1,720,977 research outputs found
Searching for a downward spiral? Soil erosion risk, agro-forest landscape and socioeconomic conditions in Italian local communities
No full textSoil erosion is a common form of land degradation in Europe concentrating on sloping rural areas. Consequences of soil erosion include the alteration of the long-term balance between ecosystem functioning and socio-ecological systems. Although it was hypothesized that rural areas with specific environmental (soil, climate, vegetation) and territorial attributes (economic marginality and poor accessibility) are more exposed to soil erosion risk, less information are available on the spatial link with various socio-spatial, productive, cultural and political attributes of local communities, spanning from unemployment to subsidence agriculture, from quality of life to water management, from poverty to economic backwardness. Taken together, these factors may trigger a downward spiral leading to land degradation. The present study explores, on a municipal scale in Italy, the spatial relationship between an index of soil erosion risk and 133 indicators describing six research domains. Exploratory data analysis based on non-parametric inference, principal components analysis and hierarchical clustering was carried out with the aim to profile municipalities exposed to high risk of soil erosion and to identify a restricted number of factors possibly determining a downward spiral towards soil erosion and land degradation. Results indicate that the socioeconomic profile of risky areas in Italy is characterized by specific rural development attributes and defined productive structure and socio-spatial characteristics representing a possible target for mitigation policies. Multi-factor studies investigating the influence of the local socioeconomic context on soil erosion may contribute to improve the effectiveness of national soil conservation strategies
Identifying Urban Diffusion in Compact Cities through a Comparative Multivariate Procedure
No full text
Low-density settlements and land use changes in a Mediterranean urban region
No full textThis article contributes to the issue of urban sprawl in the Mediterranean region. The hypothesis illus-
trated here is that urban sprawl impacts directly on rural lands by triggering land cover changes (LCCs)
and indirectly by fragmenting cropland and woodland patches and creating a mixed rural non farm
landscape. This is mainly due to the diffusion of low-density settlements located progressively further
away from the inner city. To verify this hypothesis we investigated the long-term LCCs (1960–2000) and
the variation in density of buildings (1961–2001) in a large Mediterranean urban region (Rome, central
Italy). The choice of our case study derives from the fact that Rome represents a paradigmatic example
of semi-compact city evolving towards a dispersed urban form. A multidimensional approach was used
to (i) identify the trajectories of LCCs, (ii) quantify diachronically the spatial distribution of low-density
settlements, and (iii) evaluate the increase of building density within twelve basic land cover classes. We
identified two axes of urban development: the former describes the urban-rural gradient determined by
the traditionally compact and mono-centric spatial organization observed in the early 1960s in Rome; the
latter illustrates the polycentric, dispersed urban expansion observed in the early 2000s. Taken together,
our results point out the emergence of a sprawl process where low-density settlements impact on spe-
cific land uses (arable lands, olive groves, and woodlands). Finally, the article discusses the environmental
implications of the polycentric model to the ‘shrinking’ Mediterranean cities
La rappresentazione dei sistemi complessi. Statistiche, indicatori, metodologie
No full textNella ricerca quantitativa viene definito come ‘dise gno’ il programma di lavoro empirico, organizzato
nell’ambito di un quadro vincolante. La ricerca empirica
si struttura, quindi, in funzione di due aspetti: (i) la cre scente complessità riscontrata nelle tecniche di elabora zione dei dati e (ii) la necessità di un approccio sistemico
e multidisciplinare, in grado di cogliere le diverse dimen sioni dei fenomeni complessi. Quindi, se da una parte
aumentano i gradi di libertà della ricerca, dovuti al fiorire
di nuove tecniche di rilevazione e di analisi, nonché alla
diffusione di fonti dati digitali, dall’altra è sentita la ne cessità di una strutturazione delle fas
A New Income Indicator for the Assessment of Regional Competitiveness and Sustainability
Full text linkThe present study evaluates the economic dynamics of more than 600 local districts for two years (2001 and 2005) in Italy with the aim to propose a new income indicator for the assessment of regional competitiveness in a traditionally divided country. The spatial distribution of district value added standardized by land surface was analyzed and compared with traditional indicators of per capita and per worker district value added. The three income indicators were then correlated to 15 variables (including share of agriculture and industry on total product, labour productivity by sector, per-capita and per-worker value added) to produce a multidimensional analysis of regional development using exploratory statistics. This approach allows evaluating the complex geography of economic development in Italy and the different relationships between the three income indicators and the selected socioeconomic variables at the district scale. Results indicate that the three income indicators show a diverging spatial distribution being correlated to different socioeconomic variables. The north-south divide and other geographical gradients traditionally observed in Italy (coastal-inland, urban-rural, among others) were identified by all income indicators. The joint use of the three income indicators reviewed in this study is considered to improve monitoring of regional competitiveness dynamics in divided countries
Turismo e competitività. Un'applicazione alle province italiane
No full textQuesto contributo intende concorrere alla discussione intorno al rapporto che lega il turismo al territorio, che sembra ormai evidentemente un legame da rafforzare in chiave di analisi e di progetto, utilizzando come quadro interpretativo quello rappresentato dalla letteratura sulla competitività del territorio e da quella, più specifica, sulla competitività delle destinazioni turistiche.This paper is intended to contribute to the discussion around the relationship between tourism and territory. An application to Italy is offered
Latent exurban development: City expansion along the rural-to-urban gradient in growing and declining regions of southern Europe
No full textSoil sealing in the growing city: A survey in Rome, Italy
No full textThis paper illustrates a procedure aimed at estimating diachronically soil sealing in suburban areas by using cartographical and statistical data. The procedure was applied (1949-2006) to the metropolitan area of Rome (Italy), a Mediterranean city with important land use changes observed during the last fifty years. A total of 1.477 random sites was chosen encompassing the entire investigated area (1.285 km2) and evaluated in terms of sealing condition in 1949, 1990, 1994, 2000, and 2006. Although resident population has been found quite stable since 1970s, the sealed surface area grew rapidly from 8% in 1949 to 26% in 2006. The sealing status of each site was found correlated to the distance from the city centre, while not correlated to the distance from the major roads, railways, and the boundaries of the neighbor protected area. These results suggest that soil sealing in Rome was associated to recent processes of urban sprawl which testify the slow transition from the semi-compact city to a more diffused urban agglomeration. © 2010 Royal Scottish Geographical Society
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