Urban Sprawl and its Effects on Environment and Farmland a Timisoara Case Study

Urban sprawl has been plaguing Western European and American cities for the last 70 years. One has fought against this phenomenon all over the world with a combination of strategic planning and urban regulations, focusing on growth management, sustainable development and preservation of farmland. East European cities, Romanian cities included, have been rapaciously consuming the free natural and agricultural land around them, without long-term development policies. The aim of this paper is analyzing urban sprawl around Timișoara and finding efficient ways of economizing urban and rural land. The article is based on several urban studies, statistical and traffic data showing the magnitude of the phenomenon and its dramatic effects on the environment.The European Union required to recent members to follow the path set by the developed countries, even if their economies have a system more or less centralized inherited from communism. It is still unclear who should be responsible for urban planning; the rules and regulations are made along the way, while the investors’ pressure is huge. Meanwhile extended rural and agricultural land might be destroyed. Most politicians do not acknowledge this problem as they approve further expansion into farmland without any previous planning. This paper might be just tackling this subject, but its target should be making urban sprawl more visible, understanding its dimension and dramatic effects around Romanian cities.