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From Squatter Settlement to Suburb: The Transformation of Bathore, Albania

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  • Dorina Pojani

Abstract

This paper recounts the successful upgrading of Bathore, an informal settlement on government land, located in the outskirts of Tirana, the capital of Albania. Bathore was formed in the early 1990s by poor squatters, mostly from rural northern Albania, a region that became impoverished and lost most services after the fall of communism in 1990. The area that the squatters occupied lacked all infrastructure. However, the squatters built houses that were permanent structures of good quality, often multi-storey. These houses were mostly financed through the remittances of immigrants abroad. In mid-2000s, the Albanian government started taking steps to legalize squatter housing, and, subsequently, to equip the area with infrastructure. Now, Bathore is starting to resemble a middle-class-style suburb, if only in terms of physical appearance. This paper explores the roles of the central and local governments, the international financial institutions, a local NGO, and the local community in this achievement.

Suggested Citation

  • Dorina Pojani, 2013. "From Squatter Settlement to Suburb: The Transformation of Bathore, Albania," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(6), pages 805-821, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:chosxx:v:28:y:2013:i:6:p:805-821
    DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2013.760031
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    Cited by:

    1. Triantis, Loukas, 2020. "Public land privatisation and commodification as a field of changing social relations: The making of the Albanian Riviera," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. Imami, Drini & Lami, Endrit & Pojani, Dorina, 2022. "Informal construction as political currency: A theory of ‘election-driven informality’," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    3. Ernest Uwayezu & Walter T. De Vries, 2018. "Indicators for Measuring Spatial Justice and Land Tenure Security for Poor and Low Income Urban Dwellers," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-34, July.
    4. Víctor Jiménez Barrado, 2020. "Evolution and Management of Illegal Settlements in Mid-Sized Towns. The Case of Sierra de Santa Bárbara (Plasencia, Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-16, April.
    5. Drini Imami & Luca J. Uberti & Endrit Lami & Edvin Zhllima, 2018. "Political business cycles and construction licensing : Evidence from post‐socialist Tirana, Albania (1994–2015)," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(3), pages 523-552, July.
    6. Isra Hyka & Artan Hysa & Sokol Dervishi & Marijana Kapovic Solomun & Alban Kuriqi & Dinesh Kumar Vishwakarma & Paul Sestras, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Landscape Transformation in Western Balkans’ Metropolitan Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-23, October.

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