Urban planning often unfolds behind closed doors, but in Planning as Political Theatre: Chronicle of Two Megaprojects Foretold, UQ|UP’s Dorina Pojani, alongside co-author Ranja Hautamäki at Aalto University, brings these processes to light. This work examines two controversial urban infill projects in Tirana and Helsinki, revealing how planning mirrors political theatre. The authors introduce the … Continue reading
Informal construction has been rife in Albanian cities since the fall of communism in 1990. This study investigates the fluctuations in the housing legalization process in conjunction with national and local elections in Albania from 2008 to 2021. Government revenues from legalization fees are used as a proxy for the pace of the legalization process. … Continue reading
Incumbent governments commonly increase public expenditures prior to elections in order to curry favor with voters and boost their chances of retaining office. This study, set in Albania, focuses on a non-fiscal approach to winning votes: condoning, or at least tolerating, informal construction activities in the residential sector prior to elections. We term this approach … Continue reading