Public–Private Partnerships in Romanian New Urban Developments—A Potential Valuable Instrument in the Privatization Era

Abstract

The large metropolitan areas from Romania are facing a lack of public land in the context of an increased demographic pressure, especially in the areas that concentrate on multiple economic activities (the population relocates according to professional opportunities), increased pressure from the real estate developers that want to monetize their properties, and last but not least an increased community demand for public facilities within reasonable distance from their home (education centres, healthcare facilities, public squares, markets, parks, playgrounds, cultural facilities, recreational areas). In addition, unlike other European Union member states, Romania currently has the highest percentage of private properties (~98% of the dwellings stock), together with multiple restitution of property rights after 1990 and the transfer of many old industrial platforms to private companies. All these factors had gradually led to a drastic decrease in public land and to the difficulties for the local authorities to develop the minimum public and social facilities. The expropriation law may be used for the development of public facilities, but it involves a lot of time and financial resources that authorities usually do not have. For this reason, most of the urban facilities were developed before 1990, based on the Disposition of the Romanian Communist Party from 1972. The public–private partnership represents a relatively new instrument defined by Romanian law in 2010 and its possibility to be extended as a territorial planning instrument was not yet explored. Starting from the analysis of the legal framework regarding this aspect in France and Poland (where this concept has been implemented since 1955 in France and 2004 in Poland), the objective was to identify the ways in which these partnerships can support the balance between public and private interest in the new urban developments, can become a tool for urban planning and can develop the public facilities using the financial potential of the private sector.