Soil Quality and Peri-Urban Expansion of Cities: A Mediterranean Experience (Athens, Greece)

Samaneh Sadat Nickayin, Francesca Perrone, Barbara Ermini, Giovanni Quaranta, Rosanna Salvia, Filippo Gambella and Gianluca Egidi
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Samaneh Sadat Nickayin: Planning and Design Faculty, Agricultural University of Iceland, Hvanneyri, 311 Borgarbyggð, Iceland
Francesca Perrone: Department of Planning, Design and Technology of Architecture, Sapienza University, Via Flaminia, 72-00196 Roma, Italy
Barbara Ermini: Department of Economics and Social Science, Polytechnic University of Marche, Piazzale Martelli, 8, I-60121 Ancona, Italy
Giovanni Quaranta: Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Economics, University of Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10, I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Rosanna Salvia: Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Economics, University of Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano, 10, I-85100 Potenza, Italy
Filippo Gambella: Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari, Viale Italia, 39, I-07100 Sassari, Italy
Gianluca Egidi: Department of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (DAFNE), Tuscia University, Via San Camillo de Lellis, I-01100 Viterbo, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: Soil loss and peri-urban settlement expansion are key issues in urban sustainability, with multi-disciplinary implications that go beyond individual ecological and socioeconomic dimensions. Our study illustrates an assessment framework diachronically evaluating urbanization-driven soil quality loss in a Southern European metropolitan region (Athens, Greece). We tested the assumption that urban growth is a process consuming high-quality soils in a selective way analyzing two spatial layers, a map illustrating the diachronic expansion of settlements at five time points (1948, 1975, 1990, 2000, and 2018), and a geo-database reporting basic soil properties. The empirical results showed that the urban expansion in the Athens region took place by consuming higher- quality soil in fertile, mostly flat, districts. It entailed a persistent soil quality decrease over time. This trend globally accelerated in recent years, but in a heterogeneous way. Actually, newly built, more compact areas expanded on soils with lower erosion risk than in the past. Besides, low-density land take is likely to be observed in soils with moderate-high or very-high qualities. These evidences reflect the need for a comprehensive evaluation of complex processes of land take informing spatial planning for metropolitan sustainability.

Keywords: land take; urban sprawl; compact settlements; indicators; Mediterranean (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:2042-:d:499151

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