摘要：Urban growth is one of the foremost spatial and functional processes in Romania, leading to an increase in the demand for housing, transport and infrastructure. Urban growth generally occurs dispersed throughout rural areas in the proximity of towns, under the form of urban sprawl. The current paper is seeking to assess urban sprawl in Romania after 1990 (the post-communist period) based on CORINE Land Cover (CLC) database. Two sub-periods were selected for this assessment (1990–2000 and 2000–2012) in relation to the particular political, socio-economic and decisional transformations. Given the regional particularities of land use/cover changes and the way the socio-economic transformations have been manifested regionally, the current assessment has been performed for each Development Region of Romania (NUTS 2 level). The study identifies the intra- and inter-regional differences of urban sprawl in relation to the spatial and functional patterns of built-up areas expansion. Generally, urban sprawl occurs at the expense of arable lands, pastures and natural complex cultivation patterns especially inside and outside the cities limits (e.g., Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi, Oradea, Constanţa). However, regional differences are visible in relation to the natural and socio-economic conditions. Hence, North-West and South-West Development Regions registered the highest shares of built-up areas (around 60%), while South-East and West Development Regions the lowest (under 50%). The results of the current study provide useful data on the urban sprawl in Romania, highlighting the regional differences of the phenomenon in order to support further planning and management of land resources and land consumption.
