The evaluation of the environmental quality concerns the analysis of the physical, chemical, biological and statistical features that allow the scientists to classify a territory in a certain category or hierarchic scale. In the model used in this study, the environmental quality was assessed at the administrative unit level (county), as a result of the interaction of different components. Fifty indicators were selected and included into 6 major groups based on several factors (natural hazards, air quality, biodiversity, water quality, human health, soil quality, economic activities) that increase the communities' susceptibility to different negative aspects concerning the environment. Each indicator was classified on a scale from 1 to 5 (1-very good…5-very weak). The sum of the indicators was reclassified according to the same model, until the total environmental quality was finally determined. The analysis of the environmental quality on a departmental level provides the opportunity to identify the regions that need to be allotted financial resources in order to diminish the negative impact of the disturbing (anthropic and natural) factors. At the same time, by focusing the research on the most vulnerable counties, a more detailed analysis has revealed the most vulnerable administrative units (towns and communes).
The post-1989 political changes in Romania had a major and at times irreversible impact on the dynamics and structure of the population. The most significant change was a drastic population decrease of over 3 million people within 22 years. Important deviations were also registered in economic sectors, resulting today in a process of artificialization of the population share in the tertiary sector. Urban population increased slightly from around 52% in 1989 to 53.4% in 2012, following the artificial conversion of a significant number of villages into the category of urban areas. There were no significant changes in ethnic structure, except for the Roma population where, due to the self-identification census, 621,573 people declared themselves Roma (2011) as compared to around 300,000 in 1988. The largest minority group, the Hungarians, comprises stable 6.6% of the population. Around 2 million of unemployed people were registered during the last census in addition to an increased number of retired people. This paper examines some of the major demographic changes in the dynamics and structure of the Romanian population influenced by a number of political, socioeconomic , cultural and environmental factors. It deals with analytic and moral questions arising from an in-depth overview of the aforementioned transition period and argues that political unbalances are clear indicators of demographic changes and disturbances in national and regional economic development.
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