Economic growth and urban metamorphosis: A quarter century of transformations within the metropolitan area of Bucharest
Cristian Tosa
School of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca
Andrei Mitrea
School of Urban Planning, ’Ion Mincu’ University of Architecture and Urban Planning, Bucharest
Hitomi Sato
Institute of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University
Tomio Miwa
Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University
Takayuki Morikawa
Institute of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2018.1242
Keywords: westernization, sustainable urban transportation, compact urban growth, economic growth, urban sprawl
Abstract
This paper concentrates explicitly on examining the structural and functional transformations occurring within the metropolitan area of Bucharest, resulting from sustained economic growth during the past quarter century, by conducting a time analysis, spanning the entire period since the fall of the communist regime in late 1989. Cities in developed countries of Western Europe and Asia experienced rapid economic growth during the second half of the 20th century and exhibited novel patterns of evolution in terms of urban form and associated functional characteristics. Lately, these patterns have become manifest in Bucharest as well. However, transformations in human, social, residential, and transportation supply capital are difficult to observe directly. Hence, our methodology concentrates on studying interactions between several proxies connected to economic development within the metropolitan area of Bucharest. This paper should be read as an exploratory study that buttresses the assumption that improved economic well-being, when accompanied by the transition between a centrally planned economy to a market economy, increases motorization rates, while at the same time triggering a sharp decline in the use of public transport and contributing to aggressive urban sprawl processes. Moreover, hopefully it will guide future research dedicated to forecasting urban expansion paths and their determinants. Hopefully, it also informs policy design intended to promote sustainable urban mobility and accessibility.References
Avensa Consulting, & ROM Transportation Engineering. (2015). Planul de mobilitate urbană durabilă 2016-2030 Regiunea București Ilfov. Retrieved from http://www.pmb.ro/servicii/transporturi_drumuri/docs/planul_de_mobilitate_durabila_2016-2030.pdf
Balint, B. (2013). The role of social capital in avoiding over-education (English version). Romanian Journal of Sociology, 1, 101–126.
Barro, R. J. (2001). Human capital and growth. The American Economic Review, 91(2), 12–17.
Barro, R. J., & Sala-i-Martin, X. (2004). Economic growth, second edition. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Bere, R. C., Otoiu, A., & Bucerzan, I. (2014). Determinants of economic growth in cities acting as growth poles in regions from Romania. Procedia Economics and Finance, 10, 357–365.
Bertaud, A. (2006). The spatial structures of Central and Eastern European cities. In S. Tsenkova & Z. Nedovic-Budic (eds.) The urban mosaic of post-socialist Europe, 91–110. Heidelberg, Germany: Physica-Verlag.
Benedek, J. (2015). Spatial differentiation and core-periphery structures in Romania. Eastern Journal of European Studies, 6(1), 49–61.
Benedek, J., & Veress, N. C. (2013). Economic disparities and changes in the convergence of the Romanian NUTS 2 and NUTS 3 Regions, Romanian Review of Regional Studies, 9(1), 85–90.
Blossfeld, H. P., Rohwer, G. (2002). Techniques of event history modeling: New approaches to casual analysis. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate.
Botzen, K. (2016). Social capital and economic well-being in Germany’s regions: An exploratory spatial analysis. Region, 3(1), 1–24.
Boquet, Y. (2009, August). Can Western mobility solutions apply to East Asia’s cities? In Proceedings of the 10th Asian Urbanization Conference, Hong Kong, August 16-19 (pp. CD-ROM).
Buckley, R. M., & Mini, F. (2000). From commisars to mayors: Cities in transition economies. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2000/09/693201/commissars-mayors-cities-transition-economies
Burton, E., Jenks, M., & Williams, K. (Eds.) (1996). The compact city: A sustainable urban form? Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Cervero, R., & Kockelman, K. (1997). Travel demand and the 3Ds: Density, diversity, and design. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 2(3), 199–219.
Chelcea, L. (2006). Marginal groups in central places: Gentrification, property rights and post socialist primitive accumulation (Bucharest, Romania). In G. Enyedi & Z. Kovács (Eds.) Social changes and social sustainability in historical urban centers: The case of Central Europe. Pécs, Hungary: Centre for Regional Studies of Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Ciumara, T. (2014). Baby boomers and the Romanian financial system. Hyperion Economic Journal, 2(1), 12–17.
Cohn, N., Kools, E., & Mieth, P. (2012). The TomTom congestion index. Presented at the 19th ITS World Congress, Vienna, Austria, October 22–26.
Cook, B. A. (Ed.). (2001). Europe since 1945: An encyclopedia (Vol. 2). Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis.
Coughlin, J., & Lacombe, A. (1997). Ten myths about transportation for the elderly. Transportation Quarterly, 51(1), 91–100.
Coughlin, J., & Tompkins, C. (2009). Demographics, destiny, and anticipating the future of the transportation system. Public Works Management & Policy, 13(4), 284–287.
Crass, M. (2002). Implementing sustainable urban travel policies. Public Transport International, 51(1), 24–25.
Doi, K., & Kurokawa, K. (2001). Integrated design of LUCC policies and environmental simulation in Metro Manila. In Proceedings of LUCC Symposium (Vol. 1, p. 11).
Dostie, B., & Sahn, D. E. (2006). Labor market dynamics in Romania during a period of economic liberalization. (IZA discussion papers). Retrieved from https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/33815/1/541557963.pdf
European Commission. (1996). The Citizens’ Network. Fulfilling the potential of public passenger transport in Europe. Retrieved from ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/transport/docs/citizens_network_en.pdf
European Commission. (2001). White paper—European transport policy for 2010: Time to decide. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/strategies/doc/2001_white_paper/lb_com_2001_0370_en.pdf
European Commission (2007). Green paper—Towards a new culture for urban mobility. Retrieved from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52007DC0551&from=EN
European Commission (2013). Together towards competitive and resource-efficient urban mobility. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/urban/doc/ump/com(2013)913_en.pdf
Enyedi, G. (1996). Urbanization under socialism. In G. Andrusz, M. Harloe, & I. Szelényi (Eds.), Cities after socialism: Urban and regional change and conflict in post-socialist societies. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. doi: 10.1002/9780470712733.ch4
Grădinaru, S. R., Iojă, C. I., Pătru-Stupariu, I., Niţă, M. R., Gavrilidis, A. A., & Cârstea, E. M. (2013). Land abandonment changes between 2005 and 2008 in Bucharest city. Procedia Technology, 8, 536–539.
Gallagher, T. (2005). Theft of a nation. Romania since communism. London: Hurst & Co.
Gallagher, T. (2009). Romania and the European Union. How the weak vanquished the strong. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press.
Griffiths, R., Richardson, A. J., & Lee-Gosselin, M. E. (2000). Travel surveys, transportation in the new millennium. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board. Retrieved from http://gulliver. trb. org/publications/millennium/00135. pdf
Grigorescu, I., Mitrica, B., Kucsicsa, G., Popovici, E. A., Dumitrascu, M., & Cuculici, R. (2012). Post-communist land use changes related to urban sprawl in the Romanian metropolitan areas. Human Geographies, 6(1), 35–46. doi:10.5719/hgeo.2012.61.35
Hamilton, F. I., Andrews, K. D., & Pichler-Milanović, N. (Eds.). (2005). Transformation of cities in Central and Eastern Europe: Towards globalization. Tokyo: United Nations University Press.
Hayashi, Y. (1996). Economic development and its influence on the environment: Urbanization, infrastructure and land-use planning systems. In Y. Hayashi & J. Roy (Eds.), Transport, land use and the environment (pp. 3-25). New York: Springer US. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4757-2475-2
Hyman, G., & Mayhew, L. (2002). Optimizing the benefits of urban road user charging. Transport Policy, 9(3), 189–207.
Headicar, P. (2003). The contribution of land-use planning to reducing traffic growth: The English experience. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 3(2), 137–154.
Hegedüs, J. (2008). The future of re-invented/post-socialist cities in Europe: A reflection on the state of European cities report (2007). Urban Research & Practice, 1(3), 311–318.
Hegedüs, J., Tosics, I., & Mayo, S. K. (1996). Transition of the housing sector in the East-Central European countries. Review of Urban and Regional Development Studies, 8(2), 101–136. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-940X.1996.tb00113.x
Ionescu-Heroiu, M., Neagu, M., Taralunga, N., Ortiz, P., Petrovici, N., Moldovan, C., & Panescu, E. (2013a). Romania—enhanced spatial planning as a precondition for sustainable urban development. Washington DC: World Bank Group. Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/12/19151611/romania-enhanced-spatial-planning-precondition-sustainable-urban-development-vol-1-2-raport-complet
Ionescu-Heroiu, M., Burduja, S. I., Sandu, D., Cojocaru, S., Blankespoor, B., Iorga, E., Moretti, E., Moldovan, C., Man, T., Rus, R. & van der Weide, R. (2013b). Romania—competitive cities: Reshaping the economic geography of Romania. Romania regional development program. Washington DC: World Bank Group. Retrieved from http://documents. worldbank. org/curated/en/2013/12/19060303/romaniacompetitive-cities-reshaping-economic-geography-romania
Irwin, E. G., Isserman, A. M., Kilkenny, M., & Partridge, M. D. (2010). A century of research on rural development and regional issues. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 92(2), 522–553.
Jemna, D. V., Pintilescu, C., & Turturean, C. (2010). Population in Romania within the united Europe. Analele Stiintifice ale Universitatii “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iasi-Stiinte Economice, 329–340.
Jensen, M. (1999). Passion and heart in transport—a sociological analysis on transport behavior. Transport Policy, 6(1), 19–33.
JICA. (2000). The comprehensive urban transport study of Bucharest city and its metropolitan area in the Republic of Romania (final report). Retrieved from http://www.srl.de/dateien/dokumente/de/the_comprehensive_urban_transport_study_of_bucarest_and_its_metropolitain_area_in_the_republic_of_romania_-_teil_1.pdf
Judge, E., & Kaminski, R. (1996). Recent developments in Polish transport policy: Conflicts between growth and sustainability. In Pan-European transport issues: Proceedings of seminar A held at the 24th European Transport Forum, Brunel University, England, September 2-6, 1996. Vol P401.
Kanters, R. (2014). The critical mass expands the bike culture in Bucharest (Romania). Retrieved from http://www.eltis.org/discover/news/critical-mass-expands-bike-culture-bucharest-romania-0
Kenworthy, J. R., & Laube, F. B. (1999). Patterns of automobile dependence in cities: An international overview of key physical and economic dimensions with some implications for urban policy. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 33(7), 691–723.
Kloas, J., Kuhfeld, H., & Kunert, U. (1998). Region Berlin: Langfristig mehr Verkehr, aber weniger Fahrgäste in Bussen und Bahnen. DIW Wochenbericht, 65(14), 258–263.
Kornai, J. (1992). The socialist system: The political economy of communism. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/0198287763.001.0001
Kubík, R. (2010). Looking for the right human capital proxy. Review of Economic Perspectives, 10(2), 61–70.
Mincer, J. (1984). Human capital and economic growth. Economics of Education Review, 3(3), 195–205.
Miyamoto, K., Acharya, S. R., Aziz, M. A., Cusset, J. M., Fwa, T. F., Gerçek, H., ... & Lee, S. (2004). Transport-environment issues and countermeasures in various metropolises. In Urban transport and the environment: An international perspective (pp. 253-402). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Ltd.
Mulder, K., Costanza, R., & Erickson, J. (2006). The contribution of built, human, social and natural capital to quality of life in intentional and unintentional communities. Ecological Economics, 59(1), 13–23.
Nae, M., & Turnock, D. (2011). The new Bucharest: Two decades of restructuring. Cities, 28(2), 206-219.
Newman, P. W., & Kenworthy, J. R. (1991). Transport and urban form in thirty‐two of the world’s principal cities. Transport Reviews, 11(3), 249–272.
Ofrim, A. (2013). O scurtă istorie a comunismului din România. Retrieved from http://dilemaveche.ro/sectiune/tema-saptamanii/articol/o-scurta-istorie-a-comunismului-din-romania
Petre, I. (2008). The emergence of a new peri-urban pattern in Romania. Romanian Journal of Sociology, 1(2), 133–144.
Pop-Eleches, C. (2006). The impact of an abortion ban on socioeconomic outcomes of children: Evidence from Romania. Journal of Political Economy, 114(4), 744–773.
Popescu, C. C. (2012). The deterioration of the economic environment and the regional redistribution of the human capital stock in Romania. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 62, 285–289.
QGIS Development Team. (2013). QGIS geographic information system. Open Source Geospatial Foundation Project. Retrieved from http://qgis.osgeo.org
Rodrigue, J. P., Comtois, C., & Slack, B. (2017). The geography of transport systems. New York: Routledge.
Riboud, M. (2016). Investing in inclusive human development. Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, 8(2), 168–200.
Rosenbloom, S. (2010). How adult children in the UK and the US view the driving cessation of their parents. Is a policy window opening? Journal of Transport Geography, 18(5), 634–641.
Ryser, L., & Halseth, G. (2012). Resolving mobility constraints impeding rural seniors’ access to regionalized services. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 24(3), 328–344.
Schafer, R. P., Lorkowski, S., Witte, N., Palmer, J., Rehborn, H., & Kerner, B. S. (2011). A Study of TomTom’s probe vehicle data with three-phase traffic theory. Traffic Engineering and Control, 52(2011), 225–230.
Schwanen, T. (2002). Urban form and commuting behavior: A cross‐European perspective. Tijdschrift Voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 93(3), 336–343.
Scrieciu, S. S. (2011). Socioeconomic and environmental impacts on agriculture in the new Europe: Post-communist transition and accession to the European Union. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis eBooks. doi: 10.4324/9780203828502
Simion, G., & Nistor, C. (2012). Spatial structure changes inside post-communist capital city of Bucharest. Human Geographies, 6(1), 79–89.
Șoaită, A. M. (2014). Overcrowding and ‘underoccupancy’ in Romania: A case study of housing inequality. Environment and Planning A, 46(1), 203–221. doi: 10.1068/a45718
Stanilov K. (2007) Housing trends in Central and Eastern European cities during and after the period of transition. In K. Stanilov (Ed.) The post-socialist city (pp. 173–190). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4020-6053-3_9
Suditu, B., Dumitrache, L., Vîrdol, D., & Vâlceanu, D. G. (2014). New trajectories of post-socialist residential mobility in Bucharest. Human Geographies, 8(1), 75–82. doi:10.5719/hgeo.2014.81.75
Taniguchi, M., Murakawa, T., & Morita, T. (1999). Analysis on relationship between urban characters and car usage based on personal trip data. Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan, 34, 967–972.
Taylor, N. (2006). The urban transport benchmarking initiative year three (final report). European Commission. Retrieved from http://www.velomondial.net/UserFiles/File/WWW-transportbenchmarks-org-UTB3-A0-FINAL-REPORT.pdf
Toşa, C, Miwa, & T., Morikawa, T. (2015). Modelling and forecasting car ownership in Romania’s counties using bass diffusion model. Presented at the European Transport Conference, Frankfurt, Germany, September 28-30.
Tsenkova, S., & Nedovic-Budic, Z. (Eds.). (2006). The urban mosaic of post-socialist Europe: Space, institutions and policy. Heidelberg, Germany: Physica-Verlag. doi: 10.1007/3-7908-1727-9
Turnock, D. (1990). City profile: Bucharest. Cities, 7(2), 107–118.
van den Berg, P., Arentze, T., & Timmermans, H. (2011). Estimating social travel demand of senior citizens in the Netherlands. Journal of Transport Geography, 19(2), 323–331.
van de Coevering, P., & Schwanen, T. (2006). Re-evaluating the impact of urban form on travel patterns in Europe and North-America. Transport policy, 13(3), 229–239.
Vemuri, A. W., & Costanza, R. (2006). The role of human, social, built, and natural capital in explaining life satisfaction at the country level: Toward a national well-being index (NWI). Ecological Economics, 58(1), 119–133.
Wegener, M. (1996). Reduction of CO2 emissions of transport by reorganization of urban activities. In Transport, land-use and the environment (pp. 103-124). New York: Springer US.
Wegener, M. (2004). Overview of land use transport models. In D. A. Hensher, K. J. Button, K. E. Haynes, P. R. Stopher (Eds.), Handbook of transport geography and spatial systems (Handbooks in Transport, Volume 5) (pp. 127–146). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Wolf, W. (1994). Berlin-Weltstadt ohne auto? Verkehrsgeschichte 1848-2015. Frankfurt: Neuer ISP-Verlag.
WSP Group. (2007). Master plan general pentru transport urban–Bucuresti, sibiu si ploiesti - raport final Bucuresti. Retrieved from http://www.pmb.ro/institutii/cgmb/dezb_publica/sedinte/proiecte_2008/31_01_2008.pdf
