CASE STUDY: Our Someș (Someșul nostru) project, Romania

Sustainably Organized Society (SOS) was officially registered in 2018 as a nonprofit association, but the people behind the organization came together as a grassroots/civic group in 2012 to make Cluj-Napoca a green and inclusive city for all its citizens. In the beginning, the civic group has been working at the local level, but in the last years, their projects started to serve more and more the Cluj-Napoca metropolitan area. However, recently, a couple of national initiatives are supported by the organization, aiming to develop or protect urban green spaces and clean and green rivers and lakes.

The organization’s mission is to create resilient, sustainable, and inclusive communities through ecological and social activism manifested through creative and innovative advocacy campaigns involving mainly young people (some of them still in secondary school, high school, university students, and young professionals). The association aims to improve the quality of life of the citizens of the Cluj metropolitan area by promoting the development of urban green areas, such as parks, but also other green spaces near the main river – Someș – that crosses Cluj-Napoca and the connected localities (Gilău, Florești, and Apahida), green transport, and sustainable social housing and social inclusion programs.

From the very beginning, the civic initiative, through their campaigns, has supported the Millennium Development Goals, respectively MDG7 Ensure environmental sustainability. The 2030 Agenda gave them the opportunity for greater contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, following through their projects at least the following five SDGs: Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Climate Action (SDG 13), Life on Land (SDG 15), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), and Good health and well-being (SDG 3). As one of the founders, Adrian Dohotaru, expresses their motivation for working with these SDGs, it’s their “duty to help people to live in a more democratic and greener world, to address the challenges of climate change and the inequalities triggered by this and the neoliberal capitalism of the recent decades”. 

The advocacy campaigns and civic activism of the organization had several successes, but the greatest ones so far have been: pressuring and convincing Cluj-Napoca municipality to develop the largest green public space in the city (the future East Park of approx. 65 ha) instead of an aquapark and a parking space for 800 cars; contributing to changing the national legislation that allows now expropriations not only for major transport projects, such as railways and highways but also for green areas, such as parks.

Topic Description
Title SOS Our Someș (SOS Someșul nostru)
Location Local/regional
Time 2015-2020 (ongoing)
SDG No The project raises awareness among citizens, mainly young people, from Cluj metropolitan area on the following SDGs:

  • Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11); 
  • Climate Action (SDG 13);
  • Life on Land (SDG 15);
  • Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10);
  • Good health and well-being (SDG 3).
Brief Description The project ideas advocate for providing a green mobility alternative to the rising car traffic between Cluj-Napoca and its suburbs/connected localities and promote inclusive access to a clean, pollution-free river and its banks for more green areas and leisure and sports activities. Over 2500 young people and young professionals from Cluj got involved in the advocacy actions of the project.
Beneficiaries The project aims to improve the citizens of the Cluj metropolitan area’s quality of life, involving thousands of citizens in its activities, mainly young people, and tens of relevant stakeholders – NGOs, civic initiatives, and public authorities.
Impact The major impact of the project can be seen in the following aspects:

  • The metropolitan bike lane advocated for by the project is now part of Cluj county’s development strategy, Cluj-Napoca local development strategy, and of the mobility strategy of the North-West Regional Development Agency, which will make possible for the authorities to access European funds for its development;
  • The cleaning activities of the river’s banks take place regularly, and some maintenance solutions will be soon implemented by the local authorities, such as river patrols and surveillance cameras;
  • Over 2500 young people and young professionals from Cluj got involved in the advocacy actions of the project.
Social Innovation While the citizens of the Cluj metropolitan area are waiting for the long-term major and expensive projects of a metro line and a metropolitan train to solve the rising car traffic between Cluj-Napoca and its connected localities, the project promotes a green mobility solution consisting of a network of metropolitan bike lanes. This solution is less expensive and can be implemented faster than the other transport solutions while promoting and providing more green areas and more sport and recreation areas for Cluj citizens.
Constraints So far, the project faced some constraints such as the weak capacity to mobilize the civil society, the lack of a crowdfunding platform to connect the initiative with the supporters, the failure of involving academics and the business environment in supporting the initiative, and the delayed responses of the local authorities to the project’s ideas for the river.
Sustainability The project will continue by proposing to the local authorities to transform the wetlands, close to the river, between Cluj-Napoca and Florești, into an urban natural area connected to the metropolitan bike lane. The project will also be connected to other organization’s campaigns promoting the same SDGs, such as advocating for connecting the largest parks of Cluj-Napoca with the bike and pedestrian lanes and banning cars in the area. To make the project’s actions sustainable in the long-term, the organization will attract funding resources for its activities through European funds, EEA & Norway grants, local government funds, private funds coming from companies, or crowdfunding campaigns.
Transferability – Replicability All the project activities are replicable and transferable in other cities and towns in the country, as long as there are organizations or civic groups ready to get involved and promote environmental and green urban development projects. To support these initiatives, the organization had a significant contribution to changing the national legislation that allows now expropriations not only for major transport projects, such as railways and highways but also for green areas, such as parks.
Lessons Learned – Conclusions The main results of the project are:

  • The metropolitan bike lane is part of Cluj county’s development strategy, Cluj-Napoca local development strategy, and of the mobility strategy of the North-West Regional Development Agency;
  • Local authorities from Florești and Apahida have committed to contribute to the development of the metropolitan bike lane;
  • The cleaning activities of the river’s banks take place regularly, and the local authorities will soon implement some maintenance solutions;
  • The first big riverbank rehabilitation projects will start in 2021 in Cluj-Napoca;
  • Over 2500 young people and young professionals from Cluj got involved in the advocacy actions of the project.

The project’s success was possible thanks to an excellent capacity to mobilize young people and other civic organizations and initiatives to participate in street protests, sign petitions, organize guided tours and cleaning actions, and join smart media and social media campaigns. However, the organization learned that to commit to such a complex and visionary project, they also need to attract financial resources for greater and long-term impact.