KNOWLEDGE-BASED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – CONTEMPORARY USE OF COMMUNIST-ERA URBAN DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CENTRES OF ROMANIAN CITIES

Abstract

Romania, as other neighbouring countries, has been under a socialist-communist regime since the end of the Second World War, until 1989. From King Michael I’s forced abdication of 1947, until the Romanian revolution of 1989, the socialist-communist authorities have been laying their marks on the country, including some extensive urban developments in the centres of many Romanian cities. These developments were often carried out through a considerable amount of demolition works, thus replacing older buildings – and pre-communist built areas – with new ones. Consequently, many Romanian cities ended up losing elements of architectural heritage, memory and identity. Old mansions, churches or merchant houses usually had to leave the scene in order for a new architecture to emerge – one that would be mostly rooted in functionalism, brutalism and socialist modernism. Today, at roughly 30 years since the fall of communism, some communist-era urban developments are beginning to “age”, as some of the buildings erected in that era began to require repair works and different means of upgrade, such as thermal insulation. This triggers some actions of architectural remodeling of communist-era buildings, and even some urban remodeling of communist-era civic centres and urban ensembles. Looking at how these actions are being done, one of the most immediate remarks has to do with the fact that the original designs of the buildings and urban spaces are often modified, altering their “personality”. In other cases, communist-era urban developments that occupy portions of the city centres are beginning to decay, laying in a somewhat semi-abandoned state, probably not popular with city dwellers...while older parts of the central areas are bustling with city life. This phenomenon raises the problem of “sustainable development” regarding this family of urban areas, as they are often linked with bad memories of the communist past, triggering a mix of neglect and desire to modify (in looks, in form). Following this setting, the paper tries to analyse the reasons behind this phenomenon, also searching for ways in which these (often unpopular) communist-era developments can be approached in order to properly use the central areas that they occupy, in a sustainable manner. One of the key findings of the research has to do with issues of identity, as perceived by the public. Lack of attachment to communist-era urban developments from central areas is strongly linked to the destructions that made the new developments possible, in the beginning. In order to gain a higher degree of appreciation and interest from the public, these developments usually strive for “upgrade”, as a “rebirth” of personality. For example, many of the department stores have had their facades remodeled in recent years, and this visual “refresh” often brings more people to the stores. On the other hand, large mineral open spaces usually get “flooded” with vegetation in recent edilitary works – in order to (probably) make the former squares (initially designed for political rallies) a little more “humane”. It seems like the identity of communist-era spaces and buildings is not too valuable for the communities they should serve and represent...