DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-087-0-0206

INDUSTRIAL RUINIFORM LANDSCAPES BETWEEN DEGRADATION AND TOURISM RECONVERSION: CASE STUDY THE STEELWORKS OF CĂLĂRAȘI MUNICIPALITY, ROMANIA

Florian Alin Butoi¹, Carmen Ileana Dobrescu¹, Camelia Teodorescu¹, Ana-Irina Lequeux-Dinca¹, Darius-Stefan Nestoriuc¹

¹ Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, Romania

Post-socialist cities in Central and Eastern Europe are characterized by extensive industrial legacies and rapid post-1990 deindustrialization, resulting in brownfields, demographic decline, and functional restructuring. This paper investigates the municipality of Călărași (Romania) as a representative case of a medium-sized industrial city undergoing post-industrial transition. The study aims to assess the potential of industrial heritage—particularly the former steel platform and associated canal–port infrastructure—for tourism development.
A mixed-method approach is employed, combining desk-based research, spatial analysis, demographic data, and comparative benchmarking with Central European cases (Dolní Vítkovice, Ostrava; Nowa Huta, Kraków). The results indicate that Călărași exhibits a significant industrial heritage base, including a large-scale anchor site (approximately 650 ha), alongside a demographic decline of approximately 24% between 1992 and 2021, consistent with patterns of urban shrinkage. However, the absence of formalized interpretive infrastructure and institutional coordination limits its current tourism potential.
The paper argues that industrial heritage tourism can function as a complementary strategy for urban regeneration and identity reconstruction, provided that it is supported by safety management, interpretive frameworks, and integration into broader territorial strategies.

Keywords: industrial heritage; post-socialist cities; urban shrinkage; industrial tourism; territorial regeneration.

pages: 206-210, Published: 2026, online: 2026