1,721,954 research outputs found
Spatial Complex Network Analysis and Accessibility Indicators: the Case of Municipal Commuting in Sardinia, Italy
Full text linkIn this paper a contribution is presented with respect to accessibility indicators modelling for commuters moving through the municipalities of Sardinia, in Italy. In this case, spatial complex network analysis is integrated into the construction of accessibility measures: one of the most relevant outcomes of the first tool –the detection of shortest road paths and distances- is adopted as an input for the second in modelling accessibility indicators. Instead of Euclidean distances often adopted in the literature, shortest road distances are chosen, as commuting implies movements that are usually repeated daily and very likely subjected, even unconsciously, to space and time minimization strategies.
In particular, two commuter accessibility indicators are constructed according to approaches based on a travel cost and a spatial interaction model with impedance function calibrated in exponential and in power form. The accessibility indicators are confronted each other and with relevant socio-economic and infrastructure characteristics of Sardinia.
In addition, they are described, with respect to their spatial distribution and their different implications, when adopted in decision-making and planning. The travel cost based accessibility indicator has a municipal spatial distribution strongly influenced by the main road infrastructure of the Island. By contrast, spatial interaction model based accessibility indicators are more reliable, with respect to their capacity to confirm a leading socio-economic role of the municipalities comprehended in the metropolitan area of the capital town Cagliari
Grouping complex systems: a weighted network comparative analysis
No full textIn this study, the authors compare two inter-municipal commuting networks (MCN) pertaining to the Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily, by approaching their characterization through a weighted network analysis. They develop on
the results obtained for the MCN of Sardinia (De Montis et al. 2007) and attempt to use network analysis as a mean of detection of similarities or dissimilarities between the systems at hand
Special Issue on Sustainable Land Uses and Rural Governance
No full textLandscape is the dynamic result of the interactions between human activities and natural drivers. It is our living natural and cultural heritage and has an important public interest. The achievement of sustainable land use involves a balanced and harmonious fulfillment of three well-known pillars: Social needs, economic development, and environmental protection. Thus, a major issue in contemporary rural governance is the correct compromise between land use expansion and intensification for satisfying ever-growing human-needs—a major driver of habitat and natural resources loss—and the decline of rural populations and traditional land uses, leading to the abandonment of marginal areas. Moreover, rural/urban landscapes are still undergoing rapid changes connected to the loss of agricultural land, resulting in a mix of fragmented ecosystems.
With respect to the argument above, this Special Issue welcomes theoretical and case study contributions dealing with sustainable landscape governance at local and regional scales. Typical contributions deal with natural areas, rural landscapes, urban landscapes, metropolitan regions, ecosystem services, and human-environment systems around the world. Innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to the support of community-based landscape governance in rural as well as urban/rural areas are very much encouraged. We also welcome papers from broadly defined topics that are relevant to the theme of this Special Issue
Mandatory and Spontaneous Processes of Impact Assessment: A Comparative Study Referred to Sardinia, Italy
Full text linkRosana G. Moreira, Editor-in-Chief; Texas A&M UniversityThis is a paper from International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR, Commission Internationale du Genie Rural) E-Journal Volume 6 (2004): A. De Montis and S. De Montis. Mandatory and Spontaneous Processes of Impact Assessment: A Comparative Study Referred to Sardinia, Italy. (October 2004)
Accessibility, rurality and remoteness: an investigation on the Island of Sardinia, Italy
No full textThe dichotomy between rural and urban settings has been used by census
systems across the world in order to distinguish areas with high density
population from areas with low density and where the primary occupation
is connected to the agricultural sector. In this paper we study the level of
accessibility, remoteness and rurality for municipalities in Sardinia, Italy.
We apply a spatial analysis by means of indicators, such as accessibility for
commuters (De Montis, Caschili and Chessa, 2011), the index of relative
rurality, the metropolitan-rural interface levels (Waldorf, 2006) and the rurality-
remoteness combined classification (Dijkstra and Poelman, 2008).
We investigate whether accessibility shows a similar spatial pattern,
with respect to remoteness and rurality, and thus we provide an analysis of
the Sardinian setting that is of help for policy-makers and planners to understand
some of the relevant regional and urban factors that have driven
recent developments
Cities special section on “Analysis and planning of urban settlements: the role of accessibility"
No full textAccessibility has been the focus of many studies in recent decades. The widespread adoption of the accessibility concept demonstrates the originality of Hansen’s (1959) and Weibull’s (1976) vision. They were the first to define accessibility systematically. In essence, these two authors interpreted and modeled accessibility as the potential opportunities which can be reached from a given place by paying a certain generalized and space/time based cost.
It is worth saying that the vast number of authors that have so far adopted – and still adopt potential accessibility is the best proof of the efficacy and elegance of this approach. Many review studies
emphasize the relevance of this definition of accessibility from both the theoretical and empirical viewpoint (see inter alia Baradaran & Ramjerdi, 2001; De Montis & Reggiani, in press; Geurs, Krizek, & Reggiani, 2012; Geurs & Wee, 2004; Handy & Niemeier,
1997; Jones, 1981; Reggiani & Martín, 2011; and Wu & Hine, 2003).
Thus accessibility appears to be a useful tool for best practice and planning (Geurs et al., 2012). In this context, a line of research is clearly devoted to the accessibility of urban systems. There is interesting specialization in the scientific literature on accessibility
in an urban setting. Lau and Chiu (2004) study the influences of land-use policy and public transport system development on their accessibility to workers. Many investigations relate accessibility to the following urban public goods: public spaces (Lotfi & Koohsari, 2009; Pasaogullari & Doratli, 2004), opportunities of access to space and time for one or multiple persons (Neutens, Versichele, & Schwanen, 2010), metro systems (Prasertsubpakij & Nitivattananon, in press), labor markets (Reggiani, Bucci, Russo, Haas, &
Nijkamp, 2011), streets (Travençolo & Costa, 2008), services (Vasconcelos & Farias, 2012), and green spaces (Wright Wendel, Zarger, & Mihelcic, 2012).
Starting from the above considerations, reflections on the role of accessibility in the analysis and planning of urban settlements certainly remain valid arguments that are worth exploring. This is the rationale which characterizes the articles included in this Special Section. To be more precise, Caschili and De Montis (2013) analyze
accessibility in the US commuter system; Monzón, Ortega, and
López (2013) analyse accessibility in terms of the impact of the Spanish high speed rail system on urban areas; Ratner and Goetz (2013) study the accessibility of transit-oriented development, as well as its impact on urban morphology and land use; Bentlage, Lüthi, and Thierstein (2013) consider the accessibility of German
agglomerations with respect to physical and non-physical connectivity; and, finally, Tranos, Reggiani, and Nijkamp (2013) construct an index of digital accessibility to European cities. These contributions have been originally selected from among the papers presented in a ERSA-NECTAR1 Special Session on Accessibility and Spatial Patterns organized by Andrea De Montis and Aura Reggiani
under the aegis of the ERSA 50th Conference held in Jønkøping (Sweden) on 19–23 August, 2010.
Table 1 can be used to link the five articles collected in this Special Section. In detail, in Table 1, the papers collected in this Special Section are classified according to the following main features:
1. Transportation system indicates to which transportation context the authors are referring.
2. Country elucidates the national context under analysis.
3. Socio-economic variable refers to the categories of people that are analyzed in their mobility/accessibility choices.
4. Spatial context explains the level of spatial organization of the data.
5. Time period reports the time span when the data were collected.
6. Methodology indicates the analytical tool(s) adopted for constructing the accessibility measures.
7. Accessibility measurements/proxy reports on the measurements used to calculate the level of accessibility.</br
Accessibility, rurality and remoteness: an investigation on the Island of Sardinia, Italy
No full textThe dichotomy between rural and urban settings has been used by census systems across the world in order to distinguish areas with high density population from areas with low density and where the primary occupation
is connected to the agricultural sector. In this paper we study the level of
accessibility, remoteness and rurality for municipalities in Sardinia, Italy.
We apply a spatial analysis by means of indicators, such as accessibility for
commuters (De Montis, Caschili and Chessa, 2011), the index of relative
rurality, the metropolitan-rural interface levels (Waldorf, 2006) and the rurality-
remoteness combined classification (Dijkstra and Poelman, 2008).
We investigate whether accessibility shows a similar spatial pattern,
with respect to remoteness and rurality, and thus we provide an analysis of
the Sardinian setting that is of help for policy-makers and planners to understand
some of the relevant regional and urban factors that have driven recent developments
Schemi edilizi materiali e tecniche costruttive per ricoveri ovini in Sardegna
No full textIn a limited area of the Mediterranean, Sardinia, in which the farming of sheep is moving towards the modern
method of permanently rearing them in shelters, thus giving way to an organised and rational structure.
The author has written this report on the plans of these buildings, the materials (both traditional and
new) used for their construction
Planners in the face of mining cultural heritage: tourist development at L'Argentiera, Italy
No full textContemporary planners are often confronted with the issue of recovering settlements which rose as a necessary complement of former
productive activities and nowadays have lost their original functions.
In particular, mining entrepreneurship throughout Europe has produced during
the last century remarkable effects on the built and natural environment, by
inducing typical changes in local landscape patterns. A correct interpretation of
the latter today may reveal a strategic endowment of local societies, since mining heritage may constitute a factor of comparative advantage for a contemporary tourism destination. In this paper, the authors illustrate the proposal of Integrated Master Plan of L’Argentiera, a former mining settlement
in north-western Sardinia, Italy. They describe the opportunities of this
proposal, by referring to the tourist flows most likely attracted in a destination
recovered according to mining heritage tourism led policies and planning, and to monetary beneficial impacts induced on regional development, in terms of extra revenues and employment directly and indirectly generated
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