Introduction

In 1991, after 45 years of dictatorship, Albania agreed to implement a new democratic political system. Differently from other similar contexts in the Eastern Bloc (with a few exceptions), Albania applied shock therapy at the beginning of the transition period (Aliaj et al, 2009). The results of the transition, which are evident in Albania's abolition of previous institutional structures, can also be seen in the urban development field. The basis for the rise of the informal urban sector included primarily low institutional and governance capacities to respond to the new changing context and citizens’ need, people's freedom of movement, and the failure of the socialist economic model (Aliaj, 2008).

Prior to 1991, Albania was a highly centralised country where every aspect of life was controlled by the central government and the leadership of the Socialist Party; the local authorities were mainly an executive branch. Strong emphasis was put on the country's industrialisation and urbanisation, with many new towns and cities being created to foster industrial development (Aliaj, 2003). The movement of individuals and their locations of work, and even the creation of new urban settlements and decisions about their populations, were decided at the central level of government. The fall of the existing regime in the early 1990s meant that many ‘new cities’, which had been created for industrial development purposes, could no longer offer employment and services due to the failure of the economic structure. Many people decided to emigrate from Albania to the neighbouring countries of Italy and Greece, while others moved to the capital city of Tirana (Janku et al, 2014). At this time, both the state and the real estate market were unprepared to respond to the high demand for housing in Tirana (Aliaj et al, 2009), and migrating low-income families could not afford the market prices for housing. Thus, many families, taking advantage of the breakdown of the former state, opted for informal development. Most of the peripheries of the city of Tirana were state-owned agricultural or natural lands. Hence, the new inhabitants were able to (illegally) appropriate these lands (Aliaj, 2008).