scholarly journals Rural in Town: Traditional Agriculture, Population Trends, and Long-Term Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Rome

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluca Egidi ◽  
Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir ◽  
Sirio Cividino ◽  
Giovanni Quaranta ◽  
Luca Salvati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Urban Growth ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Population Trends ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Metropolitan Regions ◽  
Scale Population ◽  
Mediterranean Regions ◽  
Long Time

Mediterranean regions have experienced a shift from accelerated urban growth typical of a post-industrial phase to a more recent spatial delocalization of population and economic activities reflecting discontinuous settlement expansion, land take, and the abandonment of cultivated areas around central cities. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of land-use, settlement, and demographic indicators, the present study explores urban growth and population density over a sufficiently long time period in a metropolitan region of Southern Europe (Rome, Italy). Local-scale population trends were compared with the evolution of the primary sector (workers in agriculture, number of farms, cultivated land) between 1951 and 2011. Our results indicate non-linear growth waves alternating compact and discontinuous expansion shaping fringe land. The future development of metropolitan regions is increasingly dependent on the relationship between urban diffusion and economic viability of peri-urban agriculture. Crop abandonment and land take rates increase in local contexts where peri-urban agriculture rapidly declines. Policies managing ex-urban development and promoting the recovery of fringe soils are increasingly required to contain the expansion of dispersed settlements and preserve relict agricultural systems from land conversion to urban use.

Modelling urban growth incorporating spatial interactions between the cities: The example of the Tehran metropolitan region

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1047-1064
Author(s):  
Sanaz Alaei Moghadam ◽  
Mohammad Karimi ◽  
Kyoumars Habibi
Keyword(s):  
Urban Growth ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Growth Modelling ◽  
Spatial Interactions ◽  
Metropolitan Regions ◽  
Central Business Districts ◽  
History Of

Interactions between cities play a significant role in the development of metropolitan regions. Although these interactions and their role in the urban growth modelling have already been investigated, there is still room for more studies. In this research, in addition to conventional urban growth factors, spatial interactions between the cities (SIBC) are incorporated into urban growth modelling. This causes directional trends in urban growth (DTUG). Therefore, first the DTUG of each city was measured using a developed indicator based on the history of urban growth that was extracted from satellite images and spatial statistics. The SIBC was then estimated by integrating the DTUG of the cities. Finally, the SIBC and other driving forces, including the physical suitability, accessibility and neighbourhood effects, were integrated using a cellular automata-based model. The accuracy of the model in the Tehran metropolitan region was increased by 6.44% after considering the SIBC. The analysis of the DTUG and SIBC in the Tehran metropolitan region during 1991–2000–2007–2014 revealed specific patterns as the spatial interactions intensified over time and usually peaked in the periphery of the central business districts and intense interactions existed between the metropolises and other major cities. These findings could help urban managers with strategic decision-making in the metropolitan regions and adjust the science and practice relation in this field.

scholarly journals Economic Crisis and Peri-Urban Agriculture: A Socio-Environmental Vision

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Luca Salvati ◽  
Silvia Pili
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Growth And Change ◽  
New Strategies

In wealthiest countries, urban sprawl and peri-urban agricultural landscapes are strictly interconnected issues, with dispersed urban expansion causing inherent land-use conflicts. Interpreting latent socioeconomic processes at the base of peri-urban agriculture in southern Europe may benefit from a thorough analysis of metropolitan dynamics of growth and change, considering together morphological and functional issues. The approach proposed in this study is intended to provide an overview of new strategies for food production in highly fragmented landscapes, investigating the point of view of local actors operating in the primary sector. A preliminary survey carried out in the Athens' metropolitan region, Greece, provides a knowledge base to identify apparent and latent trends in peri-urban farming and the mutual implications for farmers and citizens.

scholarly journals Uncovering Demographic Trends and Recent Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Regions: A Paradigmatic Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir ◽  
Gianluca Egidi ◽  
Enrico Maria Mosconi ◽  
Stefano Poponi ◽  
Ahmed Alhuseen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Metropolitan Regions ◽  
Knowledge Framework ◽  
Inner Cities ◽  
Demographic Indicators ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Peripheral Areas

While urbanization trends have been characterized for a long time by deconcentration of inner cities with expansion of low-density settlements, economic repolarization leading to re-urbanization and recovery of central districts are now counterbalancing population shrinkage in compact urban areas and slowing down suburban growth. In this context, the recent demographic evolution of a large metropolis such as Athens (Greece)—following expansion, crisis, and a more subtle economic recovery—may reveal original relationships between form and functions at the base of recent urban growth. Based on an exploratory analysis of demographic indicators on a metropolitan and urban scale, the present study provides an updated and integrated knowledge framework that confirms and integrates the most recent urban trends in southern Europe. Documenting the emergence of more individualized paths of urban expansion at the local scale (recovery of the historic center, shrinkage of semicentral neighborhoods, ‘reverse gentrification’ of disadvantaged peripheral areas, late suburbanization of accessible peripheral areas), results of the present study justify an ad hoc analysis of metropolitan growth based on demographic indicators as a proxy for sustainable land management and local development.

scholarly journals Contemporary Urban Expansion in the First Fastest Growing Metropolitan Region of China: A Multicity Study in the Pearl River Delta Urban Agglomeration from 1980 to 2015

Urban Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Shuai Xu ◽  
Yan Sun ◽  
Shuqing Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Urban Growth ◽  
Landscape Metrics ◽  
Pearl River Delta ◽  
Rank Order ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Urban Agglomeration ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Pearl River ◽  
The Pearl River Delta ◽  
The Pearl River

Contemporary urbanization in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) Urban Agglomeration is the epitome of China’s urbanization process as the PRD is the first fastest growing metropolitan region of China. Here, we mapped and quantified the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban expansion for seven major cities in the PRD between 1980 and 2015, using remotely sensed data integrated with landscape metrics, urban growth form, and rank clocks. Results showed that rapid land urbanization occurred in all the seven cities since the execution of reform and opening up, with the annual increase rate ranging from 8.1% to 11.3% among cities, suggesting a relatively equal level of urbanization within the PRD. Socioeconomic drivers underlying urban expansion in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai can be characterized as “top–down” mechanisms led by the municipal government, while those in Foshan, Jiangmen, Dongguan, and Zhongshan are “bottom–up” ones from low–level administrative organizations. The trajectory of urban expansion in Shenzhen conformed to the diffusion–coalescence urban growth hypothesis in terms of temporal evolution of landscape metrics and urban growth types. This is related to the fact that Shenzhen, the first special economic zone established by the Chinese government, was the first mover of urbanization in China and functioned under the umbrella of a robust socialist market economy relative to a highly centralized planned economy for other cities. The changes of Shenzhen in rank order in terms of both urban population and urbanization area were the largest, exemplifying its evolution from a small fishing village to a metropolis. Furthermore, we found that moving up in the rank order in terms of land use efficiency of wealth creation over time for all cities was accompanied with rank clocking up of population per area (crowd). How to balance trade–offs between the benefits and costs of urbanization is the challenge faced by the urban agglomeration.

scholarly journals Land quality and the city: Monitoring urban growth and land take in 76 Southern European metropolitan areas

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 691-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Salvati ◽  
Ilaria Tombolini ◽  
Achille Ippolito ◽  
Margherita Carlucci
Keyword(s):  
Urban Growth ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Land Quality ◽  
Metropolitan Regions ◽  
Urban Containment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Urban expansion determines socioeconomic and environmental changes with unpredictable impacts on peri-urban land, especially in ecologically fragile areas. The present study assesses the impact of dense and, respectively, discontinuous urban expansion on high-quality land consumption in 76 metropolitan regions of Southern Europe. Land quality indicators and land-use maps were considered together with the aim to analyze urban growth and land take processes in Portugal, Spain, Southern France, Italy and Greece. Differences in the rate of selective land take (high- vs. low-quality soils) were observed at the metropolitan scale depending on the size of urban regions, the average level of land quality and the percentage of built-up areas and cropland in the total landscape. Discontinuous residential settlements were more frequently developed on high-quality soils in respect to both dense and mixed residential settlements and service settlements. Urbanization – especially discontinuous urban expansion – consumed high-quality land mainly in Spain and Greece. The approach presented in this paper may inform joint policies for urban containment and the preservation of high-quality soils in peri-urban areas.

scholarly journals In-Between Sprawl and Neo-Rurality: Sparse Settlements and the Evolution of Socio-Demographic Local Context in a Mediterranean Region

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosanna Salvia ◽  
Pere Serra ◽  
Ilaria Zambon ◽  
Massimo Cecchini ◽  
Luca Salvati
Keyword(s):  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Metropolitan Regions ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Relationship

Dispersed urbanization during the last half century has transformed metropolitan regions into well-connected, low-density residential areas. However, this kind of urbanization has changed irreversibly the traditional rural landscape around cities, leading to a new definition of ‘rurality’. The present work discusses the intimate relationship between urban sprawl and new forms of rurality. Considering economic downturns and the possible impact on landscape transformations, our study focuses on a representative Mediterranean case of urban sprawl (the metropolitan region of Athens, Greece). In this area, urban settlements expanded rapidly into fringe land, producing relevant socio-demographic transformations that have determined uneven changes in rural landscapes. A spatially-explicit investigation of local-scale dynamics that characterize population residing in sparse settlements over a long time period (1961–2011)—encompassing distinct phases of urban growth and rural development—is relevant for analysis of local changes in the relationship between sprawl and new forms of rurality. A new concept of ‘rurality’—adapting to rapidly-evolving, mixed rural/peri-urban contexts—require reframing the relationship between rural landscapes, scattered settlements, economic cycles and socio-demographic aspects, in the light of a truly sustainable development of local territories.

REGIÃO METROPOLITANA DO CARIRI (RMC), CEARÁ: MEIO AMBIENTE E SUSTENTABILIDADE

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 1198-1216
Author(s):  
Marcelo Martins de Moura-Fé ◽  
Maria Jayne Alves da Silva ◽  
Vanessa Pereira Dias ◽  
Daniele Alves Monteiro ◽  
José Henrique De Moura Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Urban Growth ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Important Region ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
De Se ◽  
Central Elements ◽  
Modelo Económico

A Região Metropolitana do Cariri (RMC), sul do estado do Ceará, instituída em junho de 2009, é composta por 9 municípios que apresentam diferentes e consideráveis índices de crescimento populacional e correlatos níveis de expansão urbana e ocupação de áreas outrora classificáveis como ambientalmente conservadas, dotadas de significativa geodiversidade. Em que pese sua importância socioeconômica no Estado e o fato de se apresentar como uma importante região cearense, um quadro complexo de problemáticas ambientais vem se estabelecendo, pari passo ao seu crescimento econômico e urbanístico, colocando em risco a manutenção ambiental de diversos patrimônios naturais reconhecidos, bem como a sustentabilidade do modelo econômico estabelecido e em desenvolvimento. Nesse contexto, o objetivo principal desse trabalho é apresentar e discutir elementos centrais sobre o meio ambiente e sua sustentabilidade na RMC, apontando caminhos de reversão do quadro de degradação socioambiental estabelecido. Metodologicamente, a pesquisa desenvolvida até aqui baseou-se em criteriosos levantamentos bibliográfico e cartográfico, com ênfase nas temáticas apresentadas e na área de estudo, a RMC. As informações coletadas nesta etapa apoiaram a realização de levantamentos de campo exploratórios na região e a verificação de 5 (cinco) grupos principais de impactos ambientais, ocorrentes sob diferentes formas e intensidades nos 9 municípios.Palavras-chave: Análise Ambiental; Impactos Ambientais; Região Metropolitana; Desenvolvimento Sustentável; Geodiversidade. ABSTRACTThe Metropolitan Region of Cariri, southern of Ceará state, established in June 2009, is composed of 9 municipalities that present different and significant levels of population growth and related levels of urban expansion and occupation of areas formerly classified as environmentally conserved, with significant geodiversity. Despite its socioeconomic importance, in the state and the fact that it presents itself as an important region of Ceará, a complex set of environmental problems has been established, pari passso to its economic and urban growth, putting at risk the environmental maintenance of several recognized natural heritage, as well as the sustainability of the established and developing economic model. In this context, the main objective of this work is to present and discuss central elements about the environment and its sustainability in the RMC, pointing out ways of reversing the established framework of social and environmental degradation. Methodologically, the research developed so far has been based on careful bibliographical and cartographic surveys, with emphasis on the themes presented and the area of study, the RMC. The information collected at this stage supported exploratory field surveys in the region and verification of 5 main groups of environmental impacts, occurring under different forms and intensities in the 9 municipalities.Keywords: Environmental analysis; Environmental impacts; Metropolitan Region; Sustainable development; Geodiversity. RESUMENLa Región Metropolitana de Cariri (RMC), estado sureño de Ceará, establecida en junio de 2009, está compuesta por 9 municipios que tienen tasas de crecimiento demográfico diferentes y considerables y niveles correlacionados de expansión urbana y ocupación de áreas anteriormente clasificadas como conservadas ambientalmente dotado de una importante geodiversidad. A pesar de su importancia socioeconómica en el Estado y el hecho de que se presenta como una región importante de Ceará, se ha establecido una imagen compleja de los problemas ambientales, así como su crecimiento económico y urbanístico, poniendo en peligro el mantenimiento ambiental de varios patrimonios naturales reconocidos. así como la sostenibilidad del modelo económico establecido y en desarrollo. En este contexto, el objetivo principal de este documento es presentar y discutir elementos centrales sobre el medio ambiente y su sostenibilidad en el RMC, señalando formas de revertir el escenario de degradación socioambiental establecido. Metodológicamente, la investigación desarrollada hasta ahora se ha basado en cuidadosas encuestas bibliográficas y cartográficas, con énfasis en los temas presentados y en el área de estudio, el RMC. La información recopilada en esta etapa apoyó la realización de encuestas exploratorias de campo en la región y la verificación de 5 (cinco) grupos principales de impactos ambientales, que ocurren en diferentes formas e intensidades en los 9 municipios. Palabras clave: Análisis ambiental; Impactos ambientales; Región Metropolitana; Desenvolvimiento sustentable; Geodiversidad

scholarly journals Are Cities Truly Dispersed? A Long-Term Analysis of Vertical Profile of Settlements in Athens’ Metropolitan Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3365
Author(s):  
Jesús Rodrigo-Comino ◽  
Barbara Ermini
Keyword(s):  
Urban Form ◽  
Vertical Profile ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Spatial Direction ◽  
Socioeconomic Changes ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Nonparametric Correlation ◽  
Over Time

Using nonparametric, exploratory statistics, the spatial structure of the city’s vertical profile was investigated at the municipal scale in Athens’ metropolitan region (Greece), evaluating changes over a sufficiently long time interval (1983–2019) that encompasses different phases of the urban cycle in Greece. Assuming the vertical profile of cities as an honest indicator of urban form, the study was aimed to test the intensity and spatial direction of the (supposed) change in settlement models toward sprawl. Transitioning slowly from a dense to a more dispersed settlement structure, Athens’ dynamics revealed a quite representative model for cities expanding significantly but remaining substantially compact and dense, while responding similarly to different (external) economic stimuli. Nonparametric correlation between the average (vertical) profile of each municipality and the distance from downtown Athens revealed a substantially stable mono-centric structure over time, with small changes over time still responding to factors dependent on the urban gradient. The inherent shift towards “horizontal” urban expansion was relatively modest and characteristic of few periurban contexts. The empirical results of this study can be envisaged as a practical tool of regional planning, allowing continuous monitoring of urban sprawl and land take in complex systems under rapid socioeconomic changes.

Natural population growth and urban management in metropolitan regions: Insights from pre-crisis and post-crisis Athens, Greece

Urban Studies ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 004209802110350
Author(s):  
Sabato Vinci ◽  
Gianluca Egidi ◽  
Rosanna Salvia ◽  
Antonio Gimenez Morera ◽  
Luca Salvati
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Natural Population ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Metropolitan Regions ◽  
Economic Downturns

Between the 1970s and the 1990s, cities in Southern Europe experienced a progressive delocalisation of population, settlements and activities over larger regions. Economic downturns have increasingly influenced more recent waves of metropolitan growth, shaping differentiated patterns of urban change. While some cities evolved towards accelerated population dynamics in central districts responding to re-urbanisation impulses, other agglomerations were intrinsically bounded in a sort of ‘late suburbanisation’, with demographic shrinkage of both inner districts and rural areas, and uneven expansion of suburban population. By providing a comprehensive interpretation of the socioeconomic mechanisms underlying recent urban expansion, this study illustrates a diachronic analysis of population dynamics over multiple spatial scales and time frames in a metropolitan region of Southern Europe (Athens, Greece) between 1999 and 2019. Natural population balance was investigated vis à vis selected territorial indicators using descriptive, inferential and multivariate statistics. Results of the analysis identify different social forces underlying suburban population growth during economic expansion (2000s) and recession (2010s), evidencing a distinctive response of local communities to economic downturns that depends mostly on the background context (affluent versus disadvantaged neighbourhoods). Given the multiplicity of territorial dimensions involved in urban growth, our findings highlight how economic downturns distinctively shape metropolitan development based on locally differentiated demographic dynamics.

Exploring Subbordia – the impact of suburbanisation in cross-border metropolitan regions. The case study of Szczecin and its German hinterland

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Barthel ◽  
Ewelina Barthel
Keyword(s):  
Border Region ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Metropolitan Regions ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Planning Support ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Connected Area ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Local Narratives

Abstract This paper focuses on the largely unexamined phenomenon of the developing trans-national suburban area west of Szczecin. Sadly the local communities in this functionally connected area struggle with national planning policies that are unsuitable for the region. The paper examines the impact of those processes on the border region in general and on the localities in particular. The paper investigates the consequences for local narratives and the cohesive development of the Euroregion and what position Polish and German communities took to develop the region, even without the necessary planning support. The region has succeeded in establishing grass-roots planning mechanisms which have helped to create a metropolitan-region working from the bottom up.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document