Ana Petrescu, 2020: The European Danube Commission and the Romanian ports of the maritime Danube. 1856-1948
The paper focuses on the study of the development of the Danube port-cities in the Brăila-Sulina sector in the period 1856-1948 and the urbanistic study of the ports as functional urban areas and engines of development of the local and regional urban economy. By identifying the characteristic elements of this type of functional area, the work can be a basis for a better scientific foundation of urban planning operations in port areas and the valorisation of the special status of port cities.
The research is carried out through the prism of the economic, political and administrative influence of the EDC and the way it has contributed to the development of port cities and the territory of the waterway. In this respect, the research pays particular attention to the way in which the administrative presence and constructive activity of the European Commission of the Danube on the Romanian territory contributed to the urban, architectural and economic development of the sea-river port-cities and the navigable course of the maritime Danube.
The main themes and research directions pursued in this paper are the following:
- River commissions and the international river regime: the principles of free river navigation in the modern period, the political and economic context that made this possible, the great works of systematisation of European and world waterways, including the Danube River, and the creation of a European-wide river transport network
- European Commission for the Danube: critical study of the political context of its establishment and of legislative and administrative developments through international treaties and conferences, in parallel with other Danube Commissions that have been set up in parallel with it
- The contributions of the European Commission of the Danube to the development of the territory by studying the hydrotechnical works carried out along the maritime Danube and the spatial transformations generated by these works, the built heritage created to support the fluidity of navigation, the properties owned in the main port cities and specifically in the Braila-Sulina sector and the social involvement in improving the quality of life of its employees.
- The ranking and classification of the port-cities in the Braila - Sulina sector in relation to the presence of the European Commission of the Danube on Romanian territory
- Classification of the Romanian ports adjacent to the Danube Sea according to a series of parameters identified in the research as relevant from an urban, economic, geographical and technical point of view
- Morpho-typological characteristics of sea-river ports in the modern period and grouping of the component elements according to their utility
- Bi-directional development of port infrastructure and commercial activities in ports in relation to the development of port cities; urban planning study of ports as functional urban areas and study of the components of port territories in relation to their position in the hierarchy of port cities.
More from the thesis abstract:
https://www.uauim.ro/f/doctorat/sustineri_teze/Ana_PETRESCU_CED_si_porturi__fluvio-maritime_Rezumat.pdf
