Urban Form in Transition

This dissertation investigates the urban transformation of Kosovo’s cities, focusing on the evolution of urbanization and the future development trajectories between environmental upgrading and the rehabilitation of existing urban fabrics. Central themes include de/densification, the application of the Zwischenstadt concept, municipal planning policies, and the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11). Despite rapid urban expansion and densification, the role of municipalities in shaping urban form remains poorly understood in the Kosovan context.

The study explores Kosovo’s transition from socialism to democracy, and from conventional to strategic planning approaches. This shift, combined with the lack of literature on post-socialist urbanism in Kosovo, presents a significant gap that this research seeks to address. The legacy of war, UN administration, post-war reconstruction, decentralization, widespread illegal construction, and the absence of coherent planning documents have resulted in highly fragmented and unplanned urban growth. These complex challenges demand an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research approach that bridges academic inquiry and practical application.

Using a qualitative case study methodology, the research examines three municipalities, Mitrovica South, Vushtrri, and Prishtina, selected based on their size, historical relevance, and geographic proximity. The analysis is grounded in real-world conditions and seeks to provide insights that extend beyond disciplinary boundaries. It examines how planning legislation, urban policies, and growth patterns have shaped urban form and affected everyday life in Kosovo.

The dissertation contributes to multiple fields, offering both theoretical and practical insights. The findings, structured across three core publications, focusing respectively on planning legislation, de/re-densification, and Zwischenstadt dynamics in relation to sustainable development, aim to inform academia, policy-making, and planning practice, while promoting environmentally conscious urban transformation in post-socialist contexts.