Landscape Democracy 2015 Working Group E - Case Study 2

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North-South Road Axis Alternative for Bucharest - Landscape Democracy vs non-democracy

Place name	Berzei-Buzesti-Uranus Alternative Road Axis
Location	Bucharest
Country	Romania
Author(s)	Miruna Draghia

Rationale: Why have you chosen this case for the landscape and democracy seminar?

I have chosen a very debated and well-known case from Bucharest,North-South Axis - Berzei-Buzesti, because it is an example of both good and bad democracy over an urban landscape. This project was divided into three stages, the only finalised one being the first - which is the bad side of the landscape democracy and governance, while the second is in the final stage of approval. The third one is still pending, because of the community involvement and pressure over the public authorites. I have also chosen this controversial case study because it is about a public intervention, on one side, with a social character and collective/ public interest, on the other hand, an intevention with historical and cultural character, aimed at restructuring a historic urban tissue from the central area of the city.

Representation of your observations

The aim of this project is to relieve and redistribute the traffic from the center area of Bucharest, facilitating the connection between principal landmarks of the city: North Railway Station, Victory Square (the government location), historical centre, Izvor Sqaure (the Parliament House) and the south part of the city. The project of building this new axis (Buzesti-Uranus) is considered one of the most courageous and highly important urban intervention in the last 20 years in Bucharest regarding the road infrastructure in the central area and the replacement of an urban tissue. Without any public debate or even a town planning document (PUZ - zonal urbanistic plan), public authorities started expropriation and demolition processes in the necessary area for building the new boulevard. Because we are talking about the central and historical area of the city, in this processes were involved a consistent number of protected and historical buildings. One of the most famous and well-known building which has been demolished was Matache The Butcher Hall. After a lot of pressure from the NGO's, public authorities started to design a planning document (PUZ), whose aim was to remedy the mismanagement of the initial phase of the project. The main problems regarding landscape and democracy for this intervention were the public authorities' communication incapacity and the lack of transperancy in the planning process. Besides the public authorities lack of interest in public participation, co-design, placemaking, Romanian law and institutional framework are also inadequate for citizens real needs of these times.

• Design Synthesis Drawings
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Reflection

What could be a starting point for democractically-based change?

• Please add approx. 150 words for each questions

References

http://reteaualiterara.ning.com/profiles/blogs/salvati-piata-matache http://www.activewatch.ro/Assets/Upload/files/Viziune-alternativa-Platforma_pt-primarie-si-CTUAT.pdf http://issuu.com/zeppelin.magazine/docs/dosarul_buzesti-uranus http://sorinoprescu.ro/proiecte/diametrala-buzesti-berzei-uranus http://www.observatorulurban.ro/prezentarea-axei-buzeti-uranus-la-uauim-iii.html http://www.rfi.ro/social-68732-galerie-foto-axa-buze-ti-berzei-uranus-mai-face-o-victim-vezi-ce-spune-nicu-or-dan http://arhitectura-1906.ro/2011/12/dosar-comentat-buzesti-berzei-uranus-invitat-constantin-enache/