Baia Mare Metropolitan Area (BMMA) is located in northwestern
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
and consists of
Baia Mare City (
Maramureș County
Maramureș County () is a county (județ)
in Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare.
Name
In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian as Мараморо́щ ...
seat) and localities found within a distance of .
For the 2014–2020 time period, the Baia Mare Metropolitan Area was slated to become an important instrument for accessing EU structural funds, which would enable the implementation of local infrastructure investment projects, thereby increasing the quality of life and reducing disparities between localities.
As defined by
Eurostat
Eurostat ("European Statistical Office"; also DG ESTAT) is a department of the European Commission ( Directorate-General), located in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statist ...
, the Baia Mare
functional urban area has a population of 181,993 residents ().
Territorial context
BMMA covers an area of 1,410 square kilometers (22% of Maramureș County), having specific landforms (mountainous area of Gutâi Mountains, the lowland and hills of Baia Mare) with the
Someș River and its tributaries (
Lăpuș and
Săsar Rivers) crossing it.
Subdivisions
Baia Mare Metropolitan Area is an intercommunity development association (IDA), made up of 19 localities, with Baia Mare City being in the centre. It includes the towns of
Baia Sprie,
Cavnic,
Seini
Seini (German language, German: ''Leuchtenburg''; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Szinérváralja'') is a town in Maramureș County, Romania. It administers two villages, Săbișa (''Kissebespatak'') and Viile Apei (''Apahegy''). It officially b ...
,
Șomcuta Mare
Șomcuta Mare (; ) is a town in Maramureș County, Romania. The town administers seven villages: Buciumi (''Törökfalu''), Buteasa (''Bucsonfalva''), Ciolt (''Csolt''), Codru Butesii (''Kodrulytelep''), Finteușu Mare (''Nagyfentős''), Hovrila ( ...
, and
Tăuții-Măgherăuș
Tăuții-Măgherăuș () is a town in Maramureș County, Romania. The town administers six villages: Băița (''Láposbánya''), Bozânta Mare (''Nagybozinta''), Bușag (''Buság''), Merișor, Nistru (''Miszbánya''), and Ulmoasa (''Szilas''). Tă ...
, as well as 13 communes:
Cernești,
Cicârlău,
Coaș,
Coltău,
Copalnic-Mănăștur,
Dumbrăvița,
Groși,
Mireșu Mare,
Recea,
Remetea Chioarului,
Satulung,
Săcălășeni, and
Valea Chioarului.
The population of the metropolitan area exceeds 245,171 inhabitants, most of whom reside in Baia Mare City. The city, through the diversity of economic and cultural activities, affects surrounding communities. Also, in terms of economic development, surrounding localities provide land and labor force for entrepreneurs who want to develop their businesses or bring new investments to the area. The aim of the metropolitan area is to support the development of the city and neighboring localities based on a common vision to bring benefits for all the residents.
The objectives of the Baia Mare Metropolitan Area are:
* Improving the quality of life and reducing territorial, social and economic disparities through implementation of programs and projects funded from national and European funds.
* Creating a metropolitan pole around Baia Mare City, attracting direct investment, creating jobs and expanding the public transportation system throughout the metropolitan area.
Projects and programmes
Implemented projects:
* Urban Network Project funded through the "Administrative Capacity Development" Programme, began in 2009 and has a 12 month implementation period. Training modules were held through the project for public procurement, computer skills, foreign language classes, project development and management, found in the area of intervention 1.3 - Improving organizational effectiveness, Priority Axis 1 - Improvement in structure and process of public policies from the "Administrative Capacity Development" Programme.
* TRANS URBAN Project — Updating the strategy of the Baia Mare Urban System by integrating local development strategies of the member localities. The project started on the 16th of June 2010 with a 12 months implementation.
* USE ACT Project - Urban Sustainable Environmental Actions, in partnership with
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
(Italy),
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
(Greece),
Barakaldo
Barakaldo (; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country in Spain. Located on the Left Bank (Biscay), Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is pa ...
(Spain), and
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
(Ireland).
* Network of active employment measures in 15 administrative units in the North - West Development Region, with The Federation of NGOs as applicant and Baia Mare Metropolitan Area as partner.
* STATUS - Strategic Territorial Agendas for „Small and Middle-Sized Towns Project funded through the Transnational Cooperation Programme South East Europe, Priority Axis 4.1 - Addressing problems affecting metropolitan areas and regional systems of settlements.
* INTER_URBAN Project — Crossborder database with indicators for monitoring the sustainable development process in Baia Mare and Ivano Frankivsk Areas, with BMMA being the applicant and Ivano Frankivsk, Ukraine being partner in association with Global Indicators Facility from
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Canada.
Implementing programmes:
* Metropolitan Transport System,
having as main purpose the implementation of the local public transport service for people within the Baia Mare Metropolitan Area. The programme is addressed to more than 245.671 inhabitants.
See also
*
Metropolitan areas in Romania
References
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Metropolitan areas of Romania
Baia Mare