Aspects on the Transformation and Decline of Mining Communities in Romania

Bianca RADU*¹
* Corresponding author
¹ Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences Department of Public Administration and Management, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA
E-mail: bianca.radu@fspac.ro
Pages: 207-218. DOI: 10.19188/11JSSP022016

Cite: Radu B. (2016), Aspects on the Transformation and Decline of Mining Communities in Romania. Journal of Settlements and Spatial Planning, 7(2), 207-218. DOI: 10.19188/11JSSP022016

Abstract. The paper aims to analyze the evolution of mining communities from Romania after 1997, period in which most of the mining exploitations were closed. We analyzed the influence of five factors on the change of population and number of employees between 1996 and 2015, namely: share of area covered with agricultural land in 1996; 2) area covered with forest, 3) distance from county seat; 4) share of young people (between 0 and 19 years old) in the total population in 1996; and 5) share of public housing in 1993. The analysis of statistical data was conducted for 383 mining communities. In addition, we conducted a qualitative analysis in two former mining communities of Maramureș County, namely Borșa and Cavnic, in order to grasp a better understanding of how the mining communities changed over time and identify the factors that influenced their evolution. The results indicate that share of youth in total population, area covered with agricultural land and forest, distance from county seat, and share of public housing do matter for the redevelopment of a mining community; however, the intensity of their influence depends on the conditions existing at local level.

K e y w o r d s: mining communities, population change, industrial restructuring, depleted communities, Romania