A vision for Tirana’s Traffic Mitigation: Theoretical Approach to Traffic Decongestion through Decentralization

Recent economic, social, and political transformations have significantly reshaped Tirana’s urban landscape. Rapid urban expansion has created emerging challenges related to sustainability in construction, urbanisation, and socio-economic and environmental development. Mobility plays a central role in establishing a resilient urban network and supporting the future growth of both infrastructure and the city itself. In Tirana, deficiencies in public transport and mobility infrastructure, combined with the concentration of vehicular traffic towards the historic city centre, have resulted in persistent congestion zones. This study proposes a theoretical framework to mitigate traffic congestion in Tirana, exploring decentralisation as a strategy to reduce reliance on the city centre. The approach envisions a network of connections between multiple points and neighbourhoods, integrating peripheral areas into a more compact urban fabric, fostering the development of new decentralized urban centres, and offering solutions for traffic decongestion. To illustrate the practical potential of this framework, the urban core and surrounding suburban areas are examined as candidate locations for new centres, functioning as “pulling powers” capable of redistributing flows and alleviating pressure on the main highways leading to the historic centre. Overall, the paper highlights innovative urban planning and design strategies aimed at addressing the complexities of Tirana’s growth, supporting sustainable mobility, and guiding the city towards a more balanced and resilient urban future