Triggers That Redefine a City: Antifragility, Resilience, and Fragility in the Case of Skopje
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Cities are constantly transformed or reshaped by various triggering natural or political events, which can lead to positive or negative outcomes in the urban environment. When such events affect the urban condition of a city, the response aimed at its improvement becomes more important than the trigger itself. This paper explores the outcomes of such responses in an urban context, relying on the conceptual framework of Taleb (2012) and Lefebvre (2017) regarding antifragility, resilience, and fragility. The city of Skopje in North Macedonia was chosen as a case study to examine how the city evolved and responded to two major events: the 1963 earthquake and the transition period following the country’s independence in 1991. By employing a qualitative descriptive literature review and implementing Taleb’s asymmetry test, this paper evaluates how these triggering events redefined the city’s spatial and social conditions. The findings indicate that Skopje achieved antifragility in response to the massive earthquake, later stabilized into a resilient state in terms of seismic controls, and subsequently shifted into a fragile state due to the socio-political and economic challenges of the post-independence period. The paper opens a discussion about the future development of Skopje, arguing that, in order to improve the city’s current condition and regain antifragility, lessons from previous experiences should be taken into consideration.
Source: Journal of Balkan Architecture
DOI: 10.69648/ywtj1273
Author: Adelina Fejza
Institution: Mother Teresa University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7163642065