Place attachment in a Tirana neighborhood: The influence of the “Rebirth of the City” project

Özet

This paper studies the environmental behavior of Tirana dwellers in a former socialist period neighborhood which has been the subject of a project called the “Rebirth of the City”. This project was an undertaking of the municipality of Tira-na, the capital city of Albania, and had as its goals to stabilize the urban chaos and clean the informal constructions by treating the neighborhoods with colorful art-work. The neighborhoods within this research are treated as a concept formed by housing blocks and public spaces. The aim of the research is to understand the re-lationship of the dwellers and their place attachment to the neighborhood during the socialist and post-socialist period. This study will be conducted through the method of observation and questionnaire. At the end of the study, it is expected to find out how the “Rebirth of the City” project impacted the dwellers’ relationship with their neighborhood. In particular, whether or not this renovation project influenced dwellers’ place attachment will be examined. The role of place attach-ment as a concept in this relation will be also brought into consideration.