Every day, Alba Iulia both supports and draws strength from its rural surroundings. Thousands come into the city for school, work, healthcare and services, bringing skills and spending that support local jobs and businesses. But the relationship runs both ways. Rural businesses supply food and goods and help shape the visitor offer that makes Alba Iulia such an attractive place to live and visit.
Alba Iulia, in central Transylvania, has long understood that no community thrives alone. As the city has grown into a regional hub, its future has become ever more closely tied to that of the surrounding communes. The challenge has been to turn those everyday connections into lasting partnerships that support development across the wider area.
In Alba Iulia, that effort can be seen in 3 key areas: building skills for local jobs; improving mobility; and promoting the visitor economy through a shared brand. Together, these show how rural-urban linkages can drive long-term development, rather than being left to chance.
Building skills across the wider region
One way Alba Iulia is putting co-operation into practice is through education, where there is still often a gap between what students learn and the skills employers need. Alba County has worked to close that gap by investing in dual vocational education, which combines classroom learning with hands-on training in companies.
The figures suggest this approach is gaining ground. In 2024-25, more than 900 students enrolled in dual vocational education in Alba County, up 46% from 2021. Dual education now accounts for around 12% of education provision in the county, compared with about 3% nationally. This has helped place Alba among Romania’s leading counties for technical and dual education.
What makes this important for rural-urban linkages is that it brings together students, schools, firms and local authorities. Students receive teaching in school, practical training in companies and scholarships. Employers help shape the training, while local authorities support the partnership.
Many of the students come from rural communes around Alba Iulia. That means the benefits reach far beyond the city itself. Young people gain clearer paths into work. Employers gain access to people with skills that match local demand. And the wider region benefits from stronger labour links in sectors such as automotive, food and construction.
Alba Iulia now hopes to deepen this model through the CRESCENDO Dual Education Campus, a €24–26 million investment that would bring together training, student housing and shared spaces in one place. Backed by public and private partners, the campus will create smoother paths into higher-level technical education across the entire region.
Making mobility work across municipal borders
Skills matter, but so does movement. Rural-urban ties are only as strong as the transport links that allow people to move between them.
Alba Iulia has developed a metropolitan public transport model that connects the city with nearby communes through formal co-operation between municipalities. This has helped thousands of commuters move more easily across the wider area. According to the World Bank, Alba Iulia’s wider urban area ranks fifth in Romania for daily commuters per person, underlining just how important these flows are to everyday life.
At the same time, maintaining such a system is not easy. Rising costs under the current private operating model have pushed local partners to look for a new approach. Alba Iulia and nearby communes are now working towards a stronger transport partnership that would give public authorities a bigger role in organising the service.
The aim is to improve quality, lower costs and make routes flexible enough to serve both the city and nearby rural communities.
EU funding has already supported electric buses and minibuses for Alba Iulia and Ciugud, with plans to extend the model further. Digital tools are also being developed to improve traffic monitoring, public safety and planning across the metropolitan area – shared systems that make co-operation more practical and more visible.
Developing a shared story
A shared identity can strengthen rural-urban linkages. Alba Iulia was the first city in Romania to develop a full city identity strategy, including a brand manual and a wider storytelling approach. Recognised by URBACT as a good practice, the strategy presents Alba Iulia as historic while also closely connected to its rural surroundings.
This matters for rural producers and local businesses. Goods and experiences from nearby communes can benefit from the Alba Iulia brand, gaining wider recognition than they might achieve alone. One example is Jidvei, the well-known winery based in a nearby commune, which has used the city’s branding tools alongside other local producers of crafts and food products.
Place branding is often dismissed as gloss. But it can be powerful. It can build a shared sense of pride, give smaller producers access to wider markets, and reinforce the idea that the city’s success is tied to that of its neighbours.
Collaboration as the only sustainable path
Alba Iulia shows how education, transport, and branding can be used strategically to boost urban-rural linkages. Together, they create shared value and help communities prosper together.
Alba Iulia’s experience may not map neatly onto every region. However, some clear lessons stand out. These efforts depend on stable funding, flexible governance and long-term trust between municipalities, schools, firms and communities. National governments and EU institutions can help by backing metropolitan-scale projects, supporting long-term public-private partnerships, and encouraging place-based strategies that include rural areas rather than treating them as an afterthought.
But the most important lesson is much simpler. When urban and rural communities plan together, invest together and tell their story together, both sides stand to gain. At a time when regions and budgets are under pressure, that is a lesson worth acting on.
For further reading, take a look at Reinforcing Rural Resilience, Rural Innovation Pathways and Place-Based Policies for the Future.
Gabriel Pleșa is the Mayor of Alba Iulia, Romania, a role he has held since 2020. He has a background in public administration and business and has been involved in local development and public service for many years. Under his leadership, the city became a national reference for sustainable urban development. He led major European-funded projects in mobility, digitalisation, and skills development. He also contributes to OECD and EU platforms on intermediary cities. As mayor, he focuses on urban development, attracting investments, and improving public services. He also works on strengthening the city’s role in education and innovation, including support for dual education systems. Under his leadership, Alba Iulia continues to stand out as a modern, forward-looking city with strong administrative, educational, and private sector ties.