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Abstract:The present study illustrates a multidimensional analysis of an indicator of urban land use efficiency (per-capita built-up area, LUE) in mainland Attica, a Mediterranean urban region, along different expansion waves : compaction and densification in the 1960s, dispersed growth along the coasts and on Athens' fringe in the 1970s, fringe consolidation in the 1980s, moderate re-polarization and discontinuous expansion in the 1990s and sprawl in remote areas in the 2000s. The non-linear trend in LUE (a continuous increase up to the 1980s and a moderate decrease in 1990 and 2000 preceding the rise observed over the last decade) reflects Athens' expansion waves. A total of 23 indicators were collected by decade for each municipality of the study area with the aim of identifying the drivers of land use efficiency. In 1960, municipalities with low efficiency in the use of land were concentrated on both coastal areas and Athens' fringe, while in 2010, the lowest efficiency rate was observed in the most remote, rural areas. Typical urban functions (e.g., mixed land uses, multiple-use buildings, vertical profile) are the variables most associated with high efficiency in the use of land. Policies for sustainable land management should consider local and regional factors shaping land use efficiency promoting self-contained expansion and more tightly protecting rural and remote land from dispersed urbanization. LUE is a OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 3360 promising indicator reflecting the increased complexity of growth patterns and may anticipate future urban trends.

In the last decades, due to climate changes, soil deterioration, and Land Use/Land Cover Changes (LULCCs), land degradation risk has become one of the most important ecological issues at the global level. Land degradation involves two interlocking systems: the natural ecosystem and the socio-economic system. The complexity of land degradation processes should be addressed using a multidisciplinary approach. Therefore, the aim of this work is to assess diachronically land degradation dynamics under changing land covers. This paper analyzes LULCCs and the parallel increase in the level of land sensitivity to degradation along the coastal belt of Sardinia (Italy), a typical Mediterranean region where human pressure affects the landscape characteristics through fires, intensive agricultural practices, land abandonment, urban sprawl, and tourism concentration. Results reveal that two factors mainly affect the level of land sensitivity to degradation in the study area: (i) land abandonment and (ii) unsustainable use of rural and peri-urban areas. Taken together, these factors represent the primary cause of the LULCCs observed in coastal Sardinia. By linking the structural features of the Mediterranean landscape with its functional land degradation dynamics over time, these results contribute to orienting policies for sustainable land management in Mediterranean coastal areas.

This paper examines the role of biophysical and anthropogenic factors as potential drivers of land degradation in a large Mediterranean urban region. The sensitivity of land to degradation is examined in relation to the territorial disparities observed within Rome's metropolitan area (Italy), and to the changes in its spatial organisation resulting from urban shrinkage. We derive a composite index of land sensitivity to degradation using the Environmentally Sensitive Areas Index (ESAI) at the municipal level. The observed regional disparities in ESAI scores are analysed diachronically for the period 1990–2008, based on elevation, distance from the coast and population density. The results indicate that spatial disparities in ESAI recorded in 1990 had decreased by 2008, although the degree of land sensitivity had increased throughout the urban region. We subsequently relate these changes to different models of urban organisation (i.e. ‘compact growth’ vs ‘sprawl’) observed in Rome since the 1990s. In 1990, the highest degree of land sensitivity was on the urban fringe of Rome, whereas by 2008 the greatest increase in land sensitivity was observed within suburban municipalities. This sensitivity progressively spread further away from the main urban centre during the study period. The results suggest the need to reconsider the polycentric spatial framework as an environmentally sustainable model for Rome and other urban regions in the Mediterranean.

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The Mediterranean region has been regarded as a critical hotspot for desertification due to the impact of soil degradation, the land‐use changes and the climate variations. Few large‐scale studies have been devoted to analyse trends in land sensitivity to desertification in the northern Mediterranean basin. The present paper contributes to this deserving issue by quantifying the level of land sensitivity to desertification in Italy at seven points between 1960 and 2010 at a fine spatial scale. The approach used followed the Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme that assesses changes in four key themes (climate, soil, vegetation and land management) related to land degradation processes. Italian land was classified into four levels of sensitivity to desertification (non‐affected, potentially affected, fragile and critical) according to the Environmentally Sensitive Area framework. Interestingly, although land surface area classified as ‘fragile’ and ‘critical’ grew homogeneously in Italy between 1960 and 1990, the increase observed in the most recent time period was spatially clustered and contributed to reverse the polarisation in ‘structurally vulnerable’ and ‘non‐affected’ regions observed in Italy. The paper discussed these trends in the light of socioeconomic changes that occurred in Italy after World War II. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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