Cristian Ioja

• Professor
• Professor (Full) at University of Bucharest

Living close to green infrastructure (GI) components might be the dream of many people who are often exposed to cities’ pollution, congestion, or lack of green amenities. Due to its multiple benefits, green infrastructure plays a significant role in driving people’s decisions to leave inner-city areas and move to suburban locations. However, how GI...

Urban green spaces (UGS) provide mechanisms through which people connect and interact with each other, strengthening social relationships as well as human‐nature connections, both of high relevance for sustainable development. However, what determines urban residents' engagement in activities for the protection of UGS still lacks a systematic under...

Urban air pollution is one of the major challenges that cities around the world face. Particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other pollutants are many times over the recommended airborne exposure, generating a strong impact on human health and city well-being. Considering Bucharest as a case study, t...

Due to its potential to help mitigate current societal challenges and provide ecological, social, and economic benefits, urban green infrastructure (UGI) is an important investment for cities. However, its planning and implementation may be challenging due to the limited application of the conceptual foundations and the often-unknown character of t...

European ecosystems and species remain under pressure from intensive agriculture and forestry, fishing, pollution, urban sprawl, invasive species and climate change. This book provides a detailed description and critical analysis of nature conservation responses, achievements and failures, motivated by the concerning state of nature and missed biod...

To halt land take in Europe, the European Union set a "no net land take by 2050 ′′ target in 2011. However, land take continues to occur in European countries, with recent studies suggesting that local decision-making is playing a major role in these land-use conversions. In this study, we investigated how urban growth boundaries (UGBs) are used by...

Urban vacant lands have become increasingly important since their potential to become both a resource and a nuisance. Although they can be transformed into green infrastructure, they also pose a threat to human safety due to their role as invasive plant species habitat. In this chapter, we explore the potential effect of the urban land vacancy on t...

Protected areas become urban protected areas by their location. The International Union for Nature Conservation defines a protected area as: “Clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated, and managed through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with its associated ecosystem services and cultur...

Wild lands have to be available and provide a tangible experience in cities, not only for biodiversity protection, but also for nature experience. They need to support innovation with nature in order to address social, economic and environmental challenges. For that, additional knowledge about different features of the forest, waters and wetlands h...

Urban protected areas offer evident benefits for urban biodiversity, residents, economies and public administration. These benefits are related to the management practices, which have to consider challenges and stakeholder’s interests. This chapter aims to demonstrate the utility of participatory planning instruments in obtaining a consensus betwee...

Green areas represent a vital component of urban settlements improving the environmental quality and offering a great variety of ecosystem services. However, in the context of the volatile legislation characterizing post-socialist societies, they can often get stuck between opposing interests. The study aims to outline a general image of the enviro...

The high level of anthropization in urban areas has induced a shift of resource demand, where the supply has moved outside the cities’ boundaries. Thus, protected areas located in the cities’ proximity have faced pressure to satisfy cities’ needs leading to conflicts and loss of critical ecosystem services. Our study aims to assess the cultural eco...

Urban parks are elements delivering at an urban level a variety of ecosystem services, attracting a wide range of visitors with specific requirements. These benefits brought by their multifunctionality need to be carefully balanced with potential dysfunctions. Using an urban park from Bucharest, Romania, as a case study, we analyzed the perception...

Public consultation is an essential component of the planning process to achieve sustainable development. However, there is still a lack of knowledge related to public engagement in consultation processes on urban planning matters. Thus, the aim of this study was to understand public needs in terms of planning urban space by exploring the content o...

Environmental planning is considered an important process to positively encourage the inclusion of nature-based solutions (NbS) in urban areas. The success of their implementation relies on the collaboration between the involved stakeholders in the environmental planning process. The aim of this study is to identify the key stakeholders within the...

Human–wildlife interactions (HWIs) are increasingly common human disturbances as development continues to remove wildlife habitats. Documenting HWI is critical for environmental protection agencies to develop strategies and management decisions that meet the needs of both people and wildlife. However, evaluation of the frequency and types of HWI at...

Abstract Livestock depredation by brown bears is one of the main source of human–wildlife conflict in rural Eastern Europe. Thus, identifying environmental and anthropogenic drivers of human–bear conflict, and developing spatial predictions for predation intensity are critical to mitigate such conflicts. We used 756 records of bear‐caused livestock...

Human-wildlife interactions (HWI) are increasingly common as human disturbance and development continue to remove wildlife habitats. Documenting HWIs is critical for management agencies to develop strategies and management decisions that meet the needs of both people and wildlife. However, evaluating the frequency and types of HWI at broad spatial...

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are innovative approaches oriented to address societal and environmental challenges. Increasing the interest to implement NbS in cities is strongly connected with their inclusion as potential measures in urban planning. The aim of our article was to assess the inclusion of NbS in Romanian urban development strategies. W...

Iron Gates Natural Park. Monograph An invitation to Iron Gates Natural Park: Maria Pătroescu, Laurențiu Rozylowicz, Marian C. Jiplea Iron Gates Natural Park. Administrative and legal aspects: Mihai R. Niță, Marian C. Jiplea, Diana A. Onose, Maria Pătroescu The Geography of Iron Gates Natural Park: Steluța Manolache, Iulian M. Niculae, Simona R. Gr...

In the last decade, Romanian cities have gone through complex economic, social and environmental challenges. These challenges caused significant disturbances in the distribution, quantity and quality of urban waters, reducing their capacity to provide essential ecosystem services. Using a multicriteria approach, this study aims to evaluate the Roma...

Urban sustainability focuses on the more efficient management of the resources in cities and their regions. It is a challenge to develop a framework that it easy to replicate and can be used by any city in the world. In this paper, we aimed to develop a methodological approach for assessing urban sustainability of Romanian cities. We designed an in...

The importance of urban green spaces in providing ecosystem services to the population is increasingly being recognised by scientists, policy makers and the general public. Across cities, urban planners are seeking to reconcile the location of urban green spaces and accessibility of the public. The main aim of our paper is to assess the accessibili...

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has experienced substantial difficulties in effectively achieving its purpose owing to the interplay of political, social, and economic interests, as well as institutional and policy contexts in developing countries such as Romania. This study presents a systematic evaluation of the quality of environmental...

Urban lakes play important roles in microclimate regulation such as controlling run-off and groundwater recharge, as well as being a source of water supply and a habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna. Bucharest has a wide variety of water resources where phytoplankton represent the dominant primary producer, the defining biological factor f...

To halt land take in Europe, the European Union set a “no net land take by 2050″ target in 2011. However, land take continues to occur in European countries, with recent studies suggesting that local decision-making is playing a major role in these land-use conversions. In this study, we investigated how urban growth boundaries (UGBs) are used by l...

Many of the outcomes of environmental plans are difficult to measure. Therefore, little is known as to whether such plans achieve their goals, whether outcomes are reached and lessons learned to influence future plans. Our study aims to address this gap by systematically evaluating the implementation of Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) of 2...

An assessement of the alien plants of Romania was conducted which considered the requirements of Regulation 1143/2014 of the European Union (EU). Thus, available data about the presence, invasiveness, distribution, pathways of introduction and their known impact in the territory of Romania were analysed. We found that of 36 plant species of EU conc...

Parcul Natural Porţile de Fier: monografie; Invitație în Parcul Natural Porțile de Fier Maria Pătroescu, Laurențiu Rozylowicz, Marian C. Jiplea; Parcul Natural Porțile de Fier. Repere administrative și legislative Mihai R. Niță, Marian C. Jiplea, Diana A. Onose, Maria Pătroescu; Potențialul ecologic al Parcului Natural Porțile de Fier Stelu...

Urban areas represent the central point of sustainability initiatives which drive significant changes in cities’ planning, design and management. Given that urban areas are subject to continuous change, efficient and integrated planning and policy strategies are needed to address their complex challenges. This is why the Strategic Environmental Ass...

Freshwater ecosystems are among the most threatened in the world, while providing numerous essential ecosystem services (ES) to humans. Despite their importance, research on freshwater ecosystem services is limited. Here, we examine how freshwater studies could help to advance ES research and vice versa. We summarize major knowledge gaps and sugges...

Decades of economic development and urbanization have led to strong transformations of blue infrastructure, with significant quality degradation and conversions from natural land cover to other human shaped land uses. While critically threatened, blue infrastructure in urban areas is re-emerging as an important solution that contributes to human we...

Technology is transforming societies worldwide. A major innovation is the emergence of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS), which have the potential to revolutionize cities for both people and nature. Nonetheless, the opportunities and challenges associated with RAS for urban ecosystems have yet to be considered systematically. Here, we report th...

Technology is transforming societies worldwide. A major innovation is the emergence of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS), which have the potential to revolutionize cities for both people and nature. Nonetheless, the opportunities and challenges associated with RAS for urban ecosystems have yet to be considered systematically. Here, we report th...

This study investigates the influence of the urban lakes from Bucharest (Romania) on the microclimate of their hinterland using satellite remote sensing products. The land surface temperature (LST) at 30 m spatial resolution was retrieved from Landsat TM and TIRS imagery referring to clear-sky conditions over the study area. The influence of the ur...

An increasing plethora of both meteorological and ancillary data are presently available for climate research and applications in urban areas. The data are often held by local or national institutions (i.e., meteorological services, universities or environmental agencies). This paper outlines a total number of 33 datasets, organized into three main...

Wildlands have to be available and provide a tangible experience in cities, not only for biodiversity protection but also for nature experience. They need to support innovation with nature in order to address social, economic and environmental challenges. For that, additional knowledge about different features of the forest, waters and wetlands hav...

Protected areas become urban protected areas by their location. The International Union for Nature Conservation defines a protected area as: “Clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with its associated ecosystem services and cultura...

Globally, built-up development is taking place at unprecedented rates. To mitigate and limit its effects, recent scientific and spatial planning communities call for built-up management to be addressed on broader scales, from regional to national, and coordinated with multiple policy domains. In this paper, we aimed to analyze the evolution and imp...

Environmental action plans are important instruments intended to provide sustainable solutions for the most pressing environmental issues. As they should be updated regularly, efforts to evaluate their quality are essential for enabling incremental improvements in upcoming versions. The aim of our study was to systematically evaluate the quality of...

Urban green spaces (UGS) provide multiple benefits, and public parks in particular have a key role in supporting ecological and social sustainability in cities, contributing to human-nature interactions. We studied the interrelationships between uses, experiences and the environment by adopting a novel concept of urban biocultural diversity (BCD)....

Among land transformations, agricultural land abandonment is increasingly attracting attention of both the scientific community and the policy makers. However, studies have often showed contradictory findings on agricultural land abandonment. This is because, land abandonment is a process which is often differently defined, measured, studied and co...

Urban regeneration seeks to improve the quality of the urban environment, to develop new urban land use, to stimulate social cohesion and economic activity, as well as the protection of urban land and ecosystems. They follow to provide environmental, social and economic benefits, which complies with Nature-based Solutions (NbSs). The aim of the pap...

Urbanization and ageing are the two main processes currently shaping the social environment worldwide. In this context, creating senior friendly cities should be an important target, especially in developed countries, which have the highest rates of population over 60 years old. Our study focuses on the use of urban parks and aims to analyze how fr...

This book shows what role nature can play in a city and how this can make it a better place for people to live. People, planners, designers and politicians are working towards the development of green cities. Some cities are already promoted as green cities, while others are on their way to become one. But their goals are often unclear and can incl...

Faced with multiple internal and external challenges, urban environments are increasingly searching for instruments adequate for achieving their sustainability goals. Different forms of urban nature can represent such instruments of addressing new societal ambitions, but in the same time can determine the emergence of urban environmental conflicts....

Green spaces are a key component of urban green infrastructures (UGI). The principles that define UGI are integration with other urban infrastructures, multifunctionality, connectivity at different spatial scales and from different perspectives. This paper aims to assess the potential of applying the UGI principles taking as case studies the urban...

Urban lakes represent the most extensive water bodies in cities and provide blue ecosystem services, by retaining pollutants, offering cultural services, and mitigating climate change. Human activities threaten to decrease the supply of ecosystem services associated with urban lakes. Exorheic lakes play an essential role in reducing and changing th...

Collaborative dispute resolution is essential in natural resource management in the process of negotiating solutions to environmental issues. Our study aims to look at the factors which appear to contribute to the effectiveness of collaborative problem-solving efforts in case studies of environmental conflicts in Romania. The selected case studies...

Closed lakes located in urban parks act as sinks of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), which have been used, for decades, as insecticides, herbicides and fungicides. The closed lakes from Bucharest, Romania, are periodically managed to prevent eutrophication and accumulation of pollutants. However, it is not known if these practices reduce or enhanc...

Urban lakes are important freshwater resources for people and can have enormous ecological values. Understanding how different users perceive such benefits and what kind of conflicts can emerge from the multiple perceptions around the values of urban lakes can improve their management and maintain the provision of ecosystem services (ES). In this r...

During the last two decades, a mounting body of research has emerged on the value, use and overall importance of urban green infrastructure. From the contribution to human well-being and sustainable development, urban green infrastructure is positioned as a relevant concept within ecosystem services and nature-based solutions. Our research objecti...

Urban and peri-urban agriculture is attracting new attention in the context of growing interests in sustainability and resilience. Although much research has been done in this field, little is known about pastoralism and its impact on urban and peri-urban settings. In this paper, we discuss the contribution of pastoral practices to urban sustainabi...

A critical challenge in natural resource management is to bring all stakeholders together to negotiate solutions to critical problems. However, various collaborative approaches to heading off conflicts and resolving natural resource management disputes have been used. What drives these efforts, however, still needs further research. Our study provi...

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) provided by urban parks are complex phenomena and the diversity of user perspectives and their rather loose linkages to the objective and structural diversity of parks hamper informed planning. Stakeholder involvement in CES assessment has received little systematic attention and only few studies provide examples o...

The need for various stakeholders to harmonize their policies and practices has emerged as a dominant paradigm for 21st century natural resource management. Cross-sector coordination is promising because it can enhance policy consistency, enable the realization of synergies and resolve conflicts among sectors regarding resource management. The exte...

This report is the final deliverable (D2.3) of WP2 of GREEN SURGE project (2013-2017) as a part of the EU FP7 (ENV.2013.6.2-5-603567). This research aims to illustrate how the Biocultural Diversity (BCD) concept can help urban practitioners, planners and decision-makers to understand the integration between biological diversity in Urban Green Infra...

In contrast to the ongoing worldwide uncontrolled expansion of urban development resulting in sprawled cities, compact cities have been argued by planners and researchers to be the more sustainable urban form. However, in compact cities, it has been shown that a low proportion of green spaces jeopardizes the sufficient supply of urban ecosystem ser...

Urban green spaces (UGS) are increasingly acknowledged for their importance for the well-being of urban populations. However, studies are lacking the consideration of the demand and use of UGS by different population groups and connecting UGS with social infrastructure. In an era of worldwide urbanization and ageing, this European study sheds light...

The evaluation of spatial planning results, or outcomes, has been rather neglected by scholars and practitioners. The causes of this neglect are linked to the characteristics of the planning systems in use or difficulties in quantifying results. To advance the state of the art of outcome evaluation, this paper focuses on assessing the implementatio...

The evaluation of spatial planning results, or outcomes, has been rather neglected by scholars and practitioners. The causes of this neglect are linked to the characteristics of the planning systems in use or difficulties in quantifying results. To advance the state of the art of outcome evaluation, this paper focuses on assessing the implementatio...

The complexity of today’s environmental problems has amplified to the point where we can no longer ignore the impact of human actions on the functioning of ecosystems. The process of Mapping and Assessing Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) promoted by the European Commission is considered a first step to achieve the good status of ecosystems and...

The mission of the Natura 2000 network focuses on humans-nature relationships, recognizing that human activities are part of the ecosystem and they should not rival with the nature. However, the implementation of Natura 2000 network has triggered situations where the human interests came into conflict with those of plants and animals or where diffe...

In the Background section, the defining characteristics of environmental conflicts are presented. These need a deeper understanding in the processes of conflict management and resolution. The following characteristics of environmental conflicts need to be considered: triggering events (such as a change, competitive interests or law enforcement), sp...

Land-use conflicts are defined as situations in which involved parties or constituents have incompatible interests concerning the use of a certain parcel of land. Such conflicts frequently center on who is to maintain control over the land, who possesses the right to participate in decision making about its management, and on the social and environ...

Landscape is in continuous change since the human society started to exploit it. The driving forces for land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes might be considered divers, but one of the main cause is the natural resources accessibility. Oil resources shaped, indirectly, the landscape worldwide, being a direct driving force for LULC change patterns...

The compact city is regarded as an important concept in promoting sustainable development, especially within the European Union. The socialist urban planning system maintained a high compactness of the urban areas through almost exclusive predominance of the public sector in housing provision, and ideological nature of the planning strategies. Afte...

Urban expansion is increasingly gaining attention in Europe, and also in Romania. For control measures to be proposed, there is a need to identify the drivers behind dynamics of urban areas. The aim of our paper is to identify the factors that drive urban expansion in Romania. As they vary at different governance levels, we focused our analysis on...

La planification des corridors écologiques sur les terres arables dans le SITES NATURA 2000: étude de cas ROSCI0123 Măcin Montagnes, Roumanie. La planification de l'activité humaine dans les zones protégées est un enjeu important à l'échelle mondiale, due à l'augmentation de la perte de biodiversité. L'étude vise à évaluer si la mise en oeuvre des...

Industrial cities from post-communist countries have been confronted in the past 20 years with significant changes in their both functions and structure, due to processes of industrial restructuration, social changes, development of residential and commercial areas. This is the case of the municipality of Resita – Caras Severin County in Romania, a...

Water samples from two types of sources: partially treated sewage generated by a medium-sized city, with a high quantity of total coliforms and partially treated industrial wastewater, which contained mostly petroleum products from refineries, were treated using the same concentration of TiO2 catalyst, for different exposure periods. UV-Vis and flu...

The uncontrolled development of built-up areas determines the inclusion of peripheral and ex-urban land uses inside the settlements. In the present study, we investigated the geographic differences in the rate of land conversion to cemetery areas, considered as peripheral areas, from the Bucharest Metropolitan Area. Using geospatial data about the...

Plant cultivation activities represent the widest form of environmental agression at global scale. Their sustainability influences the stability of natural ecosystems at local, regional and global level. In this context, the aim of this study is to assess the sustainability of arable land in ROSCI0123 Măcin Mountains using the Pimentel- Eulenstein...

GROSEE project analyses the role of the three South-Eastern European countries capital cities (Athens, Bucharest and Sofia) as part of the European urban system and identifies the necessary actions to improve the cooperation among them. The project also performs an analysis of local and regional resources, social and economic structures, and an eva...

The educational institutions represent the main components of sustainability promotion in our society. Waste management is one of the challenges that educational institutions have to face in accomplishing sustainability goals. In Bucharest, 457 educational institutions (pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, high schools, special schools) were...