Durrës After Transition: Urban Identity at the Edge of Time, Tourism, and Transformation
Authors
MSc. Vjola ZIU , Faculty of Research and Development, POLIS University, Tirana, Albania,
Abstract
Durrës has been a city in constant transformation since the 1990s, particularly following the fall of
communism in Albania. Uncontrolled construction, particularly in the tourist zones, especially along the
coastal zone extending to Kavaja, was triggered by this important historical turning point. Throughout this
entire period, extending from the 1990s up to the present day, the city has experienced an uncontrollable
and ongoing era of urban transition, losing some essential aspects of its historic identity and gradually
becoming a hybrid city that combines elements of tourism, informality, and endangered history. Once
recognised widely as a clear representation of a city with a history spanning thousands of years, Durrës is
now increasingly a site of conflict between urban expansion, cultural heritage, mass tourism, and real estate
investment. All these transformations have significantly and visibly affected the character of the city,
overshadowing its historical core and its valuable cultural heritage, thereby deeply impacting its image and
the values it embodies. Despite the fact that Durrës has undergone substantial physical and social changes
over the years, it has consistently managed to attract a large number of tourists and investors from around
the world. Through a variety of targeted and multifaceted marketing strategies intended to highlight and
promote the city's attractive features, this phenomenon has effectively sparked major reactions on social
media platforms. However, this promotional approach tends to overshadow the deeper and underlying
issues that the city is currently facing, positioning it as an urban space in a transitional state between
modernity and postmodernity. The aim of the research is to carefully analyse how the city's physical and
symbolic image has changed over time to reflect its current situation and what this transformation
ultimately represents in relation to the broad social and economic context in which it is taking place.
Keywords
Urban identity, city image, cultural heritage, tourism
