MARGINAL AREAS OF THE ROMANIAN BANAT

Abstract

Marginal Areas of the Romanian Banat. Banat region is historically located between the rivers Danube, Tisa and Mureș, on three sides, and the Carpathians. This analysis focuses only on the Romanian Banat. After the December 1989 Revolution which started in Timișoara, the regional capital of Banat, the transition to the market economy and the recent economic crisis has severely struck the pillars of local economy in many parts of the region: agriculture and mining. According to a number of wellknown criteria, the paper identifies and analyzes the marginal areas of the region: rural isolated areas such as Lipova Hills and Almăj Land, mining and industrial regions like Reșița-Bocșa-Anina, Poiana Ruscă Mountains and Bistra Valley. The rural areas lack accessibility and have an autarchic economy based on agriculture. The former industrial regions are characterised by high rates of unemployment and a decline in the living standards. The consequences are mainly the same: emigration, low birth rates, demographic ageing, socio-economic instability.

Keywords

• Banat
• marginality
• rural isolated areas
• declining industrial areas