Representatives of several county and local institutions, parliamentarians, members of non-governmental organizations, and residents of communities faced with informal housing attended in two working meetings organized by PACT Foundation and MKBT: Make Better, alongside the project partners at the beginning of August at Corbului (Argeş) and Slatina (Olt).

The purpose of these local events was to provide the context for a necessary debate on informal housing between public actors with local and national responsibilities and to facilitate discussions on possible legislative and public policy solutions needed to solve instances of informal housing at the local level and to limit the spread of the phenomenon.

The purpose of the events organized under the title “Solutions for Informal Settlements in Romania”, was to provide the context for a debate on the need for a legislative initiative defining precisely informal housing in order to regulate it, respectively the need of a national program to stimulate local authorities towards appropriate administrative measures of every type of informal dwelling in Romania.

The events took place in Valea Corbului and Slatina, two relevant sites for discussing the peculiarities of informal living in Romania. In the Argeş village of Valea Corbului there are 350 informal houses, while in Slatina, 450 families live in informal settlements. At national level, over 64,000 families are in this situation without having the right to possess land and their homes, in some cases without identity papers, with limited access to basic utilities and road infrastructure.

• Here, in a document made by MKBT: Make Better and the PACT Foundation, you can find possible legislative solutions for recognizing and improving the living conditions of informal settlements in Romania.

Participants

Valea Corbului, 1 August 2018. The invitation was answered by representatives of the Romanian Parliament – deputy Petre Florin Manole, deputy Daniel Vasile, deputy Nicolae Georgescu – of some relevant county authorities – Argeş Territorial Arrangement and Urban Planning Department, Argeş General Directorate for People Evidence of Argeş, DGASPC Argeş, BJR Argeş – local authorities – Gheorghe Ionescu, Mayor of Călineşti Commune, Bogdan Oancea, Deputy Mayor of Bughea de Jos Commune, Iosif Daniel, Deputy Mayor of Aninoasa, Valentin Velcea, Calinesti local councilor, members of non-governmental organizations, as well as members of the Corbului Valley community and other Arges communities that face the phenomenon of informal housing.

• You can read the ideas that emerged from the debate in Corbului Valley here(in Romanian).

Slatina, August 7, 2018. The list of participants included representatives of the county authorities – Urban Planning Service, Territorial Planning and Discipline in Construction; Public Administration Service; General Directorate for the People Evidence of Olt, OJCPI Olt, DGASPC Olt, BJR Olt and the Olt Water Management Service, as well as representatives of all services relevant to the topic in the Slatina City Hall. Other respondents of the invitation, deputy PSD Petre Florin Manole, county councilors – Mr. George Şofaru PSD, Ms. Gherghina Ionita ALDE, Mr. Gabriel Nicolescu PNL, local PNL councilor Mr. Ionuţ Comănescu, as well as Mr. Silviu Anton – President of USR Olt and Mr. Sandu Curt – President of the Pro-Europa Olt Roma Party Association.

• You can read the ideas that emerged from the debate in Slatina here(in Romanian)

Photos from the two local meetings: