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URBAN PLANNING AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM
Responding to the challenges of local economic development during the economic transition in Romania requires a proactive approach to urban planning and management. The UPLED project is targeting the cities of Oradea, Iasi and Focsani with comprehensive assistance to develop city strategies and corresponding structures to integrate economic development efforts with improvements in urban planning, financial planning and capital investment programming. The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and The Harvard University Graduate School of Design (HGSD) and are providing capacity building assistance to the cities as part of the USAID Local Government Assistance Program.
UPLED Program Structure The three cities appointed an interdisciplinary team from the government, NGOs and/or the private sector to work with the RTI/HGSD team over the course of a year. The city teams, along with other invited participants, are exchanging experiences through three capacity building seminars held in each of the three cities. In between the seminars, the RTI/HGSD teams are providing inter-disciplinary technical assistance on specific issues. The first seminar, held in Oradea in September 2000, focused on improving the capacity of the city teams to identify and prioritize key urban and economic development challenges facing local government authorities. The city teams identified the following key issues linking their economic development strategies with urban management and land use planning:
In response to these priorities, the focus of subsequent seminars in Iasi and Focsani, as well as the capacity building assistance is concentrating on four key areas:
Second UPLED Seminar The Second UPLED Seminar was co-hosted the City of Iasi and HGSD in Association with RTI from March 20 to March 23, 2001 in the City Council Chambers of City Hall. The Seminar focused on the work the cities have done in structuring their development strategy and supportive financial mechanisms to implement the strategy. The case studies developed for the seminar illustrated innovative approaches to urban planning and management and public private partnerships to support economic development and improve the attractiveness of city as a place to live and conduct business. The proceedings will be disseminated through the Romanian Planners Association web page. Oradea Mayor Petru Phillip presented the City Development Strategy, approved by the City Council in 2000. Many elements of the strategy are being implemented and incorporated into the capital investment program including the rehabilitation of the main street district, housing and social programs. The local economy has been growing and there is continued interest in new manufacturing activities by outside investors. Unemployment is estimated a 5% and there is increasing labor mobility in the local economy. Mayor Phillip indicated Oradea's interest in updating the city's local economic development strategy and creating an economic advisory group that would include city hall and businesses to update the strategy. Oradea would also like assistance in setting up cooperative relations between Oradea and the neighboring seven communes. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Mayors. The two case studies were on: the rehabilitation of mixed-use and mixed- ownership buildings in partnership with the existing tenants and owners; and a land exchange, based on a market assessment, with a private owner to consolidate the privately held and city owned parcels to allow both parties to better utilize the land. Focsani The Development Strategy started with Oradea Seminar in September 2000. After the seminar, the Mayor proposed, and City Council approved the formation of a Strategy Department located within the Urban Planning Department. An Advisory Group has been working, with the assistance of HGSD and Citizen participation component to elaborate the strategy. The presentation by the City Team in Focsani illustrated that the City Strategy and the Capital Investment Program are being integrated. A Draft Strategy will be completed by June with the final strategy to be submitted to the City Council in September 2001. The two case studies were on: the new city market financed by a three-year commercial loan; and a new housing project with rental and ownership units. Iasi The City presented the first stage of its Strategy for Economic and Social Development for Iasi developed as part of Agenda 21. The Strategy presented by the City Team was approved by the City Council on March 22, the second stage, will focus on developing action plans. Regarding the streamlining of the planning and approval process, Iasi has been in the forefront of creating a favorable business climate for business development. The City received the five star designations for the US Embassy and is very proud of it. The City has also been active in its efforts to negotiate with commercial companies to work out payments for delayed taxes. The case studies were on: Land readjustment with private owners to create a space for a public park; and the reconfiguration of small commercial shops as part of a larger project for a mall developed in partnerships with the University and a private developer. Seminar Proceedings We invite you to look over the summarization of seminar proceedings presented below. Each of the following sections from the Table of Contents can be viewed and printed in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format:
The proceedings from the previous seminar in Oradea are also available for viewing.
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