ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS and DEVELOPMENT

Residential areas with deficient access to urban parks in – priority areas for urban rehabilitation

CRISTIAN IOJA, MARIA PATROESCU, LIDIA NICULITA, GABRIELA PAVELESCU, MIHAI NITA, ANNEMARIE IOJA Centre for Environmental Research and Impact Studies, University of Bucharest 1 Nicolae Balcescu Blvd., , Bucharest,

Abstract: - The paper emphasizes the real dimension of the urban parks surfaces deficit upon the built environment in Bucharest city. There were established residential area categories with deficient access to urban parks of high quality, considered to be priority intervention areas for urban rehabilitation (residential areas situated at more than 3 km from municipal importance parks, at more than 1 km from urban parks, residential areas with access to crowded parks, or with access to parks that have degraded endowments). Deficient access to Bucharest urban parks was correlated with the development projects of new residential quarters, being obviously the tendency of city suffocation under the pressure of constructed surfaces and agglomeration.

Key-Words: - urban parks, residential areas, housing, Bucharest, rehabilitation priorities areas

1 Introduction residential areas was completed by a tendency of Green spaces represent an essential component in vertical development, initially through 4 floors large urban environments, to which they offer constru-ctions, then 9 and 10 floors, in the present numerous direct and indirect services (improving reaching 20 floors. These new residential surfaces environmental quality, recreation and leisure, accentuated the real deficit of public green spaces. climate amelioration etc.) [1], [2], [3]. Green spaces deficit is expressed through the degradation of housing conditions in urban environments [1], [2], [3], automatically determining an increase of housing costs [4], a degradation of the population’s health state [5], [6] and the appearance of social segregation problems [7], [8]. Once called “the city of gardens”, Bucharest transformed in only 16 years in a real urban semi- desert, the green surface decreasing with 34,5 % between 1990-2006 (from 3471,2 ha to 2274,4 ha) [9], mean while the households and population increasing with 25 % [10]. The most important decreases (over 60 %) were recorded in the south of Bucharest (sectors 4 and 5), were it was already present an important deficit of green spaces (Fig. 1). In 2006, in Bucharest, the green spaces surfaces were of 2,274.38 ha (9.56 % of the city’s surface, respectively 11.8 m2 / inhabitant). From these 679.2 ha (29.9 % of the green spaces surfaces) were occupied by parks and public gardens, with an index of 3.51 m2 / inhabitant [9]. In the same time, residential areas had a strongly ascendant dynamic, developing especially on former Fig.1 – Urban parks distribution in relation with open spaces [11], [12]. The spatial development of Bucharest’s residential areas

ISSN: 1790-5095 71 ISBN: 978-960-474-023-9 ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS and DEVELOPMENT

2 Problem Formulation Table 1 Housing quality in urban residential areas is directly Population distribution on categories of residential proportional with the covering degree of public habitats in Bucharest (2002) Categories of Household Habitat % Population green spaces of high quality [13], [14]. Areas with residential -number- from total habitats % green spaces deficit (situated at over 3 km from habitats from total municipal importance parks or at over 1 km from Central urban 55,000 7.1 4.9 quarter parks, areas with access to crowded parks, or type Urban parcels with access at parks with degraded endowments) are 20,000 2.6 2.3 type characterized by social and environmental problems, Homogenous 35,000 4.5 4.0 reflecting in the housing quality of residential frontal type spaces. Their delimitation and classification allows Blocks 630,000 80.8 82.8 identifying urban areas that require urgent measures Rural type 25,000 3.2 3.8 of urban rehabilitation. New rural type 15,000 1.9 2.3

2.1 Spatial distribution of urban parks Most of the population lives in apartments from In Bucharest, urban parks represent the main large housing ensembles (82.8 %), over-lapping supplier of leisure services and regulator of the mostly areas with parks deficiencies. rapport between nature and constructed surfaces [9], [12]. According to the complexity of presented services, Bucharest urban parks were classified into parks of metropolitan importance (Herastrau, , Titan, Cismigiu, Padurea Baneasa), municipal importance (Carol, Plumbuita, Circului, Gradina Botanica, , etc.), quarter importance with medium attractiveness (, Motodrom, Gradina Icoanei, Ioanid, Pacii, Morarilor, Tei, etc.) and quarter parks with reduced attractiveness (Verdi, Crangasi, Pieptanari, Venus, etc.). Their spatial distribution isn’t regular, being noticed an agglomeration of urban parks in Bucharest’s northern and eastern parts (alongside ). Areas with the most reduced accessibility to urban parks are found in the periphery, where de ascendant dynamic of residential surfaces is strongly expressed (Fig. 2).

2.2 Present rapport green spaces – residential spaces in Bucharest In Bucharest, residential spaces have suffered a special spatial and structural dynamics, with adjustments according to requirements, economics Fig.2 – Residential areas accessibility to parks of dynamic, residential mobility or plans promoted at metropolitan and municipal importance in Bucharest national or local level by state institutions or private economical agents [10], [15]. 2.3 The role of new residential projects and In 2002, in Bucharest were inventoried about the accentuation of green spaces deficit 780,000 housings, most of them (80.8 %) being The liberalization of the real-estate market allowed found in large residential ensembles (blocks). Rural the un-precedent development of the housing type housings have a reduced percent of the total in construction private sector [15]. Bucharest, but they generate a high impact upon the Currently, are developed over 80 residential quality of urban endowments (including parks) projects, with building’s heights of more than 10 (Table 1). floors, most of them being localized in the northern and eastern part of Bucharest (Fig. 3).

ISSN: 1790-5095 72 ISBN: 978-960-474-023-9 ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS and DEVELOPMENT

the southern parts of the Aparatorii Patriei, Berceni and ) with predominantly rural types of housings; from these spaces the access to parks is difficult and the unbalances between constructed surfaces and open spaces are acute; - residential spaces situated at more than 1 km from all categories of urban parks (24 % of al residential spaces in Bucharest), corresponding to periphery areas (with acute green spaces deficit), to the Vitan, , Ferentari, Berceni, Colentina quarters and to some components of the Drumul Taberei quarter. In periphery area predominant are rural type housings, and blocks are specific to the quarters.

Fig. 3 – Correlation between urban parks and new residential projects in Bucharest

They are concentrated in areas with good accessibility to urban parks, but which are overcrowded. Thus, these residential spaces, besides their housing function, don’t create the infrastructure that will generate services necessary for maintaining a high standard of living, and instead are inserted on the already present infrastructure. For example, the housings from the micro-quarters Garden and Planorama will be serviced by the Plumbuita Park, where are already present real problems of overcrowding and the poor quality of the park’s infrastructures. Their finalization will bring an extra Fig. 4 – Categories of residential spaces with number of visitors in nearby parks, with direct deficient access to urban parks consequences on endowments quality and presented services. - residential spaces with access to overcrowded parks (48 % of the residential spaces) are found in 3 Residential areas categories the central area, the Drumul Taberei and quarters. In their case, the number of parks visitors function of accessibility to urban parks is already high, their recreation value being thus After classifying residential spaces in Bucharest diminished. function of their access to urban parks were - residential spaces with access to parks with identified the following categories with deficient degraded infrastructure (2 % of the residential access to parks: (Fig. 4): spaces in Bucharest), corresponding to spaces - residential spaces situated at more than 3 km from situated in the proximity of the Izvor, Gara de Nord, parks of metropolitan and municipal importance (6 Verdi or Plumbuita parks. These parks have a % of the total residential spaces in Bucharest), doubtful ownership status, or are situated in the corresponding to periphery areas (Bucurestii Noi, proximity of areas that generate insecurity (for Soseaua Chitila, Alexandriei, Progresului quarters, example, Gara de Nord – North Rail station).

ISSN: 1790-5095 73 ISBN: 978-960-474-023-9 ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS and DEVELOPMENT

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ISSN: 1790-5095 74 ISBN: 978-960-474-023-9