Albania is a country that has been through multiple political transitions for most of the 20th century. A process that transformed its capital, Tirana, into a constant construction site. Its first regulatory city planning projects date back to the 1940s. However, they have been reviewed according to contrasting ideologies of successive political shifts. Before the rise of the communist regime, Tirana was a small, compact city that provided its citizens with their daily needs. It had plenty of public and open spaces, housing, and schools, but everything changed after the fall of communism. Tirana’s population increased rapidly, and the need to build more residential buildings led to unplanned occupation patterns. As buildings grew taller and tighter, public spaces became almost non-existent. In addition, the mobility system has not been upgraded to cover the demand of the growing urbanized area. That resulted in a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle affecting most particularly children and the younger population that use parks and playgrounds as an essential part of their growth process. Therefore, the city council of Tirana is currently developing a comprehensive program to improve the quality of its urban environment combined with a city-wide active mobility strategy. It aims to expand the existing network of public places to increase both health outcomes and the perceived quality of life.

This paper reports on the Where Albania Walks – a partnership between the city council, GIZ, and the WOW team. WAW takes place during the European Youth Capital 2022. It aims to create evidence-based and community-driven strategies to regenerate the urban environment in the neighborhoods in Tirana with special attention to the needs of young citizens.
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