Thirty meters beneath the northern city of Kukës lies an extensive network of abandoned Cold War-era tunnels. Kukës, the poorest city in Albania, grapples with high rates of youth migration fueled by economic adversity. In collaboration with community stakeholders, this project explored perspectives of the tunnels, ethical considerations for redevelopment, and ideas around potential reuse. Our team developed a website that explores the history of the tunnels, documents residents’ ideas for redevelopment, and includes an interactive map where users can view the tunnels. Our research revealed strong community support for the tunnels’ reuse, as well as the need to professionally assess the scope of the network so that the municipality can begin progress on the network’s redevelopment.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Schechter, Ariel
• Johnson, Audrey
• Ellington, Jacob
• Hussein, Aliaa

Subject

• Infrastructure
• Computing
• Inclusion
• Security
• Community
• Project-Based Learning

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-121423-080432
• 115140

Advisor

• Hersh, Robert
• Butler, Melissa

Year

• 2023

Center

• Tirana, Albania Project Center - IQP

Sponsor

• Gent Gjuta

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• 1 - No Poverty
• 4 - Quality Education
• 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
• 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Date created

• 2023-12-14

Resource type

• Interactive Qualifying Project

Source

• E-project-121423-080432

Rights statement

• In Copyright

License

• Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 International

Last modified

• 2024-02-07