T J T L U http://jtlu.org V. 11 N. 1 [2018] pp. 273–295 Economic growth and urban metamorphosis: A quarter century of transformations within the metropolitan area of Bucharest Cristian Toșa Andrei Mitrea Technical University of Cluj-Napoca Ion Mincu University of Architecture
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[email protected] Abstract: This paper concentrates explicitly on examining the struc- Article history: tural and functional transformations occurring within the metropolitan Received: May 29, 2017 area of Bucharest, resulting from sustained economic growth during the Received in revised form: past quarter century, by conducting a time analysis, spanning the entire October 30, 2017 period since the fall of the communist regime in late 1989. Accepted: October 30, 2017 Cities in developed countries of Western Europe and Asia experi- Available online: February 22, enced rapid economic growth during the second half of the 20th cen- 2018 tury 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 hu- man, social, residential, and transportation supply capital are difficult to observe directly. Hence, our methodology concentrates on studying interactions between several proxies connected to economic develop- ment 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 accompa- nied 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.