City of Bucharest

The city and its environment

Since 1948, the Romanian capital has more than doubled in population and urbanised land area as the result of industrialisation, centralisation throughout the country, and naturally occurring population growth. Despite its intensive land use, the traditionally circular and radially developing city also includes lakes and large green areas that serve as ecological ‘lungs’ reaching far into the built-up area. Post-war urban development started with an expansion of the city core in the 1950s. Since the 1960s and following the 1977 earthquake, large parts of the historic inner city ‘sadly fell victim to demolition’ and, to date, have only partially been rebuilt. Bucharest’s large, central inner-city complex of high-quality apartments that form the boulevard leading towards the new parliament building (planned by the former dictatorship) is probably unique in Europe.

The economic transition has led to a sharp decline in industrial output and average income. It is expected to result in increased unemployment for the less qualified work force as well as continuing privatisation after 1997. New jobs are only now beginning to emerge, primarily in the service sector.

Housing situation and large housing estates

Within the city, housing conditions differ greatly. Spacious, low-density areas with villas and garden- city appearance (some of them dating back to the first half of the century) can be found alongside low-rise, post-war ‘in-fill’ developments of high environmental quality. The latter apartments are, however, very small in size. The historic urban core consists of dense and high-rise, post-1960 urban blocks lining the roads, as well as pre-war city housing. Starting in the 1950s, new estates were constructed that embodied the concepts of ‘socialist realism’, with a high proportion of greenery and public amenities. Next came ‘modernist’ estates that followed international standards, using industrial production methods. Located closer to the periphery and the new industrial sites are large developments of high-rise housing, mostly constructed from pre-cast, concrete parts. A special feature is the later (1986-89) fill-in of the 1960s – 1970s estates with mostly lower-quality buildings to maximise the use of the land and the technical infrastructure. Up to the 1980s, many estates were designed with buildings alongside roads, forming urban spaces incorporating shops and small infrastructure; frequently, however, buildings of monotonous appearance were added in the rear. Another special feature is the introduction of three different ‘quality’ standards for new housing after the 1970s. Many of the newer estates still lack the commercial and cultural centres that had initially been planned.

Problems and areas requiring action

• lack of legal framework and co-ordinated policies for future development among the city, districts, and owners; unclear legal situation of land use with re-privatisation of land
• lack of public or private funding for repairs of the rapidly ageing stock, especially for the modernisation of heating systems, insulation, and other technical infrastructure
• inadequate banking system; lack of long-term loan systems; no refinancing opportunities because of the often extremely low incomes of owner-occupiers; no financial or other incentives (quality market) for investment by flat owners
• large, ageing populations in highly concentrated neighbourhoods; inflexible building structures and lack of the use of an ‘inner market’, resulting in a ‘quality trap’ that prevents adequate flexibility of use
• structural problems in some of the pre-1977 buildings with respect to seismic activity
• neglect of public space; high demand for parking facilities
• lack of commercial facilities and job opportunities in all sectors

Actors and activities

Until very recently, activities continued to be frustrated by persisting political centralisation. To initiate modernisation and local activity, the central government is currently planning to develop incentive programmes for local authorities to make better ecological and economic use of energy. Due to financial shortages, the city is, for the most part, limited to the planning of future activities, especially the preservation of land for central commercial and infrastructure use, while the local authorities are concentrating on smaller measures for the improvement of commercial facilities. It is under consideration, on which measures funds, made recently available, will be spent. All levels are supported by an emerging private planning, research, and administration industry. However, due to its highly restricted scope of action, broad-scale condominium management has been slow to develop.

‘Sector 6, Drumul Taberi’ Estate

The estate forms the major part of the ‘6th sector’ of Bucharest and was built between 1955 and 1990 in three stages, each representing the dominant Romanian building strategies of that time. Over three decades, the neighbourhoods or complexes grew from the relatively small dimensions near the historic city core to the very large buildings far away from the centre. After 1986, the already high density increased even more as a result of lower-quality in-fills (small flats, no balconies, very short distances between buildings). A planned commercial and cultural centre for the district was never built and the area lies barren (army property); located adjacent to the west is a large ‘old’ industrial area that originally was part of the development and provided near-by jobs. Today, only approximately ten per cent of this area is in use, with most of its space and buildings awaiting clearing and development.

Physical and ecological situation

• extreme differences in land use density, with a lower environmental quality of the most recent and most densely populated areas as compared to the earlier stages
• increase in private traffic due to a decrease in local jobs (in industrial area) and an increase in car ownership
• private care visible for otherwise neglected public space near dwellings; public space near schools, playgrounds, and in large green areas in need of organised attention
• demand for improved public transportation and ecological programmes for waste collection, management, separation, and storage

Problems

• maintenance of buildings, i.e., structures and technical appliances; heating and other consumables not metered and of insufficient quality; high losses of heat and fresh water
• low market flexibility and readiness to change flats according to changing family structures over time (age, family size), leading to under-utilisation of existing housing stock; demand for flexible management and encouragement to develop a local housing market
• lack of organised and environmentally safe space for commercial use (shops, markets, small offices)
• lack of funds; unclear policies and organisation of improvements in the relationship between owner-occupiers and the district administration
• lack of organised approaches to improving the maintenance of owner-occupied buildings; no opportunities to utilise the building rehabilitation experience gained during the 1980s

Strategies

• comprehensive planning and development strategies exist; theoretical knowledge base is present within the city administration, research institutions, architects, and planners, but cannot yet be translated into action because of a lack of funds; deficits in informal and small-scale action strategies

Source: EA.UE: A future for large housing estates, Berlin 1998

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