Toader Popescu joined the CanCor project in October 2023. He is an architect based in Bucharest, assistant professor at the “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism. He holds a masters degree in urban planning and a PhD in architectural and urban history, focusing on the influence railways had in the development and modernization of Romanian cities.
Toader Popescu is a former NEC fellow (2009-2010), member of the scientific committee of the Commission for Urban History in Romania (affiliated to the Romanian Academy), of the European Association for Urban History, the International Railway History Association and the Association pour l’Histoire des Chemins de Fer (France). He is also a practicing architect within his own office, member of the Romanian Order of Architects, the Romanian Registry of Urban Planners and other professional associations. He is currently serving as vice-president of the Planning Advisory Board within the municipality of Bucharest, and he was a member of the National Commission for Historical Monuments in the Ministry of Culture (2018-2022).
He is associate editor to the journal of sITA – studies in History and Theory of Architecture and member of the editorial board of Historia Urbana, scientific consultant for the Romanian translation of some fundamental books and author of several publications. His book The Romanian Railway Project (1842-1916) won the Science Book of the Year award of the Association of Romanian Publishers in 2015.
Selected publications:
Proiectul feroviar românesc (1842-1916) [The Romanian Railway Project (1842-1916)], Bucharest: Simetria, 2014
“On the Nation’s Margins. Territorial and Urban Policies during the Romanian Administration of Southern Dobrudja (1913-1940)”, in sITA – studies in History and Theory of Architecture vol. 4/2016, pp. 103-121
„Planurile de sistematizare ale orașelor din România înainte de al Doilea Război Mondial” [Urban Systematization Plans for Romanian Cities before World War II], in Confluențe arhitecturale, Bucharest: Ed. Ozalid, 2018, pp. 247-274
„Noi planuri rusești privitoare la orașul București și împrejurimile sale (1828, 1830, 1849–1850)” [New Russian Plans Regarding the City of Bucharest and its Surroundings (1828, 1830, 1849-1850)], in Historia Urbana, vol. XXIX, 2021, pp. 227-284 (together with Laurențiu Rădvan and Mihai Anatolii Ciobanu)
„Urbanism și serviciu public în România interbelică. Cincinat Sfințescu și activitatea sa în administrația bucureșteană” [Urban Planning and Public Service in Interwar Romania: Cincinat Sfinţescu and His Practice Within the Municipality of Bucharest], in Servitorii Statului: Funcționari, funcții și funcționarism în România modernă (1830-1948), Cluj-Napoca: Ed. Mega, 2022, pp. 329-349