Paskuqan Lake’s Regeneration as a Pathway for Decentralizing Traffic and Revitalizing Tirana’s Urban Fabric. Integrating Heritage, Ecology, and Mobility in Albania’s Capital
Author
Zhuo CHANG
Affiliation
PhD IDAUP / University of Ferrara, Italy
Abstract
Tirana, the capital of Albania, faces severe traffic congestion due to its monocentric structure and rapid population growth (reaching 925,000 by 2023), with critical arteries handling over 20,000 vehicles daily and an average commute time of 45 minutes, exacerbating environmental degradation and declining quality of life. Focusing on the Paskuqan Lake area as a key case study, this research explores innovative urban restructuring strategies to alleviate congestion. Historically, Paskuqan Lake served as an agricultural irrigation hub and later evolved into a workers' settlement during industrialization, offering underutilized low-density housing and vacant factories for functional revitalization. However, current population density disparities—800 inhabitants/km2 in the hollowed core versus 1,500/km2 in peripheral informal settlements—and reliance on cross-city commutes (75% of workers) intensify congestion on Rruga e Elbasanit. To address this, the study proposes a tripartite strategy: extending a new boulevard to the lake to form a north-south axis (diverting 20% of traffic), creating a green corridor along the lakeshore (8m2 of green space per capita) with adaptive reuse of industrial heritage for eco-housing and cultural hubs, and integrating tramlines, buses, and shared mobility to reduce commutes to 25 minutes while boosting local employment by 40%. Projections indicate a population density increase to 2,500/km2 within a decade, attracting young families and remote workers, synergizing with Shkoza’s riverside development and Kombinat’s industrial revival to establish Tirana’s polycentric network. The findings demonstrate that the Paskuqan Lake initiative— combining heritage revitalization, ecological resilience, and mobility innovation—provides a replicable paradigm for high-density cities to overcome monocentric challenges while balancing cultural identity and sustainable growth.
