Cluj

Romania

Mission city Pilot city
Romania National Platform
Cluj Mission City Label
Population 308k
City Area 179.5 km²
City active since June 2022

Cluj-Napoca is the largest secondary city in Romania, but also the most dynamic in terms of both demographic and economic growth (5,000 new jobs and inhabitants only in 2021, at metropolitan level, meaning +2,7%, respectively +1% in just one year).

 

According to a World Bank survey, the city is the most attractive destination for internal migration, surpassing even Bucharest, and it is perceived by the Romanians as the one with the highest quality of life in the country. This growth also comes at the cost of a high level of GHG emissions, especially associated with the rapidly growing housing sector and motorization rate.

 

The ambition of the local ecosystem, stated in the IUDS adopted in January 2022, is to place Cluj-Napoca among the cities with the highest quality of life in the EEC area and to promote it aaan European Lab City for testing the most innovative solutions, technologies and processes related to sustainable urban development. Following this ambitious vision set by the 2021-2027 Metropolitan IUDS - as the coordinating planning document, the city was the first growth pole in Romania to elaborate and adopt all relevant sectoral development strategies and plans in 2022, starting with the SUMP, the District Heating System development strategy, the Digital Transformation one and the SECAP.

 

The Air Quality Improvement Plan has been previously adopted (June 2020) and the revision of the General Urban Plan has already been initiated after the elaboration of the strategic documents mentioned above. The leitmotif stated in all these documents is the target to reduce GHG emissions by at least 80% in the following 8 years. Another strategic option that arises from the set of metropolitan/city planning documents is the focus on the two sectors with the highest level of GHG emissions, buildings (especially residential ones) and transport, respectively on the integrated interventions carried out in dense multi-apartment residential neigneighborhoodsere ¾ of the total residents live.

Key Learnings

Cluj Napoca, Romania case studies - Intelligent Cities Challenge

The Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) is a European Commission initiative bringing together 136 cities to achieve intelligent, socially responsible and sustainable growth through advanced technologies. This resources includes case studies from the city of Cluj Napoca, Romania related to: Circular mobility innovation Monitoring and optimising the efficiency of industrial processes Green events capital  

Governance Innovation and Implementation in the Cities Mission - Reflexive Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) in City Climate Governance

This report explores Reflexive Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) as a vital component of urban climate governance within the EU Cities Mission. It underscores the value of adaptive, inclusive governance practices that facilitate ongoing stakeholder collaboration, iterative learning, and comprehensive evaluations. The comparative analysis of four cities: Barcelona Cluj-Napoca Košice Porto. It highlights diverse, innovative approaches tailored to local contexts. Barcelona features centralized structures emphasizing health and equity co-benefits, while Cluj-Napoca prioritizes extensive citizen participation. Košice employs a structured, multi-level approach with formalized reviews, and Porto integrates structured periodic reviews with robust public communication strategies. Despite distinct approaches, the cities encounter shared challenges, notably methodological difficulties in quantifying qualitative co-benefits, maintaining consistent public engagement, resource limitations, and integrating MEL findings into policy processes. To overcome these, cities adopt innovative solutions such as citizen science, data integration platforms, and structured public storytelling events. The report concludes that reflexive MEL significantly enhances cities' climate neutrality efforts by enabling informed decision-making and robust stakeholder collaboration. It recommends increasing dedicated resources, standardizing methodologies, enhancing technical infrastructure, and encouraging structured peer-to-peer exchanges to improve cities' resilience and responsiveness to evolving climate challenges.
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Latest updates from the city

Pilot project spotlight
Visit Cluj City Website Read Cluj Climate City Contract

External projects

City involvement in related European initiatives