The Role of Geography in Managing Spatial Development Processes: the Case of the Peri-urban Area of Shkoder City, Albania

This paper analyzes the spatial transformations that occurred in the peri-urban area of Shkoder city after 1990, particularly the "Rrethinat" commune, which has experienced the most dramatic social, economic and land use transformations in the Shkodra region during this period, along with Shkoder city itself. This is the first study undertaken for this area and it aims to examine the causes, the dynamics and the impact of these transformations on the community and on land use. Using a problem-resolving (applied) approach, the study finds that the most immediate problems that need to be addressed are: the lack of an administrative identity for this area, the high degree of economic, demographic and settlement informality and the lack of an adequate public infrastructure. It concludes by emphasizing the necessity to develop and carry out a general regulatory plan for this territory, as the final solution to all the above-mentioned problems, and as a way to achieve sustainable development.