FROM BROWNFIELD TO GREENFIELD. MAJOR ECOLOGICAL IMBALANCES IN BAIA MARE. SĂSAR MINE RECLAMATION AND RECONVERSION
ANDRA CONDOR1 1 Babeş-Bolyai University, Faculty of Geography, 400006, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, e-mail: andra_cdc@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT. – From Brownfield to Greenfield. Major Ecological Imbalances in Baia Mare. Săsar Mine Reclamation and Reconversion. This article is an extract of a more exhaustive study of the Săsar mine based on a multi-level approach of the environmental degradation caused by the long-lasting activities of the mining industry in the city of Baia Mare and the reconversion methods of the underutilized and contaminated properties into green spaces. The presence of brownfields in this city is a matter of great concern to the administrative bodies due to insufficient and ineffective measures for environmental protection, precarious expertise and lack of initiative to regenerate former mining sites. Furthermore, the industrial pillars refuse to get involved and take responsibility for the problems many of them have caused despite state efforts to ease liability fears. But viable projects and solid action are indispensable for overcoming this hurdle. As such, this work is an attempt to cover these exact issues as follows: after setting on the legal framework and the fundamental regulatory considerations, the vulnerability of the enviroment will be assesed in order to determine the level of pollution in the area surrounding the Săsar mine. Then the premises for a cultural landscape reconversion will be established through direct field observations and interpretations, the examination of scholarly studies and the use of GIS tools and social data. This project will try to offer a coherent transformational model of a brownfield area into a useful space for the community and the environment in compliance with the economic purposes.
Keywords: environment, mining industry, reconversion, urban planning, Baia Mare