonstrates the value of greater and more diverse forms of engagement of built environment disciplines in what constitutes urban informality and its politics. It brings a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of informality and the built environment in diverse contexts, drawing on recent research by architects, planners, political scientists, geographers and urban theorists. The book presents different case studies from multiple geographies, drawing attention to the need for studying urban informality in the Global North and Global South. The cases promote a cross-fertilization between disciplines, lenses, geographies and methodologies. They range from the creative place-making of street artists in Accra, to the morphological evolution of urban Tirana, urban agriculture in la Habana and social reproduction in Greece. Additional contributions highlight the cross-cutting themes of infrastructure, exchange and image. Urban Informality and the Built Environment introduces built environment disciplines to its constitutive roles in producing urban informality. It also tests a range of new methodologies to the study of urban informality, demonstrating the possibilities for new insights when building on the relational understanding of urban informality.

This book concerns the relationship between urban planning (and similar things) on the one hand, and war, natural disaster and societal or political disintegration on the other. The supposition is that one may mitigate the other. The book recounts the author’s professional experience of specific cases of disaster (earthquake and flood) in the Philippines, war in Bosnia, Afghanistan and South Sudan, and disintegration in Albania and Ireland. He identifies the key themes in urban and regional planning which these case studies illustrate. The themes include (a) the delivery of building land with site preparation, infrastructure and property rights; (b) the size and amount of plots able to match both demographic projections and wealth distribution; (c) the creation of a property market able to deliver affordable land and buildings to match demand, encourage investment and further the development of the economy; (d) the spatial or geographic adjustment of institutional patterns to reflect the components of identity—making for ‘fuzzy’ sovereignty; (e) a form of organisation which leads to effective project management and implementation, and so on. The view is taken that lack of suitable development land supply, a land market unable to deliver affordable property to the people and unable to support economic growth, and a spatial-institutional pattern unable to match key aspects of identity, are all causes of war as well as societal or political decline. The book contains many drawings prepared by the author, including plans of urban projects described in the text. It will be of interest particularly to architects, town planners, municipal engineers and civil engineers, urban administrators, urban economists, politicians, diplomats, soldiers, and staff of NGOs and international agencies.

The book aims to face the challenge of post-COVID-19 dynamics toward green and digital transition, between metropolitan and return to villages’ perspectives. It presents a multi-disciplinary scientific debate on the new frontiers of strategic and spatial planning, economic programs and decision support tools, within the urban–rural areas networks and the metropolitan cities. The book focuses on six topics: inner and marginalized areas local development to re-balance territorial inequalities; knowledge and innovation ecosystem for urban regeneration and resilience; metropolitan cities and territorial dynamics; rules, governance, economy, society; green buildings, post-carbon city and ecosystem services; infrastructures and spatial information systems; cultural heritage: conservation, enhancement and management. In addition, the book hosts a Special Section: Rhegion United Nations 2020-2030. The book will benefit all researchers, practitioners and policymakers interested in the issues applied to metropolitan cities and marginal areas.

This book explains how learning from past mistakes in urban design can help to enhance sustainable cities and how the principles of Green Urbanism can yield more resilient urban settlements. Environmental design is a fundamental principle in shaping cities. However, environmental challenges like increased resource consumption, water degradation and waste-related issues are among the greatest problems now facing humanity – which is why these issues need to be considered with regard to “smart cities,” either for the development of new urban centers or for the transformation of existing cities. The book not only discusses the importance of integrating sustainability principles in the urban design process, but also demonstrates their application to the development of sustainable cities. As such, the book offers essential information and a source of inspiration for all those who want to build more sustainable cities.