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Unraveling Latent Aspects of Urban Expansion: Desertification Risk Reveals More

Author

Listed:
  • Gianluca Egidi

    (Department of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy)

  • Ilaria Zambon

    (Department of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy)

  • Ilaria Tombolin

    (Department of Architecture and Project, Sapienza University, 00100 Rome, Italy)

  • Luca Salvati

    (Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), 52100 Arezzo, Italy)

  • Sirio Cividino

    (Department of Agriculture, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy)

  • Samaneh Seifollahi-Aghmiuni

    (Department of Physical Geography and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, 104 65 Stockholm, Sweden)

  • Zahra Kalantari

    (Department of Physical Geography and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, 104 65 Stockholm, Sweden)

Abstract

Urban expansion results in socioeconomic transformations with relevant impacts for peri-urban soils, leading to environmental concerns about land degradation and increased desertification risk in ecologically fragile districts. Spatial planning can help achieve sustainable land-use patterns and identify alternative locations for settlements and infrastructure. However, it is sometimes unable to comprehend and manage complex processes in metropolitan developments, fueling unregulated and mainly dispersed urban expansion on land with less stringent building constraints. Using the Mediterranean cities of Barcelona and Rome as examples of intense urbanization and ecological fragility, the present study investigated whether land use planning in these cities is (directly or indirectly) oriented towards conservation of soil quality and mitigation of desertification risk. Empirical results obtained using composite, geo-referenced indices of soil quality (SQI) and sensitivity to land desertification (SDI), integrated with high-resolution land zoning maps, indicated that land devoted to natural and semi-natural uses has lower soil quality in both contexts. The highest values of SDI, indicating high sensitivity to desertification, were observed in fringe areas with medium-high population density and settlement expansion. These findings reveal processes of land take involving buildable soils, sometimes of high quality, and surrounding landscapes in both cities. Overall, the results in this study can help inform land use planers and policymakers for conservation of high-quality soils, especially under weak (or partial) regulatory constraints.

Suggested Citation

  • Gianluca Egidi & Ilaria Zambon & Ilaria Tombolin & Luca Salvati & Sirio Cividino & Samaneh Seifollahi-Aghmiuni & Zahra Kalantari, 2020. "Unraveling Latent Aspects of Urban Expansion: Desertification Risk Reveals More," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-15, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:11:p:4001-:d:367449
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ioannis Vardopoulos & Sophia Ioannides & Marios Georgiou & Irene Voukkali & Luca Salvati & Yannis E. Doukas, 2023. "Shaping Sustainable Cities: A Long-Term GIS-Emanated Spatial Analysis of Settlement Growth and Planning in a Coastal Mediterranean European City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-24, July.
    2. Nazgul Esengulova & Pasquale Balena & Caterina De Lucia & Antonio Lopolito & Pasquale Pazienza, 2024. "Key Drivers of Land Use Changes in the Rural Area of Gargano (South Italy) and Their Implications for the Local Sustainable Development," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, January.

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