Overview of Romanian Planning Evolution

Abstract

This paper presents a historical overview of more than a century of urban planning development in Romania, divided into four stages: the predecessors (before 1900), the basics (first half of the 20th century), the totalitarian age (communist decades), and the transition period (post-1990). The analysis highlights continuities and discontinuities across these stages and situates Romanian planning evolution within the broader European context. Influences have included Austrian-Hungarian and Russian traditions, later French and German schools, Soviet models during communism, and more recently European Union trends, especially regarding territorial cohesion. Special attention is given to the past 100 years, covering theoretical achievements of the inter-war period, the systematisation projects of the communist decades, and the post-1989 reconstruction of the planning system. Examples include early monographic studies by Ionescu de la Brad, macro-territorial contributions of Cincinat Sfintescu, and large-scale interventions of the 1960s–1970s. In recent decades, Romania has advanced in planning education, instruments, legal frameworks, and professional standards. The paper offers a comprehensive and critical synthesis, providing a useful starting point for courses on Romanian planning history.