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Sustainability of urban areas as reflected by the urban formThe concept of urban development has become increasingly significant as a target for creating a better future for the world - both economically, socially and environmentally (Munier 2011, Zhou et al. 2015). Within this situation, sustainable urban development plays an important role in achieving global sustainability targets. Thus, to "make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable" is the specific urban goal proposed in 2014 by the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals for United Nations ' Millennium Development Goals.At the European Union level, the idea of moving from urban sprawl to a 'compact city' has been proposed as one way to achieve improved urban sustainability (European Commission 1990, 2014). The concept became central in the sustainable development debate and it consequently translated into policy and practice (Burton 2002). Strategies on revitalisation and regeneration of inner-urban areas, built-up densification or reuse of brownfields were used in land use planning policy in many countries to stimulate compactness.Scientific research brought evidence in support of compact development (Jabareen 2006, Jenks and Burgess 2000). The claimed advantages of a compact city are well documented and they consist of increased efficiency of transport infrastructure (Gusdorf and Hallegatte 2007), lower costs for maintenance and higher performance of public utilities (Farmani and Butler 2014), much smaller areas of land used to extend the built-up environment and less landscape fragmentation (Chen et al. 2008), the ability to encourage social interaction due to high-density of built-up areas (Elkin et al. 1991), and less need to travel by car, thus reduced noise and fuel emissions.However, the downsides of compactness should be acknowledged, especially by planners and practitioners (Burton 2002). A higher density of built-up areas is sometimes achieved through the conversion of open and green areas. Moreover, as cities become denser, they lose the ability to mitigate the urban heat island process (Cheval and Dumitrescu 2009). Such issues should be recognized and documented, as they are important in how planning decisions are taken.Most former socialist cities are regarded as having a high degree of compactness (Hirt 2013, Sýkora and Ourednek 2007). The socialist urban planning system maintained the urban compactness through the almost exclusive predominance of the public sector in housing provision, the inhabitants' reliance on public transport that prevailed during that time and the ideological nature of planning strategies that promoted dense urbanization to foster collective identity (Halleux et al. 2012). Moreover, the patterns of urban expansion were governed by master plans devised and approved in a top-down approach.In Romania, after the 1990's, decision-making and administrative decentralization allowed the county and local authorities to adopt particular urban development strategies (Stanilov 2007). Through projects of urban renewal, infill development or urban expansion, the authorities tried to meet the new expectations of the local communities. These projects were, however, directly influenced by the importance of the urban administrative centre and the authorities ' ability to attract private investments and to support the public ones.Scoffham and Marat-Mendes (2013) highlighted that the sustainability of an urban area lies mostly in its ability to adapt to society's needs. Local authorities should identify the means to maintain a balance between the pressures imposed by the demographic, social and technological changes (Chen et al. 2008), and to achieve the rational use of the resources necessary to support the development of built-up areas (Echenique et al. 2012).Sustainable urban development can also be achieved through a balanced spatial structure promoted by well-coordinated spatial development policies (European Commission 1999). …

DO POST-SOCIALIST URBAN AREAS MAINTAIN THEIR SUSTAINABLE COMPACT FORM? ROMANIAN URBAN AREAS AS CASE STUDY