Phd. Adrian Covăsnianu, prof. Liliana-Elena Covăsnianu Moldavian urban space. From political desideratum to territorial reality Urban point of view Phd. Adrian Covăsnianu, prof. Liliana-Elena Covăsnianu  21th edition of the “Geographic Information Systems” Symposium“, 11.10.2013, Iași

Motivation There were some "suspicions" about a series of urban communities (declared recently in late 2004) which do not comply with this statute. The territorial reality offered the premises to consider declaring certain towns was/is just a political decision. Moldavian urban space. From political desideratum to territorial reality

Methodological issues/Specifications Analysis period : May - September 2012 Were taken into account all the 55 cities (21 de township and 34 towns) from Western Moldavian space Information provided are from 2008-2012 time period For some urban communities information can be considered partial because it reflects the image of the city (without constituent settlements / villages) and not of territorial administrative unit. Moldavian urban space. From political desideratum to territorial reality

Metodology Background -Law 350/2001–P.A.T.N–Sect IV – Network of localities Were taken into account a series of quantity and quality indicators : demography Labor force Public utilities (housing equipment with water, sewerage and central heating) Health Education Culture and sport Hotel Public works (water and sewerage network) Town management Civil protection Recreation (public parks and gardens) Moldavian urban space. From political desideratum to territorial reality

INDtotal (township/town)=SUM(Ind1:Ind16)/16 Metodology crt.no. Minimal quantity and quality indicators * township town 1 No. of inhabitants 40.000 10.000 2 (medium) no. of employees in non-agricultural activities (% of total employees) 85 75 3 housing equipment with water supply facility ( % of total housing) 80 70 4 housing equipment with sanitation supply facility (% of total housing) 55 5 housing equipment with central heating supply facility (% of total housing) 45 35 6 number of beds in hospitals related to 1.000 inhabitans 10 7 number of doctors related to 1.000 inhabitans 2.3 1.8 8 high school/college education units ( e.g. nursing college) yes/no 9 sports and culture facilities: theaters, musical institutions, public libraries, stadium, sport halls places in hotels 100 50 11 modernized roads (% of total street length) 60 12 streets with water distribution networks (% of total street length) 13 streets with sewage pipes networks (% of total street length) 14 wastewater treatment : connection to a wastewater treatment plant with mechanical and biological stage 15 external fire hydrants (for 1.000 m of street length) 2.8 16 green areas (parks, public gardens, squares) m2/inhabitant The 16 indicators were interpreted as a percentage of the maximum values ​​required by law 350/2001. INDtotal (township/town)=SUM(Ind1:Ind16)/16 * - adaptation by law 350/2001 Moldavian urban space. From political desideratum to territorial reality

Documentary sources Were sent 88 addresses (official-via public Law 541/2001 and e-mail) and received 46 responses, resulting in a rate of "responsiveness" of only 52.27%. Statistical data (2011 census, DJS, INSSE) Official documents (Development strategies, general urban plans, press releases) Moldavian urban space. From political desideratum to territorial reality

Occurred problems Difficulty in linking/correlation of data (in terms of time and quality) Lack of reaction from public authorities (local and county) Bad intention in terms of providing public information (was called over and over again for the law 544/2001) Passing responsibilities from local level to county level and vice versa (I.S.U. vs. Regional Operations of Water and Sewerage) Misunderstanding for some indicators (no. of employees from non-agriculture activities), confusion between locality and territorial administrative unit) Moldavian urban space. From political desideratum to territorial reality

Results No urban locality from Moldova fulfills in terms of 100 % the minimal quantitative and qualitative indicators according to legislation Urban localities from Western Moldavia can be considered, therefore, “illegal” from the perspective of not respecting the quantitative and qualitative criteria of urban law. Moldavian urban space. From political desideratum to territorial reality

Results None of the urban localities from Western Moldova fulfills all the 16 urban indicators: 2 indicators : Berești, Cajvana și Milișăuți 14 indicators : Botoșani, Galați, Iași, Suceava și Buhuși Moldavian urban space. From political desideratum to territorial reality

The global percentage of urban indicators Results Minimum: Milișăuți – 27.26 Flămânzi – 29.95 Cajvana – 35.98 Vicovu de Sus – 38.19 Ștefănești – 38.85 Maximum: Botoșani – 99.82 Iași – 99.58 Galați – 98.87 Bacău– 95.65 Piatra-Neamț– 94.94 The global percentage of urban indicators at county level

Conclusions Unfortunately, considering that we worked with statistical data\official information reported by local authorities, county and national, the territorial reality is distorted by the political context of the existence of so many urban centers. E.g. Vaslui City Hall didn’t want to disclose information about coverage with water, sewerage networks, connection to sewage and service with external fire hydrants for compound localities\"the villages" Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu and Viișoara, as it would result in a low overall value at territorial administrative unit level. Moldavian urban space. From political desideratum to territorial reality

Conclusions Even after 7-9 years of existence as urban centers, some cities still do not meet the elementary conditions for which they have been declared There are localities with no public utilities (water, sewerage, wastewater treatment plant), exterior fire hydrants, sanitarium units and tourists accomodation units Some localities are in trouble: they can not access European Funds for rural areas because of the declaration as urban localities (a political goal) and funds for urban areas can not be accessed due to the low number of inhabitants Solutions : L.A.G. (Local Action Group), I.D.A. (Intercommunity Development Association). Moldavian urban space. From political desideratum to territorial reality

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