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Romania Traditional Settlement Patterns
Romania remained a predominantly rural country until
well after
World War II, with most of the population living in
villages and
working in agriculture. Just before the war, more than
15,000
villages were spread out over the territory between the
Danube
Delta and the Carpathians, where more than three-quarters
of the
population resided. Many of the villages were little
changed by
contemporary events, at least in appearance, and continued
to be
categorized into three types, depending on the terrain
they
occupied. Village settlements on the plains tended to be
large and
concentrated; most were involved in agriculture, primarily
in
cultivating cereals and raising livestock. In the hilly
regions,
settlements were more scattered. Here the main activities
were
fruit and wine production, and homesteads were generally
surrounded
by vineyards and orchards. At higher altitudes,
settlements were
mainly involved in raising livestock and in lumbering, and
the
villages were even more dispersed.
Romania's first urban settlements were founded by the
Greeks on
the Black Sea Coast at Tomi (now Constanta) and Kallatis
(now
Mangalia). Roman occupation brought urban settlements to
the plains
and mountains, and many towns were founded on ancient
Dacian
settlement sites. These towns were situated at strategic
and
commercial vantage points, and their importance endured
long after
the Romans had departed. Cluj-Napoca, Alba-Iulia, and
Drobeta-Turnu
Severin are among the major cities with Dacian roots and
Roman
development. During the Middle Ages, as trade between the
Black Sea
and Central Europe developed, a number of settlements grew
into
important trade centers, including Brasov, Sibiu, and
Bucharest.
Despite some ancient urban roots, most of Romania's
urban
development came late. In 1948 only three cities had more
than
100,000 inhabitants, and the total urban population was
only 3.7
million. By 1970 thirteen cities had populations of more
than
100,000, the population of Bucharest alone had increased
by some
507,000, and the total urban population had reached 8.2
million.
The urban population increased from 23.4 percent of the
total
population in 1948 to 41 percent in 1970.
This increased urbanization was not simply a
consequence of the
development of nonagricultural activities; for the most
part it was
centrally directed by the PCR under the guiding influence
of
Marxist concepts. According to Marxism, urbanization has
important
intrinsic value that aids in the creation of a socialist
society,
and urban areas are economically, socially, and culturally
superior. Urbanization based on the development of
industry enables
the state to transform society and eradicate the
differences
between rural and urban life.
Romanian urbanization did not result in a large number
of new
cities spread evenly throughout the country. Although the
number of
cities rose from 183 in 1956 to 236 in 1977, and the
proportion of
the population living in urban areas increased to 47
percent, most
of this growth came in the old towns, some of which
doubled,
tripled, and even quadrupled their prewar populations.
Bucharest
far exceeded all other cities in growth and by 1975 was
approaching
2 million inhabitants--19.9 percent of the total urban
population.
Meanwhile the number of cities with populations of more
than
100,000 had grown to eighteen, accounting for another 35.7
percent
of the urban population. Thus by 1978 more than half of
the
country's total urban population lived in just 19 of
Romania's 236
urban areas.
Data as of July 1989
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