1,721,024 research outputs found
The ‘urban–rural divide’ at question: exploring the long-term shift of marital age in Greece
No full textWhile marital age is the highest worldwide, spatial disparities still exist among European regions. Although Mediterranean societies were traditionally characterized by high propensity to marriage, mean age at marriage in recent times has converged to particularly high levels typical of Western and Northern Europe. Since a spatially explicit analysis of nuptiality patterns is relatively scarce for Southern European countries, the present study investigates marriage timing in 51 Greek prefectures, assuming changes in the local context as a factor leading to marriage postponement. A positive trend in the age at marriage was observed in Greek prefectures between 1980 and 2017. While differences in the mean age at marriage diverged substantially between rural areas and urban contexts in the early 1980s, social factors leading to differentiated patterns of marriage postponement caused a greater spatial heterogeneity in marriage timing in more recent times. Results of this study outline the importance of local contexts shaping social attitudes and behaviors toward marriage. Increasingly complex demographic processes were observed along the urban–rural gradient, whose investigation requires more integrated approaches focusing on population patterns at both micro- and macro-scale
Unraveling the (Uneven) linkage? A reflection on population aging and suburbanization in a mediterranean perspective
Get PDFA complex interplay between socioeconomic transformations and demographic dynamics has characterized the long-term development of European countries. As a characteristic example of such linkage, the present study focuses on the spatial relationship between metropolitan growth and population age structure. Preferences for urban and suburban locations reflect complex socioeconomic phenomena such as sprawl, class segregation, gentrification and filtering. However, the spatial linkage between sprawl and demographic transitions was relatively poorly analyzed, and should be more extensively investigated in relation with population dynamics and socioeconomic structures at local scale. By reviewing pertinent literature, this study outlines how space exerts a non-neutral impact on population age structures in Europe, shaping housing needs and influencing settlement patterns and processes of urban transformation. While suburban locations have concentrated younger families and larger households in Northern and Western Europe, the socio-demographic composition of new settlements is increasingly dominated by older inhabitants in the Mediterranean region. Results of this work suggest how discontinuous urban expansion was specifically associated with an elder, wealthy population with high standard of living and a preference for specific housing locations such as detached villas with gardens and swimming pools
Towards local forms of sprawl: A brief reflection on mediterranean urbanization
Get PDFUrban 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
Insights into the ‘ecological economics’ of land degradation: A multi-scale analysis with implications for regional development policy and local mitigation measures
No full textThis study examines the intrinsic relationship between land degradation and the accumulation of wealth at various planning scales in Italy, a desertification hotspot in Southern Europe. Local development was scrutinized at four planning scales (administrative regions, provinces, economic districts, and municipalities) to verify if land sensitivity to degradation increases over time more rapidly in economically advanced contexts. Land sensitivity to degradation increased between the early 1990s and the early 2010s contrary to the level of income per-capita based on linear, squared, cubic, and fourth-grade polynomial specifications. Spatially implicit and explicit statistical approaches indicate linear models are the best fit at all planning scales. The income-land degradation relationship was negative, showing the role of both centralized and decentralized planning scales, and suggesting that developmental policies may have less impact on land degradation in specific territorial contexts. More suited local models displayed a negative socio-economic development impact in more affected Southern districts. Checking for spatial heterogeneity, multi-scale regressions provided insights into complex ecological-economic processes whilst also evaluating the impact of regional development at different planning levels contributing to design scalable mitigation policies against desertification
Risk perception in the forestry workers: first results of a survey made through check lists
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Neighbours matter: a micro-scale indicator of settlement structure assessing urban dispersion and planning effectiveness
No full textMoving toward a land-use approach that focuses on settlement structure, the present study introduces an indicator of compactness based on the evolution over time of the number of detached buildings in total stock at local scale. Assuming the modalities of settlement expansion as dependent on the interplay among socioeconomic aspects, territorial constraints and planning regulations, the spatial relationship between this indicator and a vast set of contextual variables was studied at the level of municipalities in a representative case of Mediterranean Europe (Athens, Greece) during both economic expansion (late-1990s) and recession (late-2000s). Results documented a trend toward settlement compaction along the Athens’ fringe. Processes of settlement compaction were more evident in municipalities with a town master plan enforced in law. By reconnecting a morphological analysis of urban fabric with a functional characterization of metropolitan regions, our study suggests the importance of spatial planning regulating dispersed urbanization in contexts where informal settlements had reflected the dominant pattern of urban growth for decades
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