Exploring the Urban Strength of Small Towns in Romania

Ilinca-Valentina Stoica (), Antoni F. Tulla (), Daniela Zamfir () and Alexandru-Ionuț Petrișor ()
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Ilinca-Valentina Stoica: University of Bucharest
Antoni F. Tulla: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Daniela Zamfir: University of Bucharest
Alexandru-Ionuț Petrișor: Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism

Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, 2020, vol. 152, issue 3, No 2, 843-875

Abstract: Abstract Small towns have long been overshadowed, but in recent years, there is a growing recognition of their territorial role, both on the research agenda and on the European Union level, simultaneously with an increasing awareness of their heterogeneity. In spite of this, studies focused on small towns in Eastern Europe are few in relation to the large numbers in the area and the role of this paper is to contribute at filling in this gap. In Romania, there are 225 small towns (under 20,000 inhabitants), which constitute 70% of the entire urban system. In order to measure their urban characteristics, a multi-dimensional (composite) index was developed, called Index of Urban Strength. For the index, 22 relevant indicators were selected and grouped in three dimensions under the form of secondary indexes (demographic, socio-economic, infrastructure and land-use). Then, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) method was applied for each dimension, and the influential variables were identified. Finally, the index was computed allowing the assignment of different levels of urban strength (very low, low, medium and high) to Romanian small towns. The paper provides new insights related to the uneven development of small towns, allowing for comparative analyses and advocating the need to develop specific policies for each of the identified categories. The results indicate a spatial differentiation at the macro-region level, with the small towns with very low or low index of urban strength more prevalent in the East and South of the country than in the Centre and the West.

Keywords: Urban strength; Small towns; Hierarchy; Political will; Urban status; Romania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11205-020-02465-x

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