There are almost 500 “informal” settlements in Romania, with an official population of 72,000, although the number may be much higher. Informal settlements are defined as “a group of at least 3 dwelling units occupied by people from vulnerable groups who do not have rights to the buildings they occupy. The World Bank team mapped them and visited 5 such areas in the country.

Analysis conducted by the World Bank team in five selected informal settlements showed that a more sophisticated data collection process is needed to lay the foundations for a social intervention strategy.

A World Bank team visited Pankota, Shamsud, Panchiu, Draganiasa, and Toplitza to discuss with local authorities and observe informal settlements on the ground.

Pankota, Arad

• Population: 940 people

• Housing situation (risk area, improvised materials, infrastructure, overcrowding): 81% conventional materials, no risks, access to road and electricity, average 7.8 persons/household

• Social insecurity: 85% unemployed and without full education, most adults and children registered with family doctors

The town of Pankota has two informal settlement areas, one located on Kampiei Street (inside the village) and the other on Barbu Lautarul Street (partly outside the village). According to a World Bank analysis, most of the two settlements are located on public land, while a few housing units in Barbu-Leutarul are on private land.

With the exception of some residents of the community who, after a period of work abroad, arranged their housing by buying land and building outside the settlement, the residents do not have documents for the land and houses in which they live.

700 residents are unemployed, the main income comes from day labor and the sale of secondary raw materials. All children are enrolled, but most drop out between grades 4 and 8.

Housing quality is poor, particularly in terms of access to utilities, but in both areas tenants have improved. Housing units are not connected to water and sewerage, and electricity connections are partly illegal, the World Bank report said.

The extension of the water network has just been completed on the main artery in Campiei and Barbu Leutaroull, so the connection is theoretically possible, but half of the blocks in the Campiei area require further extension. In practice, connection cannot be achieved without a right of use, and many families are still unable to afford connection without some form of financial and bureaucratic support.

The main road is paved, but the streets between and behind the houses are not, especially in the flat area, although

the city hall is currently carrying out an asphalting project that also includes informal settlements. Informal settlements are located on the outskirts of the city, but are not separated by physical barriers from the rest of the residential areas or public facilities.

Pankota is a small town and although the informal settlements are on the outskirts of the town, it is easy to get to different parts of the town and the kindergarten is less than 500 meters away. Unfortunately, the day care center for children in difficult life circumstances is at the opposite end of town, understaffed, and the attendance rate is very low.

The town has a secondary school, a secondary school and a medical clinic, which residents of Barbu-Leutare and Campiei have official access to. Residents of settlements face a high rate of unemployment, early exit from the education system and a high rate of underage mothers.

The Department of Social Work has limited capacity locally and there are no full-time social workers in the community.

Samsud, Salaj

• Population: 191 people

• Housing situation (risk area, improvised materials, infrastructure, crowding): 71% non-traditional materials, road connection but only 14% electricity, no physical risks

• Social insecurity: 94% unemployed, 52% adults without primary school, 41% adults and most children registered with a family doctor

There are two unofficial settlements in the Shamsud commune, one belonging to the village of Shamsud, and the other to the village of Valya Pomilor. Most of the households received certificates of registration of housing units in the agricultural register, but their legal situation is still unsettled.

Most of the units in Colonie (Şamșud) are located in the UAT public domain in the city center, while all units in Valea Pomilor are located on private land and a small area is located outside the city.

The colony in Shamsud is located on pastures separated from the village, with a high density of houses connected to Shamsud by an asphalt road. In the future, both the local authorities and residents showed interest in cadastralizing all households and finding solutions for their registration in the land cadastre, but until now the municipality faced difficulties in finding surveyors who could map the territorial situation typical of informal settlements. .

There is access to connecting roads, but only 5 households are connected to electricity in Shamsud. In the Valley

All households are connected to the trees by road and electricity.

Almost all are connected to electricity, but illegally (except for 5), although the number of formal applications is increasing. There are good connecting roads, but internal roads and a section of the connecting road in the settlement need asphalt.

The majority of people are unemployed (180 and 150, respectively), and the main source of income is social benefits and day labor. Children enroll in school, but drop out quickly, especially if school attendance is not conditional on social benefits.

No special or express measures have been taken to help residents of informal settlements. Almost all households are connected to electricity, but the number of contracts is very low, although the interest of families to connect has been officially notified to the local authorities.

There is a kindergarten with a southern program in the commune near the village. There was also a kindergarten, but funds are needed to put it into operation.

The nearest high school is in Sharmashag commune, but the school bus runs only within the perimeter of the town hall. The closest hospital to Shamsud is the emergency hospital of Oreshenesk-Salai district (20 km). Although there is general school enrollment, attendance is very low and many children drop out before the 8th grade. Only one child from the community goes to high school in Sărmasag.

About 180 people are unemployed, the main source of income is alimony and social benefits; also, a large part of the population has left to work abroad, and many of those who remain work informally as day laborers in agriculture and construction. The lack of childcare opportunities was noted as particularly problematic in terms of preventing young mothers from accessing work, especially against the backdrop of high birth rates

Panchu, Vrancha

• Population: 915 people

• Housing situation (risk area, improvised materials, infrastructure, congestion): 92% non-traditional materials, 8 in natural areas or pollution risk areas, 0 access to electricity and only 67% to road, average 8 platforms per household

• Social insecurity: 13% unemployment, 41% of children do not attend school, 20% of adults and most children visit a family doctor

Nice, Prakhova

• Population: 270 people

• Housing situation (risk area, improvised materials, infrastructure, traffic jams): 10 in natural risk zones, 52% improvised materials, all connected to the road, 48% illegally connected to electricity,

• Social insecurity: 23% unemployment, 24% of adults registered with a general practitioner, no data on education

On the territory of the commune of Provica de Jos, in the village of Draganyasa, an unofficial settlement was discovered, which concentrates 70-80 families of Roma nationality, with a total number of approx. 230 people. The informal settlement is located on the outskirts of Draganyasa village, on land owned by both the municipality and private land (former pastures).

According to the town hall’s calculations, the first core of 5 families settled in this area in the 1940s and 1950s, becoming the owners of the land they settled on, but later the community continued to grow, but without expanding the lands that belonged to the legal owners. new families Some of the new families bought land from this first core on the basis of receipts. Also, 10 households have developed on houses that are in the danger zone of flooding and landslides, respectively, on the outskirts.

Although most of the residents of the village have ballots and postal addresses, they are not true, as their residence is registered at other addresses.

They have a road and electricity, but 30 houses are connected illegally. Only 15% of houses are connected to electricity, other houses are connected illegally.

A significant part of the active male population works in construction (Kimpina, Ploiesti district); a large part

the population without official work works in the summer picking berries/mushrooms and selling them at DN 1.

Only 48 adults were registered with doctors, one with infectious diseases. Housing quality is poor both in terms of access to public services and housing quality. Most houses are built from improvised materials.

There is no water supply and sewage networks in the entire Draganias commune, which also affects the informal settlement. Thus, families in the area are supplied from 4 wells located in the area, which residents of the community claim do not provide quality water, and many households have latrines installed in their backyards. The main roads are paved, but some houses are only accessible by dirt roads.

Representatives of the Department of Social Assistance state that it is difficult to estimate the exact number of children studying in school (they centralize data at the level of the entire municipality), respectively, the degree of literacy at the community level in an informal settlement. . At the same time, due to the lack of a kindergarten in the area, many children in the community are left alone all day or most of the day, with the majority of parents making money by selling. forest fruits in other settlements of the county.

A trend of young people going to work abroad, especially for scrap metal collection, has been noticed. The main income of 30-year-olds is seasonal work in agriculture, 40-year-olds collect and sell berries in neighboring areas. In addition, some of those who can work work in construction in big cities, especially in Bucharest.

The last MOPS made for the commune dates back to 2012, but the municipality does not have the funds to update it. To register the land situation, the local practice until now has been registration in the tax and agricultural registers, on the basis of which taxes can be paid even in the absence of title documents for the occupied land. In addition, the City Hall issues, upon request, certificates of property rights, necessary for the preparation of various cases, for example, for social assistance, population registration, at the notary, etc.

Toplitsa, Harghita

• Population: 373 people

• Housing situation (risk area, improvised materials, infrastructure, congestion): 38 in natural risk areas, 50% connected to electricity, most of traditional materials, average 5.7 people/household

• Social vulnerability: most without work and primary education; everyone is registered with a doctor.

See the full World Bank report here