Under the regional project Green Agenda: Climate Change Adaptation in the Western Balkans (WB Adapt) implemented by GIZ, the Municipality of Tirana has launched its comprehensive Climate Risk Assessment (CRA) and Urban Mobility Action Plan. This study establishes the empirical foundation needed to integrate long-term climate resilience directly into Tirana’s future Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) and municipal infrastructure procurement.
Core Findings: The Microclimatic Pressure
Tirana’s topographically constrained basin and rapid urbanization face an acute intersection of intense Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects and volatile pluvial flooding sinks. With extreme summer heat expected to skyrocket to 90–110 days per year under the RCP 8.5 scenario, physical asset mapping tracks severe vulnerabilities: 100% of underpasses, 93% of traffic signaling systems, and 76% of cycling tracks sit in high-risk thermal zones. Concurrently, high surface sealing transforms primary intersections (such as Zogu i Zi and Sheshi Shqiponja) into stormwater bottlenecks during flash cloudbursts.
Priority Projects: The Resilient Investment Roadmap
To shift the capital from a stance of reactive maintenance to proactive, data-driven climate risk management, the Action Plan maps out a prioritized infrastructure strategy across the city’s transport channels:
• Integrated Green Corridors: Planting drought-tolerant, broad-canopy trees and laying permeable paving along 11 km of the Lana Corridor, Great Park, and Metrobosco to capture stormwater runoff and cool surfaces.
• Shaded, Traffic-Calmed School Streets: Transforming 5 km of priority educational zones with continuous shading, raised crossings, and ground-cover vegetation to isolate vulnerable children from extreme microclimatic heat.
• Thermal-Resilient Smart Lighting: Retrofitting major boulevards with automated, high-temperature rated LED fixtures that adjust dynamically to weather and protect the municipal grid during heat stress events.
