The Social Cost of Urban Sprinkling

Benedetto Manganelli, Beniamino Murgante and Lucia Saganeiti
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Benedetto Manganelli: School of Engineering, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Beniamino Murgante: School of Engineering, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Lucia Saganeiti: School of Engineering, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Low-density dispersed urban development, known as “sprawl” or “sprinkling”, is an alternative configuration that best expresses the structure of the Italian urban system and is taking on increasingly significant dimensions. This phenomenon has increased in recent decades due to a weakening of the urban agglomeration force that had characterized the first half of the last century. Partial abandonment of agricultural activities and socio-economic changes led to the progressive urbanization of rural areas and the birth of widespread cities. This work discusses the externalities generated by sprawl, focusing on the tangible costs that this urban development model unloads on the people. In particular, the territory of the Basilicata Region is analyzed. Based on the data of some municipalities in the region, a relationship between the marginal costs relating to the greater linear infrastructure that sprinkling requires and an index already described in the literature to provide a quantitative measure of this phenomenon was built and verified with a regression model.

Keywords: sprinkling; sprawl; social cost; externalities; regression model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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