The residents of Cugir want a national park in their city.

A sociological study conducted among the residents of Cugir reveals an unusually high level of support for protecting the natural heritage around the city. According to the research, 96.7% of respondents support, to a large or very large extent, the creation of a Natural Park in the area, and 99.8% consider the protection of green areas near the locality important or very important. A protected area, in a broad sense, or a Natural Park in the eastern area of the Șureanu massif is the desire that emerges strongly from the entire research.

The research was conducted by the company Active Research, under the coordination of sociologist Valentin Rațiu, commissioned by the associations 2Celsius and Raw Nature Experience. The field data was collected between July 10–12, 2026, through face-to-face interviews applied to a probabilistic, stratified sample of 400 adults, representative of the population of Cugir and the affiliated localities Vinerea, Bucuru, Călene, and Mugești. The maximum margin of error is ±4.9%, at a confidence level of 95%.

Nature, part of the identity and daily routine of Cugir residents

For 94.5% of respondents, the natural areas around the city represent, to a large or very large extent, an important part of Cugir's identity, and 90% believe they have a beneficial impact on their health. Contact with nature is not occasional: 68.4% of residents spend time in green areas at least once a week, and a quarter of respondents (25.1%) go there daily. Walking is by far the preferred activity, mentioned by 54.2% of participants.

The relationship also has a strong personal dimension: 63.3% of Cugir residents say there is at least one natural place around the city they consider very important to them — among the most frequently mentioned are the Râul Mare, Singidava Fortress, Șureanu Mountains, Poiana cu Goruni, and Rândunica (the Dam).

“These figures confirm something we've felt for a long time: Cugir residents have an almost instinctive connection with the mountain and the forest near the city. I believe that if the right infrastructure exists — marked trails, greenways, information points —, Cugir will become a healthier, more active, more conservationist city, more convinced of the virtues of the mountain and mountain communities. Nature and the mountain can become the engine of a new identity for the city, not just a backdrop,” says Raul Cazan, president of 2Celsius, one of the project initiators.

A rare consensus in sociological research

The level of support for creating the Natural Park is one of the clearest results of the study: 76% of respondents would support the initiative to a very large extent, and another 20.7% to a large extent. Only 3.3% declare themselves against it, in a more or less categorical form. The same unanimity is found regarding the importance of protecting green areas for the future of the city, supported by 98.2% of those interviewed.

“Honestly, we were pleasantly surprised to see a community so concerned about nature. We rarely encounter such a level of consensus in sociological research — there is almost no topic on which we have obtained greater agreement than support for protecting green areas. Cugir residents not only use the nature around the city but have built part of their identity around it,” says Valentin Rațiu, sociologist, research director at Active Research, and study coordinator.

High interest in organized activities and volunteering

The study also shows significant potential for community involvement: 83.7% of respondents are very or somewhat interested in participating in organized activities in the natural areas around Cugir, with the most sought-after being outdoor cultural events (41.5%), nature sports activities (36.2%), and cleaning actions (33%). Over half of the residents (59.2%) declare themselves willing to volunteer in organizing such activities.

“For us, who work day by day with people in nature, the results confirm what we constantly see in the field: the interest of Cugir residents in the mountain around the city is real and just awaits an organized framework to transform into active involvement. That's why we supported this study — to have solid data on which to build, together with the community, programs and trails that highlight this natural heritage,” states ultramarathoner Andrei Sovereșan, president of Raw Nature Experience and organizer of the renowned CugiRace running competition.

What is the practical use of such a study

Beyond the numbers, the research has a concrete role: it provides local authorities and involved organizations with an empirical basis for making development decisions, instead of starting from assumptions. According to the report's authors, the results can form the basis for several local public policy directions: integrating green infrastructure into the city's development strategy, analyzing the opportunity to formally establish a Natural Park, developing a permanent program of activities in nature, creating community participation mechanisms, and promoting Cugir's identity through its relationship with the natural environment.

In other words, a support level of almost 97% for a Natural Park is not just a public opinion indicator, but an argument that the city hall, local council, or environmental program funders can use to justify investments — from setting up pedestrian paths and bike lanes to submitting projects with government or European funding for protecting and capitalizing on natural areas. The authors of the research emphasize, however, that the data indicates statistical associations, not direct causal relationships, which is why they also recommend a transparent public consultation process before any decision regarding the park's establishment.

About the research

The study “Nature, identity, and the future of Cugir” was conducted by Active Research, under the coordination of sociologist Valentin Rațiu, commissioned by 2Celsius and Raw Nature Experience. The field research took place between July 10–12, 2026, through face-to-face interviews, using the T.A.P.I. (Tablet Assisted Personal Interviewing) method, on a probabilistic, stratified sample of 400 adults, representative of the population of Cugir and affiliated localities. The maximum margin of error is ±4.9%, at a confidence level of 95%.

The research can be downloaded from here.

Follow more topics and projects on 2Celsius.