Course Leader:

conf.dr.arh Gabriel Pascariu

Learning outcomes:

The main objective of the course is to get students familiar with the cohesion and regional development policies of the European Union by providing the knowledge and understanding of their mechanisms, legal and institutional framework, specific tools and their evolution at both levels of the European Union and national. The course is also aiming to develop capacity and skill to make use of the adequate terminology, concepts, theories, models and specific methods to explain, interpret and elaborate strategies, policies, programmes, projects and regional development studies. Other specific objectives are: the use of planning and design methods and techniques and the skills of interpreting and representing regional disparities in strategies, plans and development programmes at various territorial / regional levels and the knowledge, identification, understanding, interpretation and use of general legal, institutional and financial framework at national and European levels, relevant for regional development.

Content:

Content of main lectures
1. Introduction (objectives, evaluation method, course structure, terminology)
2. Region – a basic concept of the regional development policy (meaning, typology)
3. Regional development policy in EU (cohesion policy, treaties, EU institutions, NUTS system)
4. Institutions and tools for regional development, principles and regulations
5. Programming principle and programming documents
6. Regional disparities in the EU / cohesion reports / analyses and representations
7. Regional development in Romania and the integration process in the EU structures (stages, legal and institutional framework)
8. Regional development Agencies (role, typologies, models, financial sources)
9. Characteristics of the 8 Romanian Development Regions; regional development indicators and measuring disparities (studies, analyses, representations, Growth Poles)
10. National Development Plan, the Partnership Agreement and the last Operational Programmes
11. Regionalisation process (decentralisation and administrative reform)
12. Regional development and territorial planning.
Practical exercises:
1. Comparative analyses of regional development policies in various European member states
2. Comparative analyses of the last Romanian Regional Operational Programmes
3. A scientific paper on a specific topic on cohesion and regional development policy

Teaching Method:

Lectures, inter-active presentations, debates and text analyses

Assessment:

Evaluation tests during the semester, final paper and presentation during the final session

Bibliography:

1. Antonescu, D. 2011, Dezvoltarea regională – tendințe, mecanisme, instituții (Regional development –trends, mechanisms and institutions), ed. TopForm, București
2. Bakk, M. (coord.), Benedek, J. (coord.), 2010, Politicile regionale în România (Regional policies in Romania), ed. Polirom, Iași
3. Constantin, D.L., 2001, Introducere în teoria și practica dezvoltării regionale (Introduction to theory and practice of regional development), Ed. Economică, București
4. Benedek, J., 2004, Amenajarea teritoriului și dezvoltarea regională (Territorial Planning and Regional Development), ed. Presa Universitară Clujeană
5. Pascariu, G., et al., 2002, Impact of EU Cohesion Policy on Social and Economic Regional Development in Romania, Impact study 9, ed. by Romanian European Institute, Bucharest
6. Popescu, C.R. (coord.), 2003, Disparități regionale în dezvoltarea economico-socială a României (Regional disparities in the economic and social Romanian development), ed. Meteor Press, Buc.
7. Romanian Regional Development Act 315 / 2015
8. Programming documents (Partnership Agreement 2014, Operational programmes, EU 2020 Strategy)
9. Magazine Urbanismul – Serie Nouă, nr. 4 (Development Poles), 11 (Regionalization)
10. Scientific magazines: Journal of Urban and Regional Analysis, Romanian Journal of Regional Science, Romanian Review of Regional Studies

Notes:

Minimal conditions for promotion: minimal presence, at least one evaluation test, elaboration and presentation of a final scientific paper during the session.