Search

As cropland management and land use shifted towards more intensive practices, global land degradation increased drastically. Understanding relationships between ecological and socioeconomic drivers of soil and landscape degradation within these landscapes in economically dynamic contexts such as the Mediterranean region, requires multi-target and multi-scalar approaches covering long-term periods. This study provides an original approach for identifying desertification risk drivers and sustainable land management strategies within Italian agro-forest districts. An Environmental Sensitivity Area (ESA) approach, based on four thematic indicators (climate, soil, vegetation and land-use) and a composite index of desertification risk (ESAI), was used to evaluate changes in soil vulnerability and landscape degradation between the years 1960 and 2010. A multivariate model was developed to identify the most relevant drivers causing changes in land susceptibility at the district scale. Larger districts, and those with a higher proportion of their total surface area classified as agro-forest, had a significantly lower increase in land susceptibility to degradation during the 50 years when compared with the remaining districts. We conclude that preserving economic viability and ecological connectivity of traditional, extensive agricultural systems is a key measure to mitigate the desertification risk in the Mediterranean region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a high need for new residences coincides with an insufficient area of obtainable land within cities, urban sprawl occurs. Although densification is a well-known policy for controlling urban sprawl, one of the main challenges faced by researchers is that of determining urban densification potentials and priorities at the city scale. This paper aims to establish a methodology to facilitate decision-making regarding urban densification using five different methods. The proposed methodology utilizes high-quality city strategic plans (CSPs) and urban regulation documents and adopts geographic information systems (GISs) to determine and map the potential areas for densification. Multiple sustainability parameters, including environmental, economic, and social parameters, are selected, and weighted using an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to prioritize the densification sites. The proposed method is tested in Tanta, Egypt, which has suffered due to agricultural losses of approximately 10 km2 within the last 50 years. The results credibly demonstrate the means by which to accommodate approximately 428% of the anticipated population increase in Tanta by 2027 and thereby save more than 53% of the approved deducted agricultural lands under the current urban regulations. Generally, this methodology offers a new model to optimize urban densification, which can be effective in urban management to achieve city resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]