Informal Formality of Peripheral Society in Albania

Alfred Halilaj -University “Aleksandër Moisiu” of Durrës, Faculty of Education, Durrës, Currila Street, 2001 Durrës, Albania

Abstract: After the 1990s, Albanian society gained a fundamental right: The right to movement. Researchers, public speakers, politicians, and the state it­self have at times characterized this newfound freedom as urban degenera­tion, portraying those who exploit this opportunity as anti-establishment. While the right to free speech has not been questioned in the new democratic framework of Albania, it is scientifically naive to interpret this discourse with­out considering the social, economic, political, and urban realities. The move­ment of people has always been a fundamental aspect of human life, and in contemporary terms, society operates largely in a state of continuous “infor­mality.” This paper aims to explore the informal reality of settlement in three dimensions: a) public articulation, b) economic implications, and c) urban conditions. A key focus of this paper is to examine the often-overlooked ben­efits of this ‘informal’ formality in urban development. The peripheries of Al­banian cities should not be viewed as urban ghettos; rather, they represent a dynamic force of human action that has catalyzed significant changes in the economic, political, and social fabric (structure) of urban areas.

8th International Scientific Conference – EMAN 2024 – Economics and Management: How to Cope With Disrupted Times, Rome, Italy, March 21, 2024, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS, published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans, Belgrade, Serbia; ISBN 978-86-80194-83-7, ISSN 2683-4510, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/EMAN.2024

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