Visualizing a Sustainable Future in Rural Romania: Agrotourism and Vernacular Architecture

Raul-Cătălin Oltean (), Carl T. Dahlman () and Felix-Horatiu Arion
Additional contact information
Raul-Cătălin Oltean: Department of Economic Sciences, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Carl T. Dahlman: Department of Geography and Walker Institute of International and Area Studies, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Felix-Horatiu Arion: Department of Economic Sciences, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-23

Abstract: In Romania, rural communities grapple with decades of depopulation and economic decline, endangering the natural and cultural richness of their landscapes. The implementation of Romania’s 2030 sustainable development plan presents an opportunity to reverse these trends by merging economic and community development with cultural preservation. This paper examines the potential for creating new livelihood opportunities through a program that integrates sustainable agrotourism with culturally appropriate vernacular architecture in Romania’s distinct rural regions. Focusing on two such regions characterized by significant rural population decline yet endowed with ecological services capable of supporting a diverse rural economy, we collaborated with an architect and landscape engineer to devise three specific and detailed agritourist housing scenarios. These scenarios draw upon local architectural forms harmonious with the vernacular landscape, providing accommodations for agrotourism guests and facilitating craft workshops for visitors interested in rural crafts and traditions. We evaluated the cultural appropriateness of the architectural designs through a social survey and assessed the broader social utility of the development plan via an expansive cost–benefit analysis, treating the project’s sustainability features as quasi-public goods. Such interdisciplinary endeavours are essential for effectively bridging conceptually driven social analysis with pragmatic design and planning strategies, essential for achieving sustainable futures for rural communities and landscapes, as exemplified by rural Romania.

Keywords: cost–benefit analysis; quasi-public goods; participatory urbanisms; visual assessment; rural development; agritourism; rural landscape integration; blending (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/8/1219/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/8/1219/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:8:p:1219-:d:1442117

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().