Polarisation of Social Inequalities in Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods of Bucharest Metropolis

This paper gives an insight into the statistical interpretation of socio-spatial changes of Bucharest urban landscape in connection to the transformations of the urban planning visions across the last decades. Special emphasis is placed on the emergence of disadvantaged neighbourhoods which are defined by a clear homogenisation of certain social classes on a precarious housing infrastructure. This came as a result of a historical hierarchy of the urban social space. Moreover, Bucharest was shaped in relation to different socio-economic and socio-cultural policies that determined the creation of a polarisation between north and south or between centre and periphery which were subject to numerous socio-urban inversions during the communist and post-communist eras. Hence, life in a large metropolis is vulnerable to inequalities appearing within the urban pattern that intensifies, in some cases, towards residential segregation. The historical-geographical analysis of vectors behind clusters of sensitive areas in the 20th and 21st centuries strengthens the importance of social cohesion measures in the future urban policies and territorial planning

Assessing the Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Romanian Part of the Tisza River Basin

Clime change represents a current and important issue; in addition to the disputed global warming, at local or regional levels, floods could also be a consequence of this phenomenon. If the potential effects are assessed in terms of exposure, sensitivity, and vulnerability, a GIS methodology, based on statistical indicators and GIS modelling was used to assess the overall vulnerability of the Tisza river basin and define the flood-prone area. Even though specific indicators exhibited high values in some NUTS III units, the overall vulnerability of the regions appears to be low

Planul de Amenajare a Teritoriului Judeţean Vrancea

Plan of the Vrancea County is the spatial expression of the socio-economic development of the County. The study will provide a global framework for possibilities and uniform development in regional and national context. P.A.T.J. Vrancea seeks to optimize the use of natural resources, the use of work resources and the distribution of the population in order to create a permanent balance between how to exploit the natural and economic potential, of the one part, and the protection of the environment, on the other hand, through a responsible management of the territory in accordance with the principle of sustainable development. P.A.T.J. Vrancea aimed at solving specific problems of the territory in the context of efficiency, fairness, transparency and the involvement of communities in decision-making

Avantaje competitive în teritorii identitar-productive din spaţiul rural românesc – cazul zonelor viticole

The analysis focused on shaping and describing some identity-producing categories of territories, focusing on those with a potential for the wine industry, starting from the premise according to which natural resources of a territory could not only represent a comparative advantage for the economic development of a region, but especially a competitive advantage. Laborious analyses performed at this stage confirm the competitive advantage theory for the Romanian regions of development as well, since 2003 and 2007 comparative data aggregated per region indicate that the regions with the highest potential for a culture have in 2007 the lowest production for the respective culture, confirming the insufficiency of the comparative advantage, of favorable natural conditions existing in a economy. The objective of the phase proposed initially was reached by demonstrating the importance of competitive advantage in stimulating the increase of competitiveness in the rural space. The detailed presentation of productive potential, presented in graphs at different territorial levels could support the next phase of the project, aiming to analyze the stimulation of rural development in identity producing territories starting from underlining the restrictive factors for the valorization of the agricultural potential of the Romanian rural space, especially those related to the national spatial planning policies

Vrancea Vineyard: A Rural Area with a European Comparative Advantage –The Wine

This article intends to disseminate the partial results of a work that lasted more than three years and involved a substantial number of resources at both national and international level within the COHESION Project, implemented under the C.I.P. Interreg IIIB CADSES Neighbourhood Program. The Vrancea vineyard was the pilot area for the Romanian study and the main activities of the Romanian team (Urbanproiect Bucuresti, Partner Project no.13) within the project has been focused on this area.The COHESION (Integrated COncepts EnHancing CohESion of EurOpeaN Space) Project aimed at enforcing the cohesion of the CADSES area, through developing policies to meet the problems of the European rural space. To this context, the project developed during 2003-2005 applied a methodology focused on increasing competitiveness of areas. An indicative product (wine), in which the involved areas provide a comparative advantage, has been targeted and integrated development pilot projects have been implemented in the participating areas. The Project's area of intervention consisted in the territories of Karditsa, Achaia and Nemea in Greece, the territory of Steirisches Vulkanland in Austria, Meissen in Germany, Appennino Reggiano in Italy, Northwest Bohemia in Czech Republic, and Vrancea in Romania.The aim of the project was “to investigate the development process in remote agricultural areas from practical point of view, i.e. locate the factors that hamper or promote local development in the remote agricultural zones of the CADSES area, and provide this information to other local development actors, so as to facilitate their action and thus contribute to accelerating convergence of the space in question and cohesion of the European territory” (PINDOS Strategic Planning Centre, 2006). The approach planned and applied by COHESION was the bottom up approach. Parallel and similar development projects (pilot activities) were generated in a number of the areas involved and the experience acquired by the project partners was compared and examined. A synthesis of the particular experience in the form of recommendations and hints to potential local development actors was elaborated under a final manual, a methodological guide for local development actors, so as to help people involved in the development practice to avoid mistakes and better plan their actions and thus become more efficient in their mission

Analiza activităţilor economice in Zona Costieră a Mării Negre

The Spatial Development Plan of the Romanian Black Sea Coastal Area committed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism for the Romanian Black Sea Coastal Area is meant to provide the territorial planning framework for the future implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management. This paper focuses on the analysis of the territorial spread of economic performance in various business sectors and, in particular of activities linked to tourism as one significant source of revenue in the area. The analytical method used proves to be a useful tool to identify the specific spatial pattern of structural profiles and employment within the network of urban and rural settlements while highlighting particular spatial disparities as compared to local resources

Characteristics of Areas Vulnerable to Climate Change in the Romanian Tisa Catchment Area

The article summarizes the analysis carried out in two European projects in progress on the Romanian territory of the Tisa Catchment Area and aims to identify areas vulnerable to climate change, and their socio-demographic characterization. In areas identified, the most exposed category of the population is elderly and the most affected economic activity is agriculture