Vision and Imagination in Urban Planning

Author: Eno Kotmilo, Gjergj Kotmilo
Affiliation: Polytechnic University of Tirana / Urb. Ing. Independent Researcher, United States

Abstract
“Life is very complex. Don’t try to find the answers, because when you find them, life changes the questions.” (Unknown)
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.” (Albert Einstein, 1924)
Within the realms of sustainable and resilient territorial and spatial (urban) planning, the pivotal role of Vision and Imagination emerges as a decisive factor for genuine and effective outcomes. Urban planning, inherently a technical tool, unfolds within a multidisciplinary framework that converges into a comprehensive synthesis of plans and explanatory materials. This complexity extends beyond a mere enumeration of stages or degrees of final approval, as the resultant framework is submitted to central or local governments. Their role encompasses not only adherence but also the oversight and control of the document;s execution, a document that serves as a guiding force for necessary transformations and investments in the planned territory. The objectives of planning primarily center around extensive terrains, necessitating prolonged periods of study and design. The implementation itself unfolds over a relatively extended timeline, commencin with the examination of local plans, urban development plans, city plans, and progressing to regional plans. Acknowledging the inherent dynamics and potential alterations in final indicators and goals during the sustainable and resilient planning processes, it becomes imperative to establish a vision early on. It is in this context of necessitated vision and imagination that we present our perspective in this paper.

Keywords: Imagination Planning Resilient Sustainable Urban Vision Architecture / City / Form / Morphology / Postmodern