A Competitiveness Analysis of Durres City

Abstract

This paper takes in consideration our hometown city, Durres. It is the second largest city of Albania, and the most
ancient one. Durres is located in the north-western part of the Western Lowland of Albania. The historical development of the city
of Durres is rooted in early connection with other Albanian and foreign cities, because of its suitable location in the region. The
port of Durres is the biggest port in Albania, in which export and import processes is regularly handled. This paper includes a
historical analysis of Durres city, looked under city’s development since the period after the World War II until nowadays. As
many other major Albanian cities, Durres has passed through an uncontrolled urban development in the last twenty years. The
change of mono system into pluralism, from 1990, and the application of the economical reforms of the trade were accompanied
with the appearance of many problems. Regarding to the urban city transformation, the period of transition led to a high city
urban growth and densification. Illegal buildings were constructed in previously green areas, such as in the old beach. Is this
uncontrolled urban development also influenced the informal settlements in industrial zones, such as the one in Spitalla, Porto
Romano, and Keneta. Ongoing these deep change processes, unemployment rate has suffered significant decline. Through a
table we can demostate the city life cycle of Durres city. Moreover, analyzing the competitive capacities of Durres, we make a
competitiveness analysis of Durres city with two other national and regional competitive cities: Tirana and Istanbul, highlighting
the stong and weak points of these capitals.