Planning, Why Bother?! Does Urban Planning Really Matter forEconomic Development?-Case of the Municipality of Shkodra

The entry point of this research is that the economic performance of the city is, to a certain extent, influenced by the performance of the urban planning system. In the case of the Municipality of Shkodra, Economic development is seen as the purpose that Urban Planning should serve at. Statutory planning is not responding adequately to the urban dynamics especially to the need for the local governments to take actions to cope with the challenges as sustainable development, equity and problems related to the urban poor. Local economic development is about local people working together to achieve sustainable economic growth that brings economic benefits and quality of life improvements for all in the community. Planning local economic development is seen as a set of actions planned to reach the objective (LED) therefore some how the two concepts Urban Planning and Economic Development are not independent and, depending on what angle you look at, they form part of each other. The low performance of the urban planning system is accentuated by the fact that the existing planning has never stimulated any opportunity of entering in partnership for stimulating a better environment for business and unemployment reduction. Finally the research advocates for an urban planning system that would be inspiring instead of obtrusive, should aim at guiding instead of seeking to stubbornly control the development.