per ronnas - centrally planned urbanization. the case of romania (1982)

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Centrally Planned Urbanization: The Case of Romania Author(s): Per Ronns Source: Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography, Vol. 64, No. 2 (1982), pp. 143-151Published by: on behalf of the Wiley Swedish Society for Anthropology and GeographyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/490668Accessed: 06-09-2015 12:52 UTC

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CENTRALLY PLANNED URBANIZATION: THE CASE OF ROMANIA

BY PER RONNAS*

ABSTRACT. Urbanization in centrally planned economies takes place under other conditions than in market economies and displays a number of particular features. Theories elaborated from studies in market economies are of limited use when applied to centrally planned economies. Yet, centrally planned urbanization has received little attention by western scholars. The focus of the present paper is on post-WW II urbanization in Romania. Following a discussion on some of the implications of central planning on urbanization and on the means available for policy implementation, the actual development is studied in the light of the official policies.

Background Romania emerged from WW-I as a hetero- geneous country--culturally, economically, ethnically and socially. The former Austro-Hun- garian regions - Bucovina, Banat, Crigana, Maramure? and Transylvania-had been more open to the impact of the industrial revolution than the provinces on the opposite side of the Carpathians, which until 1877 had been under Ottoman suzerainty. Transylvania in particular had a rather advanced urban network. In Valla- chia (Muntenia and Oltenia) industrialization had been strongly concentrated to Bucureati and the Prahova Valley, while on the Danubian Plain and in Oltenia towns were far apart and predominant- ly agricultural. With few exceptions, towns in Moldavia were agro-commercial.

The interwar economy was characterized by increasingly depressed conditions in agriculture, due to the fragmentation of holdings, decreasing productivity and stagnant yields. Employment in manufacturing increased at a slow rate and failed to absorb the labour surplus in agriculture (Ronnis, 1980). Neither industrial growth, nor increasing standards of living were the main promoter of urbanization in the interwar period, but rather the pauperization of the peasantry. Many peasants were forced to seek supplemen- tary income from non-farm activities and many eventually ended up as permanent town

dwellers. Urban growth was highly concentrated to Bucureati, which increased its share of the total urban population from 16.5 % in 1912 to 21.3 % in 1930, to 28.1 % in 1948. Although the urban population grew considerably, the increase in the urbanization was quite small (Fig. 1) and Romania's character as a pronounced peasant state was never seriously challenged in the interwar period. In 1930 some 79 % of the population was still rural and the non-farm population was only 28 %. By 1948 the urban population had increased by merely two percentage units.

Centrally planned urbanization Centrally planned industrialization characterized urban development in Romania after WW-II. Forceful industrialization led to rapid increase in non-farm employment, while collectivization and mechanization of agriculture faciliated the transfer of labour from the primary to the secondary and tertiary sectors. Central planning un- doubted has particular implications on the urban development although no control group in the form of an urban system in a market economy is available for comparison. No attempt will be made to present a complete theory of urbanization under socialism, but a few suggestions should nevertheless be made. - The socialist ideology in Romania has a strong

urban bias and urbanization is considered to have a value per se. Secondary activities, and especially heavy manufacturing industry, are given priority over primary as well as tertiary activities (Ceaugescu, 1965; PCR, 1972; PCR, 1975).

- Highly centralized planning and decision mak- ing tend to lead to geographic concentration unless the regional perspective is emphasized through a forceful regional policy.

- If sectorial planning dominates over regional planning, urban places will tend to be apprehended as mere points of concentration of manufacturing activities (Kansky, 1976).

* Civ. ekon. Per Ronnas, Dept. of Geography, Stockholm School of Economics, Box 6501, 113 83 Stockholm, Sweden

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Romania Maramures % - % 50- 50-

10- 10

0 - 11 I h1 1 If I I I l lI I i f I I if I ITII 0 111 fli t ]III I 1 111 11111iif 1111If I Mt J tl i If 1910 20 30 40 50 60 70 1980 1910 20 30 40 50 60 70 1980

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Figure 1. Urbanization in Romania Sources: N6pszamlilasa (1910) (1941); Recensimintul (1930) (1941) (1948) (1956) (1966) (1977). Remarks: The figures show urbanization broken down on (a) changes in intercensal urban cohorts and (b) changes due to

administrative measures. The latter is given by vertical lines at the end of each intercensal period, while the gradients of the lines between census points show the former.

- Towns and villages do not exist in their own right, but their existence is justified only by their contribution to society. Their progress, or regress, according to this implicit, but basic, idea in socialist regional planning, depends on their role and hierarchical place in the na-

tional economy. The growth initiative only to a very limited extent lies within the town itself and towns are not allowed to compete for resources (PCR, 1972; Blaga, 1974; Sampson, 1980).

- The administrative division and the official

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CENTRALLY PLANNED URBANIZATION- ROMANIA

Oltenia Muntenia (M) % - % Bucureqti (B) 50- 50

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status of localities are of major importance as the administrative map is used for regional planning and for the channeling of investments. Regional imbalances will seldom be perceived by central planners unless reflected in statistics on administrative regions. Re- sources tend to be concentrated to the main centre of the region and the regional distribution of resources is thus strongly influenced by the administrative division (Ceaugescu, 1968; Blaga, 1974).

- The stress on secondary activities leads to a more dominant position for manufacturing in the economic base of towns than in market economy countries and the tendency to favour large scale industrial plants leads to the domi- nation of a single industry in many towns.

Almost complete control over places of work, housing and the distribution of food and other consumer goods provides the government with a powerful instrument for control of urban growth,

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ideally a perfect mastering of urban development. In reality a number of factors diminish effectiveness, particularly in the short run. Long term goals for regional development may easily be in conflict with short term efficiency goals. Besides, a considerable part of new jobs are in existing plants. Housing, too, is decidedly a long term investment. Although regional variations in the distribution of food and consumer goods exist, this has not been used in the implementation of regional policy. Poor provisioning of towns with food may eventually slow down rural-urban migration and promote rural-urban commuting.

To establish residence in another town or commune, a residence visum must be obtained from the local police. The granting of visa provides a direct mean of controlling migration. In order to curb in-migration the granting of residence visa is severely restricted in fourteen of the largest cities (Decretul, 1976/68).

In spite of potent instruments the government seems to have far from perfect knowledge as to the whereabouts of the population. A comparison of officially estimated and actual population figures for 1977 reveal large differences, Table 1.

Table 1. Estimated and actual urban population in 1977.

1966 1977 Actual Estimated Actual Error %

Arad 126.0 151.0 171.1 13 Brajov 163.3 208.8 257.2 23 Briila 138.6 173.6 194.6 12 BucureSti 1,365.9 1,619.9 1,807.0 12 Cluj 185.8 227.6 262.4 15 Constanta 150.4 205.2 256.9 25 Craiova 148.8 207.0 222.4 7 Galati 151.3 210.7 239.3 14 Iaji 160.9 223.9 264.9 18 PiteSti 60.1 103.6 123.9 20 Ploielti 147.0 183.7 199.3 8 Sibiu 109.6 135.3 151.1 12 Timijoara 174.4 219.5 268.8 22 Tirgu Murej 86.5 119.5 130.1 9 Total large cities 3,168.6 3,988.2 4,549.1 14 Total urban 6,743.9 8,569.4 9,393.9 10

Sources: Anuarul Statistic (1968-1979); Recensamintul (1966: Vol I) (1977: Vol I).

Remarks: Actual population based on census figures. Esti- mated population in 1977 calculated on the basis of a trend analyses based on actual population in 1966 and officially estimated population in subsequent years untill 1975. Large cities are those where the restricted rules for the granting of residence visa are applied.

Total urban population was 10 per cent larger than expected and Bucureati alone had almost 200,000 more inhabitants than expected.

Postwar urban development: 1948-1966 The postwar period can be divided into two, the first-from the late fourties until the mid-six- ties-devoted to the creation of an industrial and agricultural base on which to build an advanced socialist society, and the second, with a more balanced development- sectorially as well as regionally- aiming for a 'multi-laterally developed socialist society' (PCR, 1975).

In the fifties rapid economic growth was the main goal, regional development was little more than a consequence of sectorial planning. The regional pespective was further reduced as 18, later 16, regions were substituted for the tradi- tional division of the country into 58 counties. Investments were concentrated to regions with a well-developed economic base or with untapped natural resources, much as in the interwar period, but in one important aspect the fifties differed from that period. Bucureati's growth rate slowed down considerably and remained be- low the national average throughout the postwar period. A housing shortage and restrictive granting of residence visa hampered its growth.

The strong industrialization, with emphasise on heavy industry, and the large administrative regions were reflected in the urban growth pattern. Industrial towns in general, and mining or heavy industry towns in particular, grew faster than 'service towns'. Of nine towns that more than doubled their population between 1948 and 1956, seven were mining or heavy industry centres. Fifty-two of 171 towns grew at lower rate than total population and eighteen actually declined. Among the 52 were 22 former county capitals, which-deprived of their administrative status and lacking strong mining or manufacturing base- stagnated.

An eloquent expression of the official view on towns as primarily industrial centres was the de- gradation of fourteen towns to rural communes between 1948 and 1956. All degraded towns were agrocommercial centres with a poor manufacturing base. Most of them were located in economically backward areas and eight of them were in Moldavia. In the same period some 33 rural communes received urban status; 18 in Transyl- vania and 8 in Crigana-Banat. Most of the new

146 GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER - 64 B (1982) ?

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towns were pronounced industrial centres and many of them located near mineral resources.

In the 1956-1966 intercensal period the concentration of urban growth to manufacturing and mining centres was somewhat less pronounced. The growth rate of most mining and heavy industry towns decreased. Growth rates generally declined in the more developed Crigana, Banat and Transylvania and increased in Vallachia, Dobro- gea and Moldavia, but large intra-regional variations persisted. In 1965 yet another 12 localities received urban status; seven of them were centres for heavy industry, but in four cases a loca-

tion in a depressed rural area apparently was the decisive factor (Cimpeni, Huedin, Negrejti-Oaj and Singeorz-Bii). Eight towns were in Transyl- vania.

Regional policy since 1966 The administrative reform in 1968 marks the be- ginning of a new era in which the regional aspect on development plays a much more important part. A more complex view on urban places came to prevail, stressing centre-hinterland rela-

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Village-town: Between 25 and 50 % in agriculture. Industrial town: Less than 25 % in agriculture, more in secondary than in tertiary activities: Servicetown: Less than 25 % in agriculture, more in tertiary than in secondary activities. Secondary activities: Manufacturing, mining and construction. Tertiary activities: Credit, commerce, transportation and public institutions. Method elaborated by William-Olsson.

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tions and the role of the urban place as provider of central functions and non-farm employment opportunities and as diffuser of the urban, socialist culture to the rural hinterland (Ceaugescu, 1968). The 16 regions were changed to a division into 40 counties (iudete), providing a finer instrument for regional policy. The counties were designed to become socio-economic entities, viable economic units that should rationally employ their labour force and having an average population of 450,000 (Ceaugescu, 1968). Central position, rather than size, was the decisive cri- terium in the selection of the county capitals. The administrative reform was followed by a comprehensive 'systematization programme', adopted in 1972, to structure all rural and urban localities into a well-defined hierarchy with a predetermined place and function for each local- ity and region (PCR, 1972). The programme is a mean to control and direct the rapid urban transition, to create a new demographic and economic map of Romania. Urbanization with- out excessive concentration of population and a gradual phasing out of the socio-economic dif-

ferences between the rural and the urban subsets are basic ideas in the programme. A differentia- tion of the rural localities according to their economic potentials will take place and a large number of villages will be transformed into towns. By the year 2000 Romania is planned to have 550-650 towns, as against 236 today.

Concomitant with the administrative reform, urban boundaries were revised, in most cases extended to include neighbouring villages, and 53 rural communes were declared urban. These new towns differ from previously decreed towns not only by their number, but also by their location and economic structure. They are evenly distributed throughout the country, often located in areas lacking other urban centres. Most of them are considerably overboundered. In eight cases the town proper accounted for less than half the population in 1966. The economic base in many cases was poorly developed. It is clear that their location was decisive in the selection of many. Often, they were decreed urban in antici- pation of future development rather than in rec- ognition of past performance.

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Postwar urban development: 1966-1977 Urban development since 1966 differs considerably from the preceding intercensal periods. The pace increased, the average annual growth rate of the urban system increased from 2.5 % in 1948-66 to 3.1 % in 1966-77, while the rural sub- set for the first time registered population de- cline. The structural change is even more impre- ssive taking into account that the rural non-farm population increased from 22.5 % to 40.9 % in the same period. Rural-urban commuting accounted for much, if not most, of the increase in the share of rural non-farm population. In contrast to previous periods, urban growth no longer was concentrated to towns with a strong manufacturing base. The poor growth of the mining and metalurgical centres in the Hunedoara and Regita areas were striking. In the county of Hunedoara, with Romania's largest concentration of heavy industry outside Bucureati, the urban population engaged in mining and manufacturing actually decreased.

A major characteristic of urban development in the seventies was the rapid growth of a large number of previously slow-growing towns which traditionally had a weak economic base, following the creation of a manufacturing environment. Many new county capitals belong to this group. Thus the industrial map of Romania became much more homogeneous in the past decade and all counties now have at least one major urban and industrial centre. But the decrease in inter- county variation was often accompanied by in- creases in intracounty variations. In 31 och 39 counties the county capital grew faster than any other town, and the county capitals increased their share of the urban population, Bucureati excluded, from 52.8 % in 1966 to 58.9 % in 1977. The concentration to the county capital was particularly strong in economically backward counties. Ten of 16 towns increasing their population by more than 75 % between 1966 and 1977 were new capitals of relatively poor counties. For example, in the least industrialized county, Salaj, the capital-Zalau--had 35 % of the county's urban population in 1966, but 81 % of the urban growth 1966-1977.

The growth of the 53 towns decreed in 1968 varied considerably, 28 growing slower than the national population and nine actually decreasing in population. But poor growth should not nec- essarily be taken as a proof of failure to develop, as increase in non-farm employment was often

met by the local supply of labour from the farm sector. Another 129 rural communes were ear- marked for urban status in 1980. Although many experienced substantial socio-economic trans- formation after 1975, none had been declared urban by early 1982.

The dominant position of the secondary activities in the urban economy was further strengthened in the seventies, Figure 4 and 5. It is noteworthy that the relative increase in secondary employment took place, not only at the expense of the primary sector but also of the tertiary sector. This is in sharp contrast to the development in Western Europe (William-Ols- son, 1974). Most of the few 'service towns' left are ports, railway nodes or spas. There was a slight decrease in the number of towns domi- nated by a single industry. While 30 towns had a concentration of 75 % or more of its secondary population in one branch of manufacturing or mining in 1966, this was the case in only 17 towns in 1977. The number of towns with more than half in one branch was 92 in 1966 and 74 in 1977.

References Anuarul Statistic al RSR, 1966-1978: Bucure?ti, Directia

Centrali de Statistica. Blaga, I. 1974: Repartizarea teritoriala a fortelor de productie

in Romdnia. Bucureqti. Ceausescu, N., 1965: Raportul CC al PCR cu privire la activi-

tatea partidului in perioada dintre congresul al VIII-lea ?i congresul al IX-lea al PCR, 10 iulie 1965, in Romania pe drumul desitrvfrgirii constructjei socialiste. Bucureqti.

- 1968: Expunere cu privire la imbundittirea organizirii administrative a teritoriului RSR, 15 februarie 1968, in Romdnia pe drumul destarvfrsirii constructjei socialiste, Bucureqti.

Cucu, V. and Urucu, V., 1967: Creqterea oragelor din RSR in ultimul deceniu. Revista de Statistica 67/5, Bucureqti.

Decretul 1976/68: Decretul 1976/68 privind schimbarea domi- ciliului din alte localitfii in orage declarate, potrivit legii, orage mari, Colectia de Legi Si Decrete 1976/I, Bucureqti.

Kansky, K., 1976: Urbanization under Socialism: The Case of Czechoslovakia. New York.

Measnicov, I., 1968a: Contributii la studiul migratiei interne in Romdnia. Revista de Statistic6 68/8. Bucure~ti.

- 1968 b: Contributii la studiul migrauiei interne in RomAnia. Migratiile interne in perioada 1941-48. Revista de Statistica 68/10. Bucuresti.

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Nepszamlailsa, 1910: A Magyar szent korona orszigainak 1910,

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Magyar Statisztikai Szemle 1941/3-4. Budapest. PCR, 1972: Conferinta Nationala a Partidului Comunist Ro-

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societdtii socialiste multilateral dezvoltate #i 'naintarea Romdniei spre comunism. Bucureqti, Editura Politicdi.

Recensdmintul, 1940: Recensamintul general al populatjei Romdniei din 29 decembrie 1930, Vol. I-X. Bucureqti.

- 1941: Recenstamintul general al Romaniei din 1941, 6 aprilie (1941). Date sumare ?i provizorii. Bucureati.

- 1948: Populatia RPR la 25 ianuarie 1948; Rezultatele provizorii ale recensimintului. Probleme Economice 1948/2. Bucureqti.

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Article Contentsp. 143p. 144p. 145p. 146p. 147p. 148p. 149p. 150p. 151

Issue Table of ContentsGeografiska Annaler. Series B. Human Geography, Vol. 64, No. 2 (1982), pp. 69-160Front MatterErratum[Dedication to W. William-Olsson]The Concentration of a Compound, the Deconcentration of Its Parts: The Economically Active Population of the Stockholm Region, 1950-1975 [pp. 69-75]Swedish Urban Dimensions in the 1970's [pp. 77-87]Musing on Helicon: Root Metaphors and Geography [pp. 89-96]Integrated Development and Integrative Geography, Some Reflections and Impulses [pp. 97-103]Identification and Design of Industrial Development Projects [pp. 105-118]Proclamations about Geography from the Pioneering Years in Sweden [pp. 119-125]Stockholm 1980, Stalemate in Physical Planning [pp. 127-133]The Representation of Finland Further Geographical Reflections on Finska Hushllningssllskapet [pp. 135-141]Centrally Planned Urbanization: The Case of Romania [pp. 143-151]Migration and Welfare, a Study in Northern Sweden [pp. 153-160]Back Matter

per ronnas - centrally planned urbanization. the case of romania (1982)

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