2.6 Challenges for Sustainable Urban Development The main findings from the previous analysis, from the conducted experts’ interviews and from site observations are further summarized. The establishment of a sustainable urban development future is related with the following four key topics:
// Climate Resilience
Due to the fact that Tirana is dealing more often with extreme heat and cloudburst events (Municipality of Tirana, 2015), there is an urgent need for redesigning the public spaces that can deal with abundant rainfall events by providing more retention areas for stormwater, and at the same time balance the microclimate in the city. The existing sewerage network of the city, built in the early years of communism, has shown to
be underperforming during such extreme events. The existing situation calls for the implementation of sustainable sewerage infrastructure that would work well along the existing one (Dervishaj, 2021). While there are some green areas in the city, there is a lack of sufficient green coverage that would have an impact on mitigating climate change effects, and especially that of air pollution - since Tirana is still ranked among the most polluted capitals of Europe (Co-PLAN, 2020; Taylor, 2019). On an institutional level, the municipality is not implementing enough strategies to mitigate climate change effects (Sinojmeri, 2021). The current use of construction materials and the lack of permeable surfaces is not sustainable and if it is not addressed soon, will produce long-term issues for the city.
Figure 20 | Skanderbeg Square, Tirana Source: Dujardin, 2019
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