Tirana, the capital of Albania, is undergoing a major urbanisation process in which it is growing form 250,000 inhabitants in 1990 to many millions in the near future. The spatial and transport policies are not up to this process and are in desperate need of a thorough update.
Together with the architecture firms UNLAB, IND (both Rotterdam) and Stefano Boeri Architetti (Milan), Mobycon was asked to write the General Local Plan Tirana 2030, a policy document for its spatial structure, accompanied by a coherent mobility vision. In this elaborate policy document, dedicated attention was given to bicycle and pedestrian accessibility. Tirana realizes that it simply cannot build more facilities for the car without destroying the livable scale and relatively high quality of the public space in the existing city. The often-narrow streets are already filled up to the brink with cars, and sidewalk erosion has limited the walkability too much.
To stimulate the knowledge on cycling in Tirana and in the new General Local Plan, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Albania supported a project to enhance the bicycle planning knowledge. Through an interactive process with intense workshops, Mobycon delivered a minimum grid for cycling. This network can be implemented on a short term, by means of quick, minimal physical alterations. Over time it can be enhanced with more permanent design solutions and with more routes.
Together, these two documents provide the input to get mobility in Tirana ready for the future. A future which is not car-dependent but also provides opportunities for other modes.
If you want to know more about this project, contact Dick van Veen.
