摘要：The paper is part of the study "Specific problems of the development of the settlement network in south-eastern Romania. Regions of development 3 (South), 4 (South-West) and 8 (Bucharest-Ilfov)" elaborated during 2004 – 2006, within the AMTRANS programme funded by the Ministry of Education and Research, coordinated by INCD – URBANPROIECT in partnership with the Institute of Geography of the Romanian Academy and the Qualification in Statistics National Centre. The general objective of the project was sustainable and balanced spatial development of the settlement network and promotion of new relationships between urban and rural. Concretely, the study has produced a model of a polycentric and balanced settlement network according to the European principles. The case study testing and validating this model took place in southern Romania, territory exhibiting acutely the entire range of problems related to the state of the settlement network: profoundly large rural areas, accentuated dynamics of declaring new cities without sufficient evidence, excessive polarization exercised by Bucharest, etc. The paper presents the intervention directions needed to balance in the territory urban poles within the studied area, focusing on the establishment of orientation policies to consolidate the role of each settlement based on the hierarchical level of importance: European, national, regional, and local. The paper also identifies possible functional urban areas: the metropolitan area of Bucharest, areas of potential strategic integration, areas of cooperation between the small and medium-sized cities and the rural regions. Within each of these areas, the paper proposes to establish new relationships between urban and rural based on partnership, involving cooperation and coordination in achieving common goals. The study considers that the poles of development are the key element of proposed model, and their identification, formation, and balanced distribution must represent the main direction of action, orienting policies for the sustainable development of the urban system. The constant financial effort needed to implement integrated policies for a balanced development of the settlement network results into a long term improvement of living conditions in urbane and rural communities.
关键词：settlement network; policentricity; urban poles of development; balance; ;urban-rural partnership
