VIRTUAL Barcelona

Abstract

With the rise to power of Albanian Prime Minister and former Tirana Mayor Edi Rama, iconic urban development has gained increased political significance. Tracing key initiatives in Rama’s multi-decade reign, we demonstrate how the staging of the capital is deeply connected to the fabrication of Rama’s as a visionary and progressive leader. Bringing together critical scholarship in urban theory, technology, media and cultural studies, we discuss how Rama’s regime has advanced a particular brand of urban development—one relying heavily on foreign starchitecture to legitimize him as a strongman politician. This development is then politically and economically leveraged to prop-up his ruling party and the country’s elite. While strongmen leaders have been widely researched globally, we know less about the specific ways they manipulate urban development to reinforce their authority. Taking a critical lens to recent developments, we use content analysis to identify three core elements foundational to this alliance: first, the need for unstoppable urban development in the name of modernization; second, the necessity for this modernization to be deeply connected to the identity of Rama—as artist, public intellectual, and politician; and third, the push for modernization to be legitimized through outside starchitects invited to leave their mark on the city. The dramatic and often violent urban erasure tied to these processes, as well as the heavy toll paid by residents as their city becomes a hotbed for corrupt development and foreign designers expanding their portfolios underscores the disconnects between the city shown and the city lived.