Located in Bucharest, the Văcărești Natural Park is an example of how nature often does better in the city when left to its own devices. The abandoned construction of a large reservoir, hardly accessible to humans, has become a reserve for wild life in the heart of the city.
dictator's abandoned plan
The story of the wildlife oasis located in the Romanian capital began in the 1980s. At that time, construction began on a reservoir that was to be filled with water from the Argeș River. 190 hectares of land were prepared and construction of the necessary fortifications began. The overthrow of the communist regime meant that the grand infrastructural plans were abandoned, and the area gradually began to be reclaimed by nature from 1989. Its peaceful expansion was ensured by being cut off from the city and human presence thanks to a five-meter-high concrete jetty and a fence separating the entire vast area from the immediate neighborhood.
Photo by Kacper Kepinski
In 2003, Romania's Ministry of Environment leased the site to the Royal Romanian Corporation. Its plan was to build a sports and cultural complex at the site, but this never came to fruition. The construction of the lake itself could not continue due to serious construction defects.
public pressure
In 2014, as a result of public pressure, Lake Văcărești gained the status of a protected area. Today it is one of the largest urban natural parks on the continent. The development of wild life in the lake's unfinished and difficult to access from the outside has led to the formation of a complex ecosystem, comparable to a river delta. Research conducted in 2013 identified hundreds of plant species and 96 different bird species. The area itself is also internally diverse. The southern part is mainly occupied by meadows and small clusters of trees, while the north is dominated by lakes and wetlands, access to which is guarded by dense reed beds.
Photo by Kacper Kepinski
non-urban
In a chaotic city like Bucharest today, a giant green oasis is the best thing that has happened to its urban planning in decades. In a city shaped largely on the basis of corrupt and weak regulations, where developers dictate terms, the fact that such a large area has not been developed is a rarity. So it turns out that it was not urban planning, but precisely the lack of it and the abandonment of old plans, that produced the best possible result.
Photo by Kacper Kepinski
