Marius Stelian Gaman

• PhD Architecture
• Associate professor at Polytechnic University of Timişoara

One of the main DANUrB+ highlights at the second conference day was the official presentation of D+ ATLAS: ATLAS OF HIDDEN URBAN VALUES ALONG THE DANUBE. The Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade is a leading partner in the creation of the atlas in two versions: hardcopy and digital. This is an urban atlas aiming to discover hidden urban values along...

One of the main results of the DANUrB+ Project is an Urban Atlas (D+ Atlas) aiming to discover hidden urban values along the Danube. The atlas is developed as a print and digital version. First, the structure of the atlas is innovative in such a trans-Danubian context, where many areas are still not well-mapped or seen on a national level. Second,...

Patterns of urban land use are inherently linked to the predominantly used means of transportation, both generating and being generated themselves. While each mode of transportation shapes a different development typology a clear understanding of their interrelations and dependencies is needed in order to create a comprehensive mobility strategy. T...

Green areas have always been an essential feature of urban developments, improving the quality of life within a community, both from a social perspective – offering residents a place for relaxation and interaction, as well as from the point of view of disease prevention – improving the overall air quality, but also encouraging inhabitants to spend...

A city's predominant transportation mode is crucial in determining its type of urban tissue. A denser and more compact urban development is generated through pedestrian, bicycle and public transit while car based developments tend to be dispersed, characterized by unsustainable low densities. However, a clear implementation strategy eludes many urb...

Climate change is generally recognized as one of the main challenges of the 21st century [1]. It is significantly influencing the urban tissue, through temperature rises, abundant precipitation, strong winds and ever more frequent natural hazards, while being influenced by these factors in return. Its projection to amplify existing climate related...

Following the latest warming phenomenon registered worldwide, cities became the place for the development of urban heat islands, defined as the temperature difference between the urban and suburban areas and the rural areas from their vicinity. It is a concept that is closely linked to urban resilience [1]. Even if it was first examined in the 19th...

The public facilities network has always played a crucial role within the urban environment, as it not only provides citizens with the services they require (such as education, health, commerce, etc.), but it also increases the attraction potential of the public space itself, by animating the otherwise barren built tissue and offering people a pret...

The lack of sustainability of urban sprawl-type developments has been the subject of numerous academic and professional research studies. However, a clear identification of the stages of urban sprawl has not been fully developed as most studies ignore its incipient phases. Eastern European cities follow the same path of urban development as their W...

Urban expansion in the context of a constant decreasing number of inhabitants is the subject of numerous studies. However, the correlation with the implemented strategies for transport infrastructure development has not been fully discussed. Worldwide, local authorities are trapped in an ever loosing catch-up game of modernizing and extending their...

Demographic change and economic decline modify the patterns of urban land use. Shrinking cities are the subject of intense international debate and numerous academic and government studies. However, neither thorough scholarly understanding of the urban shrinkage phenomenon nor proven urban strategies for its mitigation have been achieved. Character...

The need for the local government authorities’ attitude shift from administration towards management through a more entrepreneurial behaviour is the subject of many academic and professional research studies. However, the means of achieving this objective and connecting to their ‘urban customers’ have not been fully discussed. Local governments wor...

The increasing interest in sustainable urbanism, especially in its ecological aspects, has heightened the need for holistic mobility strategies. According to the “European Environment Agency report 2006” and “The Leipzig Chart for Durable European Cities 2007”, European Community acts, the urban developments’ main problem is the uncontrolled, fragm...

The need to protect our cultural heritage was stressed upon by “The Leipzig Chart for Durable European Cities”, a European Community act, which appeared in 2007 in response to the danger of destruction of European city centres. This was the first official act that recognizes the historical centres as Europe's research, innovation, and economical de...

Depending on their initial function historical buildings are treated differently, religious ones, institutions and residential ones are more likely to be protected, restored and re-functionalized while industrial ones are often ignored till complete degradation and collapse or even demolished, their architectural-historical value being often disreg...

Due to the geopolitical changes, which generated both economical and social changes city central areas are the most vulnerable urban spaces. This vulnerability occurs directly through neglect and abandonment of the central areas, or indirectly as a consequence of the territorial urbanisation in any point of the region, by decentralising living, com...

An uncontrolled development of a region (case study – Hunedoara County development plan) can lead to crises with later on difficult to manage effects. Only through a sustainable development which includes proactive risk, both natural and manmade, management, can be achieved a holistic territorial planning strategy. This involves acquiring data refe...