TURDA

Land is a finite resource. Urbanization, infrastructure, increasing demand for food and other human activities are slowly but surely using up more and more land. In the EU alone, in the period 2006-2012, land consumption was 1,065 km2 per year, with a total of 6,390 km2 of agricultural or natural land turned into man-made areas. Ecosystems are being lost due to this practice.
Abandonment and deindustrialization of brownfields, such as mining and manufacturing sites, is a major concern for countries and municipalities today. It is essential to take into account important negative effects, not only environmentally and economically, but also on the social well-being and quality of life of a given place.
Brownfield regeneration is becoming an essential behavior for European countries as part of land management actions in general.
It is estimated that there are more than 20,000 contaminated former military, industrial, mining and commercial sites that impede the development of surrounding communities.
Speaking of Brownfields in a broader sense, contaminated soils can also be introduced; these are the data from the Status of local soil contamination in Europe (JRC, 2018):
- 2.8 million sites where polluting activities took place were estimated considering the artificial surface.
- 694 000 registered sites where polluting activities have taken place/are taking place in the national and regional inventories of the responding countries.
national and regional inventories of the responding countries;
- more than 235 000 sites have been remediated. 

Numerous reasons to redevelop brownfield sites:
- Protection from environmental contamination and health risks - Lack of clean industrial sites.
- EU contains densely populated and built-up regions.
- Limiting urban sprawl / Avoiding the occupation of new land
Advantages (compared to green areas): - Often well located
- Available infrastructure
- Blighted areas come back to life
- Brings people back to the city
- Brownfields are often economically unviable or even unprofitable.
Regeneration of brownfields combines the three pillars of sustainable development like almost no other field of application: economically, by generating development and employment in often blighted urban areas; environmentally, by remediating the environmental hazards of the industrial past and saving previously undeveloped open spaces; and socially, by bringing new life to urban areas, providing new opportunities for communities, and generating pride and identification with neighborhoods, cities, and regions.
Regeneration of brownfields is thus a key element of sustainable urban development.
Regeneration requires innovative approaches and new remediation technologies; reuse options need to be evaluated with particular attention to health and safety risks.
Salina Turda in its history was one of the most important mines in Transylvania and the main source of salt supply in the area.
The first chapter of the Turda salt mine can be dated during the Roman occupation of Dacia, when Potassia was the Latin name given to the town. The Romans exploited the mine for iron, silver, and gold, but there was no clear evidence of salt mining. Therefore historians date the beginning of salt mining around the 11th-13th centuries. By 1840 the decline of the mine began, social and economic conditions pushed mining to other parts of the state, and the closure of mining dates back to 1932.
From 2008 to 2010, the mine underwent an extensive modernization and improvement process. Today, the Turda Salt Mine is open to tourists, who can enjoy the mine and experience various attractions, such as a Ferris wheel, mini golf course, ping pong tables, pool tables, and rowboats.
The mine hosts 680,000 visitors a year who can access it through a huge elevator and wooden stairs located in the Rudolf Mine. Light is provided by lanterns hanging from the ceiling that descend to the ground. The lowest point is at a depth of 120 meters and, there, people can paddle a boat inside the Theresa Mine lake.
This is an example of how a former salt mine production site can be reused and repurposed into a modern-era tourist attraction.