Urbanization in Romania a geography of social and economic change since independence

Abstract: Romania is an interesting laboratory for the study of urbanization. Few countries in Europe have experienced such sharp social, cultural and economic discrimination between town and village, among regions and among ethnic groups. Profound political changes after the two world wars have added to the complexity of the urban transition. Within the span of a century, Romania was transformed from a semi-feudal society with a bonded peasantry, into a market economy largely based on subsistence agriculture and then into an industrialized socialist society. At the end of World War II, 70% of the population of Romania were dependent on agriculture. A major aim of the postwar regime was to break up social structure and transform the entire population into a homogeneous class, modelled on the urban workers. The domination of the peasantry and the weak tradition of the working class made this a complete social transformation. The postwar industrialization and the urbanization programmes should be seen in this context.The present study purports to analyze, interpret and describe urban transition in Romania; the transformation of the country from an agrarian society based on subsistence farming and a peasant culture to an industrialized socialist society. Dearth of data have limited this study to a largely explorative broad approach which covers the period from the late 19th century until 1980. Industrial, habitational, socio-economic and cultural aspects are all studied in separate chapters and regional and etnic aspects are examined in detail. In the final chapter, features of postwar urbanization in Romania, ascibed to the introduction of a centrally planned economy within a socialist ideology, are distinguished and discussed. The main data generated in the study are listed in an appendix to facilitate further research.