IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v86y2019icp104-112.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unnatural sprawl: Reconsidering public responsibility for suburban development in Italy, and the desirability and possibility of changing the rules of the game

Author

Listed:
  • Moroni, Stefano
  • Minola, Luca

Abstract

As well known, sprawl has been the subject of intense criticism. The critical debate began in the United States, where the phenomenon had long existed. More recently, the focus has shifted to include Europe, where sprawl is a relatively new phenomenon. Individual preferences, the increasingly intensive use of automobiles, and market dynamics, are generally considered to be the main causes of sprawl development, in a situation of presumed deregulation and absence of planning. Our impression is that the phenomenon demands a more nuanced reading. Public responsibilities in the creation of certain forms of suburban development should not be forgotten. All of this suggests that possible remedies might be quite different from those typically advocated. In discussing these aspects here, we shall focus above all on the case of Italy. As regards the approach, the article assumes what may be called a neo-institutionalist perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Moroni, Stefano & Minola, Luca, 2019. "Unnatural sprawl: Reconsidering public responsibility for suburban development in Italy, and the desirability and possibility of changing the rules of the game," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 104-112.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:86:y:2019:i:c:p:104-112
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.04.032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026483771831888X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.04.032?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrew J. Plantinga & Stephanie Bernell, 2007. "The Association Between Urban Sprawl And Obesity: Is It A Two‐Way Street?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(5), pages 857-879, December.
    2. Eid, Jean & Overman, Henry G. & Puga, Diego & Turner, Matthew A., 2008. "Fat city: Questioning the relationship between urban sprawl and obesity," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 385-404, March.
    3. Ilaria Tombolini & Ilaria Zambon & Achille Ippolito & Stathis Grigoriadis & Pere Serra & Luca Salvati, 2015. "Revisiting “Southern” Sprawl: Urban Growth, Socio-Spatial Structure and the Influence of Local Economic Contexts," Economies, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-23, December.
    4. Brueckner, Jan K & Kim, Hyun-A, 2003. "Urban Sprawl and the Property Tax," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 10(1), pages 5-23, January.
    5. Walid Oueslati & Seraphim Alvanides & Guy Garrod, 2015. "Determinants of urban sprawl in European cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(9), pages 1594-1614, July.
    6. Andrea Cirilli & Paolo Veneri, 2009. "Spatial structure and mobility patterns: towards a taxonomy of the Italian urban systems," RIVISTA DI ECONOMIA E STATISTICA DEL TERRITORIO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2009(1), pages 25-62.
    7. Kalkuhl, Matthias & Fernandez Milan, Blanca & Schwerhoff, Gregor & Jakob, Michael & Hahnen, Maren & Creutzig, Felix, 2018. "Can land taxes foster sustainable development? An assessment of fiscal, distributional and implementation issues," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 338-352.
    8. Luca Salvati & Margherita Carlucci, 2015. "Land-use structure, urban growth, and periurban landscape: a multivariate classification of the European cities," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 42(5), pages 801-829, September.
    9. Resnik, D.B., 2010. "Urban sprawl, smart growth, and deliberative democracy," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(10), pages 1852-1856.
    10. Stefan Siedentop & Stefan Fina, 2012. "Who Sprawls Most? Exploring the Patterns of Urban Growth across 26 European Countries," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(11), pages 2765-2784, November.
    11. Shoup, Donald C., 1999. "The trouble with minimum parking requirements," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 33(7-8), pages 549-574.
    12. Kim Dovey & Stephen Wood, 2015. "Public/private urban interfaces: type, adaptation, assemblage," Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 1-16, March.
    13. Ehrlich, Maximilian V. & Hilber, Christian A.L. & Schöni, Olivier, 2018. "Institutional settings and urban sprawl: Evidence from Europe," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 4-18.
    14. Jan K. Brueckner, 2000. "Urban Sprawl: Diagnosis and Remedies," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 23(2), pages 160-171, April.
    15. Luca Salvati & Margherita Carlucci, 2016. "Patterns of Sprawl: The Socioeconomic and Territorial Profile of Dispersed Urban Areas in Italy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(8), pages 1346-1359, August.
    16. John Carruthers, 2003. "Growth at the fringe: The influence of political fragmentation in United States metropolitan areas," Papers in Regional Science, Springer;Regional Science Association International, vol. 82(4), pages 475-499, November.
    17. Bimonte, Salvatore & Stabile, Arsenio, 2015. "Local taxation and urban development. Testing for the side-effects of the Italian property tax," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 100-107.
    18. Barbara Ermini & Raffaella Santolini, 2017. "Urban sprawl and property tax of a city’s core and suburbs: evidence from Italy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(9), pages 1374-1386, September.
    19. World Bank, 2019. "Doing Business 2019," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 30438, December.
    20. Foldvary, Fred Emanuel & Minola, Luca Andrea, 2017. "The taxation of land value as the means towards optimal urban development and the extirpation of excessive economic inequality," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 331-337.
    21. Richard J. Vyn, 2012. "Examining for Evidence of the Leapfrog Effect in the Context of Strict Agricultural Zoning," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 88(3), pages 457-477.
    22. Peter Gordon & Sanford Ikeda, 2011. "Does Density Matter?," Chapters, in: David Emanuel Andersson & Åke E. Andersson & Charlotta Mellander (ed.), Handbook of Creative Cities, chapter 22, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    23. Tommaso Bonetti, 2016. "Ipertrofia normativa e azione amministrativa nel governo del territorio: alcune considerazioni," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(1), pages 130-144.
    24. John Carruthers, 2003. "Growth at the fringe: The influence of political fragmentation in United States metropolitan areas," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 82(4), pages 475-499, November.
    25. Wassmer, Robert W., 2016. "Further empirical evidence on residential property taxation and the occurrence of urban sprawl," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 73-85.
    26. Milgrom, Paul R & Weber, Robert J, 1982. "A Theory of Auctions and Competitive Bidding," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(5), pages 1089-1122, September.
    27. Luca Pellegrini & Angelo M. Cardani, 1993. "The Italian Distribution System," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 139, OECD Publishing.
    28. Andre Sorensen, 2015. "Taking path dependence seriously: an historical institutionalist research agenda in planning history," Planning Perspectives, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 17-38, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chiara Minioto & Francesco Martinico & Maria Rosa Trovato & Salvatore Giuffrida, 2023. "Data and Values: Axiological Interpretations of Building Sprawl Landscape Risk in the Rural Territory of Noto (Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-32, June.
    2. Alessia D’Agata & Giovanni Quaranta & Rosanna Salvia & Margherita Carlucci & Luca Salvati, 2023. "Mixed Land Use as an Intrinsic Feature of Sprawl: A Short-Term Analysis of Settlement Growth and Population Distribution Using European Urban Atlas," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-21, April.
    3. Rosanna Salvia & Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir & Sirio Cividino & Luca Salvati & Giovanni Quaranta, 2020. "From Rural Spaces to Peri-Urban Districts: Metropolitan Growth, Sparse Settlements and Demographic Dynamics in a Mediterranean Region," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-20, June.
    4. Cattivelli, Valentina, 2020. "Planning peri-urban areas at regional level: The experience of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna," MPRA Paper 101189, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Daniela Smiraglia & Luca Salvati & Gianluca Egidi & Rosanna Salvia & Antonio Giménez-Morera & Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, 2021. "Toward a New Urban Cycle? A Closer Look to Sprawl, Demographic Transitions and the Environment in Europe," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-14, January.
    6. Oliveira, Eduardo & Leuthard, Jasmin & Tobias, Silvia, 2019. "Spatial planning instruments for cropland protection in Western European countries," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    7. Cattivelli, Valentina, 2021. "Planning peri-urban areas at regional level: The experience of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna (Italy)," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    8. Edwin Buitelaar & Hans Leinfelder, 2020. "Public Design of Urban Sprawl: Governments and the Extension of the Urban Fabric in Flanders and the Netherlands," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(1), pages 46-57.
    9. Basso, Matteo & Vettoretto, Luciano, 2020. "Reversal sprawl. Land-use regulation, society and institutions in Proseccotown," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    10. Gianluca Egidi & Sirio Cividino & Sabato Vinci & Adele Sateriano & Rosanna Salvia, 2020. "Towards Local Forms of Sprawl: A Brief Reflection on Mediterranean Urbanization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-16, January.
    11. Yasi Tian & Junyi Chen, 2022. "Suburban sprawl measurement and landscape analysis of cropland and ecological land: A case study of Jiangsu Province, China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 1282-1305, September.
    12. Gianluca Egidi & Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir & Sirio Cividino & Giovanni Quaranta & Luca Salvati & Andrea Colantoni, 2020. "Rural in Town: Traditional Agriculture, Population Trends, and Long-Term Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Rome," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-15, February.
    13. Menzori, Ivan Damasco & de Sousa, Isabel Cristina Nunes & Gonçalves, Luciana Márcia, 2023. "Local government shift and national housing program: Spatial repercussions on urban growth," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    14. Alessia D’Agata & Daniele Ponza & Florin Adrian Stroiu & Ioannis Vardopoulos & Kostas Rontos & Francisco Escrivà & Francesco Chelli & Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo & Luca Salvati & Samaneh Sadat Nickyain, 2023. "Toward Sustainable Development Trajectories? Estimating Urban Footprints from High-Resolution Copernicus Layers in Athens, Greece," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, July.
    15. Renata Różycka-Czas & Barbara Czesak & Katarzyna Cegielska, 2019. "Towards Evaluation of Environmental Spatial Order of Natural Valuable Landscapes in Suburban Areas: Evidence from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-14, November.
    16. Tong, De & Yuan, Yuxi & Wang, Xiaoguang, 2021. "The coupled relationships between land development and land ownership at China’s urban fringe: A structural equation modeling approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Silvia Beghelli & Gianni Guastella & Stefano Pareglio, 2020. "Governance fragmentation and urban spatial expansion: Evidence from Europe and the United States [Governance-Fragmentierung und urbane räumliche Expansion: Erkenntnisse aus Europa und den USA]," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 40(1), pages 13-32, April.
    2. Bento, Antonio M. & Franco, Sofia F. & Kaffine, Daniel, 2011. "Is there a double-dividend from anti-sprawl policies?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 135-152, March.
    3. Albert Solé-Ollé & Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal, 2007. "Economic and political determinants of urban expansion: Exploring the local connection," Working Papers 2007/5, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    4. Albert Solé-Ollé & Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal, 2007. "Economic and political determinants of urban expansion: Exploring the local connection," Working Papers 2007/5, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    5. Belal N. Fallah & Mark D. Partridge & M. Rose Olfert, 2011. "Urban sprawl and productivity: Evidence from US metropolitan areas," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 90(3), pages 451-472, August.
    6. Taranu, Victoria & Verbeeck, Griet, 2022. "Property tax as a policy against urban sprawl," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    7. Edwin Buitelaar & Hans Leinfelder, 2020. "Public Design of Urban Sprawl: Governments and the Extension of the Urban Fabric in Flanders and the Netherlands," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(1), pages 46-57.
    8. Siyu Miao & Yang Xiao & Ling Tang, 2022. "Urban Growth Simulation Based on a Multi-Dimension Classification of Growth Types: Implications for China’s Territory Spatial Planning," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-14, December.
    9. Gordon Mulligan & Mark Partridge & John Carruthers, 2012. "Central place theory and its reemergence in regional science," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 48(2), pages 405-431, April.
    10. Amponsah, Owusu & Blija, Daniel Kwame & Ayambire, Raphael Anammasiya & Takyi, Stephen Appiah & Mensah, Henry & Braimah, Imoro, 2022. "Global urban sprawl containment strategies and their implications for rapidly urbanising cities in Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    11. Partridge, Mark D. & Rickman, Dan S., 2012. "Integrating regional economic development analysis and land use economics," MPRA Paper 38291, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Orsi, Francesco & Le Clec’h, Solen, 2023. "Effects of protected areas on the expansion of impervious surfaces in their vicinity: Evidence from Dutch Natura 2000," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    13. Miriam Hortas-Rico, 2015. "Sprawl, Blight, And The Role Of Urban Containment Policies: Evidence From U.S. Cities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 298-323, March.
    14. Viladecans-Marsal, Elisabet & Garcia-Lopez, Miquel-Angel & Pasidis, Ilias, 2018. "Amphitheaters, cathedrals and operas: The role of historic amenities on suburbanization," CEPR Discussion Papers 13129, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Bento, Antonio M. & Franco, Sofia F. & Kaffine, Daniel T., 2011. "Welfare Effects of Anti-Sprawl Policies in the Presence of Urban Decline," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 40(3), pages 1-12, December.
    16. Hoyong Kim & Donghyun Kim, 2022. "Changes in Urban Growth Patterns in Busan Metropolitan City, Korea: Population and Urbanized Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-18, August.
    17. Youjung Kim & Galen Newman & Burak Güneralp, 2020. "A Review of Driving Factors, Scenarios, and Topics in Urban Land Change Models," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-22, July.
    18. John I. Carruthers, 2012. "Land use regulation and regional form: a spatial mismatch?," Chapters, in: Roberta Capello & Tomaz Ponce Dentinho (ed.), Networks, Space and Competitiveness, chapter 8, pages 181-204, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Youjung Kim & Galen Newman, 2019. "Climate Change Preparedness: Comparing Future Urban Growth and Flood Risk in Amsterdam and Houston," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-24, February.
    20. Joachim Zietz & Heiko Kirchhain, 2023. "Determinants of Urban land development: A panel study for U.S. metropolitan areas," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(6), pages 1486-1501, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:86:y:2019:i:c:p:104-112. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.