Beyond the walls - The impact of urban sprawl on the fortifications in Albania

Abstract

[EN] The need for protection of human settlements has existed since the earliest times of human society. It is reflected in the choice of the terrain, strategic location and through the construction of castles and fortification walls to protect the life inside the settlement. Being interdependent to the human settlement that they aim to protect, fortifications, apart from reflecting the building and military techniques of the time, are also a significant indicator of the life and extent of the historic built settlement within the walls, its accessibility, main transportation routes, etc. In Albania, fortifications, based on a classification on typology, function, building techniques, among others, are one of the first architectural genre designated as monuments of culture in the first national List of Cultural Monuments back in 1948. When in urban areas, these elements often constituted the core of the settlement. As such, they are permanent urban nodes in times of growth, development and change during the centuries and often conditioning/determining the growth policies around them. In present days, many only preserve traces of the protective structures and the walls and few still continue to host living neighborhoods within the perimeter. This article focuses on the fortifications in urban areas linked to historic settlements and impacted from the urban sprawl through history or currently due to urban development pressures. How do these permanent features of the city face urban growth, offering a categorization of the impacts being: building within, out or close to the encirclement of walls, or even the impact on the traditional landscape? By displaying a detailed view of the nature and range of impacts the study aims at helping national and local authorities dealing with cultural heritage, to undertake informed decisions for the protection and management of cultural heritage facing risk or loss of cultural values, and to be able to produce contemporary urban landscapes where historical layers combine.