중동부유럽

The  study  summarises  the main  features  of  the urban  structure  of  Romania,  with  a  special  focus  on metropolitan  development.  Romanian  settlement  development  since  the  regime  change  has  been essentially urban-focused.  Concentrated social,  economic and environmental  problems are identified  at the urban level, which have facilitated the regional division and the designation of regional centres. These specific development  areas have identified  urban and  rural  problems for  which  coherent solutions  have been  sought.  Urban areas  of attraction  are  considered  subordinate  to  the centre,  with  the exception  of tourist destinations, where the geographical  location  of  natural, historical, architectural or artistic assets opens  up  development  opportunities  for  rural  areas  independently  of  cities.  The  Romanian  system provides a starting point for further reflection on the spatial categories of Hungarian spatial development, as it considers the urban-rural functional area as the basic unit of development policy and does not rigidly adhere to the existing administrative structure. The paper presents a specific example of a regional centre, the gateway cities, as a changing development path.