Bucharest: Population dispersion and air polution

B ucharest lies in the southeastern part of , halfway between the River and the Southern on the banks of the Dîmbovita River. As the country's principal political, cultural and economic centre, it is at least five times larger than any other Romanian city. Urban Bucharest has more than doubled in population and land area since 1948 as a result of natural population growth, industrialisation and political centralisation. This has caused the city to become P h o t : g e a s u r p . b c m 23° 25° 27° 29°

increasingly built up and congested. P h o t : T a i n M u r z w . a b o u t r m n i c R UKRAINE E 48° P ROMANIA . O F Today, 16 years after the fall of the Communist Party and re-privatisation of land, Bucharest faces the

M O L D P ru O t 47° problems of population growth and dispersion from the centre to suburban areas. The city's dispersed 47° V A population and rising levels of car ownership have resulted in more traffic congestion together with air and

46° 46° P r u t noise pollution. The UKRAINE

D a nu be growth of industry in the 45° 45° Beograd () Bucuresti

Danub (Bucharest) I alom suburbs also contributes SERBIA ita AND BLACK MONTENEGRO SEA nube 44° 44° Da to air pollution. National International boundary 0 50 100 km Provincial boundary 0 25 50 mi River 23° 25° 27° 29° S o u r c e : U N C

Lake of Dambovita Source: www.rapitori.ro

River Boulevard

The House of People Dambovita

14.10.2001 Landsat ETM+ true colour composite RGB, bands (7,3,1) 2001 This image illustrates that the city has become denser in the west, east and southeast. Urban growth is occurring both inside 07.07.1988 Landsat TM true colour composite RGB, bands (7,3,1) and outside the . The city is expanding outside the ring 1988 A quick glance at Bucharest in this image reveals that the road and beyond the city boundaries to the west, and inside it townscape was dramatically restructured and transformed during the on the northern side. presidency of Nicolae Ceaucescu. Until this time, modern development did not upset the traditional urban fabric. 08.02.1979 Landsat MSS true colour composite RGB, bands (1,4,3) But between 1980 and 1989, a number of villages on the outskirts of 1979 Extensive agricultural areas exist both within and outside of the Bucharest were dismantled. Their citizens were forced to move into city limits and the surrounding ring road. Large forests spread to the north Bucharest to make way for projects such as the expansion of the airport and and west of the city. As revealed by the differing colours of the agricultural the of the Bucharest-Danube Canal (Dîmbovita), which now divides lands, the following images were taken during different seasons of the year. the city into two sections. G R I D Bucharest remains relatively compact, with the high-density area Meanwhile, about a quarter of the old city was demolished to construct concentrated within a seven-kilometre radius of the city centre. massive new state , such as "The House of People", the world's www.grid.unep.ch second largest building after the Pentagon, and to clear a path for the Victory of Socialism Boulevard. DIVISION OF EARLY WARNING AND ASSESSMENT Today, with the re-privatisation of land, Bucharest not only has to cope with land and property reform, but it must also establish a legal framework and co- Prepared with the support of the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape ordinated policies for future urban development. Integrating urban industrial structures into the city is another challenge for Bucharest, as it is for many For more information, please contact: Saman Salari Sharif, UNEP/DEWA~GRID-Europe, other cities in transition. International Environment House, 11 Chemin des Anémones, 1219 Châtelaine, Switzerland Tel +41 22 917-8294 Fax +41 22 917-8029 The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on these maps do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Created at UNEP/DEWA/GRID-Europe; May 2005 E-mail [email protected]