DRAFT
ALBANIA
URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY REDUCTION
Ministry of Public Works
I.
Urban Poverty Analysis
1.1.
Introduction
1.1.1 After the demise of the communism, Albania has undergone through a 10 years of
reforming period to establish the market economy and institutions. During this period, no
effort has been made to analyze the urban poverty inherited from the past and evolution
of poverty during the transition period of last decade.
1.1.2. The purpose of this report is to provide a good picture of the urban poverty
characteristics in Albania and the urban poor, analyze what are the causes of this poverty
and propose public priority actions that address the poverty reduction in the context of the
urban development.
1.1.3. Urban is a cross sector definition, so to capture the urban poverty as a
multidimensional phenomenon in our analysis we have considered the following
dimensions: a) income/consumption; b)living conditions (access to basic public services,
such as, water, sewerage, road, electricity, school, clinic/hospital); and c) tenure
insecurity.
1.1.4. The official statistical data available are not sufficient to provide an accurate level
of urban poverty and quantitative and qualitative analysis of urban poverty features,
differences of urban poverty between: (i) South, Middle and North of Albania, (ii)
primary and secondary cities, and (iii) urban and peri-urban within a city. As a source.
we have used extensively the social assessments carried out in various cities, INSTAT,
and the World Bank documents on poverty and social analysis for Albania. In this report
we have used the comparative approach in order to come up with basic features of the
urban poverty in Albania.
2.1.
Analysis of Urban Poverty in Albania
2.1.2. What characterized the urban poverty during the socialist regime?
During the period of socialist regime, the government provided more or less an
equal distribution of investment for basic services that resulted in equal services for urban
population. Although there were roads, water electricity, sewerage, schools and clinics in
all cities, the service provision was very poor and quite inefficient for the state own
providers. Particularly in remote and secondary towns services were even worse. Also,
wages were almost equal and very low and consequently, consumption was very limited.
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Immovable private property consisted only in some houses that were unaffordable to
maintain from the owners.
2.1.3. Evolution of Urban Poverty after the demise of communism.
A.
Living Conditions
A.1. Rapid uncontrolled and unregulated urbanization. The post-communist period in
Albania, beginning in 1990, has been characterized by massive population shifts from the
countryside to large and medium-sized urban centers such as Tirana, Durres, Vlore,
Elbasan, and Saranda, and to undeveloped coastal areas. Because the country lacks
formal land and housing markets and a proper regulatory framework, this urbanization is
occurring primarily through informal processes, particularly the development of informal
low-income settlements.
A.2. Emerging of new “...pockets of urban poverty. Slum-like communities have
formed around Tirana and other major cities, lacking urban infrastructure and services”1
The data of Living Standard Measurement Survey (LSMS) conducted in 1996 in Albania,
has indicated that poverty in Albania is a rural phenomenon with almost 90 percent of the
poor residing in rural areas2. The emerging of “pockets of urban poverty” in the periurban areas is a pure response of the rural poverty to migration. People migrating from
rural areas or other depressed regions of the country simply stake out and claim unused
land on the outskirts of towns and build houses that are often quite substantial but don’t
have access to basic infrastructure
A.3. Limited access to basic infrastructure services. During the last decade, after the
demise of the communism the basic services deteriorated further. Current policies failed
to respond quickly to the high demand from the growing population in the big inland
urban or coastal urban areas. Investments in physical and social infrastructure have not
kept pace with the rapid growth in settlements, and the percentage of the population
without access to infrastructure has increased to around 50-60%. In addition, the existing
infrastructure networks have not been maintained over the past decade due to lack of
funding sources, and their deterioration has significantly decreased the quality of existing
services. In the city of Sarandë, according to the interviews with experts, it results that
part of central sewerage system is 70 years old by now.
Water supply is intermittent, with most urban areas receiving less than 4 hours of service
per day. There is a growing concern of the customers about the deterioriation of water
quality. Sewerage service coverage is diminishing as many urban areas are expanding,
and there are no sewage treatment plants in the country. Electricity service is also poor
and with severe shortage in the summer and winter. Roads are seriously degraded, which
affects public transportation, garbage collection, labor mobility, and most other urban
activities.
1
2
Albania-Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Draft, pg.2, April 8, 2000
Albania-Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Draft, pg.2, April 8, 2000
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Box
Water Service Findings in the cities of Durres, Fier, Lezhe and Saranda3
Finding: In the households under survey water is used mainly for “drinking cooking, washing, and
sanitation”. Most households, mainly in the city, use as their main water resource “indoor tap”,
and whenever there is insufficient water supply they use as water resource “neighbor’s indoor
tap”. In the village, people use as water resource also “yard wells” and “outdoor tap”.
“Insufficient water supply” is the main problem among the surveyed households. Most
respondents are not satisfied with their main water resource. When there is no water from the
main resource they use water tanks or mechanic pumps. “Improved safety of drinking water” and
“increased hours of water availability” are indicated by the surveyed households as two most
important improvements that they want.
Box: Sanitation Service Findings in the cities of Durres, Fier, Lezhe and Saranda4
Finding: Most households in the city discharge wastewater from their toilet directly into
central sewerage system, whereas in the villages into septic tank in the yard. Main
problem associated with sanitation system in the city is that sewage floods the streets.
Whereas, in the village the old-fashioned system of septic tanks is becoming more and
more problematic regarding the sanitation.
This lack of basic infrastructure disproportionately affects the informal low-income
settlements on the outskirts of cities and towns. These communities are usually excluded
from any investment financing from the Government, as well as from the overall urban
planning process or any other form of collaboration with central or local government to
improve their living conditions. People in the new settlements are resorting to other
means of meeting their needs, such as tapping into systems illegally or through formal or
informal arrangements with utility companies. According to the Social Assessment in
Saranda “In the city of Saranda, for example, parts of the new constructions in Koder
quarter are not connected with sewerage system. They discharge toilet wastewater into
septic tanks dug by dwellers themselves near their houses. Sanitation expert said, “into
the ground there should be cavities where toilet wastewater can flow, but whenever they
get clogged due to discharge of solid materials, wastewater emerges on the surface”5.
The social assessment carried out by ISB and CO-PLAN in four sites, of which 2 in the
peri-urban and 2 in the city, shows that lack of access to basic infrastructure services is
typical in peri-urban areas.
Box 1
Roads
Basic Infrastructure Service Deficiency
Selita
(in the city)
91% unpaved
Mihal Trameno
(in the inner city)
38% unpaved, 24%
graveled, 36%
asfalt
Bathore 2
(peri-urban)
38% unpaved, 62%
graveled
Frutikultura
(peri-urban)
54% unpaved, 46%
graveled
3
Albania-Water Supply Urgent Rehabilitation Project Social Assessment, Center for Economic and Social
Studies (CESS), pg.17, August 2000
4
Albania-Water Supply Urgent Rehabilitation Project Social Assessment, Center for Economic and Social
Studies (CESS), pg.22, August 2000
5
Albania-Water Supply Urgent Rehabilitation Project Social Assessment, Center for Economic and Social
Studies (CESS), pg.22, August 2000
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Main mode of
transport
Drinking Water
supply
Sewage service
Solid waste
collection
Electricity
Inhabitants (no.)
Size of the area (ha)
Distance from the
city center
To work place-50%
walk, 18% public
transport, 20%
private cars
To school, health
center, market
place-85% walk
Tap water inside
the house 79%, tap
outside the house
19%
Sewage system
66%
Discharge in
drainage canal 31%
Municipal
collection
To work place-45%
walk, 24% private
cars .
To market place65% walk, 18%
public transport
To work place-81%
private minibus
transport,
To market place57% walk
Tap water inside
house 98%
Well 60%, public
taps 19%
Sewage system
90%,
Discharge in
drainage canal 8%
Municipal
collection
Legal connection
97%
Legal connection
90%,
Illegal connection
8%
3,652
36
Less than 1km
67% cesspit, and
the rest discharge in
the drainage or
irrigation canals
Neither municipal
nor private
collection
Illegal connection
85%
2,741
42
3km
2,196
39
6km
To work place-45%
private transport
minibus, or 18%
public transport
To school, health
center, market
place-74%-96 walk
Well 75%, tap
water 23%
Cesspit 89%
Neither municipal
nor private
collection
Illegal connection
57%, legal
connection 25%
2,269
53
7km
A.4. Limited access to formal housing market
The privatization of state own houses and apartment units in early 90’ was followed up
with heavy investment of private sector, that increased tremendously the market price of
houses. The formal housing market was oriented towards high income families, leaving
thus the low income families off the market. According to a most recent study on
housing in Albania, “The poorest strata, existing on less than a dollar per day, comprise
26 percent of the population in Tirana and 35 percent in its peri-urban periphery”6. One
quarter of the metropolitan Tirana population lives in this periphery. As a response to
shortage of affordable houses, emerged informal housing market. The informal housing
market is characterized by an unregulated extension of many apartment units in the inner
city. At the Tirana center, the floor space is averaging 8 square meters per person
compare to 20 square meters per person in Central and Eastern Europe. Another feature,
is building or acquiring informally built housing in peri-urban areas from rural migrants,
usually without public services of electricity, water, sewage and streets.7
A.5. Education is deteriorating
Poverty is strongly linked to education. Enrollment rate in education is declining,
particularly at secondary education. Likewise, during the last 10 years the dropout rate of
children was 3 percent each year8. In some urban areas the number of pupils per
6
Who is Housed? The debate over access to housing in North America and Western Europe and its
relevance to housing policy in Albania, Anne T.Kuriakose, Land Tenure Center, University of WisconsinMadison, pg.1, May 4, 2001
7
Who is Housed? The debate over access to housing in North America and Western Europe and its
relevance to housing policy in Albania, Anne T.Kuriakose, Land Tenure Center, University of WisconsinMadison, pg.1, May 4, 2001
8
Albania-Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Draft, pg.3, April 8, 2000
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classroom is higher than 409. There are growing serious concerns about the quality of
education service.
A.6. Health services is limited
Health services is limited and with a poor quality in many cities, and in particular in small
towns. About 30 percent of existing health centers are not functioning10, reducing thus the
access of the people to health services. The health services access is even worse in the
growing peri-urban areas due to migration. These areas are very mixed with mostly
informal and or illegal settlements.
In the north-eastern areas malnutrition is present in around one quarter of children11.
Infant mortality rate in 1997 was 22.5 per 1,000 births, or almost three times as higher as
the central European countries12.
B.
Monetary Poverty
B.1. In Albania poverty defined from the income level per capita, is very high.
According to INSTAT living conditions survey of 199813, monthly average income per
capita was about USD30 per month, or about USD1 per day. The “Household Welfare,
The Labor Market, and Public Programs in Albania”, published in July 199914, reported
that the average monthly level of Consumption per capita in 1996 was about USD42.
B.2. There is a high dependence of poor families on Government social assistance. In
1999 there were 149,000 poor families or around 20 percent of the total families in
Albania, receiving economic aid from the Government15. Of these families, about 40
percent live in north of the country.
B.3. There is also e relatively high dependence on remittances. Households that have
members working as emigrants in other countries have lower poverty rates than nomigrant households.16
B.4. INSTAT has reported unemployment rate in Albania 18.4 percent in 1999. In
urban areas this figure is higher, and even higher in peri-urban areas. High percentage of
informal private businesses makes the employment very uncertain and keep wages low.
Box 2
Unemployment rate in inner city and peri-urban
Selita
(in the city)
Unemployment
51% of active
Mihal Trameno
(in the inner city)
23% of active
Bathore 2
(peri-urban)
58% of active
Frutikultura
(peri-urban)
82% of active
9
Albania-Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Draft, pg.3, April 8, 2000
Albania-Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Draft, pg.2, April 8, 2000
11
Albania-Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Draft, pg.3, April 8, 2000
12
Albania-Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Draft, pg.23, Table 2: Health Indicators, April 8,
2000
10
13
Albania in Figures, Tirane, pg.15, September 2000
Household Welfare, The Labor Market, and Public Programs in Albania, pg.10, ECSHD, The World
Bank, July 1999
15
Albania in Figures, Tirane, pg.11, September 2000
16
Household Welfare, The Labor Market, and Public Programs in Albania, pg.20, ECSHD, The World
Bank, July 1999
14
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rate
labor force
labor force
labor force
labor force
C.
Tenure insecurity
C.1. The privatization reform has transformed the state owned property in to private,
and created the market environment for the growth of a new private real estate. Tenure is
uncertain, with restitution claims still coming from former land owners, and state land
being held in temporary or permanent leasehold. Squatting of public and private land
from families has created many uncertainties in land tenure.
C.2. Lack of legal title is a typical phenomenon in informal housing sector. This
hampered both housing investment and finance markets, as the occupant can’t sell or use
as collateral their property. In the peri-urban areas of Albania people have invested and
is still ongoing, on their property without permission, in order to assert their right to the
land and increase their tenure security on their own17.
As shown in the below table18, a social assessment carried out in four sites in and out of
the Tirana city, indicates clearly that tenure insecurity is typical in peri-urban areas.
Box 3
Land Tenure Situation in the inner city and peri-urban areas of Greater Tirana
Legal Status of new
settlers
Status of land in the
possession of new
settlers
Inhabitants (no.)
Size of the area (ha)
Distance from the city
center
Selita
(in the city)
8% w/o documents
Mihal Trameno
(in the inner city)
6% w/o documents
42% purchased
from ex-owners,
36% purchased
from commune
25% purchased
from ex-owners,
51% occupied
public land
2,741
42
3km
3,652
36
Less than 1km
Bathore 2
(peri-urban)
94% w/o
documents
62% received from
previous illegal
settlers,
20% illegally
occupied
2,196
39
6km
Frutikultura
(peri-urban)
55% w/o
documents
21% purchased
from ex-owners,
64% purchased
from new owners
2,269
53
7km
2.1.4. Location of the Urban Poverty.
Because of the high mobility of the population, from poor rural to urban areas,
the existing administrative boundaries of city/urban does not reflect the extension of the
urban areas to the rural one. At the urban periphery of Tirana, Durres, Elbasan, and in
other big cities, as well as in small towns like Saranda, “rural” and “urban” distinctions
are becoming not clear. Non-farm employment, small manufacturing and services is
17
Who is Housed? The debate over access to housing in North America and Western Europe and its
relevance to housing policy in Albania, Anne T.Kuriakose, Land Tenure Center, University of WisconsinMadison, pg.2, May 4, 2001
18
Social Assessment for Selita, Mihal Grameno, Bathore 2 and Frutikultura sites of Tirana, Attachment 1,
pg.1, ISB and CO-PLAN, November 6, 2000.
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developing in rural areas. On the other hand, in newly urbanized former rural areas
agriculture is a good source for living and of incomes. The poor in both settings often
rely on such multiple livelihoods, and on social safety nets based (Ndihma Ekonomike) in
both locations.
To identify the urban poverty location, it is important in defining the urban area
not only as a city with its own administrative boundaries, but also as an urban socioeconomic area with much interconnections with rural areas. The social assessments
indicated that poverty problems are particularly visible in areas where population growth
is high and administrative capacities are not adequate or prepared to respond to the high
demand, that falls mostly in the peri-urban areas.
Geographical location.
The World Bank report on “Household Welfare, The Labor
Market, and Public Programs in Albania” stated that “The incidence of poverty was
higher in rural vs. urban areas, and the north vs. the south. This pattern of poverty
prevails no matter what poverty line is chosen for the country” (pg2).
Differences among cities. The socio-economic assessment reports in some cities provides
differences in basic needs among the surveyed cities. Regardless of these differences, the
share of population with unsatisfied water services in the inner city was around 50-60%
according to the household questionnaires.
Box ….
Differences in needs on water quantity and quality amongst four cities19
The following is the respond of the interviewers from a household questionnaire in May
2000 “improved safety of drinking water”-33,5% of respondents, “increased hours of
water availability”-32,1% of respondents. 51,5% of the Durres city respondents indicate
as most important “increased hours of water availability”. Respondents in the cities of
Fier, Sarandë and villages around Durrës indicate as most important “improved safety of
drinking water”. Whereas, “improved pressure” is chosen as most important by 20% of
respondents mainly in the city of Lezhë-30% of respondents; Fier-28% of respondents
and villages around Durrës-19% of respondents.
Box….
Lezhe
Connection
79%
with sewage
system of the
city
Wastewater Services in the cities of Lezhe, Fier, Sarande and Durres20
Fier
Sarande
Durres
National
99
73
89.5
19
Albania-Water Supply Urgent Rehabilitation Project, Social Assessment, Center for Economic and
Social Studies (CESS), pg.21, August 2000
20
Albania-Water Supply Urgent Rehabilitation Project, Social Assessment, Center for Economic and
Social Studies (CESS), pg.22, August 2000
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Differences within cities. To define a poverty profile at city level, it is needed a well
structure of road map of poverty that would show: 1) who is poor, 2) where do they live
in the urban areas, 3) their access to services, 4) their living standards and so on.
Although, the urban poor are heterogeneous, different groups may suffer from different
types of deprivations. The findings of the social assessments in some cities indicated that
in the inner city it is more typical income poverty, while in the peri-urban city it is more
typical lack of basic services access and income poverty.
2.1.5. Profile of the urban poverty
2.1.6. Under the conditions of the lack of reliable data and detailed poverty analysis, this
report makes an attempt to define the urban poverty profile, which characteristics are the
most important determinants of urban poverty and to evaluate the impact of each
characteristics on the probability that an HH living in urban areas is poor.
2.1.7 Urban poverty in Albania is defined as a three dimensional phenomenon: a)
deprivation from the basic services; b) high rate of low income families; and c) tenure
insecurity. The size of the urban poverty, as share of the poor HHs in the inner city and
peri-urban areas, is higher in the peri-urban areas. In the inner city low income
dimension is the most important determinant of the urban poverty profile. People are
reach in physical property (land and housing), but very poor in income While, in the periurban the three dimensions determine together with the same weight the poverty profile in
the peri-urban of the city.
Box…..
Poverty Profile21
Poverty in Albania is a multidimensional phenomenon. As indicated by various studies, poverty defined in
terms of low income and/or consumption in Albania is relatively high, mainly due to limited job
opportunities and low incomes, particularly in agriculture. But poverty in Albania not only manifest itself
in low income for part of population, but also importantly in limited access to and poor quality of basic
services like education, health, water and sewerage. Large differences exist between rural and urban areas.
Furthermore, repeated shocks and crisis, cohesion and traditional family and community based safety nets,
leading to increased vulnerability and social exclusion of different groups of the population.
2.1.8. A fundamental question is: Who are the Urban Poor - a) new migrants; or b)
unemployed people; or c) chronically poor families; or d) children, elderly/pensioners,
and handicapped people; or e) homeless families. Urban poor are a diverse group. In
peri-urban areas there is a combination of new migrants (rural), who have a high
incidence of unemployment and coming from chronically poor rural families.
2.1.9. Migration is a major variable of the urban poverty. In Albania, the growing of
the big cities during 1991 – 2001 was mainly due to migration to cities from rural. As
mentioned above, most of urban growth was caused by the incorporation of formerly rural
areas at the urban periphery. New migrants are among the poorest urban residents and
there is a direct relationships between migration and poverty. In Albania, policies that
aimed to restrict internal migration proved to be ineffective.
21
Albania-Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Draft, pg.1, May 3, 2000
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2.1.10. As mentioned above, there are differences among cities regarding the level of
basic infrastructure services. Likewise, there are differences in public investment among
cities. However, lack data does not allow us to see the degree of such differences, and in
particular between big and small cities, and also to link the high unsatisfaction of the
residents to the basic services with low level of public investments.
Box…..
Access to Basic Infrastructure22
Access to basic services is far from universal and services are often not reliable. In urban areas about 80
percent of the population have access to piped water, access levels in rural areas are considerable lower.
Furthermore, an urban household on average has running water for only 2-3 hours a day. About 40 percent
of the urban population has a sewerage connection. No sewerage treatment facility exists in the whole
country, and sewerage is discarded directly into rivers, lakes and the sea. Because of poor condition of
existing pipes, sewerage often contaminates drinking water. Because of the obvious risks, a high chlorine
concentration is used to kill bacteria in piped water. Access levels for electricity are high, but there are
frequent disruptions in the service, especially during the winter months.
22
Albania-Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Draft, pg.3, May 3, 2000
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II.
2.1.
The Causes of Urban Poverty
Policy and institutional constraints to reduction of urban poverty
 Lack of policy measures (i.e. financial/credit programs and regulatory framework ) to
promote domestic and international investments, which has contributed to: (i) disparities
in income between city centers and peripheral areas; (ii) continued high unemployment
rate and rising income disparity; (iii) financial insecurity and inability to afford with their
own resources basic needs (goods and services)
 Lack of policy measures to promote regularization of informal/private businesses as part
of urban formal economy, which has contributed to: (i) depreciated social capital (family
and community support) from unemployment; (ii) increase in violence and crime
 Investments in physical and social infrastructure inconsistent with the pace of
urbanization, which has contributed to: (i) increase the population without access to basic
infrastructure services by around 50-60% throughout the urban areas; (ii) environmental
degradation
 Weak institutional capacity and financial base at the local and central governments to
respond to the growing needs, which has resulted in (a) inadequate urban development
planning, (b) an inadequate regulatory framework, (c) failure to ensure delivery of basic
urban services, (d) poor collaboration between central and local government, (e) a lack of
participation by all stakeholders, including formal and informal communities, and (f) a
lack of information on government decisions and actions.
 Exclusion of informal areas from public investment programs, which has contributed to
further disparities in investments between city centers and peripheral areas
 Deficiencies in urban infrastructure services, which have contributed to (a) low urban
productivity, (b) environmental degradation, and (c) low cost recovery for utilities.
 An incomplete legal framework for a land development market, which has resulted in
delays in (a) settling land restitution and compensation claims in a timely manner, (b)
dividing public property (including land) between central and local government; and (c)
implementing infrastructure programs/projects.
 The absence of a strategy for alleviating urban poverty and promoting social inclusion,
which has resulted in (a) a growing population of poor people living in settlements with
inadequate or non-existent services, (b) a continued high unemployment rate, (c) rising
income disparity, (d) delays in regularizing informal settlements for integration into the
urban fabric, and (e) communities that are neglected entirely in the urban planning
process and in urban improvement projects.
 Lack of policy measures and feasible mechanism to provide easier access to the housing
and land market, which has contributed to: (i) uncontrolled sprawl in peripheral areas; (ii)
low-income families unable to access the private housing market in the inner city; (ii)
lack of maintenance and deterioration/loss of existing real estate.
 Insufficient investments in increasing the coverage of services (i.e. water, sewage and
solid waste collection), which has contributed to high exposure to water-borne diseases
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 Lack of resources to invest in water and wasterwater treatment facilities, which has
contributed to increased spending and costs of medical services
 No policy and mechanisms to define tariff affordable for the poor –untargeted subsidies,
which has contributed to increase un-collectable bills.
 Investments in the health sector inconsistent with the demographic changes in urban
areas, which has contributed to the limited access of the new residents to the health
services.
 Investments in the education sector inconsistent with the demographic changes in urban
areas, which has contributed to: (i) reduced ability to secure jobs; (ii) increased likelihood
for violence and crime.
 Delays in settling land restitution and compensation claims , which has contributed to:
(i) limited investments in land development
 Inadequate policy consideration for inclusion of informal/illegal settlements in urban
development programs, which has contributed to: (i) increasing illegal connections to
services; (ii) public utilities unable to recover investment costs
 Incomplete legal framework for a land development market
 Lack of land use planning standards, which contributed to inability to public utilities to
supply services
 Long standing legal commitment of the Govt. to land ownership restitution
 Lack of housing policy enabling access to land and housing for the poor, which has
contributed to: (i) increased informal market for housing construction without permit.
 Lack of proper mechanism to provide wide range of opportunities to access housing
market primarily through private savings: (i) stagnant supply and constraints to actualize
demand within the public sector.
 Inappropriate land policies to regularize land tenure in informal settlements, which has
contributed to inefficient land use.
 Zoning not reflecting real changes in urban land use , which has contributed to higher
costs of regularization and land development.
 Under-priced tariffs for services, which has contributed to lack of maintenance and
deterioration of urban services
 Low collection rate of bills, which has contributed to no financing sustainability in
utilities/public service providers
 Dependence of local governments on resources from the central government
 Absence of institutional mechanism and weak institutional capacity of local governments
to mobilize and allocate financial resources - narrow tax/fiscal base in local governments
to respond growing needs for services.
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 Lack of experience and capacity to carry out new responsibilities and functions of the
local governance under the decentralization framework, which would result in further
deterioration of the services to the urban population.
2.2.
Good Practices in Government Programs and NGOs in the area of urban
poverty
Box ...
Infrastructure Upgrading with Community Participation
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III.
Priority Public Actions to Address Urban Poverty
Our goal to combat urban poverty is essentially linked to the development of the economy
and social sectors of the country. In this context, below we have presented priority public
actions, policies, programs, that aim at: 1) creating a business climate that attracts private
sector resources into new productive investments in housing, infrastructure, small
business activities an so on; 2) putting in place a clear and transparent regulatory
framework that facilitates the transformation of informal to formal economy; 3)
developing an efficiently operating infrastructure service provision; 4) access to land and
clear reliable property rights; and 5) targeting poor urban.
(a) Strategic Urban Planning and Programming

Formulating strategic development plans, aiming at establishing more direct linkages
between land development trends/patterns, economic activities, and infrastructure
investment, particularly for the fast growing areas, like Tirana-Durres corridor and
Kamza Municipality areas.

Promoting more balanced urban development to reduce the vast long-term costs of
urban sprawl (measured in neglected environmental problems, inefficient land use,
and related high costs of infrastructure) by giving priority to the informal settlements
on the outskirts of cities, and integrating them into the urban fabric.

Aligning the programs, projects, and activities of city development with regional
development, particularly in the Greater Tirana area.

Formulate programs targeting the urban poor: a) providing essential services
and access to social infrastructure (i.e. health and education) to neglected
communities; b) adopt a community participation approach in all phases of
project preparation till implementation; c) optimize investments by targeting
infrastructure provision in built-up areas
(b) Policy Formulation

Regularizing new informal settlements by having residents and municipalities
enter into contracts with each other to make substantial improvements in land
use, infrastructure, and social inclusion.

Shifting from subsidies to cost recovery policies in urban development
projects/programs. A land development fee for upgrading infrastructure has
been introduced in the Urban Land Management Project and is supported by
communities in Lapraka and Bathore.

Introduce new policy that provide infrastructure standards affordable to the
poor, and address the pricing of the public services to the affordability level of
the poor.
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o Designing policies to integrate poor communities into urban
neighborhoods through regularizing land tenure, upgrading physical
infrastructure, providing urban services, and in some cases, social
services. These programs were initiated by CEBEMO and CO-PLAN,
NGOs in Lapraka (Tirana). The Bank has begun to implement this
approach in Breglumasi and Bathore (Tirana) through the Urban Land
Management Project, and has established a partnership between the
community association and Tirana Municipality.
o Commercialize the public services (water, sewerage, electricity, solid
waste collection, etc.) for efficiency gain in operation and management
and cost-recovery services.

Bringing to an end to the land restitution and compensation policy to
allow more land development programs and private investment
activities.

Implementing the new Immovable Public Land Laws to legally
establishes municipal ownership of public land and other municipal
assets in a due time.
(c) Legal Improvements and Institutional Strengthening

Strengthening capacity in urban governance, including: (i) empowering local
governments with an effective city planning role and other functions suitable
to a market economy; (ii) establishing clear boundaries of municipal public
land and other municipal assets; (iii) building capacity in law enforcement;
(iv) developing and improving urban land markets through legal or other
regulatory changes, such as land use planning and zoning, adequate land
registration and titling, building codes, and development licenses, and allows
for more efficient management of land use and assets.

Regularize land tenure: a) define implementation measures to legally establish
municipal ownership of public land and other municipal assets; b) collect
regularly information on the land tenure status; c) fulfill legal requirements to
formalize informal settlements (i.e. regularizing land tenure and other legal
acts)

Land market development to increase the land and labor mobility and
productivity of land use: a) finalize the registration of immovable property to
establish a property records within a new unified system; b) complete the legal
framework for an efficient real estate land market; c)

Enhancing municipal finance by increasing local resources through property
taxes and introducing land development fees.
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
Establishing monitoring indicators for measuring the degree of urbanization in
Greater Tirana, and identifying major urban trends and problems for use in
urban policy formulation.

Develop Policies that define Government as enabler and no a supplier of
houses: a) decrease national financial involvement in housing investment; b)
increase decentralize housing responsibilities to local government; c) private
sector should be the main supplier of houses; d) privatization of management
and maintenance; e) rationalize subsidy policy to targeted poor and handicap,
by relative shifting to demand side, away from supply side subsidies.

Define institutional and financial mechanisms at city level to facilitate the
access of the low income families to the housing market affordable for them

Improve the maintenance of the existing houses through appropriate
mechanisms at city level with community involvement
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IV.
Monitoring Indicators and Mechanism
In order to assess the poverty level, its dimensions, causes, location and changes over
time, to design policies and develop public actions that respond to their needs, below we
have presented the proposed monitoring indicators.
These indicators will be more elaborated during the implementation, with proposed
institution mechanism for monitoring achievement and progress (taking into consideration of
the decentralization process and increased participation of civil society actors such as Urban
Forum. Proposed mechanism will specify roles of local government and civil society actors and
its processes.
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URBAN POVERTY MONITORING INDICATORS
Objectives
Key Performance Indicators
Monitoring and Evaluation
I. Essential Infrastructure
Service Provision
% of urban area covered by infrastructure
networks
% of total Greater Tirana built up in area
serviced
% of Greater Tirana population with
water, sewerage, and electricity
connections
Rational use of scarce urban land
Population density in developed sites
Market price of land per m2
Improved cost recovery
% of beneficiary population investing in
tertiary connection
Percentage contribution by beneficiaries to
project cost
Physical output of infrastructure
Volume of civil works executed
Area developed
Infrastructure service rendered
Number of individual water, sewer, and
electricity connections
% Household expenditure on
infrastructure services
Infrastructure service price/income ratio
% Household expenditure on potable
water and sanitation
Per capita consumption of water
II. Housing Provision
Private sector investment in housing and
land market
Annual private investment in housing
construction
Average cash investment per household
Market price of completed houses
Spatial distribution of residential
land/housing price
Number of houses under construction and
built per hectare of land developed
Access to credit for housing
% Household expenditure on housing
Crowding (housing floor space per person)
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III. Security tenure
No. of families in unauthorized housing
Households with secure tenure
No. of families living in precarious zones
No. of illegal settlements
Deaths from industrial or environmental
disasters
Families legalized as legal settlements
No. of informal settlements
Formalized settlements
Land development controls
IV. Public Investment Allotment Type of households are benefiting from
public expenditures
Areas in the city benefit from public
expenditures
Public investment in infrastructure from
central and local sources by city
V. Sanitation and Environment
Public investment in social from central
and local sources by city
Improved environmental living conditions
Decreased risk for water born diseases
% Hhold connected to sewerage system
% Wastewater treated
Infant and under five mortality
Variations in the occurrence of infectious
diseases linked to defective water and
sanitary services
% hholds w. regular solid waste collection-
Morbidity and mortality rates from public
health/environment-related diseases (e.g.
diarrheal, respiratory, malaria
% of solid waste safely disposed
Disaster mortality
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Table 5.1. Most important problems people face in every day life in the cities of
Lezhë, Fier, Sarandë, Durrës and villages around Durrës
(%)
Nr
Problems
Median
Lezhë
Fier
Sarandë
Durrës
Rural
Durrë
s
1.
Shortage of money for buying
principle food products
Shortage of money in satisfying
non-food needs
Bad quality of potable water
Insufficient drinking water supply
Insufficient quantity and pressure
Poor housing conditions
Poor public health service
Poor public transportation
Shortage of building materials
Health
Unemployment
Lack of business opportunities
Lack of agriculture land
Lack of irrigation water
Lack of drainage system
Lack of sewerage
Don’t know/hard to say
Other
49
11
8
13
12
5
104
23
23
17
24
17
120
145
21
17
15
6
4
8
64
23
11
6
1
4
6
2
26
22
5
1
12
22
8
6
1
62
60
5
5
8
9
35
2
1
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
2
2
1
3
4
17
5
3
10
3
10
1
13
5
1
20
2
1
21
3
1
8
1
1
5
4
1
3
Source: Household questionnaire, May 2000
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