Editorial: Urban Planning Reform, Green Infrastructure and the Need for Climate-Savvy Governance

by Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir

A recent article highlights an urgent demand from urban-planning experts: Romania needs the new urban development code, which currently is stalled in Parliament, in order to catch up with the rapid growth and sprawl of its cities. As the article argues, many urban expansions happened without adequate infrastructure, and now "cities expand, but infrastructure collapses." (https://www.antena3.ro/economic/expertii-cer-adoptarea-urgenta-a-noului-cod-al-urbanismului-orasele-se-extind-dar-infrastructura-cedeaza-768433.html)

This is not just an issue of roads or utilities. The urban form and planning rules fundamentally determine how cities respond or fail to respond to climate change challenges. When expansion is unregulated, green spaces are lost, drainage systems are overburdened, flood risks increase, and the capacity of a city to adapt to heat, water stress, flooding or biodiversity loss dramatically decreases. That's why the work of institutions like Support Center for Climate Actions (CSAC) becomes indispensable. CSAC's mission is to support Climate Action Plans (CAPs), promote Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), and strengthen climate governance through climate councils or advisory bodies. A modernized urban planning code, meaning one that codifies green-blue infrastructure, smart zoning, flood-resilient development, public-space standards and climate risk criteria, can offer the regulatory basis to make NBS and CAPs effective.

Why a new urban code and CSAC / climate councils go hand-in-hand

• Green infrastructure as climate backbone. Green infrastructure (GIs) (e.g. parks, street trees, permeable surfaces, wetlands etc.) is internationally recognized as a key tool to adapt to climate change and reduce vulnerabilities. If urban laws don't require or facilitate GIs, then efforts by CSAC and local councils risk being superficial.

• Preventing urban sprawl and promoting resilience. The new code could rationalize urban expansion but also embed climate-resilience criteria to reduce the risk of uncontrolled urban sprawl that overloads infrastructure. Without legal predictability and zoning aligned with climate resilience, even the best-designed plans are difficult to implement.

• Institutional capacity and coordination. CSAC and climate councils provide technical expertise, the multi-stakeholder coordination, and long-term vision that pure market-driven development lacks. They can translate climate science and green infrastructure concepts into concrete regulations, city plans and citizen-friendly policies.

• Aligning with international best practice. Globally, more cities are integrating NBS and green infrastructure into master plans. Recent analyses show that urban green infrastructure (UGI) delivers climate mitigation and adaptation benefits, enhances biodiversity, improves water management, reduces urban heat islands, and supports social well-being. Romania should not lag behind.

What needs to happen now

• The new urban code must be adopted without further delay — and must explicitly integrate climate resilience criteria: green-blue infrastructure, permeable surfaces, flood retention zones, green corridors, public green space quotas, and strict controls over impermeable sealing.
• Local authorities, guided by CSAC and climate councils, must embed CAPs and NBS strategies into urban development plans — not as an afterthought, but as foundational elements of city planning.
• Awareness must grow: citizens need to understand that "more asphalt, more buildings" is not progress. Real progress means livable, climate-safe, green and resilient cities.
• Resources should be allocated (e.g. through public funding, incentives, technical support etc.) to implement climate-smart urban development, not just traditional concrete-heavy expansion.

The call for a new urban code emphasizes a painful truth: Romania's urban expansion is outpacing its vision for sustainable infrastructure and, without regulatory reform, green planning and climate governance risk to remain marginal.

In contrast, CSAC and associated climate councils represent the institutional capacity to ensure that climate mitigation and adaptation are not afterthoughts, but structural priorities embedded in laws, planning, and practice.

Romania can still reshape its urban future: resilient, green, equitable. But we need both the law that guides development, and the institutions that guarantee climate-smart governance.