Investigating the Formal Relationship between Infrastructure and the Urban Form in Albanian Settlements

Abstract

This research investigates the relationship between settlement and infrastructure, focusing on the case study of Albanian settlements. The main problem met is the disconnection of the formal relationship between infrastructure and urban form. In the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, the relationship between the urban form and the infrastructure has been detached for an extended period, thus creating settlements lacking architectural identity. The article aims to emphasize how urban and rural areas are built and how the new ones are being designed in Albania. The main goal is to highlight the dynamic relationship existing between the settlement form and the infrastructure and propose a series of formal instructions on how to deal with the lack of architectural identity in settlements. As a result of the analysis process, the settlements are divided into two main archetypes: linear and nucleated. Based on preliminary investigations, we suppose that, in the case of nucleated settlements, the method of building cities in Albania was influenced by cultural conditions, according to the tradition consolidated over time, while where there was an uncontrolled development dominated by informality, the settlement took the form of a linear settlement. This research is based on a graphic analysis of urban layouts focusing on the relationship between types of settlements, transport, and distribution infrastructure systems. It investigates the correlations between interurban roads and residential centers during the 20th century and the beginning of the 21stcentury. It begins with analyzing the two main archetypes of settlements-the linear and the nucleated-and verifies their condition in Albania. The results show a transformation in the relationship between infrastructure and urban form over time. This transformation has influenced the loss of the formal identity of settlements with a linear character and the strengthening of the nucleated ones. This research contributes to the complex relationship between infrastructure and urban form by defining the dynamics of its development over time and the new types that have been formed in the last thirty years in Albania.