The Effect of Rural Buildings on Landscape Fragmentation in Natura 2000 Sites: A Case Study in Sardinia

Landscape fragmentation (LF) is the process where habitat patches tend to become smaller and more isolated over time. It is mainly due to human activities and affects habitats, biodiversity, ecosystem balance, and ecological networks. Transport and mobility infrastructures and urbanized areas—also in the form of suburban and rural sprawl—contribute to LF and can be localized close to (or included in) Natura 2000 sites (N2000 sites). N2000 sites are set according to the Habitats and Birds Directives and consist of special protection areas, sites of community importance, and special areas of conservation, where LF may threaten habitat quality and species survival and dispersal. Then, new rules and planning approaches are called for defining effective protection measures. The knowledge of the context appears to be a priority to achieve such aims. Therefore, this study focuses on LF in N2000 sites. We apply the rural buildings fragmentation index (RBFI) and the effective mesh density (Seff) in six landscape units in Sardinia (Italy). Then, we report on the least and the most fragmented N2000 sites and assess if there is correlation between RBFI and Seff. In this study, RBFI and Seff provide not trivial outcomes, as they are weakly and positively correlated.

Where a Subdivision Is Not a “Subdivision”: State Enabling Statutes and the Local Regulation (or Not) of Land Division in the United States

Subdivision control has long been a central pillar of planning. Nonetheless, many American states statutorily exempt entire classes of land division from local subdivision control. This legal analysis therefore asks the following: Which land divisions are localities actually enabled by statute to regulate as “subdivisions”? Which are exempted from subdivision control? What are the implications for development and planning, particularly at the exurban fringe? This fifty-state review reveals diverse ways subdivisions are defined and particular divisions—involving no new streets, large parcels, or small numbers of lots—commonly exempted from regulation, and possible consequences for managing rural sprawl.