Homes for a Better Future:Ponzi Circulations and the Paradox of Alienable/ Inalienable Homes in

Postsocialist Albania

Smoki MusarajPostdoctoral Fellow

IMTFI, University of California, Irvine

View of Vlora’s New Housing Development from Hotel Bologna’s Roof, 2008

Lexicon

before 1997 fajde (money lending/usury)

after 1997 firma piramidale /piramida(pyramid schemes/firms)

Two Types

kompani or kompani me pergjegjesi te kufizuara(limited liability companies)

fondacione/ fondacione bamirese (charities/charity foundations)

Firma Piramidale: Thresholds of Value Conversion

Trajectory I - Nafie’s Entrapment in the “Periphery”

Kombinat Lapraka

Former kreditor, Manushaqe, in front of “Vefa’s Apartments”Laprake, Tirana, 2008

Two Parallel Surges in Construction

View from Manushaqe’s balcony: post 1990s “illegal” houses build by rural

migrants

Post-1997 developments hide VEFA’s apartments from the Major Tirana-Durres Highway

Plans for a “European” CityThe “French” Model of Tirana’s Future Urban PlanTirana City Council Website

Trajectory II - Fatmira’s Relocations as Social Transformation

Village Fier Vlore

Shtepi socialiste (socialist apartments) Shtepi europjane (European homes)

•Manushaqe in her balcony cum aneks