From Rural Spaces to Peri-Urban Districts: Metropolitan Growth, Sparse Settlements and Demographic Dynamics in a Mediterranean Region

Rosanna Salvia, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Sirio Cividino, Luca Salvati and Giovanni Quaranta
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Rosanna Salvia: Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics, University of Basilicata, Via del’Ateneo Lucano 10, I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir: Department of Overland Communication Ways, Foundation and Cadastral Survey, Polytechnic University of Timisoara, 1A I. Curea Street, 300224 Timisoara, Romania
Sirio Cividino: Department of Agriculture, University of Udine, Via del Cotonificio 114, I-33100 Udine, Italy
Luca Salvati: Department of Economics and Law, University of Macerata, Via Armaroli 43, I-62100 Macerata, Italy
Giovanni Quaranta: Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics, University of Basilicata, Via del’Ateneo Lucano 10, I-85100 Potenza, Italy

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: Considering settlement characteristics and population dynamics together over multiple spatio-temporal scales, the present study analyzes the spatial distribution of sparse settlements and population surrounding a large city in Southern Europe (Athens, Greece), in relation with long-term metropolitan growth and recent economic downturns. Results of the analysis identify regional-scale processes of urban compaction during economic expansion (2000s) with incorporation of scattered settlements in a high-density urban fabric, and moderate urban dispersion affecting low-density, peripheral areas in the subsequent period of recession (2010s). However, more heterogeneous dynamics were observed at the local scale. With economic expansion, a slight increase in the number of settlements was observed in local districts experiencing intense sprawl in earlier decades. With recession, a slight decrease in the number of settlements was, in turn, recorded in some rural districts surrounding compact urban centers, likely acting as local hotspots of urban re-densification. Given the multiplicity of socioeconomic factors involved, our findings highlight how urban development follows sequential phases of compaction and dispersion, based on locally differentiated spatial regimes characterizing settlement expansion and population growth. Sustainable urban management should face more actively with increasingly fragmented settlement dynamics at the fringe, prefiguring an appropriate spatial balance between urban centers and sparse settlements in light of recent demographic trends.

Keywords: sparse population; urban growth; demographic dynamics; planning; Athens (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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