STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL DYNAMICS IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE OF SUCEAVA MUNICIPALITY

• Published in: Geopolitics, history, and international relations history, and international relations, 2015-10, Vol.7 (2), p.217-231
• Main Authors: CHIRIŢĂ, Viorel, Lupchian, Maria-Magdalena, Dondea, Alexandra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cities and towns; City planning; Evolution; Geomorphology; Politics / Political Sciences; Reading; Romania; Social aspects
• ISSN: 1948-9145; 2374-4383

The city of Suceava has evolved differently from most cities in Moldavia, in terms of specific territorial and functional, historical and economic contexts. Today still, in three distinct nuclei (Suceava, overlapping the old town taken over and reshaped by collective residential areas of the communist period; Burdujeni - the old borough, at the boundary with Bukovina, partially converted into an industrial-railway area and a collective housing estate; and Iţcani – the German railway colony, a boundary settlement and counterpart of Burdujeni), the city continues to evolve. Under the impact of the functional reconversion required by the economic transition, a reconversion of the urban landscape occurred, to which residents responded in various ways. This paper aims to capture the scope of these territorial, functional and landscape changes, by analysing the cartographic materials from various periods (1772-1773, 1856, 1979-1982 and 2012). Urban reconversion is assessed by identifying the types of cultural landscapes and the inhabitants’ perception of the changes undergone by the city. The population’s perception was analysed by applying a questionnaire to a representative sample of the town's population. The complexity of the dynamics of the urban landscape of Suceava is an issue that should be taken into account in the design of future urban development strategies.