Возрождение Тимишоары: проект застройки района Ишо. Нестоличный город Тимишоара выбран культурной столицей Европы – 2021

Timisoara is a major city situated in western Romania. In 2021, it will be European Capital of Culture. The city evolved around a fortified citadel surrounded by satellite settlements. After the demolition of the fortification (the XIXth century) a consistent urban tissue developed between the core and satellites. During the years, our office produced projects situated in these intermediate areas, developing an ”urban landscape” perspective, managing to attribute to the interventions a connecting role between the existing landmarks and poles; an important role was given to the ”modelling” of the volumes in order  to open vistas and visual cones, as well as to the choice of forms and textures in order to ”stitch” the existing fabric and to offer a new reading of the city. We have selected one project in order to illustrate the methodology: the ”ISHO” Real Estate development.Тимишоара – крупный город, расположенный в западной Румынии. В 2021 году он станет культурной столицей Европы. Центром развития города изначально была крепость, окруженная поселениями-спутниками. После сноса крепости в XIX веке между центром и спутниками начала образовываться плотная городская застройка. Фирма Andreescu & Гайворонски в течение нескольких лет занимается проектами для данной территории, разрабатывая будущий «городской ландшафт» и поддерживая связь между существующими историческими объектами и архитектурными доминантами. При этом важная роль отводится «моделированию» архитектурных объемов, помогающих открыть виды, а также выбору форм и материалов, чтобы «прошить» существующую городскую ткань и предложить новое прочтение города. Для иллюстрации данной методологии авторами статьи был выбран проект застройки района Ишо

Integrated planning: a sustainable urban mobility concept for the Jiu Valley

Former industrial areas are characterized by transport infrastructures that exceed the national average in terms of development, spatial coverage and initial investments. Today, when production is replaced by services, retail and consumption, these networks are seen as amenities that have the ability to address the main local issues: the vulnerable economic flows, the lack of accessibility in poor or remote areas, urban shrinkage and the lack of coordination in spatial planning. This study reviews the current status of sustainable urban mobility plans in each of the six towns that form the Jiu Valley and correlates them with the local development strategies and plans. The main positive and negative aspects are highlighted to create an objective overview regarding the vision for mobility in Jiu Valley, as a whole. In the final part, we propose an integrated planning methodology for the entire urban area, envisioning a sustainable productive urban area, formed by accessible communities with strong identities, expressing a circular economic metabolism integrated in the regional development strategy

How are we to understand the global phenomenon of urban shrinkage at local level? Comparison of urban areas in Romania and Serbia

As a global phenomenon, urban shrinkage is explained in the scientific literature through general characteristics, such as the economic and demographic decline of a city. It also has strong national, regional and local features. In most cases the particular aspects of each context are the main determinants for shrinkage. The aim of this paper is to determine how to understand the phenomenon at national level through a comparison of Romania and Serbia, two post-socialist countries that share similarities and distinctions. The first stage is to present the situation in each of these two countries; then utilise the same indicators to make comparisons and draw conclusions. The result of the paper provides an overview of the urban shrinkage situation in both Romania and Serbia. Finally, some further recommendations are presented, such as the possibility of forming a regional approach to the phenomenon

A Comparison of Urban Shrinkage? Romania and Serbia

In the scientific literature, urban shrinkage is seen as a process of demographic and economic decline of a city. It is seen as a global phenomenon because of its occurrence in many areas in the world. (Martinez-Fernandez et al, 2012). It also has a specific regional characteristic, being sensitive to local features and contexts. We need to adapt the general knowledge of urban shrinkage to these contextualized levels and compare different entities, a difficult task according to Wiechmann and Pallagst, 2012. It is an adequate approach that is in the need for more attention and that can contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon as a whole. This paper compares shrinking cities at a national level, aiming to understand the local adoptions and to compare neighboring cases. According to Athanasopoulou and Rink, 2013, 42% of European cities are shrinking. South Eastern Europe is a particular case because it has a common history with local characteristics. The countries can affirm their post-socialist present as a transition to a new economic and political situation, having a similar historic development and similar patterns of urban development. Because these similarities tend to overcome national specificities, we choose Romania and Serbia for comparison and present their main characteristics. Each country is presented through a brief history of urbanization, influenced by the recent socialist government. The analysis goes even further and, after highlighting the distinctions, we apply local adaptations to enable the qualitative analysis by uniform indicators, units and spatial limits. The result is an overview of the urban shrinkage situation in both countries. We use a uniform unit for comparison, in terms of urban definition, and this is the Functional Urban Area. Each FUA is characterized by at least 50.000 inhabitants in the recent past and urban hinterlands with at least 15% inhabitants working in the urban core area. Each country is presented by its most shrinking FUA, 8 in both Romania (Alexandria, Onesti, Drobeta Turnu Severin, Targu Jiu, Petrosani, Turda, Dej and Sfantu Gheorghe) and Serbia (Kikinda, Leskovac, Loznica, Pirot, Sombor, Vranje, Zajecar and Zrenjanin). The results show the situation of two countries with different situations. In Romania, the shrinking FUA are scattered all around the country, with no relation to the spatial array of the country. Here, the shrinkage is a result of the mono-functional politic applied to certain areas by the communist regime. On the other hand, in Serbia the shrinking FUA are placed at the periphery, as border regions. It means that the country is more centralized and has a weak national infrastructure. Here, the functions only influence the size of the urban areas, but the shrinkage cannot be necessary related to this aspect. The result also helps for further recommendations, emphasizing the need for special national approaches on the study of the phenomenon. There is a need for a deeper insight in the study of past urbanization in the region, in the context of the regional development. There is also a need for contemporary solutions in a cognitive way, through the intelligent urban governance, the use of simulation and modelling and a better decision-making process

Understanding the Pattern of Oropharyngeal Cancers from North-East Romanian Patients

Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV) is acknowledged as a risk factor for oropharyngeal squamous cellular cancers (OPSCC), of which the dominant types are tonsillar (TSCC) and base of tongue cancer (BOTSCC). Objective: To assess the role of HPV in selected OPSCC cases, from Romanian patients by sensitive and complementary molecular assays. Material and Methods: Fifty-four formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) OPSCC samples were analyzed for HPV DNA by a PCR-based bead-based multiplex-assay. Thirty-four samples were tested for HPV RNA and for overexpression of p16INK4a by immunohistochemistry. Twenty samples were evaluated by Competitive Allele-Specific Taqman PCR (CAST-PCR) for fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 protein (FGFR3) status. Results: A total of 33.3% (18/54) OPSCC samples were positive for HPV DNA. HPV16 was the most frequent type (30%, 16/54); followed by HPV18 (3.7%, 2/54); and 1 sample (1.8%) was positive for both HPV16 and 18. HPV18 E6*I was detected in a HPV18 DNA-positive oropharynx tumor. Four samples positive for HPV16 were also positive for p16INK4a. All the tested samples were negative for FGFR3. Conclusions: The increased HPV16 prevalence is in line with similar studies and is a new confirmation that HPV16 is the most prevalent type in our country; supporting the potential benefit of prophylactic vaccines. Overall, there is no concordance between DNA and any of the two other analytes that are considered being markers of HPV-driven cancers. There is a need to explore novel screening strategies that could be broadly used in the clinical routine to initiate preventive measures