Importance and relevance of the scientific content

 

The present European realities impose to Romania, see the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities, signed by the Ministers of the Member States, in May 2007, an integrated and interdisciplinary approach in fields as architecture, urbanism, history. Such a research is a need supported by the European recommendations.

Romania joins in January 2007 the European Union.  Nevertheless, the cities of the country do not meet by far the western metropolis standards. The example of the capital of Romania is relevant in this case.

Three questions revolve in the mind of both Bucharest inhabitants and the foreigners:
1. Was Bucharest in deed a “small Paris of Balkans”?
2. Why are problems and shortcomings of the city growing, at present?
3. What can be one in the future in order to have a real European city?

The absence of answers to the historical interrogations is partially justified by the quasi total hiatus, from the communist period, of the interdisciplinary researches: architecture, history, urbanism, sociology. Questions such as French influence, participative urbanism of the population or the expropriation for the cause of public utility were taboo subjects. During 45 years no history of Bucharest written by an architect or expert in urbanism was published. All the archives of the boulevards opening were forbidden to the researchers, making impossible a scientific investigation.

This research, by the explanations started from the fundamental questions related to the capital of Romania, answers both to the identity need of the Romanian people in European context, required all together with Romania joining the European Union, and to finding practical solutions to regain the status of true European capital.

Project Objectives

 

Starting from the three questions from the beginning, the objectives of the research consist of:
1. Assessment through scientific methods (statistics, budget comparison, constructions etc) of the level reached by the inter-war Bucharest city in the European context. This assessment is needed in order to position Romania in European context, both for the Romanians and for our foreign partners.

Historical examples concerning the statute of Bucharest in Europe are conclusive. For example, the capital city received in 1939, on the occasion of the International Water Fair of Liege, the Golden Medal for the works concerning the banks, drains, dams and tanks and the Big Prize for town works and urbanism. Too little is known that the lengths of the boulevards opened one hundred years ago in Bucharest are perfectly comparable with the large haussmanian works in Paris.

The Small Paris must be seek not as much in the architecture similarity with the capital of France,  but especially in the less known Pleiades of French influences such as: legislation, education in architecture, town system of gas, sewage, in the systematizing of the of the river bed of Dambovita river.

2. Determining the causes leading to the present dysfunctions, related to the non-observance of our own experience and of the European example. 

At present, we are witnessing major problems which Bucharest has already solved in its past: 1878 – “demolishing hovels” and “catching stray dogs”, 1879 – restriction of circulation in the city center, 1895 – in the North of  Bucharest, „whole acres of culture land transformed in parceled out plots with streets on them, not authorized by the Mayor’s Hall and people who from such speculations, from poor became millionaire”, 1902 – eliminating the derogation from the urbanism plan, 1906 – occurring international competitions of architecture and urbanism.

3. For the future, the study proposes itself to answer in an interdisciplinary manner, to the series of dysfunctions that will be identified at the level of the city an to find solutions coming from both own historical experience and in relation with the present European experience.

The impact of the works is targeting:
- the researchers in the field of  architecture, urbanism, history
- experts in field of  architecture and urbanism
- central and local public administration
- population, decisive factor in European strategies