Developers Reign in Bucharest

Development is rampant and out of the city's control in Bucharest, Romania. Officials in the Eastern European country's capital city are without the legal power to impose limits on development, which many see as the root of the built environment's declining quality and sense of urbanism.

"Large projects can find it easy to win the green light for development. However, this also means citizens and authorities may lose their grip on the urban profile of their city."

" 'For the moment, the market dictates what new developments will happen and where,' says Radu-Petre Nastase, associate professor at Ion Mincu University of Architecture."

Architects, developers and public officials comment on the state of development in Bucharest and what can be done to get the city back in control of itself.