Pedestrianisation in Cluj-Napoca. An Economic (Re)Development Tool?

Bogdan-Nicolae PĂCURAR1
1 Cluj County Council, Urbanism and Territorial Planning Department, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA
E-mail: pacurarbogdan@ymail.com
Pages: 95-99

Abstract. Pedestrianisation is seen by many as a saviour of downtowns areas, a powerful tool in combating services periferialisation in urban areas. My intent, through the article at hand, was to see whether the recent pedestrianisation of Cluj-Napoca’s old town had managed, so far, to reclaim, to reform, from an economical point of view, the city center, thus making it better, not only for businesses, but also for all people. Therefore, a series of criteria, from retail diversity to the number of social-cultural events, was employed to examine the situation on the ground. However, the outcome of this endeavour does not paint an auspicious picture, which means that Cluj-Napoca’s pedestrianisation process, the conversion of streets into car-free areas, did not generate a comprehensive revitalisation of the city center, lacking the capacity to create a strong economic environment on its own.

K e y w o r d s:  walkability, pedestrianisation, economic revitalisation, Cluj-Napoca, city center, clone space, ghost space, variety