Systematization: A Key Term in 20th-Century Romanian Urbanism

This article addresses the term “systematization” as it was used in Romania during the 20th century. It investigates the sources of the term and the changes in its meaning and in the practice it named in each phase of its evolution: from its emergence at the turn of the 20th century and its adoption as a label for scientific urbanism during the interwar period, to its political instrumentalization and projection on large scales in spatial planning during the late socialist period, and its rejection in the post-socialist years. It shows how a term can radically change its connotations, ranging from desirable to destructive effects. It exposes the variable distance between systematization as a concept and systematization as a concrete practice. The scientific and disciplinary aspects of systematization are addressed, highlighting its relation to the fields of architecture and urbanism. Its political relevance as an instrument for the authoritarian and respectively totalitarian Romanian state is shown, serving their interest to act on the territory on a large scale. Housing is also addressed as a central subject of systematization. The aim of the article is, first, to draw a history that apprehends the entire evolution, from emergence to dismissal, of a term that marked Romanian planning for a century; and second, to show that beyond its local history, this term is relevant for understanding the more general relationship between scientificity and political instrumentalization in modern urbanism and architecture during the 20th century.