#2/2017 LIVEABLE CITIES
May, 2017 (CD-ROM)=ISSN 2501-5591 ISSN-L 2501-5591 (Online)=ISSN 2559-4141
BOȘTENARU-DAN, M., DILL, A. and MIHAILA, M. Integration of Reused and Retrofitted Buildings in Architectural–Cultural Surroundings in South–West Germany
Abstract
This paper presents several case studies of reused and retrofitted buildings from Karlsruhe, Darmstadt and Heidelberg and their architectural-cultural integration in the surroundings. Reasons to replace missing parts of heritage buildings were motivated by new rules regarding materials, neglect or war damage state, but also by new developments in the neighbourhoods. Conclusions underline the impact on the surroundings of the altered buildings as being rather good. Also, the new developments which raised the profile of the surroundings would not have been possible otherwise. Reuse of buildings was justified by extension of the activities, new activities or social development. Through this the impact has been also rather good. Risks evaluation are identifying the questionable threat of the heritage character dilution in the intervention when several interventions are coupled.
Keywords: heritage buildings, 20th century, reuse, retrofit, Germany, Karlsruhe, Darmstadt, Heidelberg
ANTONESCU, D. Liveable City from an Economic Perspective
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to provide an overall image of what a liveable city is. Starting from the theoretical aspects presented in the first part of this work, and ending up with the practical ones, an attempt was made to provide an answer to the following question: why are some cities more attractive than others and what criteria should be fulfilled in order for the life of a city’s inhabitants to be considered qualitative, and that city to be deemed liveable. For a city to be liveable, it is bound to fulfil several conditions, the most important ones being related to economy, environment, infrastructure (healthcare, transport, education etc.), and also to aesthetics & culture, ambient, ways of spending leisure time, safety of life, vicinity etc.
Albeit there is no generally accepted concept of Liveable City, a series of methodologies recognised globally provide an assessment of this very aspect (many of them sharing the same elements). In this article, by means of the Liveability indices, cities are classified into several categories. The cities listed in one category are shown to be present in almost all the other categories, on positions that are similar. Hence, the city of Tokyo can be found in five out of six categories proposed by the international organisations which elaborated such methodologies, along with the City of London (in four out of six categories) and with New York City (in four out of six categories) etc. In Romania, the cities that might be classified as liveable are: Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Brasov, Constanța and Sibiu. The Capital City of Romania, i.e. Bucharest, is ranked the 28th in a List of European Capital Cities, being outranked by Cities like Sofia, Lisbon or Budapest, which means it still does not fulfil many of the criteria for a liveable city.
Keywords: liveability, sustainable development, liveable city, urban economy
TUCAN, L. E. Urban Storm Water Management and Its Challenges
Abstract
Considering the climate change and the global issue in which human capacity to control floods is exceeded, ihis article is an approach to the topic of international concern “urban stormwater management”. Thus, in this paper it will be presented measures which the public and local governments should adopt in order to prevent the catastrophic effect that climate change may have both on the antrophic space and on the natural space in urban areas. Being a recent attitude for planning the city of the future, this approach presents an initiation of specialists (engineers, architects, town planners, landscape architects, etc.) in an interdisciplinary research, provided by the interrelation of urban dimension with engineering size.
Keywords: climate change, floods, stormwater management, interdisciplinary research
SANSEBEȘ, R.–M. Liveable City Characteristics or the Continuous Process of Urban Transformation. Industry, Evolution, Neglect — A Study Applied on Brașov
Abstract
We try to learn more from the examples of other cities or regions, but most often we do not know the history of our home city. Often we try to implement a strategy or a modern principle unanimously accepted on a new site, regardless of the local history and the community needs.
Since the Middle Ages, the geographical position of the city has made Brasov a major center for economical and cultural exchanges. However, the Brasov's architectural heritage is unjustly ignored both by the large public and by the authorities.
The new challenges of the late twentieth century changed the role of industry in the society, both globally and locally. All this led to the change of its role in economic development. Industrial development and the need for labor mean that the city and reorganization of existing structures serves new needs. In the period under review new factories were built throughout the city, the medieval town of Brasov, making it an industrial one.
Keywords: urban planning, urban landscape, research, Brașov, a study of urban planning and architecture, the evolution of the city of Brașov in the modern era, urban interventions in the period between 1850 – 2015
MOȚCANU-DUMITRESCU, M.–A. Liveable City = Walkable City
Abstract
A city is a creative place by definition. But creative people do not all live in cities (in Romania only 56,4% of total population lives in cities). In the city, creative people can express themselves more visible and can communicate their ideas with speed and efficiency.
So, the city have one crucial resource: people. Human intelligence, desires, motivations, imagination and creativity are replacing location, natural resources and market access as key factors for urban development and spatial integration.
The future of the city economy lays within the development of a more creative city. We cannot construct enough sustainable villages to meet people aspirations for a better life. Instead we must make cities desirable places to live and to be in, partly by re-creating the sense of place and belonging, continuity, safety and predictability and partly by ensuring the usage of distinct urban development tools, like buzz, interaction, trade, unexpected performance and much more.
Every city can be more creative that it currently is and the task for the city wanting to be creative is to identify, nurture, harness, promote, attract, and sustain talent and to mobilize ideas, resources and organizations.
As cities became large and complex enough to present problems of urban management, so they became laboratories that developed the solutions – technological, conceptual and social – to the problems of growth.
In general, creative cities are successful cities. They succeed culturally, economically, socially and environmentally. They are good places to live: they attract. They are liveable.
Keywords: creativity, sustainability, sense of place, interaction, ideas, attraction
MOȚCANU-DUMITRESCU, M. A Creative City Is a Liveable City
Abstract
As the urban populations increase we have to think more deeply about how to make cities less stressful and more creative for people to live in. The development process of our cities, and the players within this process - central and local government, politicians and professionals, developers, financiers and builders – have become entangled in a system which produces developments, but not places.
For places to be well-used and well-loved, they must be safe, comfortable, varied and attractive. They also need to be distinctive, and offer variety of choices and fun. Vibrant places offer opportunities for meeting people, playing in the street and watching the world go by.
New development should enrich the qualities of existing urban places. This means encouraging a distinctive response that arises from and complements its setting. This applies at every scale - the region, the city, the town, the neighborhood and the street.
Places need to be easy to get to and be integrated physically and visually with their surroundings. This requires attention to how to get around by foot, bicycle, public transport and the car - and in that order.
Watching how people move through an existing area reveals the numerous influences on movement at work. How people move, particularly on foot, is not just a matter of the simplest and most obvious route, but will be influenced by, for example: variety and interest; safety; light and shade; commercial activity; landscape; noise and pollution.
Liveability and quality of life are key factors whilst designing and managing the development of our cities, not only in terms of energy, water, pollution and waste systems which are sustainable for the long term, but in a way that we can understand better how to use our cities.
Keywords: liveability, sustainability, quality of life, people movement, walking, transportation, safety
ROȘCA, Ș. Sibiu — Romanian and European Liveable City
Abstract
In almost all developing / under transition countries, people and economic agents tend to concentrate on a larger or a smaller number of cities that become true economic engines, both for their proximate areas as well as for the rest of the country. Developing liveable and sustainable cities, capable to balance social, economic and environmental needs becomes a true challenge for the authorities, city dwellers, business companies and civic society.
The present article focuses on Sibiu city, named by Forbes as “Europe’s 8th most idyllic place to live”[1]. It examines the main development directions of the urban model in the context of a vivid pace of transformations in an era of a continuous economic, social, and demographic transition, trying to demonstrate why Sibiu fits among European liveable cities.
Keywords: Sibiu, liveable cities, urban development