Local/Regional Economic Development in South ... - Value Chains

5.6 Restoration of the Historical City Center and Location Development –
Maintaining Building Structure and Promoting Craftsmen as a Municipal Policy
Theme in Sibiu, Romania
Steffen Mildner
Context
Sibiu, founded by German colonists in the 12th century
(then called Hermannstadt), is still today the economic
and cultural center of the region, famous beyond the borders
of Romania for its historically important city center
with its numerous monuments. The old town, with
over 100 hectares and around 16,000 residents, its winding
streets and picturesque plazas, forms an enclosed assemblage
of buildings from the Middle Ages.
Nevertheless, only a few of the total of 1,200 old buildings
in the inner city are in good condition. The structure of
many buildings has been severely damaged and numerous
houses are in imminent danger of collapse. The loss of
these buildings would hurt this historic city center more
than just materially. Although the historic inner city is internationally
recognized as a cultural monument, concrete
support to maintain the medieval cityscape has long been
limited to individual measures. The increasing deterioration
of the structures, inept renovation attempts, high
population density, and poor, inhumane living conditions
are the clearest signals of a massive threat to the old city.
In addition to the endangered structures, the decades of
socialist rule also diminished the centuries-old function
of the center: instead of the thriving trade center that it
once was, retail trade is in a sorry state – even 10 years after
the Romanian revolution; only a few hotels offer accommodations
for guests and the once efficient craftsmen and
women are now reduced to a few small businesses, most of
which have found a niche in which to survive.
Two chief causes were repeatedly given for this complex
array of problems: lack of capital and time-consuming
permit procedures. It was obvious that the population
alone was not able to sustainably improve its living conditions
and that the capacities of the local administration
for sustainable, economically viable urban development
were inadequate. However, it very quickly became clear
that the real bottlenecks lie in the area of know-how, the
lack of feasible renovation concepts, and the gap between
supply and demand:
• Architects, craftsmen, and banks did not recognize
city-center renovation as an interesting market.
• Attempts at restoration usually were directed at the
unfeasible and complex renovation of individual
buildings.
• The restoration concepts would have required the
relocation of all house residents and were therefore
unaffordable for the residents.
Thus, a market for renovation work could not develop:
Supply and demand did not meet. Modest, gradual, and,
for the owners, affordable renovation steps were not taken.
A few highly simplified figures: Architects, craftsmen,
and banks expected orders of between EUR 100,000 and
500,000 per building; the owners could (even with the
help of external subsidies) finance only partial renovations
in amounts between EUR 3,000 und 50,000. Instead of
seizing the opportunity of many small projects, the business
sector waited in vain for large projects.
The cooperation project begun in 2000 after an orientation
phase aimed to dissolve this blockade; it was charged
with creating a self-sustaining market for renovation services.
It is pursuing the objective of building capacity for
historic city center rehabilitation and creating the framework
conditions for broadly effective implementation of
renovation measures.
Project implementation
Because the above-described situation was characterized
by stagnation and obstruction, the project began with an
attempt to mobilize market participants and develop viable
concepts. The planning and rapid implementation
of a series of small-scale demonstration measures shortly
after initiation of the project showcased the alternatives to
prohibitively expensive total renovation. Training courses
for artisans and architects went hand in hand with active
public relations work, which also helped to alleviate
widespread fears among the population that they would
be resettled.
Since then, the project has developed and promoted participatory
restoration approaches in which residents, authorities,
the local business sector, and other civil-society
organizations work closely together. It is the only project
in the region with a methodology that centers on an integrated
approach to preservation and restoration of the
historic city center, linking economic, social, and legal aspects
of restoration with preservation of the structures in
the inner city.
Two of the work areas presented here require brief explanation:
Free renovation advice: A group of local architects and
structural engineers was brought together and trained to
advise all interested owners and renters (up to a maximum
of 40 hours) free of charge. This advice is intended to provide
an orientation and to help avoid mistakes. The result
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