Walk21 will celebrate 25 years of the conference series with Walk21 Tirana, hosted by the Municipality of Tirana in partnership with GIZ Albania.
Together with experts from across the Balkans, Europe, and around the globe, this event will explore how to develop and implement walking policies and programmes that deliver streets and public space where communities enjoy spending time walking.
We will discuss how community needs, planning decisions and infrastructure investments are:
Join us as we explore what makes a successful package of transformative actions that support time for walking.
Every evening people do their ‘xhiro’ – taking time for leisurely walks with friends. Walking has been a shared activity for generations and contributes to the strong sense of community and good physical, social and mental well-being.
People in Tirana walk for more than an hour everyday, not just in the evenings. Three quarters of residents choose walking always or very often to reach their destinations. The scale of existing walking activity is perhaps surprising, given the visibility and dominance of the car in public space.
After communism ended in 1991, cars became a symbol of freedom, which is why the pace and scale of their impact was tolerated for decades despite the legal framework in the Albanian Road Code that clearly puts the pedestrian first.
Tirana is not the only community to have been impacted by the promotion of cars as a symbol of freedom. The lure of car-centric transit (encouraged by sprawl) and issues in the privatisation of land in lots of places around the world, has resulted in the relegation of safe, comfortable and enjoyable streets and public spaces to being an afterthought while car-oriented spaces are promoted. Spaces that can be a struggle to reclaim from vehicles and transform to benefit communities again.
The Municipality is now investing in a package of actions to ensure planning decisions and engineering investments are addressing the collective needs, prioritising people and making time for walking in Tirana. This includes connecting communities, codifying design and leading a walking policy change process while supporting a cosmopolitan culture. The aim is to capitalise on the ‘xhiro’ way of life by making sure everyone’s time walking is a positive enjoyable experience.
The approach of the multidisciplinary team in Tirana is an inspirational blueprint for the growing momentum for more walkable communities globally. Cities in the Balkans, Europe and around the world are seeing the value of their citizens walking as a quick, affordable and reliable solution to lower transport emissions while improving public health, and supporting a fairer, more vibrant society.
Now is the time to invest in walking.
Bronwen Thornton, Walk21 Foundation
Frida Pashako, Municipality of Tirana
Christian Mettke, GIZ Albania
Jim Walker, Walk21 Foundation
Ray Koçi, Municipality of Tirana
Natalia Lleras, Walk21 Foundation
Ana Zhibaj, GIZ Albania
Rexhina Basha, GIZ Albania
Simon Battisti, Qendra Marrëdhënie
Ditjon Baboçi, Layer
Valbona Koçi, GIZ Albania
Joleza Koka, FABER Forum
Arta Basha Jakupi, University of Prishtina, Kosovo
Blendi Bushati, Shkodra Municipality, Albania
Cecilia Furlan, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria
Consuelo Araneda Díaz, La Reconquista Peatonal, Chile
Dorina Pojani, University of Queensland, Australia
Deni Klosi, Albanian Development Fund, Albania
Guust Selhorst, Jeshile Landscape, Albania
Jenny Wiggle, Living Streets Aetoreoa, New Zealand
Ledio Allkja, Polis University, Albania
Martin Schaefer, GIZ International, Germany
Erisa Nesimi, EBRD, United Kingdom
Tali Trigg, EBRD, United Kingdom
Vidhya Mohankumar, Urban Design Collective
Ledian Bregasi, Polis University, Albania
Sokol Dervishi, Epoka university, Albania
Adelina Greca, National Territorial Planning Development Albania, Albania
Genc Demiraj, GIZ Kosovo, Kosovo
Francesca Chiodi, Movimento Diritti dei Pedoni, Italy
Daniela Maiullari,TU Delft, Netherlands
Renilda Hyseni, Municipality of Tirana, Albania
Alba Canaj, Municipality of Elbasan, Albania
Egin Zeka, Epoka University, Albania
Gorsev Argin, Marmara Union of Municipalities, Turkey
Solomon Green-Eames, GDCI, United Kingdom
Elton Stafa, NALAS, Albania
Regina Vathi, OSCE, Albania
Armin Wagner, GIZ International, Germany
Gyler Mydyti, KCAP, Lichtenstein
Ajmona Hoxha, 51N4E, Belgium
Lorina Hoxha, Municipality of Toronto, Canada
Jordi Bosch, UN Habitat, Spain