In-Between ‘Smart’ Urban Growth and ‘Sluggish’ Rural Development? Reframing Population Dynamics in Greece, 1940–2019

Salvia, Rosanna; Egidi, Gianluca; Salvati, Luca; Rodrigo‐Comino, Jesús; Quaranta, Giovanni

doi:10.3390/su12156165

Cited by 10 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 111 publications

(126 reference statements)

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“…These changes involved a rather small number of local units and mostly included fusion (or splitting) of neighboring units with comparable territorial characteristics, forming new local administrative entities where communities with similar demographic, social, and economic traits are settled. Based on the results of earlier studies [72,74,85,91], these conditions seem to be appropriate for the analysis developed in our study and highlight the intrinsic trade-off between statistical availability and socioeconomic reliability of comparable population data over long terms [70,81,88].…”

Section: Data and Variablesmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…All these works also document the intrinsic opportunities of using municipal spatial units to exploit the particularly rich information associated with official statistics (mainly derived from population and housing censuses), which is clearly an additional reason supporting the adoption of these spatial domains in the analysis of demographic resilience. This information is especially reliable when municipal boundaries are stable over a sufficiently long time [72], indirectly allowing consolidation of specific socioeconomic traits according with the territorial context [74]. Taken together, our study was based on the rationale mentioned above.…”

Section: Data and Variablesmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…A simplified framework classifying Greek municipalities on the basis of long-term population trends was adopted with the aim of identifying 'demographically resilient' districts. Assuming districts that have continuously attracted population over a long time as 'demographically resilient' and districts continuously losing population over the same time period as 'demographically fragile', Greek municipalities were classified on the basis of the total number of decades with population growth or decline [74]. More specifically, having studied five decades (1961-1971, 1971-1981, 1981-1991, 1991-2001, and 2001-2011), 'resilient' and 'quasi-resilient' municipalities were identified when resident population increased over five or four decades, respectively.…”

Section: Data and Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although demographic trends are the outcomes of the elementary processes of birth, death, and migration that have significant national and global drivers, regional population dynamics can be also influenced by (more or less) complex socioeconomic processes depending on the local background context [6,15,19,27]. By proposing a simplified classification of long-term population dynamics relevant to the analysis of demographic resilience, attractive places with a continuously expanding (resident) population were regarded as 'demographically resilient'; locations experiencing a persistent decline of population were considered fragile to external shocks [74]. Based on this assumption, the present study contributes to the identification and characterization of demographically resilient local systems by investigating population dynamics in more than 1000 municipalities of Greece between 1961 and 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering a sufficiently long and representative time window [75], demographic resilience in the study area was estimated on the basis of three scenarios: locations (i) attracting population, (ii) maintaining a constant population stock, and (iii) losing population. By explaining (apparent and latent) mechanisms that underlie population redistribution over larger regions [76][77][78], these three scenarios were assumed to be associated with different levels of demographic resilience at the local scale, reflecting more general socioeconomic conditions at the regional scale [66,72,74]. Our study benefited from a homogenized database derived from official statistics [79][80][81] and by referring to the common framework of Territorial Statistical Units proposed by EUROSTAT, the statistical office of the European Union.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Demographic Resilience in Local Systems: An Empirical Approach with Census Data

Colantoni

Hälbac-Cotoară-Zamfir

Halbac‐Cotoara‐Zamfir

et al. 2020

Systems

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This study estimates demographic resilience in local socioeconomic systems of Southern Europe using long-term population dynamics. We assume attractive places with a continuously expanding (resident) population as ‘demographically resilient’, and locations experiencing a persistent decline of population as more fragile to external shocks. Based on these premises, a comprehensive assessment of demographic resilience in more than 1000 municipalities along the urban–rural gradient in Greece, a Mediterranean country with marked regional disparities, was carried out between 1961 and 2011. Municipalities were considered representative of homogeneous local communities, especially in rural areas. The results of non-parametric correlations suggest how basic geographical gradients (coastal–inland and urban–rural) have significantly influenced the demographic resilience of Greek municipalities. These findings outline two contrasting spatial patterns that reflect (i) continuous expansion of peri-urban local communities and (ii) a particularly intense rural shrinkage, linking depopulation to land abandonment and scarce accessibility of inland districts. While long-term population growth in Greece has progressively re-shaped the intrinsic divide in urban and rural areas, the traditional gap in central and peripheral districts is still reflected in the spatial polarization between the ‘demographically resilient’, socially dynamic coastal locations and the ‘demographically fragile’ inland, economically marginal places. These results indicate the persistence of a center–periphery model characterizing long-term settlement expansion in Greece, with spatial patterns delineating ‘resilient’ and ‘fragile’ districts based essentially on infrastructures, accessibility, and amenities.

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Section: Data and Variablesmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Data and Variablesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Data and Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Demographic Resilience in Local Systems: An Empirical Approach with Census Data

Colantoni

Hälbac-Cotoară-Zamfir

Halbac‐Cotoara‐Zamfir

et al. 2020

Systems

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Effects of counter-urbanization on Mediterranean rural landscapes

Herrero-Jáuregui,

Concepción

2023

Landsc Ecol

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Context Counter-urbanization, or the reverse migration from the city to the countryside, is a well-known demographic trend associated with rural restructuring since the 1980s. Counter-urbanization is particularly relevant in social-ecological systems with a long history of human land use, such as the Mediterranean ones. However, the extent and impacts of this phenomenon are largely unknown, particularly in this region. Objectives We aim to review the state of the issue of counter-urbanization in the Mediterranean region. We focus on the particular determinants and outcomes of this phenomenon in Mediterranean landscapes. Methods We conducted a bibliographic review using the Web of Science. We summarized and classified the main findings in different categories according to the socio-economic drivers of this process and its impacts on the landscape along the land sharing-sparing gradient. Results We found 31 studies that met the criteria to be reviewed and classified them as follows: a first group of studies focused on counter-urbanization as an urban sprawl driver; a second group linked counter-urbanization to rural gentrification. These two groups point to a twofold trend of land intensification or abandonment resulting in land-sparing landscapes. A third group of studies explored the urban–rural migration motivated by economic crisis and rural areas’ role as refugees that support land-sharing landscapes. A fourth group focused on multi-functional, land-sharing landscapes enhanced by rural newcomers. Conclusions Although counter-urbanization can follow the usual path of urbanization and gentrification, it may also constitute an alternative way to reverse the current trends of rural abandonment and land-use intensification in Mediterranean landscapes. Public policies play a major role to drive this movement toward the maintenance or recovery of multifunctional landscapes, and to minimize their undesirable impacts.

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