Cătălina ANCUȚA, Martin OLARU, Nicolae POPA, Ramona IȘFĂNESCU IVAN & Liviu JIGORIA-OPREA
West University of Timișoara, Faculty of Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Department of Geography, Blvd. V. Pârvan, no.4, Timișoara, 300223, Romania, catalina.ancuta@e-uvt.ro, martinolaru@yahoo.com, npopa1961@yahoo.com, ramona_isf@yahoo.com, liviuji@yahoo.com

EVALUATION OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS. CASE STUDY: RURAL SETTLEMENTS FROM ROMANIAN BANAT

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Sustainable development is a major objective of the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP), with rural areas being target areas, favored for intervention due to recognition of their vulnerability. The present study aims to assess the cumulative effects of post-communist transition on sustainable development of rural settlements in a regional area of Romania – Banat – as well as to identify the determinants of different sustainability levels. The study employs qualitative data provided by different institutions and open access online databases, obtained through semi-structured interviews conducted with the authorities and source-individuals coming from the communities selected as case studies, respectively through direct and indirect observation. The methodology consisted of: analysis of the environmental dimension of countryside sustainability; assessment of socio-economic and institutional sustainability of rural settlements, based on selected indicators; the correlative analysis of rural settlements efficiency levels and their interaction with their regional structural elements (axes, poles) in order to establish a typology of rural areas, suggestive of the role and place of rural settlements in the regional system; identification of factors responsible for different levels of sustainability, through case studies for each type of space. Most rural settlements in Banat (49.72%) fall into the deep rural type, works out of inertia, present a very low level of reactive resilience, and they are characterized by pronounced social and economic vulnerability. 31.36% of the settlements are intermediate rural areas, featuring moderate sustainability, and moderate reactive resilience. These rural settlements have the potential of becoming the most sustainable in the Banat area. 9.46% of rural settlements have high levels of reactive resilience, making up integrated rural areas that function in interdependence with the regional urban pole. Given the rise of ecological vulnerability, these settlements have moderate sustainability. 9.46% are settlements in difficulty, lacking resilience, with very pronounced social and economic vulnerability.