4/2/2019

Although it is difficult to legitimize lately, in a way, who the supreme title holder is of the first circumnavigator among Magellan and Elcano, each one has his undeniable merits. Beyond the difficult route and the obstacles encountered, or the successes achieved on several levels (geographic, anthropological, economic, etc.), what stands above all is the significance of self-discovery and of the Other. In order to facilitate the encompassing of the significance of the discoveries, what interests most is the message, sometimes apparently codified from the point of view of writing, of a message of hope for the descendants, of a certain godliness to the divinity, and of the idea that such civilizing gestures could ever be repeated. The emblem of this testimony, but also of a kind of paradoxical happy testament of the supreme sailors, or of the several unknown illustrious people, is, of course, the fierce and powerful Antonio Pigafetta who, together with his masters in navigation and survival beyond human limits, completes the splendid earthly trinity of the explorers.

While diversification as an economic strategy could be the solution to territorial development, concepts such as specialisation, individualisation and uniqueness should always be kept in mind in the branding process of any destination. The purpose of this study was to identify to what extent did local authorities understand these principles and what sort of brand elements they considered to be suitable for the administrated commune, in the context of a certain territorial identity that tourism could take advantage of. In order to demonstrate credibility with this topic, theoretical perspective upon the brand image of the 26 investigated communes was provided to illustrate both the tourism potential of the territory and the valuable contribution that local authorities can make to brand development. In order to obtain the discussed information, quantitative and qualitative methods were employed: from observation and synthesis engaged in the literature and official websites review, to semi-structured interviews with 26 representatives of the local authorities (of each commune in the examined area) that were later analysed and expressed through descriptive, statistical, graphical and tabular data. Although the results show that local authorities are aware of tourism’s importance to economic development, their choice of brand elements is rather questionable especially when considering territorial identity. However, some of the local authorities we interviewed did have a good understanding of the local elements that could be employed in territorial branding. They had not only correctly recognized nature-based aspects and cultural heritage attractions including customs and traditions, but had also expanded the cognitive perspective that outsiders tend to have with respect to an unfamiliar destination, by completing it with affective features that tourists equally appreciate.

The impact of second home tourism has been one of the most researched topics in international literature. The main objective of this study is to assess the possible socio-cultural effects of second home tourism on the local community from a spatial perspective. Therefore, in order to achieve this goal, a spatial statistical analysis was performed using two variables: the distance of the vacation homes from the nearest buildings of the local people, and the density of vacation homes in the place in which they are located, respectively. The results show four different patterns of second home development in relation to the local community: areas with a low density of vacation homes, located a short distance from the local peopleʼs buildings; areas with a high density of vacation homes, located a short distance from the local peopleʼs buildings; areas with a high density of vacation homes, located a great distance from the local peopleʼs buildings; areas with a low density of vacation homes, located a great distance from the local peopleʼs buildings. The results were interpreted primarily in accordance with the literature, and secondly based on direct field observations. The evidence suggests that the socio-cultural impacts of second home tourism are significantly influenced by the spatial context.

Urban transport is one of the most unsustainable activities in Romanian cities. Green and smart mobility solutions could help them in becoming more sustainable. However, it is generally acknowledged that successfully implementing green, smart and sustainable solutions depends highly on local stakeholders’ engagement and public acceptance. Against this background, the current study explores stakeholders’ perception and media coverage of some urban transport issues in Romanian cities. Our approach is only exploratory as it is not aimed at testing hypothesis, but rather at 1) exploring stakeholders’ opinions concerning the state of urban mobility in Bucharest, Iași and Cluj-Napoca, and at 2) identifying the main urban transport issues reflected in local newspapers from Iași and Cluj-Napoca. Results concerning stakeholders’ opinions suggest, inter alia, an overwhelming influence of local authorities and transport engineers in the decision-making process, a fact that is contrary to sustainable and good governance practices. Urban transport issues reflected in local newspapers pinpoint the high importance of public transport in Romanian post-socialist cities, a rather incipient emergence of green and smart practices, and some significant differences in the propensity of inquired cities to modernise their urban transport services.

The present exploratory study aims to assess if there is any social capital supporting practices regarding the use of energy from renewable sources in Romania. For an effective investigation of the social capital and of the citizens’ cohesion in perceptions and attitudes and their trust in public institutions at the community level the method used was the discourse analysis framed by a case study. The research material consisted of official documents on renewable energy in the European Union and Romania and of Romanians’ opinions on social media (Facebook, YouTube, newspaper articles, blogs, etc.) concerning this topic. As results show, the presence of social capital can be identified from different perspectives within websites, considering both readers’ and viewers’ comments on the topic of renewable energy. By analysing the discourses, a major conclusion can be drawn: social capital can be either an obstacle or opportunity in formulating renewable energy policies and in implementing practices in Romania. On the one hand, the setbacks could be poor information (strictly profit oriented, unsustainable) and the population’s mistrust of state mechanisms, which lead to community splitting, low proactivity and limiting innovation. On the other hand, sharing successful stories and encouraging civic spirit on social websites are manifestations of social capital resulting in an increase in the proactive level of the civil society.