Towards local forms of sprawl: A brief reflection on mediterranean urbanization

Urban sprawl is a complex phenomenon that requires a comprehensive reflection on the most significant patterns and underlying processes. While the "sprawl" notion parallels hegemonic concepts such as economic competitiveness, social cohesion, and polycentric development, an integrated analysis of sprawl patterns and processes in paradigmatic socioeconomic contexts is increasingly required to reconcile dierent disciplinary visions, contributing to a holistic interpretation of metropolitan change. At the same time, sprawl is an increasingly evident product of local socioeconomic contexts all over the world. A comprehensive investigation of multifaceted, form-function relationships underlying sprawl-based on a quali-quantitative analysis of representative cases-is a crucial pre-requisite of both monitoring and policy actions at multiple spatial scales, from urban/regional to national/continental levels. The present contribution proposes a contextualization of the sprawl notion in Southern Europe-a socioeconomic context characterized by compact and continuous urbanization for a long time. An integrated approach based on a visual analysis of urban and peri-urban landscapes-integrated with an extended literature survey-allows for a definition of a specific sprawl model in Southern Europe, sharing some features with the United States ideal type of sprawl and showing peculiarities with respect to common models of urban dispersion typical of Northern and Western Europe. Policies aimed at containing urban dispersion may definitely benefit from a local-based definition of sprawl, considering the specificity of form-function relationships and the underlying socioeconomic context

Towards an indicator of urban centrality? Exploring changes in present and resident population (1991–2011) in Greece

This study compares the spatial distribution of resident and present population at the municipal scale in Greece (1991–2011) with the aim to infer recent trends in urban expansion. The ratio of present to resident population is proposed as a proxy of urban centrality indicating variations in urban hierarchy over time. Results of the analysis outline relevant changes in the spatial distribution of present and resident population along the urban–rural gradient. Apart from the metropolitan areas of Athens and Salonika (which concentrate nearly half of Greek population), the density of present and resident population varied largely across time and space. Urban regions showed higher values in the ratio of resident to present population than rural regions. The indicator proposed in this study contributes to defining more precisely urban and rural areas and may integrate decision support systems for diachronic analysis of urbanization patterns and processes

Long-term land cover changes and climate variations: a country-scale approach for a new policy target

This study provides a framework for the joint analysis of long-term land cover changes and climatic variations at regional scale. The land cover distribution observed in Italy in 1960, 1990, and 2006 was compared with trends in annual precipitation and the aridity index estimated during 1951\u20132007. Annual rainfall decreased by 0.41% per year during the examined period with the consequent increase in the aridity index (0.48% per year). Both rainfall decrease and aridity increase followed a non-uniform spatial distribution impacting differently the Mediterranean landscape mosaic. Land cover classes with higher precipitation rates and moderate to low aridity regimes experienced larger climate variations. Natural and semi-natural areas (including forests, shrublands, pastures, mountain zones with glaciers and rocky areas) resulted as the most vulnerable to climate aridity. Croplands were associated to moderately dry conditions in 1951\u20131960 but underwent only mild climate variations during the following fifty years. Results may inform sustainable regional planning for peri-urban and rural land experiencing aridity and contribute to the implementation of national action plans against climate changes in the Mediterranean basin