The Government approved, in Wednesday’s meeting, at the proposal of the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration (MDLPA), Romania’s Urban Policy, which has among its priority objectives the creation of climate-smart cities, according to Agerpres.

„It is a reform assumed within the PNRR, the normative act adopted today means a new milestone fulfilled on time, being the first strategic document at the national level dedicated to urban development,” stated relevant minister Cseke Attila, quoted in the press release.

The National Integrated Urban Development Strategy for Resilient, Green, Inclusive and Competitive Cities proposes a vision of sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban development of Romania for the period 2022-2035, a concrete instrument for transposing the objectives and principles of the framework documents at the national level European and global level. It also constitutes a framework for substantiating urban policies and local strategies, respecting the principle of local autonomy and subsidiarity, a common agenda of central and local public authorities for improving the urban development framework, by providing a set of measures coherent and through the coordination and correlation of the sectoral areas and the different actors, the cited source mentions.

The Ministry specifies that this represents a participatory, collaborative framework, open to all actors involved in the urban and territorial development process, to change mentalities regarding the present and future development of Romanian cities and metropolitan areas.

„The priority objectives of the Urban Policy aim at sustainability, the creation of smart cities from a climate point of view, through the development of green-blue infrastructure to mitigate and adapt to urban risks, the intensification of economic activity, by offering favorable living conditions, increasing the job offers and improving access to well-served business centers, improving living conditions, especially by expanding access to housing and public services and improving administrative capacity and cooperation between jurisdictions and sectors,” says the MDLPA.

According to the press release, the two main factors that shaped the development of Romania’s Urban Policy are the alignment with European principles, goals and practices, respectively combating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban areas.

„This draft correlates with other legislative initiatives adopted or in the process of being adopted, such as the Law on Metropolitan Areas, the National Housing Strategy, the Law on urban mobility, the Code of territorial development, urbanism and constructions,” states the Ministry of Development.

Agerpres