Department:

Urban Planning and Territorial Development

Course Leader:

lect.dr.urb. Matei Cocheci

Learning outcomes:

Understanding the relationships between sustainable development goals—established at international, European, and national levels—and the ways in which urban planning and design contribute to achieving them.

Analyzing how urban planning and spatial planning documentation, as well as strategic planning documents, can support sustainable development goals in alignment with legislative provisions.

Understanding how various aspects of sustainable development can be monitored and evaluated.

Content:

1. Introduction. Why sustainable spatial development?

2. International principles for sustainable development. The Sustainble Development Goals.

3. European principles for sustainable development. From the Leipzig Charter to the 2030 Territorial Agenda.

4. Sustainable spatial development in Romania: governance, strategies and development policies.

5. Sustainable spatial development in Romania: territorial and urban plans.

6. Research in the field of sustainable development. Practical application

7. Managing urbanization: the compact and accessible city

8. Housing issues: the liveable city.

9. The climate change challenge: resilient cities and territories.

10. Managing resources: circular cities and territories.

11. Digitalization and smart governance

12. Discussions - case studies.

13. Financing, implementing and monitoring.

14. Synthesis: analysing an urban project using sustainability criteria

Teaching Method:

Lectures, video presentations, individual and teamwork during the courses, discussing required readings.

Assessment:

Exercises: research in sustainable development, case studies - analysing plans (in teams) - 50 %.
Exam - 50 %.

Bibliography:

United Nations - Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Eurostat. Sustainable development in the European Union — Monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context — 2026 edition
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-flagship-publications/w/ks-01-25-064

SDSN – Europe Sustainable Development Report 2026: SDG Pathways to 2030 and Mid-Century. https://eu-dashboards.sdgindex.org/

Council of Europe / CEMAT – Guiding Principles for Sustainable Spatial Development of the European Continent

Noua Carta de la Lepzig – 2020: Transformative Power of Cities for the Common Good
https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/downloads/EN/eu-presidency/gemeinsame-erklaerungen/new-leipzig-charta-2020.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=8

Territorial Agenda 2030 – A future for all places (2020), territorialagenda.eu

National Strategy of Integrated Urban Development for Resilient, Green, Inclusive and Competitive Cities 2022 - 2035 - Romania's Urban Policy, https://www.mdlpa.ro/pages/politicaurbanaro2035

Law no. 169/2026 regarding the Code for territorial and urban planning and constructions

UN-Habitat – World Cities Report 2026: The Global Housing Crisis – Pathways to Action, https://unhabitat.org/world-cities-report-2026

Notes:

-