Peripheral Cores or Central Peripheries?

Vasile SURD1, Camelia-Maria KANTOR2, Bogdan-Nicolae PĂCURAR1
1 Babeş-Bolyai University, Faculty of Geography, Centre on Research of Settlements and Urbanism, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA
2 Claflin University, School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Department of History & Sociology, Claflin, USA
E-mail: vsurd@geografie.ubbcluj.ro, ckantor@claflin.edu, pacurarbogdan@gmail.com
Pages: 167-172

Abstract. This present study provides a comparative overview of the core-periphery relationship of urban and rural areas in Romania based on one major parameter: segregated spatial distribution, driven and impacted by axiomatic factors such as time constraints and socio-economic disparities caused by political decisions, wealth, and available infrastructure. Overall, existent data suggest that: (1) both peripheries and cores are the result of political decisions resulting in wide wealth gaps; (2) evident segregation of the poor and rich peripheries is evidenced by spatial distribution of residential areas according to proximity, respectively distance to certain sites (waste disposal, contaminated areas, central urban location), and (3) poor and rich peripheries are both dominated by isomorphic social and infrastructure structures and functions.

K e y w o r d s:  core, periphery, segregation, Central-Eastern Europe, Romania