Urbanization, rural development, and land-use change

Rosanna Salvia (), Giovanni Quaranta (), Marco Maialetti () and Luca Salvati ()

Chapter 3 in Rural Sustainability and Competitiveness, 2025, pp 32-49 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: While urbanization has been related to economic development and demographic change, heterogeneous patterns and processes of regional growth reflect the subtle impact of demographic dynamics and the consequent implications for land resource management and environmental sustainability. Differences in spatial patterns and processes of metropolitan growth and regional change in advanced economies – often reflected in statistics indicating a net increase in urban populations – result in territorial divides. To better understand the impact of land-use change on economic dynamics, interdisciplinary research should better link socio-demographic patterns and landscape modifications with (local) urbanization and (regional) processes of industrial transformation. Based on these premises, this chapter discusses the urgent need to integrate environmental issues with demographic and socio-economic trends in a refined understanding and management of ecological patterns and processes. We also discuss some perspectives of knowledge integration across disciplines (ecology, planning, agronomy, geology, demography, sociology, economics, geography). With a specific focus on the old continent, the results of this contribution encourage theoretical and empirical studies within a multidisciplinary arena. We specifically stimulate a broader literature review and theoretical advances towards new operational and interpretative frameworks, shedding further light on the ecological-economic nexus of rural areas. Empirical approaches, comparative works and relevant case studies are intended as the necessary, informed ground to improve scientific and political knowledge of complex socio-environmental issues.

Keywords: Social modernization; Rural development; Landscape transformations; Population trends; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035357710
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