2016–2019

Becoming Urbanised

"Becoming Urbanized" examines the contemporary traces of the ideological policies that shaped Romania’s urban landscape during the communist era. The regime’s ambition to transform Romania from an predominantly agrarian society into an industrialized one involved the systematic depopulation of rural areas and the relocation of populations into newly developed urban centers. This process was central to the communist utopian vision of creating the “New Man”, a citizen whose identity, behavior, and way of life would be reshaped according to socialist ideals. Under communism, architecture and urban planning became instruments of political ideology and social engineering. Urbanization was not merely a strategy for economic modernization but also a mechanism of social control, as populations concentrated in cities were easier for the state to monitor and regulate than communities dispersed across rural areas. Through the examination of these urban environments, Ghercă explores how the ideological ambitions of the communist regime continue to shape Romania’s built environment and collective experience long after the political system that produced them has disappeared. 36 color and b&w pictures, 4x5" large format negative