Interventions and instruments to promote sustainable land use in Europe

Since the first examples of human settlements, land has been subject to transformations. With the industrial revolution and in particular after the Second World War, land transformation has become more intense in terms of overexploitation of natural resources. Only recently, however, have policy and decision makers acknowledged the importance of land as a finite resource. Sustainable development has increasingly become the subject of many studies and a reason for debate, leading to different lines of thought among the various disciplines. This has led to the design and implementation of a great number of sustainable land use practices in many European cities and regions. In fact, it seems that sustainability of land use depends both on the socio-economic processes that trigger spatial development and the effectiveness of the instruments that regulate these processes (Solly et al., 2020). The need for a more sustainable and eco-compatible approach, and the European objective to achieve zero net land take 2050 (Science for Environment Policy, 2016), have been one of the reasons why ESPON launched the pan-European research project SUPER – Sustainable Urbanization and land-use in the European Regions. The project examines, on the one hand, the nature and the structure of urbanization processes and, on the other, it seeks to analyze the degree of success of interventions and instruments aiming at a more sustainable use of land. This contribution presents the results of the project by focusing especially on the content of the SUPER “Guide to Sustainable Urbanisation and Land Use” (Cotella et al., 2020). Thanks to the exploration of more than two hundred examples of urbanization interventions gathered all over Europe, the guide suggests a set of policy recommendations for policy and decision makers in order to address land use in a more sustainable perspective. According to the different objectives and contextual needs, policy and decision makers should focus more on: (i) which intervention (i.e. densification, regeneration, containment, governance and sectoral policies) and (ii) which instrument, should be used (i.e. visions and strategies, rules and legal devices, land use regulations, programmes and projects)

METRO - The role and future perspectives of Cohesion Policy in the planning of Metropolitan Areas and Cities. Policy brief: The added value of the EU cohesion policy in the planning and implementation of metropolitan policies

This policy brief seeks to unpack the multiple added value of the European Union (EU) cohesion policy in metropolitan areas by exploring its priorities, funds and geographical distribution as well as the successful outcomes. Starting from the idea that the metropolitan scale is the most relevant to deal with those ‘functional’ issues that have a scope that exceeds the municipal boundaries (such as mobility, economic development, climate change etc.), this policy brief offers an overview of the added value of the EU cohesion policy on the planning and implementation of metropolitan policies in the 2014-20 programming period and elaborates a set of recommendations for policy and decision makers aiming at increasing this added value in the programming period 2021-27. Based on the nine case studies explored in the ESPON METRO targeted analysis, which include the metropolitan areas of Barcelona, Brno, Brussels, Florence, Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot, Lisbon, Lyon, Riga and Turin, this policy brief aims to support planners and policy officers in making well-informed decisions at EU, national and local level, when it comes to maximise the added value that the EU cohesion policy can provide to metropolitan development and policies. It does so by presenting possible ways of dealing with the complexity of the multiple impacts of cohesion policy and its metropolitan dimension

ESPON SUPER – Sustainable Urbanisation and land-use Practices in European Regions. A GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION AND LAND-USE

Guides help you do things. You turn to them when you need to find out how to solve a problem. They are a form of knowledge transfer, written by experts in a way that is accessible and helpful to a wide audience. This guide was written by the researchers engaged in the ESPON 2020 applied research project on Sustainable Urbanisation and Land-Use Practices in European Regions (SUPER). It aims to help people and institutions engaged with land-use management at various levels across Europe to promote sustainable urbanisation in their territories. Overall, the guide offers information, ideas and perspectives to help decision-makers and policymakers to proactively contribute to more equal, balanced, and sustainable territorial development. The decision to convert land to a different use influences our quality of life and that of future generations, and, as this Guide shows, a large toolbox of interventions exists that can help alter prevailing land-use practices. Choosing among them is a tough decision, and implementation may require strong political commitment and bold leadership. We hope that this Guide provides the inspiration to accept this challenge

Toxoplasmosis in Kosovo pregnant women

This study presents the initial results of a collaborative project aimed at the evaluation of Toxoplasma seroprevalence in a population of Kosovar pregnant women. The serum samples of 334 pregnant women were tested to detect IgG, IgM, IgG avidity for toxoplasmosis. Data regarding age, occupation, area of origin and education were also obtained for the pregnant women examined; 97/334 (29.4%) resulted positive for IgG antibodies, four of whom (4.1%) were also positive for IgM, (1.2% of the total population examined). All four IgM-positive pregnant women also demonstrated low avidity tests. The rate of IgG seroprevalence found in our study was lower than that observed in various European countries, especially those of western Europe. Conversely, the percentage of recent infections was higher than expected. The higher rate of infections could be the result of a recent toxoplasmosis epidemic in Kosovo, most likely due to the altered hygienic conditions caused by the forced transfer of the ethnic-Albanian population from an area of low (Serbia) to high (Kosovo) toxoplasmosis prevalence

METRO - The role and future perspectives of Cohesion Policy in the planning of Metropolitan Areas and Cities. Annex II: The role of Metropolitan areas within the EU cohesion policy

This Annex to the final Report presents and discusses in a comparative manner the evidence collected in the nine case studies that have been explored in the framework of the ESPON Targeted Analysis METRO – The role and future perspectives of cohesion policy in the planning of Metropolitan Areas and Cities (Annexes III to XI). More in detail, the document synthesizes and compares the information collected by the various research teams through the application of the project’s analytical protocol and as a consequence of their continuous interaction with the respective stakeholders. The report is organised following the three main policy questions that have been driving the analysis: PQ1 | What role do metropolitan areas and cities play in the development, management and implementation of the European Union (EU) cohesion policy? PQ2 | What is the added value of the EU cohesion policy in the planning and implementation of metropolitan policies? PQ3 | What role does the EU cohesion policy play in consolidating metropolitan governance and cooperation? These questions are answered through the comparative analysis and assessment of the territorial and institutional contexts in which the nine stakeholders involved in the projects are active: Metropolitan City of Turin (CMTo), Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA), Brno Metropolitan Area (BMA), Metropolitan Area of Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot (MAG), Metropolitan City of Florence (CMFi), Métropole de Lyon (MdL), Brussels-Capital Region (BCR), Riga Metropolitan Area (RMA)

Europeizzazione del governo del territorio. Un’analisi comparativa

Secondo la letteratura tecnica, il concetto di “Europeizzazione” riguarda gli effetti del processo di mutuo adattamento dei contesti istituzionali interessati dall’integrazione europea. Il concetto ha iniziato a essere utilizzato anche nel campo del governo del territorio come chiave interpretativa delle trasformazioni occorse negli ultimi decenni in seguito all’intervento dell’Unione europea (UE), pur in assenza di competenza formale nei Trattati. Un’applicazione rigorosa e sistematica del concetto, mai tentata finora, è tra gli obiettivi del progetto di ricerca ESPON COMPASS (Comparative Analysis of Territorial Governance and Spatial Planning Systems in Europe), in cui gli autori del presente contributo sono stati parte attiva. Il contributo è volto a presentare parte degli esiti della ricerca che, in breve, mostra come l’Europeizzazione del governo del territorio non consista in un processo di convergenza verso un modello ideale, quanto piuttosto di trasformazione dei sistemi istituiti secondo logiche di mutuo adattamento e con esiti anche molto diversi. A tale processo concorrono le forme d’influenza “dall’alto” che l’UE esercita sugli Stati europei, quelle “dal basso” che gli Stati esercitano sulla UE ed infine le dinamiche d’influenza “orizzontale” tra gli Stati, favorite dall’azione dell’UE. Gli esiti attesi dalla ricerca sono raccomandazioni utili sia ad orientare la futura politica di coesione dell’UE, sia l’azione di governo del territorio negli Stati europei

Corrigendum: Quality of life and quality of education among physiotherapy students in Europe (Frontiers in Medicine, (2024), 11, (1344028), 10.3389/fmed.2024.1344028)

In the published article, an author name was incorrectly written as [Sara Laura Cortés-Amaro]. The correct spelling is [Sara Cortés-Amaro]. The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated

Quality of life and quality of education among physiotherapy students in Europe

Background: The study of physiotherapy is challenging and can affect the students’ well-being and quality of life. The aim of this study was to describe and compare factors that could affect well-being among students across Europe. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire survey, students of bachelor’s physiotherapy programs from 23 European faculties, from 8 countries, were interviewed on mental health and stress burden, sleep quality, dietary habits, and physical activity. Results: Although 75% of students rated their quality of life positively and 47% were satisfied with their mental health, 65% showed higher levels of stress and 51% described impaired sleep quality. The minimum physical activity of 150 min weekly was described by 79% of students, within which 67% engaged in strengthening twice a week. Students with a higher stress load/worse psychological health also showed worse sleep quality and lower amount of physical activity, women were significantly worse off. In terms of physical activity and sleep quality, students from Finland and Kosovo achieved the best results, while students from Italy, Greece, and Portugal achieved the worst. Students from Italy indicated the greatest dissatisfaction with the organisation of the study system and communication with teachers, while in Kosovo students rated the communication and study organisation the highest. All students had a problem with adhering to nutritional habits. Students from Italy and Spain, with the lowest body mass indexes and weight averages, were closest to the nutrition recommendations. Conclusion: We demonstrated that physiotherapy students are burdened with stress, suffer from sleep disorders, and do not follow the recommendations regarding nutrition nor physical activity. There are significant differences between universities and countries in some aspects