Commercial services and urban space reconversion in Romania (1990–2017)

Abstract

Concentrating incomes in large cities has encouraged the development of specialist services and the opening of big commercial units. The downfall of ideological barriers east of the former Iron Curtain made global culture combine with endemic sub-cultures, influenced by the living standard. The only limitation of this process appears to be social segregation which restricts demand and creates preferential segments of users. In Romania, financial segregation is directly reflected in the commercial investment made in Bucharest and in the large cities, mostly in the centre and western part of the country. The paper analyses the correlation of financial and commercial services, as well as their location and dispersion strategies at the level of the Romanian urban system.