Communities and local sustainable development

Abstract

Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences Special Issue

Full text

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Transylvanian Review
Transylvanian Review
of Administrative Sciences
of Administrative Sciences
ISSN 1842-2845
•
Accent Publisher, 2017
Babeş-Bolyai University
Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences
Department of Public Administration and Management
Special Issue / December / 2017
Communities and local sustainable development
Guest Editors:
Cristina HARUŢA & Octavian MOLDOVAN

2
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Senior Editor: Călin Emilian Hinţea
Director: Ciprian Tripon
Editor: Cristina Mora
Administrative director: Ovidiu Boldor
Editorial Board: Balogh Marton, Daniel Buda, Marius Dodu, Dacian Dragoş, Călin Ghiolţan,
Veronica Junjan, Dan Lazăr, Elena Minea, Natalia Negrea, Liviu Radu, Sorin Dan
Şandor, Bogdana Neamţu, Bianca Radu, Raluca Gârboan, Adrian Hudrea, Cornelia
Macarie, Dan Balica, Tudor Ţiclău, Cristina Haruţa, Horia Raboca, Raluca Suciu, Ana
Elena Ranta, Octavian Moldovan
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
Carole NEVES, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC
Allan ROSENBAUM, Florida International University
Arno LOESSNER, University of Delaware
Roger HAMLIN, Michigan State University
Laszlo VARADI, Corvinus University of Budapest
Eric STRAUSS, Michigan State University
Gyorgy JENEI, Corvinus University of Budapest
Adriano GIOVANNELLI, Genoa University
Bernadine Van GRAMBERG, Victoria University
Julian TEICHER, Monash University
Geert BOUCKAERT, Catholic University of Leuven
Veronica JUNJAN, University of Twente
György HAJNAL, Corvinus University of Budapest
Taco BRANDSEN, Radboud University Nijmegen, Secretary-General
of the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation (EAPAA)
Juraj NEMEC, Masaryk University, president of The Network of Institutes and Schools
of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe (Nispacee)
Maria ARISTIGUETA, University of Delaware
Yüksel DEMIRKAYA, Marmara University
Marian PREDA, University of Bucharest
Marius PROFIROIU, Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies
Alexander HENDERSON, Long Island University
Gregory PORUMBESCU, Northern Illinois University

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57
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CONTENTS
Raffaella AVERSA
Relly Victoria V. PETRESCU
Antonio APICELLA
Florian Ion T. PETRESCU
Modern Transportation and Photovoltaic Energy for Urban Ecotourism
Aslı BOZDAĞ
Münevver Gizem GÜMÜŞ
Kutalmış GÜMÜŞ
Savaş DURDURAN
Accessibility Analysis for the Elderly in an Urban Area from Turkey
Adina CANDREA
Cristinel CONSTANTIN
Ana ISPAS
Public-Private Partnerships for a Sustainable Tourism Development
of Urban Destinations. The Case of Braşov, Romania
Laura Maria IRIMIEȘ
Lobbying and Social Participation – Key Features
for an Effective Public Administration in Romania
Daniela Angelina JELINČIĆ
Sanja TIŠMA
Matea SENKIĆ
Domagoj DODIG
Public-Private Partnership in Cultural Heritage Sector
Alicja K. ZAWADZKA
Making Small Towns Visible in Europe: the Case of Cittaslow Network
– The Strategy Based on Sustainable Development

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Abstract
This study proposes an innovative integrat-
ed transportation/photovoltaic energy system
that will enable the Pompeii Municipality to de-
velop a set of urban ecotourism policies and
instruments for the preparation and adoption of
an environmental sustainable mobility strategy to
be applied in their future municipality urban plan.
The innovative character of the study resides in
two principal aspects: the technologies applied,
namely, the use of thin fi lm photovoltaic (here-
after PV) panels (copper-indium-gallium-(di)sel-
enide cells) on a fl exible support, and the way
these technologies are applied. A combined
energy/mobility approach based on ‘Zero km
and zero emission energy production for zero
emission electric transportation strategy’ to be
implemented in the Public Urban Plan (Piano
Urbanistico Comunale) of the town of Pompeii is
presented. According to the technology to be ad-
opted (thin PV fi lm on fl exible supports integrat-
ed in the parking shelters roofs), to the foreseen
PV plant of 700 sqm parking lots, and to an inno-
vative multifunctional design approach (bio-mim-
icking sun track roof), an improved yearly power
production of 100.0 MWh is foreseen with a 20-
25% increase of power production with respect
to standard fi xed PV panels of the same type.
Keywords: social sciences, sustainable
tourism, modern transportation, fl exible photo-
voltaic energy, urban plan.
MODERN TRANSPORTATION
AND PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY
FOR URBAN ECOTOURISM
Raffaella AVERSA
Relly Victoria V. PETRESCU
Antonio APICELLA
Florian Ion T. PETRESCU
Raffaella AVERSA
Advanced Material Lab, Department
of Architecture and Industrial Design,
University of Campania, Aversa, Italy
Tel.: 0039-081-5010841
E-mail: raffaella.aversa@unicampania.it
Relly Victoria V. PETRESCU
ARoTMM-IFToMM,
Bucharest Polytechnic University, Bucharest, Romania
Tel.: 0040-722-529.840
E-mail: rvvpetrescu@gmail.com
Antonio APICELLA
Advanced Material Lab, Department
of Architecture and Industrial Design,
University of Campania, Aversa, Italy
Tel.: 0039-081-5010774
E-mail: antonio.apicella@unicampania.it
Florian Ion T. PETRESCU
ARoTMM-IFToMM,
Bucharest Polytechnic University, Bucharest, Romania
Tel.: 0040-724-040.348
E-mail: fi tpetrescu@gmail.com
DOI:10.24193/tras.SI2017.1
Published First Online: 2017/12/21
Transylvanian Review
of Administrative Sciences,
Special Issue 2017, pp. 5-20

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1. Introduction
Tourism is changing rapidly as nature, heritage and recreational destinations be-
come more important and easy to reach, and, therefore, it should be forced to meet
tougher environmental requirements, especially in urban environment where its an-
thropic impact overlaps local criticism.
The balance between economic growth, social wellbeing and environmental pro-
tection is a growing concern of industrial research development.
This will be at the base of the future development of our technosphere, the virtual
space where techno diversity interacts with the biosphere (Barre and Odum, 2000;
Iqbal, 2016; Sepú lveda, 2015; Pisello et al., 2016).
Environmental challenges, such as climate change and scarcity of resources, con-
strain and open opportunities for new technological developments in the same time,
including in the composite materials fi eld (Apicella et al., 2010; Aversa et al., 2017a-c;
Colvin, 2004; de Silva et al., 2009; Kaebernick et al., 2002; Mirsayar et al., 2017; Petrescu
et al., 2017a-e). Sustainability is a serious issue in the long run, for the future of the
world, but it is particularly critical in Europe due to their rapid and uncontrolled in-
dustrial growth in an environment that should preserve its cultural history.
The rational use of energy by adopting greener sources and by controlling produc-
tion will improve our valuesphere (the scientifi c environment accounting for ecologi-
cal issues while protecting occupation and welfare).
Touristic cities’ authorities are asked to face a double challenge: they have to be
able to respond to the expectations and the needs of the growing numbers of tourists,
while ensuring that tourism is developed and managed in such a way that it benefi ts
the resident population, does not contribute to the deterioration of the urban environ-
ment, but rather to its enhancement, and does not become a fi nancial burden (Malkin,
1999).
Campania is a region of Italy with a strong tourist vocation: it is the territory that
a racts the majority of tourism in Southern Italy especially for the presence of the
touristic highly a ractive poles: Capri, Ischia, Sorrento, Amalfi and Pompeii. Such
world cultural heritage has to share the territory with a highly inhabited town, and
an area of intense tourism and fl ower farming. As noted by the World Bank (1999),
‘Cultural tourism can encourage the revival of traditions and the restoration of sites
and monuments. But unbridled tourism can have the opposite eff ect’.
2. Methods
2.1. Environmental problem targeted
2.1.1. Tourism cities anthropic impact
The most recent trends and forecasting studies by the World Tourism Organiza-
tion (2017) indicate that cities will continue, especially in the areas of great cultural
interest such is Pompeii, to be in high demand by tourists of all sorts (cultural and
religious). In fact, the modern town has grown on the ancient Roman ruins (Figure 1).

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Figure 1: Map of the POMPEII downtown, ancient town excavation and Sanctuary
showing the areas of interest for the study
Source: Aerial view from Google Earth, 2010
If we consider archaeological cities, such is the town of Pompeii, we note that there
is a lot of pressure in terms of time and space caused by a concentrated tourist infl ux,
which adds to other factors of anthropic origin but of a diff erent nature, such as the
rapid urban growth of the town and the presence of the Catholic Sanctuary of the Ma-
donna (Blessed Virgin Mary). The presence of the Sanctuary a racts an even greater
and continuous fl ux of pilgrims: numerically, it is about 7 million people yearly (2.5
million people for the excavations, and 4.5 million for the Sanctuary; see Figure 2).
Such huge numbers of incoming people (meanly 20,000 a day over a population
of 25,000 people) concentrated in the same area (the ruins entrance and the Sanctuary
are in close proximity) creates an additional intense and signifi cant traffi c of buses
(about 400 daily) and cars (100 daily) in a range of 3 km (the distance from the high-
way to the center of the town, where the excavations and Sanctuary are located) that
is equivalent to a total of 1,000,000 km of bus journeys (based on a medium sized
diesel bus).
Noise and gaseous pollutants emissions are a serious concern for the livability and
fruition of the town (European Commission, 1996, 2001, 2005): collectively these vehi-
cles emit in a year 120 tonnes of CO
2
, 1.4 tonnes of CO, 0.4 tonnes of Nitrogen Oxides
(NO
x
) and 0.4 tonnes of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), with a noise pollution
that has been measured in a preliminary soundscape study carried out by the Univer-
sity of Campania for the external rush hours road traffi c of 60-70 dB (A) centered on a

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frequency spectrum of 2.4-2.8 (log Hz), according to the European Commission Green
Paper on Future Noise Policy (European Commission, 2004) and Directive 2002/49/EC.
The problems associated with the daily handling of this growing mass of tourists
(7 million a year, 20,000 a day) will have to be more systematically tackled by all par-
ties concerned with a be er management of urban areas through integrated environ-
mental management at the local level. At the present time, a rational plan to reduce
the anthropic impact of this intense form of city tourism does not exist at local level.
Our project proposes an innovative prototype integrated transportation/energy
system that will enable the Pompeii Municipality to develop, from the results of the
demonstration activities of the study, a set of urban ecotourism policies and instru-
ments for the preparation and adoption of more environmentally sustainable mobili-
ty strategies to be applied in the future PUC (Municipality Urban Plan).
A map of the Pompeii town with indication of the principal areas of touristic in-
terest (ancient town excavations and Sanctuary), and the nodes of the proposed study
are reported in Figures 1 and 4.
2.1.2. Combined energy/transportation strategies
The innovative character of our approach resides in two principal aspects:
–the technologies applied: the use of thin fi lm fl exible photovoltaic panels (cop-
per-indium-gallium-(di)selenide cells); and
Figure 2: Anthropic impact of tourists and pilgrims on the new town of Pompeii
Source: Author Apicella’s personal pictures, 2014

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–the way these technologies are applied: the combined energy/mobility approach
‘Zero km and zero emission energy production for zero emission electric trans-
portation strategy’ to be adopted and implemented in the Public Urban Plan (Pi-
ano Urbanistico Comunale) of the town of Pompeii.
2.2. Innovative urban ecotourism policies
A more sustainable tourism can be achieved by the implementation of existing EU
environmental policies for urban eco-tourism in highly inhabited areas. The ‘Zero km
and zero emission energy production for zero emission electric transportation strat-
egy’ derives from the above mentioned energetic and environmental considerations
and is to be adopted in a context where sustainable development needs specifi c and
targeted policies to be developed and adopted by the Pompeii Municipality.
The proposed demonstrative integrated transport and energy model for an urban
green management is based on the following points:
–‘Pompeii, The Clean Energy Town’;
–‘Zero Emission – Zero Km Energy’ (solar electric energy local production); and
–‘Zero Emission Transportation System’ (electric minibus city mobility plan).
2.3. Environmental benefi ts of an integrated clean energy/transportation strategy
The environmental benefi ts to be achieved with the future application in the Pom-
peii urban planning of the policies developed in the framework of this project imple-
mentation will a ain abatements of the above-mentioned values of pollutants and
noise (busses will be completely banned from the town traffi c through the activation
of external BIPV – Building Integrated Photo Voltaic – parking and electric shu les).
A similar touristic anthropic load is occurring in the Chinese touristic site of Xi’An,
and in this case the electrically based transportation solution has been adopted (Fig-
ure 3).
Ordinary energy consumption requirements for parking areas (no night lighting
is considered since tourism in this town is concentrated in the daylight hours), for air
conditioning and energy consumption of bus shu les have been evaluated in terms of
TPE (Tonne Petroleum Equivalent), while considering conventional energy sources,
and then compared to our foreseen PV energy production.
Considering that, in the proposed mobility plan the use of shu les from the park-
ing to the areas of interest (excavation and Sanctuary) is expected to run at least 25
round trips (4 km) a day for each minibus for a total of 32,000 km in a year (320 oper-
ating days) leading to a consumption of 2,500/3,750 liters of fuel. In terms of TPE, this
corresponds to a consumption of about 2.8/4.0, and an energy consumption require-
ment of 32/46 MWh.
An equivalent electric minibus can operate at 10 kWh for 100 km: over the same
distance of 32,000 km a year, the energy consumption requirement is of 4.5 MWh that
theoretically (considering the above mentioned PV power potential of 700 sqm PV
roofs of 100 MWh) permits the use of 20 electric minibuses (7,500-10,000 passengers).

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Figure 3: Electric transportation system in the terracotta warriors archeological side of Xi’An, China
Source: Author Apicella’s personal pictures, 2014
Figure 4: Map of the Pompeii downtown, ancient town excavation and Sanctuary
showing the areas of interest for the study
Source: Pompeii Municipality, 2011

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Figure 4 reports a map of the Pompeii Municipality indicating the more relevant
areas involved in the new mobility study:
–the potential parking areas locations (violet on the map) where the PV parking
shelter roofi ng could be implemented;
–electric bus trip (grey in the map) from parking lots to the areas of interest;
–pedestrian area (green) that is expected to be closed for private car traffi c in order
to ensure the project implementation, and the noise and pollution claimed levels
of maintenance;
–the historical ancient town (excavations, light red);
–the Sanctuary and related structures (orange);
–the highway exits (A in a light blue circle), the state railway station (Fs in a light
blue circle);
–the private ‘circumvesuviana’ railway station (Fv in a light blue circle);
–the foreseen electric shu les stops (red circle); and
–the public greenhouse (municipality) involved in the project (green circle) have
been marked on this fi rst map.
2.4. Cost/benefi t analysis and sustainable development
in high historical and cultural heritage cities
Photovoltaic systems per se are not a good choice of a ‘cost-benefi t’ analysis in
terms of tonne of eqCO
2
reduction. However, this is not the exclusive aim that this
study has been based on. Even if signifi cant results on tonne of eqCO
2
reduction can
be a ained by the initiative (it is expected to signifi cantly reduce the heavy tour-
ist buses traffi c in the area of excavations and Sanctuary), this study evaluates and
presents new strategies specifi cally addressed to contribute to the implementation,
updating and development of community environmental policy and legislation that
include the integration of the environment into other policies, thereby contributing
to sustainable development in areas of intense tourism. Moreover, sustainable devel-
opment in areas of high historical and cultural heritage values necessitates a specifi c
and targeted approach going well beyond ordinary indicators. The area of the study
has been inscribed by UNESCO as a world heritage with the following justifi cation:
‘(…) the impressive remains of the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and their as-
sociated villas, buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, provide a complete and
vivid picture of society and daily life at a specifi c moment in the past that is without
parallel anywhere in the world’ (European Commission, 2012).
Such world cultural heritage has to share the territory with a highly inhabited town,
and an area of intense tourism and fl ower farming. The proposed initiative is balanc-
ing environmental, cultural and socio-economic needs in order to achieve a set of new
policies to be adopted by the municipality in its Urban Plan in order to improve the
inhabitants’ quality of life and the quality of tourists’ services, while preserving this
unique historical treasure from degradation.

12
Our project adopted the strategies for sustainable development underlined in
the Presidency conclusion document of the Göteborg European Council (European
Council, 2001):
–Dealing with economic, social and environmental policies in a mutually reinforc-
ing way to promote sustainable development (point 19);
–Adding a third, environmental dimension to the Lisbon strategy, and establish-
ing a new approach to policy making (point 20); and
–Developing a broader use of new environmentally friendly technologies in sec-
tors such as energy and transportation (point 21).
The proposed study refers to the ‘Clean Air for Europe’ programme (Europe-
an Commission, 2001) and the European Community INSPIRE initiative (Directive
2007/2/EC) aimed at reducing pollution by 2020. The reduction of atmospheric pol-
lution, such as that caused by transportation and fuel based energy generation, also
implies a reduction of noise pollution.
2.5. Innovative sustainable technical solutions
The innovative character is based on these principal aspects:
–the technology to be adopted (thin PV fi lm on fl exible supports integrated in
parking shelters fl exible roofs);
–the foreseen mean PV plant of 700 sqm; and
–an innovative multifunctional design approach (fl exible tracking roof) (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Self sun-tracking roof system based of piezoeletric or shape memory alloys composit PV supports
Source: Authors’ own contribution

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A self sun-tracking system based on the use of composite laminates containing
properly oriented glass fi bers and piezoelectric fi bers in its diff erent laminae is pro-
posed. Such laminate, when electrically stimulated, could warp according to the in-
tensity and position of the stimulated lamina. This electrical stimulation can be auto-
matically driven by the position of the sun hi ing sensors in diff erent areas of the PV
roof. Figure 5 shows the functional principle of the proposed system.
An improved yearly power production of 100.0 MWh is foreseen with a 20-25%
increase of power production with respect to standard fi xed PV panels of the same
type.
2.6. Thin fi lm fl exible photovoltaic modules
Tensile Photovoltaic structures are lightweight, modular systems that provide
shade while producing solar power. A thin fi lm PV technology using Copper Indium
Gallium di-Selenide (GIGS) has been chosen as alternative to the traditional PV based
on crystalline silicon rigid modules (Solar Energy Industries Association, 2015). Fig-
ure 6 below details the effi ciency evolution of PV from 1975 to 2015.
Figure 6: Effi ciency evolution of PV from 1975 to 2015. Maximum development of the thin fi lm PV
is forecast by National Renewable Energy Laboratory for years 2015-2020
Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2015)
This choice has been driven by the fact that this is a promising technology that is
rapidly growing and that could supply interesting commercial products that can be
applied on fl exible support and used in new design solar tracking modules (of the
type presented here). Effi ciency for this type of cell could reach 20% in the next few

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years. However, the use of lower cost technologies of deposition is able to guarantee
10/15% effi ciency at lower plant costs. National Renewable Energy Laboratory fore-
casts a maximum development of these technologies for the years 2015-2020 (NREL
2015).
The use of such thin fi lms on fl exible polymeric substrates permits the application
of an innovative sun tracking system (based on biomimetic self sun-tracking system)
production of the plant. For such a system a conservative effi ciency of 10% has been
considered.
The use of a piezoelectric smart system allows warping and redirecting the com-
posite laminate substrate in the direction of the sun (Figure 7). This occurrence in-
creases the amount of sun-light that is captured by the PV fl exible module.
Figure 7: Self sun-tracking roof system based of piezoeletric or shape memory alloys composit PV supports
Source: Authors’ own contribution
A 100 square meters array of 140 modules has the following foreseen year power
production:
–traditional – 12 MWh; and
–bio-inspired sun tracking system – 15 MWh.
A 700 sqm plant has been considered in our study with a potential 100MWh pow-
er production.
The energy competitive advantages of the proposed coupled PV energy produc-
tion and electric transportation new approach arise from diff erent technical consider-
ations:
–the use of electric transportation that needs (over the year for each vehicle) 4.8
MWh vs. 32/46 MWh needed by traditional shu le buses (internal combustion
engines);

15
–the use in the electric transportation of locally generated electricity from PV
instead of electricity from traditional sources (which strongly depend on ther-
moelectric). In fact, considering real process effi ciency in conventional thermo-
electric power plants, the actual TPE consumption for traditional energy sources
should be at least doubled; and
–the use of electric transportation from peripheral parking lots and the central his-
torical area (centrum of the town) reduces the heavy noise and gas pollution by
tourist busses.
3. Results and discussion
New approaches to sustainable development and economy based on new materi-
als and technologies have been proposed by our research group (Apicella et al., 2015;
Annunziata et al., 2006; Aversa et al., 2016a, 2016b, 2016c, 2016d; Petrescu et al., 2016a,
2016b; Petrescu and Calautit, 2016).
Campania is a region of Italy with a strong tourist vocation: it is the territory that
a racts the majority of tourism in Southern Italy especially for the presence of touris-
tic highly a ractive poles: Capri, Ischia, Sorrento, Amalfi and Pompeii.
Tourism’s economic impact is signifi cant and still growing. Tourism can make an
important contribution to economic development; however it can generate a variety
of other impacts, both positive and negative. It can help keep traditions alive and fi -
nance the protection of the cultural and natural heritage, as well as increase visitors’
appreciation of that heritage.
Conversely, tourism can damage heritage when it is not managed well. Thus,
there is a tension between tourism and cultural and natural heritage preservation.
The proposed initiative is balancing environmental, cultural and socio-economic
needs in order to achieve a set of new policies to be adopted by municipalities in
their urban plans in order to improve the inhabitants’ quality of life and the quality
of tourists’ services, for preserving this unique historical treasure from degradation.
Similar initiatives could have positive impact also in other large cities in order to
improve the quality of transportation and energy effi ciency, especially in the down-
town areas where traffi c gas and noise pollution are important issues. The adoption
of such strategies can drastically reduce traffi c while improving the quality of air and
contribute to a sound environment.
However, such new strategies are not only addressed to achieve environmental
benefi ts, but they can also result in local economic benefi ts. In fact, high innovative
electric transportation could signifi cantly enhance certain economies, at least in Eu-
rope and the USA, especially when these economies hold high technology based in-
dustries, which will be benefi cial for research and development, and direct support
for companies’ expansion (i.e., factories fi nancing).
The use of innovative solutions (Figure 8), such as fl exible and self sun-tracking
systems driven by piezoelectric or shape memory alloy smart materials (Aversa et al.,
2016b), structural colors (Aversa et al., 2016c), developed in the framework of an evo-

16
lutionary design approach (Aversa et al., 2016a), could lead to more sustainable and
environmental friendly solutions.
Figure 8: Structural colors, electric minibus transportation and PV shelters
Source: Authors’ own contribution
If we consider archaeological cities, such as the town of Pompeii (the modern town
grown on the ancient Roman ruins as reported in Figure 1), there is a lot of pressure
in terms of time and space caused by a concentrated tourist infl ux, added to other
factors of anthropic origin but of a diff erent nature such as the rapid urban growth of
the town and the presence of the Catholic Sanctuary of the Madonna (Blessed Virgin
Mary) that a ract an even greater and continuous fl ux of pilgrims.
4. Conclusions
A combination of energy and mobility strategies based on ‘Zero km and zero
emission energy production for zero emission electric transportation strategy’ could
be introduced in the Public Urban Plan (Piano Urbanistico Comunale) of the town of
Pompeii.
The environmental benefi ts to be achieved with the future application in the Pom-
peii urban planning of the policies developed in the framework of this proposed ap-
proach could a ain high enhancements of pollutants and noise abatements (busses

17
will be completely banned from the town traffi c through activation of external BIPV
– Building Integrated Photo Voltaic – parking and electric shu les).
The environmental benefi ts that are strictly related to the project implementation
are limited (but, anyway, signifi cant) to the partial closure of the centrum to busses
that will reduce 1/6 of the gaseous emissions: namely, 20 tonnes of CO2, 0.2 tonnes
of CO, 80 kg of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), and 80 kg of VOCs. Due to the closure of the
contemporary Pompei Centrum (which corresponds to the Sanctuary and main exca-
vation entrance) to heavy and private vehicles traffi c, it is expected to lower the noise
pollution.
This study proposes an innovative integrated transportation/photovoltaic energy
system that will enable the Pompeii Municipality to develop a set of urban ecotour-
ism policies and instruments for the preparation and adoption of an environmentally
sustainable mobility strategy to be applied in their future municipality urban plan.
New developments in electric transportation are a racting great public interest
and they are fi elds with great dynamism driving continuous changes in national poli-
cies. Germany, China, and South Korea are leaders in innovation followed by France,
United Kingdom, United States, and Austria, while policies stimulating innovation,
such as research and development and industrial pilot projects, are not yet suffi -
ciently adopted in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Italy, and
Spain (Weeda et al., 2012, pp. 14-16).
The innovative technological character of the proposed study resides in two prin-
cipal aspects: the technologies applied, namely, the use of thin fi lm photovoltaic
panels (copper-indium-gallium-(di)selenide cells) on a fl exible support, and the way
these technologies are applied.
According to the technology to be adopted (thin PV fi lm on fl exible supports in-
tegrated in the parking shelters roofs), to the foreseen PV plant of 700 sqm parking
lots, and to an innovative multifunctional design approach (bio-mimicking sun track
roof), an improved yearly power production of 100.0 MWh is foreseen with a 20-25%
increase of power production with respect to standard fi xed PV panels of the same
type.
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and Guida, L., ‘In Vitro Biological Response to a Light-cured Composite When Used
for Cementation of Composite Inlays’, 2006, Dental Materials, vol. 22, no. 12, pp. 1081-
1085.
2. Apicella, D., Aversa, R., Tatullo, M., Simeone, M., Syed, J., Marrelli, M., Marco, F. and
Apicella. A., ‘Direct Restoration Modalities of Fractured Central Maxillary Incisors: A
Multi-levels Validated Finite Elements Analysis with in Vivo Strain Measurements’,
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18
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21
Abstract
An increasing population as a result of ur-
banization brings with it the need for an urban
regeneration process. This process is partic-
ularly crucial to ensure that elderly people with
limited mobility are able to meet their own needs
as well as participate in the social dynamics of
the city. Depending on their mobility, the acces-
sibility capability of elderly people is one of the
key dynamics of the urban planning process, and
accessibility is particularly important for elderly
people with regard to covering their needs.
The aim of this study was to examine the
capability of elderly people, whose needs are
typically neglected in the urban planning pro-
cess, in accessing spatial services in Niğde, a
city located in the Central Anatolian region of
Turkey. The literature was reviewed to identify
areas frequented by elderly users, as well as the
level of accessibility of such areas. A survey was
then conducted to determine the level of impor-
tance attached by the elderly to the accessibility
of these spatial services. Based on the fi ndings
of the survey, a spatial analysis was conducted
for the city using the Geographical Information
System (GIS), and accessibility impact areas
were identifi ed. The inadequacies of urban areas
in Niğde were identifi ed, and various recommen-
dations were proposed in order to resolve them.
Keywords: accessibility, age-friendly cities,
geographical information system (GIS), spatial
services, quality of life.
ACCESSIBILITY ANALYSIS FOR
THE ELDERLY IN AN URBAN AREA
FROM TURKEY
Aslı BOZDAĞ
Münevver Gizem GÜMÜŞ
Kutalmış GÜMÜŞ
Savaş DURDURAN
Aslı BOZDAĞ (Corresponding author)
Research Assistant, PhD
Department of Geomatic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Niğde Omer Halisdemir University, Nigde, Turkey
Tel.: 0090-388-225.4023
E-mail: aslibozdag@ohu.edu.tr
Münevver Gizem GÜMÜŞ
Research Assistant
Department of Geomatic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Niğde Omer Halisdemir University, Nigde, Turkey
E-mail: gizemkisaaga@ohu.edu.tr
Kutalmış GÜMÜŞ
Assistant professor
Department of Geomatic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Niğde Omer Halisdemir University, Nigde, Turkey
E-mail: kgumus@ohu.edu.tr
Savaş DURDURAN
Professor
Department of Geomatic Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture,
Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey
E-mail: ssdurduran@konya.edu.tr
DOI:10.24193/tras.SI2017.2
Published First Online: 2017/12/21
Transylvanian Review
of Administrative Sciences,
Special Issue 2017, pp. 21-37

22
1. Introduction
Eff orts to improve quality of life for the rapidly increasing elderly population have
led to the emergence of the concepts of active aging (World Health Organization,
2002; Tutal and Üstün, 2009), the aim of which is to ensure the participation of the el-
derly in urban life, and an age-friendly city (Kalache, 2009; Plouff e and Kalache, 2010;
Aslan, 2015; World Health Organization, 2007) that seeks to create environments con-
ducive to active aging.
The World Health Organization defi nes the elderly population as people aged 65
and over (World Health Organization, 2007). In Turkey, this group made up 8% of
the total population in 2014, increasing to 8.2% in 2015 (TUIK, 2016a). Together with
the regeneration of urban centers, this increase necessitates the design of a spatial
environment that bears in mind the needs of the elderly population. This is crucial for
ensuring that elderly individuals can adapt to the process of urbanization, take part
in social life and manage to meet their needs, while avoiding various physical, socio-
economic or psychological problems (Köse and Erkan, 2014).
Although the topic has been discussed by many authors, the World Health Orga-
nization was the fi rst to draw a ention to the situation the elderly population occu-
pies in the process of active aging in both currently populated and newly planned
cities (Tutal and Üstün, 2009). Studies in the literature on the planning of urban areas
for the elderly have focused on designing cities that support active aging (Beard and
Petitot, 2010), while ensuring the active participation of the elderly in the planning
process (Consiglio Federale, 2007), and establishing criteria for urban designs that
take the needs of the elderly into account (Köse and Erkan, 2014). These studies pro-
posed planning and urban design principles for age friendly cities and communities
(Martinoni and Sartoris, 2009; Steels, 2015). These studies explained that the main
problems faced by the elderly population are largely related to participation in social
life and the ability to meet their own needs, and that these problems are principally
due to their reduced mobility. In this context, they proposed criteria for urban plan-
ning that take accessibility to spatial services into account. The most important deter-
minant in the use of spatial services by elderly people is their accessibility (Alun and
Cloutier, 1991). Accessibility is also considered one of the main principles regarding
quality of life (Morar et al., 2014). Accessibility is one of the provisions proposed for
the creation of age-friendly cities (Durdubaş, 2015).
Accessibility is crucial for supporting the active aging of the elderly and their par-
ticipation in daily life, to create livable cities, and to prevent inequality in terms of
spatial access (Elmacı and Ergin, 2015; Tutal, 2015). In this context, spatial analyses
have been conducted using GIS with the intention of measuring the accessibility of
urban services for the elderly. There are studies in the literature using GIS to examine
the accessibility of resting and care services for the elderly (Cheng et al., 2012), the de-
cisions taken in residential areas to improve the accessibility of basic services (Some-
nahalli and Shipton, 2013), and the eff ect of changes in public services on accessibility
for the elderly in rural and urban areas (Higgs and Langford, 2013). Unlike previous

23
studies in the literature, the present study uses GIS to examine the accessibility im-
pact areas of spatial services preferred by elderly people in Niğde.
The aim of this study is to examine the capability of elderly people in accessing
spatial services; an aspect usually neglected in the urban planning process in Niğde,
Turkey. A review of the literature was fi rst conducted to determine the spatial ser-
vices frequently used by elderly people and their accessibility distances. A survey
was then carried out in Niğde to examine the preferences of elderly people regarding
the accessibility impact areas of these spatial services. As a fi nal step, recommenda-
tions were proposed for spatial services in urban sites where, according to fi ndings
on accessibility impact areas, such facilities are required. This study is important in
that it can help Niğde to have age-friendly city planning by creating spatial strategies
for the elderly that will, in line with their demands, meet their needs in the city and
allow them to actively participate in social life.
2. Materials and methods
The cooperation of the elderly as social actors is necessary to support active aging
and protect social structure in urban planning (Popescu, 2007). The integration of the
elderly in urban planning process is possible by means of developing urban planning
strategies for an active aging process. The scope of these strategies can be generalized
as follows:
–Collaborative work among local authorities, police, community organizations
and elderly should be ensured (Steels, 2015).
–Employment of the elderly in suitable jobs, their encouragement to engage in so-
cial activities like educational and voluntary works should be ensured (Scharlach
and Lehning, 2013).
–Qualitative and quantitative development of urban equipment areas (health, ed-
ucation, social, cultural, commercial) in line with universal design principles and
standards should be ensured (Feyzioğlu and Sayan, 2015).
–Organization of transportation systems (walkways, road intersections, etc.) in an
unobstructed way should be ensured.
These strategies are important to prevent social isolation of the elderly, enhance
their participation in family and social life, and ensure their feeling of confi dence,
well-connectedness and self-awareness as a community.
Cities, where active aging processes are not taken into consideration in urban
planning processes, will deviate from universal standards (Durdubaş, 2015). Further-
more, urban planning that takes active aging into account is very important for aging
in place. Aging in place is the ability of a person to keep living in their home or com-
munity regardless of potential changes in his/her functions and health in the com-
ing years (Lehning and Harmon, 2013). When aging in place is not ensured, service
supply and nursing criteria need to be established, causing early institutionalization
of the individual (Chapin and Dobbs-Kepper, 2001). Therefore, the creation of a sup-

24
portive and active environment by local administrations during the urban planning
process is important for the elderly, so that they can cope with the diffi culties of aging
in an urban environment.
This study investigates the level of accessibility to spatial services by the elderly
during the urban planning process, which are aimed at supporting active aging. This
study analyzes urban areas frequently used by the elderly in Niğde in terms of acces-
sibility, suffi ciency and usability, and also spatial recommendations. Figure 1 shows
the stages of the method used in the study.
Examination of the study area and the group, and survey application
- Determination of the preferred accessibility impact areas for spatial
services with survey application; and
- Determination of adequacy of spatial services
Accessibility analysis of spatial services in the study area
- Evaluation of the preferred accessibility impact areas of spatial services
with buffer analysis; and
- Developments of suggestions to prevent the inadequacy of spatial
services
Examination of the literature
− Determination of spatial services frequently used by the elderly; and
− Determination of accessibility of distances for these services
Figure 1: The methodology of the study
The study area was the city center of Niğde. Niğde is located in Cappadocia, in the
southern part of the Central Anatolia region of Turkey (Figure 2). It is located at the
intersection of the provinces of Aksaray, Kayseri, Konya and Adana.
The city center has a population of 132,155 citizens of which 7,390 are elderly peo-
ple residing in the same area (TUIK, 2016b). In 2015, the elderly made up 8.2% of
the total population of Turkey. In Niğde, the share of the elderly population is 9.3%,
which is higher than the national average (TUIK, 2016a). Niğde was selected for this
study because:
–the proportion of the elderly population in the city is higher than the national
average;
–the city is homogenous in terms of its cultural characteristics and social structure;
–a regeneration process for the city is underway; and
–there is a current need for a city plan that would enable Niğde to be er compete
with neighboring provinces in terms of socio-economic development.
The study consisted of two stages. In the fi rst stage, the literature on elderly peo-
ple’s relations with the urban areas was reviewed, and areas frequently used by the

25
Figure 2: The location of Niğde
Source: Authors’ contribution
elderly (health service, mosque, green areas, cafe and resting area, bakery, supermar-
ket, bazaar, square, payment points, cash dispensers, public transport points, public
toilet) were identifi ed (Morris and Wigan, 1979; Tutal and Üstün, 2009; Somenahalli
and Shipton, 2013; Köse and Erkan, 2014; Steels, 2015). In the second stage, a survey
was conducted in order to identify the preferred distances and the accessibility of
these areas. The aim of the survey is to ensure active participation of the elderly in
the planning process, and to examine how their preferences would aff ect accessibility
distance impact areas (Erol, 2015). Survey fi ndings were analyzed in GIS, and spatial
services were visualized on the maps in terms of their accessibility and usability.
The literature identifi es 400 meters as a maximum distance threshold when defi n-
ing pedestrian accessibility to bus stops (Bakan and Konuk, 1987; Untermann 1984;
Hess, 2012; Southworth and Ben-Joseph 2003; Biba et al., 2010). In addition, some au-
thors identify 800 meters as the maximum distance threshold to access public trans-
port facilities, such as subway and train stations and bus terminals (Condeço-Mel-
horado et al., 2014; Kuby et al., 2004; Zhao et al., 2003). Given the limited mobility
and health problems of elderly individuals, this study defi nes pedestrian accessibility
distance as 0-400 meters, the distance to access public transport as 400-800 meters,
and the distance that could be covered with a companion as 800-1,200 meters. For
hospitals, which are one of the locations frequently used by the elderly, the accessibil-
ity impact area was defi ned as 0-1,500 meters, given the population of the city and the
number of physicians per capita. In addition, pedestrian access distance was defi ned
as 0-400 meters for neighborhood mosques, and 0-250 meters for smaller mosques
based on the Regulation of Spatial Plans Construction, which is consistent with the
Law on zoning no. 3194 from May 3, 1985 (Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi, 2016).

26
The survey was conducted with participants aged 65 and over. The survey ques-
tionnaire included questions on the demographic characteristics of the participants,
their level of satisfaction with the city-planning activities of the municipality, and the
usability of and preferred accessibility distances to frequently used areas. For easy
understanding by the elderly, a 3-point Likert scale (important, neutral, and not im-
portant) was used to evaluate the question regarding the preferred accessibility dis-
tances to frequently used areas.
The sampling number was determined as 366 participants based on a 95% confi -
dence level according to a standard table on acceptable sample sizes. These partici-
pants were selected as easily accessible participants for the survey area. The number
of participants in the sample is suffi cient to determine elderly population’s character-
istics in Niğde city center as statistical.
Locations commonly frequented by the study participants were selected as the
places for administering the survey. The private urban areas (the Teachers’ Park, the
garden of the Teacherage, coff ee houses, etc.) and the public urban areas (Şadırvan
Park, the Mosque, the castle and its vicinity) where the elderly spend most the time
were determined (Figure 3).
Figure 3: The area of survey application
Using current maps obtained from Niğde municipality, areas frequently used by
the elderly people were digitized. Buff er analysis was performed in the GIS based

27
on the impact area distances obtained from survey results. Buff er analysis is a spa-
tial analysis based on the examination of accessibility to spatial details around from
geographical details (Karaş and Yeşil, 2011). Buff er analysis includes built zones with
a certain linear distance to generate serviceable areas around facilities (Gupta et al.,
2016). In this study, the zones were drawn around the spatial services, depending
on the impact area distances obtained from the survey results. The impact area and
accessibility of spatial services were determined depending on these zones. The re-
sults of the analysis were used to make spatial recommendations for dealing withthe
shortcomings regarding the use of urban areas.
3. Spatial examination of the study area and participants,
and application of the survey
Niğde, which comprises the study area, is surrounded by cities that are more de-
veloped, while receiving less investment compared with other provinces in the re-
gion. As a result, the city experiences a slower rate of social, demographic, environ-
mental and economic change. During its gradual process of change, Niğde’s urban
pa ern fi rst started to develop around the historic city center; however, with new
land usage, nowadays urban sprawl takes place in diff erent directions (Figure 4). The
focus of development has especially shifted due to the establishment of the Niğde
Ömer Halisdemir University to the southwest of the city. In addition, the hospital has
been moved from the city center to the west of the city, while the bus terminal has
Figure 4: Land use plan of the city

28
been moved to the Adana-Kayseri highway, relieving congestion in the city center.
Moreover, both the bus terminal and the hospital act as potential centers of a raction
for residential development. The spread of the city as a result of these developments
requires a revision in the city plans to meet the needs of city dwellers (elderly, wom-
en and children) with specifi c needs.
The aim of the present study is to identify elderly people’s problems and prefer-
ences with regard to the accessibility and usability of frequently used urban areas in
Niğde – which has a higher proportion of elderly people compared to the national
average – at a time when the city plans are being revised. A survey was conducted to
determine these problems and preferences.
The survey fi ndings showed that 70% of participants were male. Half of the partic-
ipants were primary school graduates. None of the participants had completed grad-
uate education (Figure 5). A majority of the participants (65%) was born in Niğde, and
have lived in the city for their
entire lives; conversely, the rest
of the participants moved to the
city for business or family rea-
sons.
Figure 5: Participants’ educational status
Most participants (61%) expressed sat-
isfaction with the city planning activities of
the municipality (Figure 6). In contrast, 39%
of the participants said that they were dis-
satisfi ed with the city planning activities of
the municipality because the cleaning of the
streets was insuffi cient, the design of streets
and avenues was not elderly-friendly, certain
public services were available only in the city center, the city squares were not large
enough, the static strength of buildings was insuffi cient, there was unplanned de-
velopment, and that there was a
lack of green areas (Figure 7).
Figure 7: Level of dissatisfaction related
to municipality’s urbanization activities
6%
20%
22%
5%
5%
25%
17% Environmental cleaning
Urban street design
Location of public services
Design of urban squares
Building statics
Unplanned construction
Insufficient green areas
39%
61% Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Figure 6: Level of satisfaction related
to municipality’s urbanization activities
11% 11%
50%
11%
6%
11%
0% Illiterate
Literate
Primary
Middle School
High School
University degree
Postgraduate

29
Accessibility distances (0-400 m, 400-800 m, 800-1,200m) to areas frequently used
by the elderly, which were identifi ed through the survey and the literature, were ex-
amined with regard to the level of importance a ached to them by elderly people (Ta-
ble 1). The preferred level of accessibility was evaluated using a 3-point Likert scale
(important, neutral, and not important). Based on recommendations in the literature,
the impact area was defi ned as 0-400 meters for pedestrian accessibility to urban ar-
eas described as ‘important’ by elderly people. For urban areas described as ‘neutral’,
the impact area was defi ned and accepted as 0-800 meters from public transport. For
urban areas described as ‘not important’, the impact area was defi ned and accepted
as 0-1,200 meters within the boundaries of Niğde city center.
Table 1: Determination of importance level for accessibility distances
from impact area to spatial services frequently used by the elderly
Spatial areas frequently
used by the elderly
Accessibility distances to spatial services according to the literature
(an example of survey)
Pedestrian
accessibility distance
(0-400m)
The distance to public
transportation points
(400-800m)
The distance to spatial
services with a companion
(800-1200m)
Important Neutral Not Important
Health services √
Mosques √
Green areas √√
Cafe and resting areas √
Bakeries √
Supermarkets √
Bazaar √
Squares √
Payment points √
Cash dispenser √
Public transport √
It is observed that preferred accessibility distances to frequently used areas are
intensifi ed and varied for certain types of land uses (Figure 8). The preferred acces-
sibility distances to health services, places of worship, green areas, bakeries, super-
markets, city squares and public toilets varied between 0 and 400 meters, whereas
the preferred distances to cafés and resting areas, cash dispenser and public transport
points varied between 400-800 meters.

30
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0-400m
400-800m
800-1200m
Figure 8: The preferred accessibility distances for spatial services frequently used by the elderly
Responses to the questions on the usability of frequently used areas indicate that
there was insuffi cient use of green areas (Figure 9), although the level of usability of
other areas was generally adequate.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Green area Health
services
Public
services
Sidewalk Pedestrian
crossing
Public
transport
points
Sufficient
Insufficient
Figure 9: Suffi ciency of spatial services frequently used by elderly
With regards to urban furniture in frequently used areas, the shortcomings were
identifi ed with regards to seating and furnishings at bus stops, the seating, landscap-
ing, design and lighting of green areas, the lack of concern for people with disabilities
when designing sidewalks, with the sidewalks being too high or occupied by vehi-
cles, and the time allocated for pedestrian crossings being too short (Figure 10).

31
Figure 10: Inadequacy of some spatial services
4. Analysis of accessibility to spatial services in the study area
Survey results on elderly people’s preferred accessibility distances to frequently
used areas are presented using percentages (Figure 8). For example, 65% of elder-
ly people preferred a maximum accessibility distance of 400 meters, while 20% pre-
ferred 800 meters, and 15% preferred 1,200 meters. Preferred accessibility distances
for each frequently used area was ranked as 1st, 2nd and 3rd most common prefer-
ences, and a buff er analysis was conducted (Figures 11 and 12).
Figures 11 and Figure 12 indicate that preference rankings based on percentages
vary for some frequently used areas. For example, the preferred accessibility distance
to health services, places of worship, green areas, bakeries, bazaar, city squares and
public toilets are within the proximity of maximum 400 meters. On the other hand,
the preferred accessibility distance to cafés and resting areas, supermarkets, bill pay-
ment points, cash dispensers and public transport point facilities are within the prox-
imity of the maximum of 800 meters. For bill payment points, equal numbers of par-
ticipants selected 400 meters and 800 meters as their 1st preference for accessibility
distance. For this reason, the larger one of these fi gures, 800 meters, was accepted as
the maximum accessibility distance.
Using the results of the buff er analysis, and taking land use analysis and 1st pref-
erences for accessibility distances into account, shortcomings were identifi ed for
some spatial services (Figures 11 and 12).

32
Figure 11: Accessibility analysis for elderly people in Niğde city
In the new development area to the southwest of the city, near the university cam-
pus, services were identifi ed as being inadequate with regards to the availability/
accessibility of mosques and green areas (Figure 11), and also of marketplaces and
public toilets (Figure 12).
In the new development areas to the north of the city, services were found to be
inadequate with regard to the availability/accessibility of health services, the place of

33
worship, cafés and resting areas, bakeries and supermarkets (Figure 11), and also of
bill payment points and cash dispenser points (Figure 12).
Overall, the preferred accessibility distances of elderly people showed that there
are certain inadequacies in urban spatial services with regards to health care centers,
bazaar, city squares, and payment and cash dispenser points.
Figure 12: Accessibility analysis for elderly people in Niğde city

34
5. Conclusion
A planning approach that emphasizes equality and fairness for all social segments
in a city is required for sustainable development and society. Taking health, safety,
participation and accessibility issues into account in the planning process is particu-
larly important for creating age-friendly cities for the active aging of elderly people.
This study used GIS to analyze the preferences of elderly people in Niğde regard-
ing accessibility distances to frequently used urban areas. Accessibility impact area
distances were defi ned with the participation of elderly people, and the shortcomings
of urban areas were identifi ed on this basis. In addition, shortcomings with regards to
usability were also identifi ed.
Improving accessibility and removing the relevant shortcomings would help im-
prove participation in social life, not only for the elderly but also for women, children
and people with disabilities. Accessibility is also related to the usability and user sat-
isfaction with these areas. Within this framework, the following recommendations
can be made for the city of Niğde:
–Urban services found lacking in terms of accessibility should be increased in the
areas where they are required. In addition, navigation devices should be made
available in the frequently used areas of cities for the use of elderly people.
–Measures should be taken to remove the shortcomings identifi ed in seating ele-
ments, furnishings, landscape design, lighting, designs for the disabled, and the
urban crossings and connections.
–Steps should be taken for stakeholders to assume responsibility and actively par-
ticipate in the city planning activities. In this way, it might be possible to replace
feelings of loneliness and social isolation with a sense of satisfaction with life.
–Pedestrian-oriented projects should be developed to integrate public areas,
squares, and recreational and entertainment areas with green areas.
–GIS applications and analysis methods should be used to improve decision-mak-
ing capacity regarding the regeneration process in the city.
Considering that everyone will eventually become a member of this demographic
group, it is imperative to make the life of the elderly more livable and satisfying. In
this context, local administrations, civil society organizations and academics should
focus on developing social and physical policies in line with the World Health Orga-
nization’s ‘Global Age-Friendly Cities: A Guide’ (World Health Organization, 2007).
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38
Abstract
Considering that there are few success
chances for isolated businesses, public-private
partnerships represent the basis of tourism busi-
nesses’ sustainable development, aiming to at-
tract increasing numbers of visitors in tourism
destinations. Within this context, the main aim
of the present paper is to identify tourism stake-
holders’ intentions to participate in public-private
partnerships for a sustainable tourism devel-
opment of urban destinations. Focused on the
increased importance of partnerships between
tourism stakeholders, with the common goal of
sustainable tourism development, a survey was
conducted among the tourism service providers
from the Romanian urban destination, Braşov.
The research results outline the defi cien-
cies in the analyzed destination, which lead to
a low notoriety of the destination’s management
and marketing organization among local tourism
stakeholders. In addition, the results show a low
level of involvement of tourism operators in sup-
porting the collaboration efforts of this organiza-
tion. Based on the research results, a theoretical
model was proposed for the identifi cation of the
signifi cant factors which infl uence local stake-
holders’ intentions to participate in public-private
partnerships for a sustainable tourism develop-
ment.
Keywords: public-private partnerships, sus-
tainable tourism development, tourism services
providers, stakeholders, Destination Manage-
ment Organization.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
FOR A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN
DESTINATIONS.
THE CASE OF BRAŞOV, ROMANIA
*
Adina CANDREA
Cristinel CONSTANTIN
Ana ISPAS
Adina CANDREA (Corresponding author)
Associated Professor, PhD
Department of Marketing, Tourism and International Relations,
Faculty of Economics Science and Business Administration,
Transilvania University of Brașov, Brașov, Romania
Tel.: 0040-744-587.182
E-mail: adina.candrea@unitbv.ro
Cristinel CONSTANTIN
Professor, PhD
Department of Marketing, Tourism and International Relations,
Faculty of Economics Science and Business Administration,
Transilvania University of Brașov, Brașov, Romania
E-mail: cristinel.constantin@unitbv.ro
Ana ISPAS
Professor, PhD
Department of Marketing, Tourism and International Relations,
Faculty of Economics Science and Business Administration,
Transilvania University of Brașov, Brașov, Romania
E-mail: ispasana@unitbv.ro
DOI:10.24193/tras.SI2017.3
Published First Online: 2017/12/21
Transylvanian Review
of Administrative Sciences,
Special Issue 2017, pp. 38-56
* Acknowledgement: This work was supported by Transilva-
nia University of Brașov (UNITBV) within the framework of the
research scholarship UNITBV provided to one of the authors.

39
1. Introduction
Sustainability is represented in the ‘green argument’ as the vital assumption of
the model of sustainable development, and therefore tends to be a requirement rath-
er than an optional or diff erentiating ma er for businesses (Gustavo, 2013, p. 14).
Tourism requires high quality natural resources but tourism itself places stresses on
those very resources that the industry requires if it is to continue (Williams and Pons-
ford, 2009). Furthermore, a viable model for sustainable tourism must build strong
adaptive capabilities and encourage consistent participation of all stakeholders (Tao
and Wall, 2009). Thus, in order to advance sustainability in the tourism industry, ap-
proaches are needed to promote stakeholder collaboration and learning on an organi-
zational as well as destination or regional level (Schiane et al., 2007).
The tourism sector includes a wide range of organizations and individuals with
diff erent levels of infl uence who are involved in a complex array of relationships
(Pike and Page, 2014). Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) have evolved
so that their role has changed from that of a public administration model to one based
on partnerships involving local authorities and the private sector (Hall, 2000). Con-
sultation, involvement and participation are also needed, especially when strategic
decisions are being made about tourism (Morrison, 2013). Several studies have fo-
cused on the examination of the relationships among actors and stakeholders within
destinations and the means by which they can collectively be er manage the destina-
tion (Dredge, 2006; Fyall and Garrod, 2005; Sheehan and Ritchie, 2005).
The maturing nature of many destinations and the changing and growing com-
plexity of forces in the external and internal environments for destinations have
served as a catalyst for the emergence of research into the management of destina-
tions per se and the closer examination of destination management structures and re-
lationships both within and external to destinations, and the myriad of actors and
stakeholders that collectively constitute the destination (Fyall, 2011, p. 342).
Considering aforementioned issues, the main purpose of the present paper is to
identify tourism businesses’ intentions to participate in public-private partnerships
for a sustainable tourism development of a Romanian urban tourism destination,
namely Braşov. However, sustainable marketing initiatives cannot be implemented
without the cooperation of all tourism stakeholders. The public-private partnerships
for a sustainable tourism development must be coordinated by the local management
organization in Braşov. In the case of the studied destination, this role is taken by the
Association for the Tourism Promotion and Development in Braşov County (APDT).
Aiming to identify tourism businesses’ intentions to participate in public-private
partnerships for a sustainable tourism development in Brașov, Romania, the present
paper starts with a review of the specifi c tourism literature, outlining the necessity of
tourism partnerships in the sustainable development process and the role of Destina-
tion Management Organizations as mediators between local authorities and private
operators in the management and marketing of tourism destinations. Further on, a
theoretical model meant to identify the factors that infl uence the intentions of tourism

40
operators to participate in public-private partnerships for a sustainable tourism de-
velopment was proposed. In order to validate this model a survey has been conduct-
ed among the main tourist service providers from Braşov. Using the discriminant
analysis and the binary logistic regression we obtained an empirical model, which re-
veals that the main infl uence factors are: satisfaction level regarding the marketing of
the destination, satisfaction level regarding the tourism spatial planning of the desti-
nation, DMO’s actions notoriety, and the fi eld of the businesses’ activity. The paper is
fi nalized with a series of conclusions which include practical implications for tourism
stakeholders (including local public administration) as well as the main limitations of
the conducted study.
2. Literature review
Tourism destinations, even with initially high tourism a ractiveness and good
marketing structures and accessibility, can be unsustainable if management is not
built on system understanding and collaboration of stakeholders (Schiane et al.,
2007, p. 1493). Despite recent focus on partnerships, clusters and innovation systems
in highlighting the importance of collaboration and stakeholder involvement in ur-
ban destination policy and management, it is argued that the relations to sustain-
ability, governance, and quality are fundamental to building competitive destinations
(Paskaleva-Shapira, 2007, p. 108).
2.1. The role of tourism partnerships in the sustainable development process
The importance of stakeholders in the implementation of sustainability in tourism
has received a growing interest in the academic literature (Frisk and Larson, 2011;
Gibson, 2012; Hatipoglu et al., 2016; Hawkins and Wang, 2012; Hultman and Sawe,
2016; Law et al., 2016; McLennan et al., 2016; Soteriou and Coccossis, 2010). At the ear-
ly stages of studies on sustainable tourism, the emphasis was on the a itudes of lo-
cal residents (Burns and Sancho, 2003). Recently, tourism scholars (Imran et al., 2014;
Waligo et al., 2013) have backed an integrated plan to construct the network and part-
nership that entail all tourism stakeholders in the development of sustainable tourism
(Chen, 2015).
The present study adopts McIntyre’s (1993) defi nition of sustainable tourism as
the type of tourism that increases the quality of life of the local people, improves the
quality of the tourist’s experience, and preserves the environment on which both vis-
itors and the community depend. A critical aspect of sustainable tourism includes the
sharing of information, which fosters learning among stakeholders, and the involve-
ment of all interested parties in the decision-making process (Ladkin and Martínez
Bertramini, 2002; Wray, 2011). The World Tourism Organization identifi es ‘informed
participation of all relevant stakeholders’ as one of the key factors of sustainability
(Byrd et al., 2008, p. 193). The participation of the local community in the tourism plan-
ning process at the destination is essential, since any tourism development should be
aimed at improving the socio-cultural and economic conditions in the community

41
(Hatipoglu et al., 2016). Cooperation in tourism destinations also requires partner-
ships to be developed between public and private sector stakeholders (Wray et al.,
2010). Nechita (2015) found that in complex projects with impact on tourism develop-
ment of cities, shared participation of local institutions, private economic agents, and
NGOs are needed in order to create an essential and critical mass. Because destina-
tions are made up of a range of diff erent tourism a ractions, services, and facilities,
it is not surprising that managing sustainable destinations presents many challenges,
and requires numerous activities to be coordinated.
2.2. Destination Management Organizations and their role
as managers and marketers of tourism destinations
The hospitality and travel industry is a complex mixture of interrelated companies,
government agencies, and non-profi t organizations. Inter-organizational relations
(e.g. co-ordination, collaboration, co-operation, partnerships) have been promoted
and researched over the last two decades, in order to overcome problems caused by
the diff use and fragmented nature of tourism (Bramwell and Lane, 2000; Jamal and
Ge , 1995). These relations must be coordinated by an organization which is a repre-
sentative of the local public administration, mentioned in the tourism literature as the
Destination Management Organization (DMO).
DMOs are responsible for developing a unique image of the area, coordinating
most private and public tourism industry constituencies, providing information to
visitors, and leading the overall tourism industry at a destination (Prideaux and Coo-
per, 2003). Today, DMOs exist less to manage and more to coordinate, not simply to
communicate with the consumer but to support the wider destination system – estab-
lishing, nurturing, and servicing partnerships between a range of stakeholders (Fyall
and Garrod, 2005; Pike, 2004; Wang and Fesenmaier, 2007). One of the recent chang-
es that DMOs undergo in their management practices is the increased collaboration
with partners to be er cater to destination visitors (Zach and Fesenmaier, 2008).
DMOs clearly are the leaders when it comes to collaboration, suggesting that DMOs
are at the center of destination development, requiring DMOs to actively search for
partners and integrate them into the DMO partner network (Zach and Fesenmaier,
2016). A number of studies have focused on DMOs and their roles in destination-lev-
el collaborations (Fyall et al., 2012; Merinero-Rodríguez and Pulido-Fernández, 2016;
Morgan et al., 2012; Pike and Page, 2014; Wang, 2008). Fyall, Garrod and Wang (2012)
identifi ed three dimensions of destination collaboration: organic collaboration, medi-
ated intra-destination collaboration and mediated intra- and inter-destination collab-
oration. The present study focuses on mediated intra-destination collaboration.
Within the framework of Romanian tourism, DMOs have recently started to gain
importance both in the academic and practical context. New and improved tourism
legislation is currently under debate and should be fi nalized by the end of 2017. It
clearly defi nes concepts such as tourism destinations, destination management or-
ganizations, and sustainable tourism, and mentions the responsibilities of local ad-

42
ministrations in the fi eld of tourism development. In addition, Romanian tourism
academics have studied the role of DMOs and public-private partnerships within the
context of national tourism. Băltescu (2011) considered that one of the possible solu-
tions for developing the Romanian tourism resides in the establishment of certain
associations (DMOs) to ensure both the collaboration and concentration of marketing
policies. Moreover, Țigu (2012) suggested that Romania needs to encourage and sup-
port more the initiatives of the local authorities, the public-private partnerships, and
the co-operation between the National Tourism Authority and professional associa-
tions. Mazilu (2012) highlighted the lack of public-private partnerships to support the
sustainable development of national tourism, and Cândea et al. (2009) outlined the
role of DMOs in fostering destination sustainability.
3. Materials and methods
Considering the increased importance of partnerships between tourism business-
es and other tourism stakeholders, with the common goal of sustainable tourism de-
velopment, a survey was conducted among Braşov tourism service providers. The
city of Braşov is located in the center of Romania, at the foot of the Carpathian Moun-
tains, and it off ers various natural and cultural tourism development opportunities.
Braşov off ers a complete mix of visitor services including several excellent hotels,
good restaurants, inbound and outbound tour operators, as well as a variety of stores
and retail outlets.
The DMO which is in charge with the management and marketing of Brașov is
the Association for the Promotion and Development of Tourism in Brașov County
(APDT). APDT is a non-governmental organization and was created in 2006 by the
Brașov County Council, as the main founder, in a project aiming local development
based on a public-private partnership and the integrated promotion of all represen-
tative tourism a ractions in Brașov County. Thus, APDT represents a public-private
partnership between tourism stakeholders from Brașov County (professional associ-
ations, public authorities from tourism destinations, other tourism NGOs). In spite of
its associative function, APDT is almost entirely fi nanced by Brașov County Council.
However, due to its public and private mix of members APDT has a facilitating role
in Brașov County’s tourism context, and its main purpose is to increase tourism fl ows
by pursuing a sustainable tourism development approach while providing visitors
with quality travel experiences, fostering the development of tourism services, facil-
ities and promoting the destination on the national and international markets (Can-
drea and Brătucu, 2012).
Focusing on APDT as the local DMO and aiming to identify the intentions of Braşov
tourism services providers to be involved in public-private partnerships for a sustain-
able development of this tourism destination, we established the following objectives:
–O1: Measuring Braşov tourism businesses’ level of satisfaction concerning the
destination’s management, marketing and tourism planning;
–O2: Evaluating the notoriety of APDT’s actions;

43
–O3: Identifying previous involvement of Braşov tourism businesses in actions
undertaken by APDT and their intentions to participate in future sustainable
tourism development actions;
–O4: Measuring the infl uence of tourism businesses’ satisfaction level concerning
the destination’s management, marketing and tourism spatial planning on their
intentions to participate in future sustainable tourism development initiatives;
–O5: Measuring the infl uence of APDT’s actions notoriety, tourism businesses’
previous involvement in these actions and their fi eld activity on the Braşov tour-
ism businesses’ intentions to participate in future sustainable tourism develop-
ment initiatives;
–O6: Identifying the needed improvement actions for a sustainable destination
marketing, management and tourism spatial planning in Braşov; and
–O7: Identifying the intentions of Braşov tourism businesses to participate in fu-
ture sustainable tourism development initiatives.
Considering the previously mentioned objectives, we formulated the following re-
search hypotheses:
–H1: The majority of Braşov tourism businesses intend to be involved in pub-
lic-private partnerships for a sustainable development of this tourism destina-
tion.
–H2: The satisfaction level of Braşov tourism businesses regarding the destina-
tion’s management infl uences their intentions to be involved in APDT’s actions.
–H3: The satisfaction level of Braşov tourism businesses regarding the destina-
tion’s marketing infl uences their intentions to be involved in APDT’s actions.
–H4: The satisfaction level of Braşov tourism businesses regarding the destina-
tion’s tourism spatial planning infl uences their intentions to be involved in AP-
DT’s actions.
–H5: The notoriety of APDT’s actions infl uences Braşov tourism businesses’ inten-
tions to participate in future sustainable tourism development initiatives.
–H6: Braşov tourism businesses’ involvement in APDT actions infl uences their in-
tention to participate in future sustainable tourism development initiatives.
–H7: The fi eld of activity of Braşov tourism businesses infl uences their intention to
participate in future sustainable tourism development initiatives.
Based on hypotheses H2-H7, we proposed a theoretical model for the identifi ca-
tion of signifi cant factors which infl
uence the intentions of tourism businesses to par-
ticipate in public-private partnerships for a sustainable tourism development in the
analyzed tourism destination (Figure 1).
In order to a ain the previously mentioned objectives and to test the proposed
model, we collected data from diff erent types of tourism businesses in Braşov, such
as: accommodation units, travel agencies, recreational facilities and restaurants. The
questionnaire used for data collection includes closed questions, measured with dif-
ferent types of scales (nominal and interval scales). The questionnaire included ques-

44
tions concerning respondents’ satisfaction level towards Braşov’s marketing, man-
agement and tourism spatial planning, as well as requirements of recommendations
for the improvement of the evaluated issues. In addition, the questionnaire included
questions regarding respondents’ intentions to participate in public-private partner-
ships for a sustainable tourism development of Braşov tourism businesses, as well as
in the actions undertaken by APDT in this sense. The questionnaire was sent to dif-
ferent tourism businesses from Braşov, and 212 answers were collected. The collected
data was analyzed with the SPSS package, using diff erent univariate, bivariate and
multivariate methods such as: frequency tables, cross tables, discriminant analysis
and binary logistic regression.
4. Results and discussion
The fi rst research objective (O1) consisted in the evaluation of the satisfaction lev-
el of Braşov tourism businesses concerning the destinations’ management, market-
ing and tourism planning. The research results (Figure 2) indicate that the analyzed
destination’s marketing registered the lowest score, 3 points, on a scale from 1 to 5
(where 5 is the top level of satisfaction), while the destination’s management got an
average score of 3.3 points. Thus, these two variables were framed in the neutral part
of the scale (neither unsatisfi ed nor satisfi ed). Respondents’ satisfaction level regard-
ing tourism spatial planning in Braşov registered an average score of 3.6 points, thus
being situated closer to the fourth level of the scale (4=satisfi ed).
H2 H3 H4
H5 H6
Satisfaction level regarding
the destination’s management
Satisfaction level regarding
the destination’s marketing
Satisfaction level regarding the
destination’s tourism planning
DMO’s actions notoriety
Previous involvement in
DMO’s actions The businesses’ activity field
Tourism businesses’
intentions to participate in
public-private partnerships
H6
Figure 1: The theoretical model for the identifi cation of signifi cant infl uence factors
Source: Authors’ computations

45
Figure 2: Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding
the destination’s marketing, management and tourism spatial planning
Source: Authors’ computations
The second objective of the present research (O2) aimed to identify APDT’s notori-
ety among Braşov tourism businesses, while the third objective (O3) aimed to identify
their involvement in the DMO’s actions and their intentions to cooperate in future sus-
tainable tourism development initiatives. Table 1 includes the results corresponding
to these objectives. As Table 1 illustrates, only 41.5% of the respondents know APDT
actions, and quite few of them have participated to the meetings organized by this
association (6.1%). Regarding the respondents’ interest to get involved in future ac-
tivities organized by APDT, only 42.5% are willing to sustain the initiatives of the
local DMO.
Table 1: Response distribution corresponding to O2 and O3
Response Absolute frequency Percent
Respondents’ knowledge concerning APDT actions NO 124 58.5%
YES 88 41.5%
Participation in APDT’s meetings NO 199 93.9%
YES 13 6.1%
Respondents’ interest to be involved in APDT initiatives NO 122 57.5%
YES 90 42.5%
Source: Authors’ computations
Based on these results, we used the t-Student test to verify hypothesis H1, con-
cerning Braşov tourism businesses’ intentions to participate in public-private part-
nerships for a sustainable tourism development in this destination (see Table 2).
Table 2 presents the statistical signifi cance of the diff erence between the percent
of the respondents who are willing to get involved in APDT’s initiatives (42.5%) and
the test value (50%), which can consider that the majority of tourism businesses want
to support these actions. The results of the t-Student test indicate a signifi cance level

46
of p=0.028< 0.05, which means that we accept the hypothesis that postulates that the
percent of affi rmative answers is diff erent from 50%. As the diff erence between the
two values is negative, we can guarantee with a probability of 95% that the percent
of tourism businesses which intend to participate in APDT’s initiatives is lower than
50%, thus rejecting hypothesis H1.
In order to a ain the fourth objective – O4, namely measuring the infl uence of
respondents’ satisfaction level concerning destination’s management (mn_dest), mar-
keting (mk_dest) and tourism spatial planning (tsp_dest) on their intentions to partic-
ipate in future sustainable tourism development initiatives – a discriminant analysis
was used.
The discriminant analysis uses a binary variable as the dependent variable and
metric variables as independent ones. Based on the variability of the independent
variables, a discriminant function is created, which allows individuals to be included
in a certain group (Malhotra, 2004, pp. 535-544). Thus, the fi rst step is to use the ANO-
VA method, aiming to test the statistical signifi cance of the diff erences between the
groups’ means for each of the dependent variables.
In the context of the present research, respondents were divided in two groups:
those who intend to participate in sustainable tourism development initiatives and
those who don’t. The results presented in Table 3 show that there are signifi cant dif-
ferences among the groups’ means (p<0.05) in the case of respondents’ satisfaction
level regarding destination marketing (mk_dest) and tourism spatial planning (tsp_
dest). For this reason, the variable which measures respondents’ satisfaction level re-
garding the management of the analyzed destination will be excluded from the mod-
el, as its infl uence on the dependent variable is not statistically signifi cant.
Table 3: Tests of equality of group means
Wilks’
Lambda F df1 df2 Sig.
Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov
destination marketing (mk_dest) .97 5.07 1 209 .025
Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov
tourism spatial planning (tsp_dest) .94 12.92 1 209 .000
Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov
destination management (mn_dest) .99 .79 1 209 .373
Source: Authors’ computations
Table 2: Results of the t-Student test
Test Value = 0.5
tdf
Sig.
(2-tailed) Mean Difference
95% Confi dence Interval
of the Difference
Lower Upper
Respondents’ interest to participate
in APDT’s initiatives -2.218 211 .028 -.07547 -.1425 -.0084
Source: Authors’ computations

47
The mean values registered for the members of the two groups (see Table 4) in-
dicate that respondents who are willing to participate in APDT’s initiatives are less
satisfi ed with Braşov destination marketing and tourism spatial planning, compared
to the other group. For this reason, they are more predisposed to support sustainable
tourism initiatives.
Table 4: The correlation between respondents’ interest and their satisfaction level
Respondents’ interest to participate
in APDT’s initiatives Mean Standard
Deviation
Valid N (listwise)
Unweighted Weighted
No
Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov
destination marketing (mk_dest) 3.1322 1.11012 121 121
Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov
tourism spatial planning (tsp_dest) 3.7603 .77486 121 121
Yes
Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov
destination marketing (mk_dest) 2.7889 1.07572 90 90
Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov
tourism spatial planning (tsp_dest) 3.3444 .90145 90 90
Total
Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov
destination marketing (mk_dest) 2.9858 1.10617 211 211
Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov
tourism spatial planning (tsp_dest) 3.5829 .85440 211 211
Source: Authors’ computations
Computing the discriminant analysis, which used the above mentioned variables,
we obtained the following discriminant function equation (1):
desttspdestmky_006.1_364.0692.4 ⋅+⋅+−=
(1)
Based on the equation (1) we can calculate the ‘y’ value corresponding to each of
the respondents, which allow us to include them in one of the two groups (respon-
dents who are willing to support APDT’s initiatives and those who are not).
Considering the correlation between the discriminant function and each of the
dependent variables (see Table 5), one can observe that the variable with the best
discriminant power is the respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov tourism
spatial planning (tsp_dest) as its correlation coeffi cient with the discriminant function
is the highest (0.921).
Table 5: The correlation coeffi cients between the independent variables and the discriminant function
Function 1
Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov tourism spatial planning (tsp_dest) 0.921
Respondents’ satisfaction level regarding Braşov destination marketing (mk_dest) 0.577
Source: Authors’ computations
Based on the results of the discriminant analysis, we validated hypotheses H3 and
H4 and rejected hypothesis H2, as the discriminant power of respondents’ satisfac-
tion regarding Braşov destination management is not statistically signifi cant.

48
The fi fth research objective aimed to measure the infl uence of APDT’s actions no-
toriety, tourism businesses’ previous involvement in these actions and their activi-
ty fi eld on Braşov tourism businesses’ intentions to participate in future sustainable
tourism development initiatives. We used the model of binary logistic regression as
the considered variables were measured on a nominal scale. The model of binary lo-
gistic regression allows the quantifi cation of a multiple choice variable’s infl uence on
a binary variable, and the probability to obtain an affi rmative answer is calculated:
P(y=1). The general equation of this model is (Hair et al., 1998, pp. 276-278):
)...exp(1
)...exp(
),,/1(
3322110
3322110
4,321
kk
kk
xxxx
xxxx
xxxxyP
βββββ
β
β
β
β
β
++++++
+++++
==
(2)
where:
P = the probability to obtain a certain behavior or intention (the ‘yes’ answer);
x1, x2, ..., xk = the independent variables included in the model; and
β0, β1, …, βk = the model coeffi cients resulted in depending on the independent
variables’ values.
The independent variables included in the binary logistic regression model are:
the notoriety of APDT’s actions (not), tourism businesses’ previous involvement in
these actions (involv), and their fi eld of activity (fi eld). These variables were used for
testing the hypotheses H5-H7. The distribution of the respondents’ answers corre-
sponding to these variables is presented in Table 6.
Table 6: Responses’ frequencies for the independent variables
Variable Frequency
Do you know the actions undertaken by APDT Braşov? (not) No 124
Yes 88
Have you participated in APDT organized meetings so far? (involv) No 199
Yes 13
The company’s activity fi eld (fi eld)
Recreational facility (recr) 29
Restaurant (rest) 32
Accommodation unit (accom) 88
Travel agency (tr_ag) 59
Others 4
Source: Authors’ computations
From the above mentioned variables, only two variables were considered in the
model due to their signifi cant infl uence on the dependent variable: the notoriety of
APDT’s actions (not) and the activity fi eld of tourism businesses (fi eld). As the later
mentioned variable had several categories, distinct binary variables were computed
for each of them: recreational facility (recr), travel agency (tr_ag), accommodation
unit (accom) and restaurant (rest). The ‘Other’ response was converted to a reference
variable and included in the Constant coeffi cient. The estimation of the model’s pa-

49
rameters was undertaken using the step by step method and the results are presented
in Table 7.
Table 7: The coeffi cients of the binary logistic regression model
B S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp(B)
Step 1
a
dom 18.009 4 .001
dom(recr) -.198 .630 .099 1 .753 .821
dom(rest) -.922 .567 2.647 1 .104 .398
dom(accom) .245 .538 .208 1 .648 1.278
dom(tr_ag) -1.644 .693 5.634 1 .018 .193
Constant .118 .486 .059 1 .808 1.125
Step 2
b
not 2.120 .828 6.553 1 .010 8.327
dom 19.546 4 .001
dom(recr) -.485 .649 .560 1 .454 .615
dom(rest) -1.138 .579 3.865 1 .049 .320
dom(accom) .209 .538 .151 1 .697 1.233
dom(tr_ag) -1.644 .693 5.634 1 .018 .193
Constant .118 .486 .059 1 .808 1.125
a. Variable(s) entered on step 1: dom.
b. Variable(s) entered on step 2: not.
Source: Authors’ computations
Based on the model’s coeffi cients (B) from Table 7 we computed the binary logistic
regression equation (equation 3).
)_644.1209.0138.1485.012.2118.0exp(1
)_644.1209.0138.1485.012.2118.0exp(
)
5
,...,
1
/1( agtraccomrestrecrnot
agtraccomrestrecrnot
xxyP ⋅−⋅+⋅−⋅−⋅++
⋅−⋅+⋅−⋅−⋅+
==
(3)
According to these results, the respondents’ probability to participate in future ini-
tiatives organized by APDT increases for the businesses which are familiarized with
the DMO’s previous actions and for accommodation units. The same probability de-
creases in the case of travel agencies, restaurants and recreational facilities.
Taking into consideration the results obtained after the application of the binary
logistic regression model, we can state that for a 95% confi dence level, hypotheses H5
and H7 are validated while hypothesis H6 is rejected.
Based on the empirical testing of the theoretical model proposed starting from
the research hypotheses, we obtained the model presented in Figure 3. This model
includes the relevant factors which resulted from the discriminant analysis and the
binary logistic regression.
In order to identify potential ideas for the improvement of Braşov’s management,
marketing and tourism spatial planning (O6), a series of multiple-choice nominal
variables were included in the questionnaire; Table 8 includes the results of data anal-
ysis in their case.

50
Satisfaction level regarding
the destination’s marketing
Satisfaction level regarding the
destination’s tourism spatial planning
DMO’s actions notoriety The businesses’ activity field
Tourism businesses’
intentions to be involved in
public-private partnerships
Figure 3: The model resulted from the empirical testing
Source: Authors’ computations
Table 8: The distribution of respondents’ answers concerning possible improvement
Response Frequency Percent of
total cases
Sustainable destination
management actions
Formulating a sustainable tourism strategy 146 69.2%
Consulting local stakeholders and stimulating networking 70 33.2%
Attracting investments and infrastructure development
projects 131 62.1%
Registering and monitoring tourists’ complaints 84 39.8%
Informing tourism businesses 85 40.3%
Evaluating the impact of tourism activities
on the local economy, residents and environment 76 36.0%
Other 18 8.5%
Total responses 610
Sustainable destination
marketing actions
Conducting research among tourists and stakeholders 85 40.1%
Identifying and targeting attractive market segments 97 45.8%
Different strategic approaches for each targeted market
segment 90 42.5%
Promoting local events 183 86.3%
Other 4 1.9%
Total responses 459
Sustainable destination
tourism spatial planning
actions
Spatial planning for natural areas 92 43.4%
Developing tourism infrastructure 129 60.8%
Respecting esthetical principles in the urban design 53 25.0%
Signing and promotional graphics 73 34.4%
Restoring the historical city center 133 62.7%
Other 9 4.2%
Total responses 489
Source: Authors’ computations

51
Concerning the improvement of Braşov’s destination management, the majority
of the respondents consider that a sustainable tourism strategy is necessary, as well
as investments and infrastructure development projects. For the improvement of
Braşov’s destination marketing, a special a ention must be given to the promotion of
local events. In the case of Braşov’s tourism spatial planning, the majority of the re-
spondents consider that it is crucial to restore the historical city center, and to develop
the tourism infrastructure.
All the tourism initiatives outlined in the present study should be founded on ex-
tensive networks of tourism stakeholders within the destination. What is very im-
portant in such initiatives is seamless coordination of actors, activities and resourc-
es, preferably guided by comprehensive policies formulated and applied by public
authorities (e.g. the City Hall and County Councils, the Metropolitan Agency, gov-
ernmental authorities). For example, within the new tourism law, which is current-
ly under debate, the role of the DMOs should be outlined and a series of fi nancial
incentives need to be created. At a local level, tourism businesses’ involvement in the
local DMO’s activities could be stimulated by redirecting all the collected tourism
taxes towards the DMOs, instead of being left into the common pool of local budgets,
where they are most of the times used for other purposes which are not related to
tourism. Such an approach as well as the possibility of deciding how these sums are
spend would surely increase tourism businesses’ trust and interest in local DMOs. In
order to redirect the collected funds towards destination marketing, the DMO needs
to prepare a very good marketing program on an annual basis.
5. Conclusions
As the literature suggests (Hatipoglu et al., 2016; Ladkin and Martinez Bertramini,
2002), collaborative institutions and frameworks are essential for ensuring participa-
tion of all interested parties, leading to sustainability. In the case of Brașov, the APDT
has the role of coordinating public-private partnerships for a sustainable tourism de-
velopment in the destination. The research results outline the defi ciencies in the an-
alyzed destination’s marketing, which lead to a low notoriety of the APDT among
tourism stakeholders. In addition, there is a low level of involvement of tourism op-
erators in supporting the eff orts of this association aimed at supporting public-pri-
vate partnerships. These results are in line with Hatipoglu, Alvarez and Ertuna (2016)
fi ndings, which state that those stakeholders who participate more in the planning of
tourism are more knowledgeable concerning sustainable tourism, more supportive of
participation of locals, and advocate more representative models of governance. Thus,
knowledge sharing and learning between various stakeholder groups in Braşov might
facilitate gradual incorporation of non-participating groups into the planning process.
This is also in line with Budeanu et al.’s recommendation regarding the critical impor-
tance of communication and learning for eff ective stakeholder engagement and issues
of empowerment and governance (Budeanu et al., 2016). Other authors suggested that
local universities can be involved in common projects with local authorities for des-

52
tination marketing purposes (Nechita and Tanaka, 2016; Nechita et al., 2014). Thus,
Transilvania University of Brasov could be a specialized provider of marketing re-
search services and a partner in sustainable tourism development initiatives.
Although we found few involvement eff orts of local tourism stakeholders, there is
a certain level of interest, which is infl uenced mainly by the businesses’ activity fi eld,
the level of notoriety of APDT’s actions and by the complaints concerning the desti-
nation marketing and tourism spatial planning. The research results outline a series
of future actions in which Braşov tourism operators would be interested to be in-
volved in; among these actions, the highest level of interest was registered for the fol-
lowing measures: formulating a sustainable tourism strategy, a racting investments
and infrastructure development projects, promoting local events, developing tourism
infrastructure, etc.
The results of the present study are relevant for both Braşov tourism services pro-
viders and the organization which is responsible for the destination’s management
and marketing (APDT) in the sense of future strategic partnerships building for a
sustainable tourism development. Thus, APDT can direct its eff orts towards creating
public-private partnerships, especially with accommodation units’ managers, who
showed the most interest to be involved in such actions. This interest might be moti-
vated by their constant need to a ract increasing numbers of visitors in the destina-
tion. In this sense, building strategic partnerships for a sustainable tourism develop-
ment in Braşov may lead to the sustainable development of tourism businesses. On
the other hand, APDT needs to continue its eff orts to identify local tourism business-
es’ complaints and to involve them in sustainable tourism development initiatives, as
these respondents have shown an increased interest for such a collaboration. This rec-
ommendation is reinforced by previous research conducted among Brașov tourism
stakeholders (Albu et al., 2016), which highlighted the necessity of informing local
actors about the concerns related to sustainable development of the tourism sector in
the area.
These changes need to be performed within the destination with a strong involve-
ment and commitment from the local and county administration. The local and coun-
ty public authorities (City Hall, Metropolitan Agency of Brașov Area and Brașov
County Council) should be in charge of the restoration of the historical city center
and the development of tourism infrastructure, and they should closely collaborate
with the local DMO in order to formulate and implement a sustainable tourism de-
velopment strategy in the destination. Moreover, they should promote APDT as the
local DMO, and show their support in all of the activities dedicated to improving the
destination’s management, marketing and spatial planning, within the framework of
a sustainable approach of tourism planning.
However, it is important to also consider the limitations of the present study. The
fi rst limitation of the present research is given by the sample size, which is quite small,
as a consequence of a low response rate, which also leads to a process of self-selection
of the respondents. However, the answers we obtained have a signifi cant relevance

53
for the research objectives and they open the path for future research directions,
aimed at overcoming these limitations.
Second, as the surveyed data were collected in a Romanian urban destination, oth-
er international surveys may produce diff erent results and conclusions in terms of the
magnitude and directions of relationships among the constructs studied in this study.
Tourism stakeholders in other countries and cities may have diff erent perceptions,
a itudes and behaviors.
Furthermore, a longitudinal analysis of the model resulted from the empirical test-
ing may reveal interesting information on the dynamics of public-private partner-
ships aimed at fostering a sustainable development of tourism destinations.
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57
Abstract
Lobbying is one of the main structural ele-
ments of democratic governance and sustain-
able development and is essential to achieving
competitive and effi cient administrative and
decisional processes in local governance. Suc-
cessfully implementing lobbying regulations and
techniques is of extreme importance for any
public system, where social participation in the
decision-making process can strongly contribute
to social, political and economic / fi nancial effi -
ciency.
Over the last 15 years, several legislative
initiatives have tried to design a coherent frame-
work for lobby, but they are still unapplied either
due to insuffi cient public understanding of the
concept, or due to more or less justifi ed uncer-
tainties and fears.
The necessity of regulating lobbying in Ro-
mania is placed in a context where an important
number of anticorruption international and do-
mestic recommendations and state reliability sta-
tistics, added to a certain lack of effectiveness in
time and public money management, show that
the public administration system needs to be re-
formed. And lobbying is, as the following article
shows, a must for any public reform of public ad-
ministration in Romania.
The case of multilingual entrance signs /
labels in Cluj-Napoca is an unquestionable and
unbeatable example that the simple existence of
legal frameworks of lobbying could turn into real
time, energy and money savers.
Keywords: lobbying, public policy, decision
making, social participation, good governance,
democracy, minority rights.
LOBBYING AND SOCIAL
PARTICIPATION – KEY FEATURES
FOR AN EFFECTIVE PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION IN ROMANIA
Laura Maria IRIMIEȘ
Laura Maria IRIMIEȘ
Lecturer, PhD
Department of Journalism, Faculty of Political,
Administrative and Communication Sciences,
Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Tel.: 0040-742-078.854
E-mail: laura.irimies@fspac.ro
DOI:10.24193/tras.SI2017.4
Published First Online: 2017/12/21
Transylvanian Review
of Administrative Sciences,
Special Issue 2017, pp. 57-73

58
1. Introduction
Lobbying is a key feature for any public administration and democratic system
based on social participation, legitimacy of decision and interest representation, as it
allows the decision-making structure to have a very accurate control over priorities,
interests and orientation of representative groups.
As studies show, the European Union, one of the most democratic political forms
of organization, has always been subjected to intense lobbying activities and its con-
siderable enlargement has obviously led to an impressive increase concerning the
number of lobbyists and lobbying activities. According to Andersen and Eliassen, ‘no
exact numbers exist but all estimates indicate that the number of lobbyists increased
ten-fold between the early 1970s and mid-1980s and again four-fold between 1985
and 1992 (Andersen and Eliassen, 2001). As recent reports released by Transparency
International EU show, the average amount of money spent on lobbying activities in
the European Union raises up to 1.5 billion euros, while the top 20 companies alone
spend over 60 million Euros per year (Transparency International EU, 2015).
On the other hand, and on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, lobbying represents
the very heart of public decision-making, the number of unique registered lobbyists
to have performed lobbying actions in 2016 being set at 11,143 (Statista, 2017a). While
the total number of lobbyists in the US may seem relatively limited, the total amount
of money spent on lobbying activities is impressive, as Figure 1 on the evolution of
total spending on lobbying in the United States of America between 1998 and 2016
shows:
Figure 1: Total lobbying spending in the United States from 1998 to 2016 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Source: Statista, 2017b.

59
Furthermore, as Figure 2 shows, the more strategic the sector is, the more money
is spent on lobbying activities:
Figure 2: Total lobbying expenses in the United States in 2016, by sector (in million U.S. dollars)
Source: Statista, 2017c
The present article is an a empt to prove the imperative need for a strong lobby-
ing legal framework in Romania, where we face a legislative void in what lobbying is
concerned and where every a empt to establish any legal framework for the lobbying
practice are so far sentenced to oblivion.
The fi rst part of the research presents various theoretical approaches on lobbying,
in order to defi ne it as comprehensively and as clearly as possible, also presenting ba-
sic concepts related to lobbying. The next part of the study tries to lead from the theo-
retical approaches to the case study, by presenting the overall situation of lobbying at
the level of European traditionally democratic countries in order to get to the Roma-
nian context. While most European countries have successfully introduced lobbying
in their legal practices, Romania is still facing the problem of not having any lobbying
regulation. This forces informal lobbying organizations to self-regulate, as the study
shows, and leads to considerable waste of time, money, energy at administrative and
social levels in what interest representation is concerned.

60
2. Data and research methods
As we are referring to a case study based approach of lobbying, the data used for
the specifi c case study come mostly from offi cial documents (offi cial correspondence,
Court decisions, Local Council regulations), public statements, and relevant news ar-
ticles on the subject.
Due to the fact that the situation we have approached in this study is very recent,
the main research methods are based on direct non-participatory observation of the
context, evolution and results, as well as on content analysis and case study, making
use mostly of qualitative analysis, but with references to quantitative data as well.
The analysis also follows the Facebook presence of the lobbying campaign, collecting
data related to the reach and engagements generated by the messages posted, num-
bers of likes and shares.
The content analysis, the observation and the overall case study strongly under-
line the urgency of lobbying regulation in Romania, as a must for reaching a strong,
legitimate and representative democracy and public administration system.
3. What is lobbying and how does it interfere
with infl uence, resources and democracy
3.1. Theoretical approach. Basic concepts and defi nitions
Determining the importance and the role lobbying has in achieving a sustainable
development and growth of democratic societies, we must start with defi ning the
concepts we want to work with: ‘lobbying’, as well as ‘eff ective democracy’, and ‘sus-
tainable growth’.
Lobbying should be understood and approached as one of the most transpar-
ent ways of monitoring and infl uencing executive and legislative public decisions
‘through actions that aim to support rights and legitimate interests in the promotion,
enactment, amendment or repeal of decisions and decrees by authorities and public
entities. It represents a form of maturity of any democracy, as it allows people to
influence, through its low-profile, informal representatives, the decisions of official,
formal and elected representatives’ (Irimieș and Marusca, 2013, p. 56).
There are plenty of defi nitions for lobbying and almost all of them are focused
on infl uence as a specifi c, defi nitory element. At its own turn, infl uence is strongly
related to and directly and proportionally infl uenced by the existing resources (time,
information, relations and money) that the lobbyist has.
If we refer to the defi nition given by Mihaileanu and Horja (2009), lobbying is a
set of legal and transparent activities developed with the openly declared intention of
infl uencing the opinion of the decision-makers.
More than a simple activity strongly related to public policy making, lobbying is
of major importance for the human rights framework, as it is directly related to both
freedom of speech and freedom of choice and decision. According to article 19 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opin-

61
ion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference
and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and re-
gardless of frontiers’ (United Nations, 1948).
Abraham Lincoln defi ned democracy as being the ‘[…] government of the people,
by the people, for the people’ (Ge ysburg Address, 1863). Taking this short, but very
comprehensive defi nition as a benchmark, this form of government implies a con-
stant and very consistent involvement of ordinary people that we shall later defi ne as
groups of interest or stakeholders, in the process of decision making for a strong and
sustainable democracy.
Nevertheless, although lobbying seems to be an essential democratic tool for hu-
man rights and has a positive perception in most traditional and consolidated demo-
cratic systems, with strong and well established political frameworks, it is also associ-
ated with negative connotations in emerging, young democracies, especially in those
raising from totalitarian regimes. Why is that? That is because lobbying is perceived
as an exclusive activity representing the rights and interests of certain groups, defy-
ing the common public interest.
No ma er the regime or geographic position, lobbying exists in each and every
state around the world under diff erent names and terms, with particular aspects and
specifi c regulations. There are serious diff erences even between democratic systems,
as in some countries the lobbying activity is more intense and evolved and in some
this practice is barely developing. In some countries the lobbying activity is clearly
defi ned by legislative regulations that strongly stipulate the diff erences between lob-
bying and illegal infl uential practices. Other countries have not yet designed a legal
framework for this specifi c activity, but it is undertaken and developed under the
name of lobbying or any other name. Due to this absence of a legal framework, some
societies, Romania being among them, are very skeptical when it comes to lobbying,
as it is usually associated with illegal practices of infl uencing public authorities.
Mihaileanu and Horja (2009) asserted that real and proper lobbying is a transpar-
ent activity based on strong communication strategies as well as on consistent techni-
cal, legislative and legal knowledge. Proper lobbying is, according to Tănase (2014),
legitimate and represents an extremely important feature of democracy where social
participation is seen as being of essential importance.
Clamen’s theory (2005) is that the lobbyist meets his / her fi nal objectives because
he / she has a strong infl uence over his / her connections / decision makers due to
the quality, clarity, accurateness and promptness of the information he / she holds
and shares. The infl uence holds thus a major role within a lobbying campaign, being
the key to the success of this activity that does not exist if there is no decision (Cla-
men, 2005). As decision requires persuasion in what the relationship with the deci-
sion maker is concerned (Clamen, 2005), we must take into consideration some more
important and determining issues: infl uence towards a specifi c decision taken by the
executive or legislative body in favor of the legitimate interests of the group that initi-
ated the lobbying campaign; the decision factors involved; lobbyists’ expertise grant-

62
ed to decision makers; direct and indirect contacts between lobbyists and decision
makers; the use of manipulative practices; reaching the objective through enacting /
rejecting an administrative or legislative regulation.
There is a vast body of literature concerning the lobbying process and techniques.
Most of the publications debate over the defi nitions, types, procedures and tech-
niques of lobby, or the way lobbying infl uence decisions in diff erent fi elds of gov-
ernmental activity. However, there is very few research dedicated to or that aims to
design coherent policies and strategies meant to implement unitary lobbying proce-
dures at diff erent levels of governance systems.
3.2. European lobbying
‘According to Corporate Europe Observatory, a watchdog campaigning for great-
er transparency, there are at least 30,000 lobbyists in Brussels, nearly matching the
31,000 staff employed by the European Commission and making it second only to
Washington in the concentration of those seeking to aff ect legislation. Lobbyists sign
a transparency register run by the Parliament and the Commission, though it is not
mandatory. By some estimates, they infl uence 75% of legislation. In principle, lobby-
ists give politicians information and arguments during the decision-making process’.
1
In what the European Union is concerned, most of the academic literature on lob-
bying makes use of the term interest representation in order to refer to those activi-
ties, tactics and strategies used by public and private actors in their transparent, co-
ordinated and coherent a empt to infl uence the European public policy and regula-
tions. The concept of lobbying is being referred to by both the European Commission
and interest representation practitioners as being ‘[…] all activities carried out with
the objective of infl uencing the policy formulation and decision-making processes of
the European institutions’ (European Commission, 2007).
While Brussels may not be considered the center of the world, it is defi nitely the
center of European lobbying, coming second worldwide after Washington DC with
the most important concentration of lobbyists and lobbying activities. The constant-
ly growing number of lobbyists and their activities in Brussels has been mostly and
most coherently and thoroughly approached by researchers in the fi eld only after the
1990s, which makes European lobbying research quite a new fi eld of interest. The
European lobbying trends are mainly approached from three clear, distinct perspec-
tives, all of them having interest representation as main feature: collective social ac-
tion (Aspinwall and Greenwood 1998; Cram, 1998), economic infl uence and political
mobilization (Green Cowles, 1998).
As we have already stated, the EU offi cial institutions have always been subjected
to lobbying. However, the degree and nature of lobbying have changed dramatically,
1 The Guardian, May 8, 2014, [Online] www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/08/lobbyists-euro
pean-parliament-brussels-corporate

63
particularly during the 1980s. No exact numbers exist but all estimates indicate that
the number of lobbyists increased ten-fold between the early 1970s and mid-1980s
and again four-fold between 1985 and 1992 (Andersen and Eliassen, 2001).
After 1992 the number of specialized interest groups trying to infl uence decision
making and public policy in Brussels seems to have been more or less stable. Thus, in
2005, the European Commission estimated that there were 15,000 lobbyists in Brus-
sels, while the European Parliament estimated at approximately the same date that
500 large companies had representation and that there were 200 international fi rms.
The number of lobbyists in Brussels considerably increased over the last ten years
reaching a new level of more than 25,000 in 2015.
3.3. Lobbying in Romania
Not at all surprisingly, the lobbying activity is not regulated in Romania, although
recent political history shows the existence of at least fi ve parliamentary a empts on
this ma er, all of them being rejected or put on hold. This situation can make us con-
sider that the Romanian democracy fi nds it extremely diffi cult to keep up with and
/ or to catch up with traditional, older democratic systems in Europe and, why not,
even with the European Union itself. The situation can turn into an evident proof of
the fact that Romanian politicians, public decision makers and the overall civil society
may not be yet prepared to draw the extremely discrete line between legal practices
of political persuasion and illegal practices of corruption, traffi c of infl uence and situ-
ations of institutional incompatibility.
Despite the fact that the European Union as a governing, political, administrative
and organizational system has embraced the idea of lobbying as being associated
with a comprehensive resource of information, knowledge and expertise that may be
of considerable help to political authorities as well as to a major growth of transpar-
ency within the public sector, the Member States have diff erent understandings on
this issue. France, Germany, Netherlands, and Denmark, for instance, have openly
embraced the lobbying practices and offi cially included them in the existing regu-
lations. Meanwhile, Austria has allocated a special chapter to lobbying procedures
within the Laws for increasing transparency.
Lobbying is offi cially recognized and regulated not only in Western Europe, by
that meaning in traditionally democratic systems, but also in Eastern European states
that have the same recent historical and political background as Romania does. It is
the case of Lithuania, Poland, and Hungary that, despite the common background,
have diff erently consolidated their democratic systems and approached lobbying as
part of their state reforms.
As we have stated before, Romania has neither a law for lobbying, nor an offi cial
framework or clear lobbying procedures. What Romania still has is a partially formal
recognition of lobbying through the Court decision that approves with the constitution
of a lobbying society named the Romanian Lobbying Registry Association, as well as
the inclusion of the lobbying specialist in the Romanian job classifi cation (Bălan, 2015).

64
All these are a fade refl ection of what there is needed to be done, while the Romanian
law of lobbying has a rich historical background, but no approval at all.
The 2014 Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parlia-
ment may help understanding this situation. According to the offi cial document of
the European Commission, while an overwhelming majority of Romanians, more
precisely 92% of the Romanian people, consider that corruption is a widely spread
plague of the domestic society and aff airs, they associate lobbying with corruption,
groups of interest to political clientele and consider that bribery is the stimulating
argument for infl uencing important political decisions (European Commission, 2014).
The very fi rst formal steps towards regulating lobbying were taken after more
than 10 years of offi cial democracy in Romania, but the fi rst law that led to a more
transparent governance was enacted even later, in 2001, when the Law granting free
access to information of public interest (Law no. 544/2001) was enacted. This specifi c
regulation was pre y quickly followed by the Law for transparency of decisions in
public administration (Law no. 52/2003).
In 2000, senator Ulm Spineanu designed and brought into the parliamentary de-
bate the fi rst ever enacted project of law for lobbying that defi ned lobbying as an
independent activity, presented the general a ributes and chores of lobbyists as pro-
fessionals, suggested the necessity of a national association of lobbyists and also im-
posed penalties for breaking legal regulations.
In 2004, deputy Octavian Mitu made another a empt to regulate lobbying through
a 9-chapter initiative that also defi ned lobbying as being related to groups of interests,
to authority control and certifi cation. He also suggested the necessity of establishing a
national association of lobbying practitioners and a set of penalties for breaking the le-
gal framework. This initiative was as well forgo en and so, the year 2009 brought the
third major project that was included in a larger set of projects meant to help increas-
ing the eff ectiveness of the Romanian business environment. The initiator was the
minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Trade and Business Environment, Con-
stantin Niţă, and the project was based on the need of transparency and effi ciency of
public decision, the need for protection of both decision makers in public institutions
and groups of interests that wanted to conduct legal lobbying activities as opposed to
corruption practices and also on the need to legalize the a empts made by representa-
tives of the business environment in order to infl uence public policies. The new project
stipulated defi nitions of lobbying, actors, specifi c actions and activities, objectives, au-
thorities in charge, incompatibilities, limits and penalties. The project too never passed
parliamentary commissions, although it was re-debated in the spring of 2017.
The debates over a law of lobbying were reopened in April 2017, with both the
initiative of Constantin Niţă and a more recent one, submi ed in 2011 by Carmen
Moldovan (PSD), Sever Voinescu (PD-L) and Adriana Saftoiu (PNL). The Parliament
decided again to send back the law initiatives for debate as it was considered that
there was a considerable risk that their enactment would lead to the legalization of
bribery, illegal political persuasion and corruption acts.

65
Under these circumstances, the Romanian practitioners had to self-regulate and
created the Romanian Lobbying Registry Association (2015), their own Code of Eth-
ics, the Registry for Transparency and a Supervising Commission for lobbying activ-
ity. Despite these establishments, Romanian lobbying professionals still don’t have
any offi cial and real power in the absence of a formal law of lobbying.
As we can clearly conclude the lobbying legislation still has to wait, although, ac-
cording to a research called ‘Lobbying in Romania’ conducted in 2012 by Oancea, Mi-
haileanu and Horja reconfi rmed the presence of informal lobbying activities within
the Romanian decisional system and stated the necessity of establishing a clear legal
framework. The research showed that the majority of the subjects – 83% of the politi-
cians and 100% of the NGOs questioned – were in favor of enacting a law of lobbying;
the study also proved that one of the main obstacles this particular law had to face
and eventually overcome was a very weak awareness among common people.
4. Multilingual street signs in Cluj-Napoca – a situation where proper lobbying
could have saved time, energy and interethnic relations
4.1. Grassroots lobbying
While lobbying and lobbyists tend to take over and lead social participation ac-
tions and strategies, grassroots lobbying is ge ing to be more and more important as
a tool of infl uence. But what is grassroots lobbying? According to the general percep-
tion, grassroots lobbying is an a empt to infl uence legislative / governmental deci-
sions by fi rst aff ecting the public opinion regarding that specifi c issue and determin-
ing the public to take action, put pressure on and infl uence the decision-makers as
opposite to direct lobbying, where the action is undertaken by professional lobbyists
that directly appeal to decision-makers.
‘Grassroots lobbying is an extremely important concept, referring to calls to ac-
tion addressed to public opinion in order to take a itude towards legislative bodies
on a certain issue. It means basically the same as indirect lobbying as the infl uence
upon legislation is realized by motivating and stirring the members of a determined
community to communicate their demands to law makers. This way, the initiators
of a lobbying campaign are not on their own anymore, forced to establish personal
contacts with the decision makers as in direct lobbying, but they encourage public
opinion to take action and infl uence the political decisions’
2
. Simply put, grassroots
lobbying is citizen participation in public or governmental decision.
Grassroots lobbying thus turns into one of the most important tools of civil society,
its way to take part in governance, to have a contribution to democratic and trans-
parent decision making in order to achieve and maintain a strong and performant
democracy. In order to reach its objectives, grassroots lobbying makes use of vari-
ous types of activities, among which we can name public mailing campaigns, protest
2 Lobby-advocacy.ro, [Online ] h p://lobby-advocacy.ro/ce-inseamna-grassroots-lobbying/

66
meetings, strikes and public meetings, partisan publicity and / or intensive media
campaigns, networking being of essential importance which it nowadays transfers to
social media.
Indirect or grassroots lobbying thus requires the existence and proper develop-
ment of networks that can stimulate the active participation of individuals and com-
munities into determining public policy priorities
3
.
Being an extremely powerful tool in the process of infl uencing public decisions,
lobbying organizations and public trendse ers should benefi t from specifi c regula-
tions regarding grassroots lobbying. It would be those regulations’ role to clearly de-
fi ne the limits, the actors, the procedures and the issues that may be approached by
grassroots lobbying in order to help consolidating public administration’s eff ective-
ness.
4.2. Context
In 2002, the City Council of Cluj decided to put multilingual labels at all gates
of access in the city due to the fact that the Law of Local Administration (Law no.
215/2001) stipulated that the use of mother tongue within public authorities should
be allowed and facilitated for ethnic minority groups that represented more than 20%
of the entire local community and the name of se lements should be also wri en in
the mother tongue of that specifi c minority group (Romanian Law of Local Public
Administration no. 215/2001).
Following these legal requirements, the City Council of Cluj-Napoca approved the
use of the amounts of money necessary to make and establish the multilingual labels
at the city entrances (City Council Decision no. 99, enacted on March 7
th
, 2002).
Despite offi cial local decisions, 12 years after their enactment, the multilingual la-
bels in Cluj-Napoca had still not been placed as the minority had demanded. This
was the particular moment when the European Commi ee Human Rights Hungari-
ans Central Europe, led by Landman Gábor, decided after several le ers sent to local
decision makers to address to justice in order to force several public authorities in
North-Western Romania to establish bilingual Romanian-Hungarian signs.
The Court approved with the request of European Commi ee Human Rights
Hungarians Central Europe and forced the local authorities (the City Hall) to place
bilingual signs at all entrances in Cluj-Napoca.
City Hall representatives appealed and the superior Court agreed with all objec-
tions as ‘the Dutch organization European Commi ee Human Rights Hungarians
Central Europe had no right to make such a request as it was not established in Ro-
mania and because the Law of Public Administration in Romania only refers to giv-
ing certain rights to individuals from the Hungarian community, not to companies’.
3 Lobby-advocacy.ro, [Online ] h p://lobby-advocacy.ro/ce-inseamna-grassroots-lobbying/

67
4.3. The Musai-Muszáj initiative group and their lobbying campaign
Taking one step at a time, the local Hungarian community’s informal representa-
tives did one of the fi rst and most important things for a proper lobbying campaign:
they got legitimacy and relevance in their dialogue with local authorities. They creat-
ed the Musai-Muszáj initiative group that aimed to gather enough supporters to force
local authorities upon establishing the multilingual signs in Cluj-Napoca. More than
1,000 people joined the group in no time and urged the City Hall representatives to
obey the Court’s decision.
Once they gained public support, representativeness and legitimacy, the Mu-
sai-Muszáj initiative group started the real lobbying campaign that included all nec-
essary actions and steps like: public awareness campaign, direct and indirect peti-
tions and contacts, public meetings, media coverage all with the only declared stake
of determining the Mayor to establish the bilingual signs and to implement multicul-
tural public policies adapted to the minorities living in Cluj-Napoca.
The campaign calendar expanded over the year 2015 with a more intense activ-
ity during the fi rst months of the year. Even though Romania does not have a legal
lobbying framework, the campaign undertaken by Musai-Muszáj initiative group
can be easily associated to a grassroots lobbying campaign seen as indirect lobbying
based on ge ing large groups of people involved and aware of the stake through:
fl ash-mobs; intensive use of social media as main channel of communications; public
debates, conferences; and public petitions meant to put pressure upon City Hall rep-
resentatives.
As expected, one of the fi rst steps after ge ing organized was to contact the au-
thorities which were signaled with respect to the organization’s requests. Then the
campaign that had a very clear message focused on multiculturalism and minority
rights to use their own language started to seek for supporters all over the world in
order to determine the Romanian decision makers to take action.
The intensive use of social media granted this informal but organized lobbying
great transparency, accuracy and massive social involvement and participation. As
we can see in the picture below, on February 20
th
, 2010, a simple post on the Facebook
page of Musai-Muszáj initiative group regarding the establishment of bilingual city
signs had a reach of more than 1.5 million people, almost 750,000 video views, nearly
180,000 post clicks and gathered more than 190,000 reactions, comments and shares.
Though very creative and public oriented, the so called lobbying campaign lacked
the legitimacy that an offi cial lobbying campaign could have had in a traditional, con-
solidated, strong democratic system where the legal lobbying framework is clearly
established.
Even if Musai-Muszáj initiative group was a self-declared representative group, it
never had the necessary authority a legal lobbying association would have had in an
offi cial lobbying framework and it never represented a real partner for the City Hall
of Cluj-Napoca within this context. But it may have represented the perfect marketer

68
Figure 3: Post on the Facebook page of Musai-Muszáj initiative group regarding
the establishment of bilingual city signs, February 20
th
, 2010
Source: Facebook
and coordinator of public awareness campaigns on human and minority rights in
Romania, especially regarding Hungarians.
Very intense, the public awareness campaign included several specifi c actions, as:
–multilingual picnic in Piața Carolina where people (most of them young people)
collected public / individual requests in order to eventually submit them to the
Mayor, proving this way the legitimacy and representativeness of the group and
also acting like a research agent for the authorities and decision-makers;
–hitchhiking in a multilingual world is the second action of the Communications
Strategy, participants holding a multilingual sign from a place where they were
long ago placed;
–balloons bond people’s hearts included the launch of two giant balloons bearing
the Romanian and the Hungarian fl ags. Besides raising awareness, this particular
event / fl ash-mob marked the fi rst 100 requests of the inhabitants in Cluj in favor
to bilingual city signs.
The fl ash-mobs were included in the project named The Spring of 1,000 law-suits
which aimed to gather all one thousand legal actions against the City Hall of Cluj-Na-
poca.
Acting like a real lobbying group, Musai-Muszáj initiative group also off ered its
expertise and knowledge to decision-makers.

69
As part of the same unoffi cial lobbying campaign, the debates weren’t very suc-
cessful although they reunited journalists, politicians, legal experts, technical experts
and representatives of civil society.
The fi rst important – and also the last recognition of the lobbying campaign was
given by the support of the local Hungarian minority leaders, among which the
vice-mayor of Cluj-Napoca – Anna Horvath, the president of Cluj County – Vákár Ist-
ván and several local elected counselors, university representatives, successful artists,
all people that could turn into real infl uencers for the campaign.
Despite all creativity, enthusiasm and hard work, the campaign coordinated by
Musai-Muszáj initiative group fi nally ended up as being no more than a very good
public awareness campaign, but an unsuccessful lobbying campaign: the requested
bilingual signs weren’t placed at all entrances in Cluj-Napoca by the beginning of the
year 2017.
They were fi nally to be placed following a fi nal Court Decision issued on February
2017 that forced the City Hall of Cluj-Napoca to place bilingual road signs at the city
entrances, stating that although the Hungarian minority in Cluj-Napoca does not rep-
resent nowadays 20% of the population, it has the legal right to have these signs. The
Court motivation made reference to the 1992 Referendum the results of which lead to
a Hungarian minority of 23% of the population in Cluj-Napoca. The main argument
for this decision was that, at the time the Law of Public Administration was enacted
(in 2001), the Hungarian minority in Cluj-Napoca represented over 20% of the pop-
ulation and, although the latest Referendum realized in 2011 reveals a Hungarian
minority of only 15.7% of the local community in Cluj-Napoca, it cannot be taken into
consideration when talking about bilingual city signs.
So, despite the fact that today the number of native or self-declared Hungarians in
Cluj-Napoca does not raise to the level of having bilingual road signs, the Court stated
that local authorities should take into consideration the numbers that were valid at the
very moment the Law of Public Administration was enacted, meaning the year 2001.
5. Major advantages of regulating lobbying in Romania
Taking into consideration all of the above and according to all theoretical research,
we can sum up some major advantages of regulating the lobbying activity that are
applicable to Romania:
1. Clear regulations on lobbying would determine increased responsibility of pub-
lic authorities. Open access to public decisions and decision-makers as well as
public control could and should motivate and determine them and to be much
more responsible.
2. Clear regulations on lobbying would legitimate public decisions and would make
public policies much more eff ective as it would help and ease access to both in-
formation and real needs of society (for decision-makers) and decision-making
(for civil society, through representatives). Thus, if public policies were publicly
pre-negotiated through public awareness campaigns or consultations with rep-

70
resentative groups of interest, the risk of them being questioned or even rejected
by the society would be considerably reduced and the decisional chain would
certainly gain stability and effi ciency.
3. Strong lobbying regulation would defi nitely raise the level of public aware-
ness and would increase the level of social participation in the process of de-
cision-making. That is because professional lobbyists usually build a two-way
relation with both the society and decision-makers.
4. The level of transparency of the decision-making process would be considerably
increased as a consequence of strong lobbying regulation. Eventually, corruption
acts and traffi c of infl uence would be signifi cantly reduced due to the simple
presence of legal win-win practices.
5. Last, but not least, strong lobbying regulation would clearly represent a push
towards a strong democratic system based on transparency, stability, commu-
nication, social participation, political correctness, honesty and effi ciency, as the
use of power governed by legitimacy, low tolerance for corruption and income
distributed rather evenly – could contribute to a higher level of social progress
(Dan, 2017).
One last argument could be the very lobbying tradition and legal framework in
countries with traditional, effi cient, long-run democracies, like the United States of
America, where lobbying has been legally established more than 80 years ago. Once
enacted, such a regulation will be refi ned so it may become a real representation of
democracy (Samuelson, 2008).
6. Final considerations and conclusions
At legislative level, in most of transition countries as Romania is, there is certain
controversy over the ways in which lobbying can be implemented and made more
appealing to the public. There are several important issues in this controversy:
1. Should lobbying be considered an activity or a profession (meaning, can it be left
alone or does it need more thorough regulation, in order to maintain a minimal
set of standards in terms of training, practices and procedures)?
2. Should lobbying funding be all transparent?
3. Should the lobbyists’ public registration be compulsory or is the low-profi le the-
ory be er?
4. Is lobbying equally designed to success in all fi elds of public services, or should it
be applied only to certain types of institutions and levels of decisions?
Implementation of lobbying regulations and clear procedures can contribute not
only to a more eff ective and transparent administration and decision making process,
but also empower people by giving them more control over the solutions to their
problems, and thus limit corruption. Given these, it is of tremendous importance to
fi nd the most eff ective strategies, the main factors that contribute to the success, and
the main threats to the implementation of lobbying.

71
According to Tănase (2014), lobbying in Romania is about to leave childhood as
there are long-established companies that professionally develop lobbying activi-
ties usually named counseling. In order to bring more dynamics to this process and
to help the establishment of lobbying as a legal practice, the Romanian authorities
should both increase the transparency of the decisional process and regulate lobby-
ing. We strongly think Romania needs a strong lobbying legal framework in order for
those who lobby nowadays and who have thorough knowledge of legal regulations
to get involved and have a contribution to the development of really eff ective public
policies.
More than the classical direct lobbying practices, grassroots lobbying can essen-
tially contribute to the growing of a truly representative democratic system in Roma-
nia, as it considerably increases the ability of electors to monitor legislative behavior
and thus it increases their control over political, administrative and legislative sys-
tems (Goldstein, 1999).
Grassroots lobbying is thus one of the most powerful ways to get large groups
acquainted to the actions and positions that an offi cial is taking concerning their par-
ticular issues and interests, increasing communication links between decision makers
and electors (Bergan, 2009). Moreover, grassroots lobbying is a very powerful elector-
al tool, as some researchers say that the voting habits are very likely to change during
and after grassroots lobbying campaigns according to the response of the decision
makers to group concerns and interests (Harris and McGrath, 2012).
Eventually, extended practice of grassroots lobbying could lead to more effi cient
types of public infl uence, as it could represent the very turn from transactional leader-
ship to transformational leadership as they are described by Hintea (2015) and could
develop into being a very important tool in the process of strengthening democratic
practices and increasing the eff ectiveness of public decisions in Romania.
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74
Abstract
Over the past few decades public-private
partnership or PPP has become a new way for
delivering and fi nancing public sector projects. It
may involve investment in fully economic infra-
structure such as highways, railways, airports,
seaports, etc. up to the investments in social in-
frastructure projects, such as schools, hospitals,
museums and other signifi cant and historic build-
ings of public interest.
The main objective of this article is to an-
alyze the situation in Croatia, Poland, Slova-
kia and Slovenia concerning the topic of pub-
lic-private partnership (PPP) in order to provide
grounds for possible future investments in cultur-
al heritage in these countries. For this purpose,
a comparative analysis of legal and institutional
frameworks was carried out as well as structured
interviews with key stakeholders (public and pri-
vate sector representatives). Special attention
has been paid to the use of PPP projects in the
revitalization of cultural heritage. The results of
the analysis showed the lack of PPP investments
in the cultural sector, and also identifi ed possible
obstacles in public sector administrative proce-
dures.
The results of the analysis may be further
used to stimulate both public authorities to set
strategic directions for heritage revitalization
plans based on PPP schemes as well as pri-
vate investors who may seek feasible business
models complemented with social responsibility
benefi ts.
Keywords: public-private partnership, cul-
tural heritage, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Slove-
nia.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
IN CULTURAL HERITAGE SECTOR
Daniela Angelina JELINČIĆ
Sanja TIŠMA
Matea SENKIĆ
Domagoj DODIG
Daniela Angelina JELINČIĆ (Corresponding author)
PhD, Researcher
Department for Culture and Communication, Institute for
Development and International Relations, Zagreb, Croatia
Tel.: 00385-14-877.487
E-mail: daniela@irmo.hr
Sanja TIŠMA
PhD, Researcher
Department for Resource Economics, Environmental
Protection and Regional Development, Institute for
Development and International Relations, Zagreb, Croatia
Matea SENKIĆ
MA, Associate
Department for Culture and Communication, Institute for
Development and International Relations, Zagreb, Croatia
Domagoj DODIG
Adviser
Agency for Investments and Competitiveness, Zagreb, Croatia
DOI:10.24193/tras.SI2017.5
Published First Online: 2017/12/21
Transylvanian Review
of Administrative Sciences,
Special Issue 2017, pp. 74-89

75
1. Introduction
The lack of fi nancial resources in the fi eld of culture encouraged the search for
alternative fi nancing models which resulted in a number of relatively recent scientifi c
articles and studies (such as European Parliament, 2011; Ventura, Cassalia and Della
Spina, 2016; Oppio and Torrieri, 2016; European Commission, 2016).
Financing models for culture range from the old fashion ones such as public sup-
port to those which so far have not been common in the fi eld of culture (debt and
equity fi nance, crowdfunding, risk mitigation schemes, etc.). Private fi nancing has
historically been present in the fi eld of culture (such as the patronage system
1
), but
has only lately been paid greater a ention. Philanthropic, sponsorship and donation
models have rather widely been common in the cultural sector for some time. Late-
ly, greater focus has been put on various public-private initiatives including fi scal
incentives (such as various tax relieves, percentage legislation, transfer of art in lieu
of tax payment, earmarked taxes, vouchers), matching funds and the involvement
of private companies in the management of cultural institutions. Built cultural heri-
tage usually requires substantial investments due to construction works often needed
for their revitalization. In this sector, public-private partnerships schemes have of-
ten been encouraged ranging from individual and entrepreneurial investments, joint
ventures to grant-giving foundations which are usually with banking origins.
Cultural heritage for most of the governments remains one of the main burning
issues not only because of the high costs of its renovation but also due to investments
required for its protection and maintenance, especially in the Central Europe region.
The aim of this article is to analyze the situation in Croatia, Poland, Slovakia and
Slovenia concerning the topic of public-private partnership (PPP) in order to provide
grounds for possible future investments in cultural heritage in these countries. Theo-
retical framework on public-private partnership is fi rst presented explaining its ben-
efi ts and diff erences from other delivery or procurement models. Then, the article fo-
cuses on PPP in the cultural sector in order to provide reliant examples of this scheme
for culture. Current status of PPP in Croatia, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia is pre-
sented providing a contextual analysis. The empirical part of the article focuses on the
results of interviews conducted both with private and public sector representatives in
order to detect possible obstacles and bo lenecks for greater promotion and imple-
mentation of PPP schemes. Interviews have been conducted within the RESTAURA
project fi nanced through the Interreg CE program of the European Union
2
. Conclu-
1 Dating back to Gaius Mae cenas Cilnio (68 BC – 8 AD), an infl uential adviser to the Roman Em-
peror Augustus, who established a circle of intellectuals and poets (e.g., Horace, Virgil and Prop-
ertius) that he personally protected, encouraged and supported in their artistic production.
2 The project is currently under way, having the duration from June 2016 throughout May 2019.
Its aim is to identify, test, evaluate and promote good practice on PPP in revitalization of historic
cities and buildings.

76
sions are presented and complemented with recommendations which could enhance
cultural heritage revitalization based on PPP.
2. Theoretical background
Generally, there is a low level of understanding of the public-private partnership
term. A number of defi nitions exist and none is widely accepted despite the substan-
tial knowledge collected on the topic, existing national regulations and international
guidelines
3
. The PPP Knowledge Lab defi nes a PPP as ‘a long-term contract between
a private party and a government entity, for providing a public asset or service, in
which the private party bears signifi cant risk and management responsibility, and re-
muneration is linked to performance’ (PPP Knowledge Lab, 2015). Similarly defi ned,
OECD sees PPPs as ‘long term agreements between the government and a private
partner whereby the private partner delivers and funds public services using a capital
asset, sharing the associated risks’ (2016). In practice, a controversial image of PPPs
has been noted due to ‘complicated…and…smoky procedural process’ (Calabrò and
Della Spina apud Ventura, Cassalia and Della Spina, 2016, p. 260) which are thought
to be in place of a hidden privatization of public assets (Politika, 2008; Bašić, 2016, p.
28). Despite possibly existing cases of corruption in that ma er, this article starts from
the premise that public and private parties in PPP projects share the risks both in
investment as well as in management. So, rather than insisting on one all-embracing
defi nition, the usual main characteristics of a PPP are off ered:
–collaborative eff ort of two or more public and private autonomous organizations;
–project concerns a public service or good for public consumption;
–durable character of the project;
–development of mutual products and/or services;
–risk, costs, and benefi ts shared by both parties;
–regulatory responsibility of the public sector;
–payments to the private sector for the delivered services; and
–mutual added value.
‘PPPs may deliver public services both with regards to infrastructure assets (such
as bridges, roads) and social assets (such as hospitals, utilities, prisons)’ (OECD,
2016). Lately, this model has gained a special a ention in the fi eld of cultural heritage
due to a number of built heritage sites globally that needed interventions. In the next
chapter, we specifi cally focus on public-private partnership in the cultural sector.
3 E.g., PPP Knowledge Lab brings information on the PPP environment for as much as 141 coun-
tries worldwide together with a practical guide on PPP investments as well as analyses, challeng-
es and lessons for PPP sectors.

77
3. Public-private partnership in the fi eld of culture
In many cases the government has been seen as the primary guardian of the na-
tion’s heritage, but with the growing pressure to fulfi ll other public demands an