Transformation of urban form in Shkodër during the Ottoman period

Abstract

Urban form in Shkodër is studied according to six stages during the period 1479-1913, which are reconstructed based on historical descriptions, maps, photographs, and the spatial interpretation of the Venetian cadastral registry in 1416. Like other Ottoman cities in the Balkans, the old quarters in Shkodër evolved by preserving the original medieval street network, while the new part of the city grew by expanding suburbs with dendritic street patterns and large plots along existing intercity arterial roads. The unique location of the city confined by hilly ranges and surrounded by three rivers and a lake produced a distinctive urban form due to the position of the external bazaar and the crisscrossing of arterial roads. The comparative space syntax analysis of the street network for each stage reveals a gradual transformation in the spatial structure of the city broken by two stark changes: during the early Ottoman period when the bazaar became distinctively more central in comparison to the living quarters, and after the opening of new boulevards during the late Ottoman period when the new urban center that emerged in the new city drew the spatial integration away from the historical bazaar.