Post-conflict urban planning: The regularization process of an informal neighborhood in Kosova/o

The 1999 conflict in Kosova/o caused widespread physical and social destruction of urban environments throughout the region. Post-conflict urbanization trends helped to create informal neighborhoods in Kosova. At this time, these informal neighborhoods are being brought into the formal urban plan of cities in Kosova so that citizens may have full ‘right to the city.’ This process is called ‘regularization’ or ‘upgrading’ of community areas. This article illustrates the process of bringing informal neighborhoods and community areas into the formal urban plan of cities in post-conflict Kosova. More specifically, this article draws upon the informal community of Zatra in the city of Peja/Peč in western Kosova as a case study of how regularization and neighborhood upgrading occurs in Kosova. This procedure involves several sets of actors ranging from the individual residents in the local community of Zatra to the international community. Understanding post-conflict urbanization processes and the role of informal communities in post-conflict Kosova can aid in knowing how to best conduct post-conflict urban planning to help urban areas stabilize and progress from the ills of war when they do, unfortunately, occur. Therefore, this article uses the case of Zatra to present a method of regularization that other informal neighborhoods in Kosova and in other post-conflict cities could use a model.