Towards a Simpler Characterization of Urban Sprawl across Urban Areas in Europe

Abstract

Urban sprawl is a concept commonly used to describe the physical expansion of urban areas. It is traditionally associated with lower residential density, poorer connectivity, and higher energy costs for heating and transport. From the period of 1980 to 2000, the extent of the built-up area in Europe has increased at a rate three times higher than that of population increase, and urban sprawl is now recognized as a major challenge. However, for policies to address this issue, it is essential to be able to identify and quantify sprawl. Yet, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of what constitutes sprawl, nor is there an agreed upon methodology on how to measure and define it in a quantitative manner. This paper describes an attempt at characterizing urban sprawl across urban areas at a pan European scale by presenting a new indicator, the Averaged Concentric Weighted Urban Proliferation (ACWUP) index. This index is calculated by aggregating the "sprawl profile" of urban areas, derived from an adapted version of the Weighted Urban Proliferation (WUP) index and applied to EU28-wide, 100 m resolution gridded population and land-use data. In comparison to other approaches, the proposed indicator (1) is data cheap and quick to produce, and (2) provides a unique synthetic value that characterizes the sprawl status of individual cities. We believe this indicator and its associated sprawl profile could be used as a first-pass approximation that characterizes and compares urban sprawl across cities.

From Rural Spaces to Peri-Urban Districts: Metropolitan Growth, Sparse Settlements and Demographic Dynamics in a Mediterranean Region

“…Generally speaking, settlement densification was often associated with a lower rate of natural resource use in surrounding rural areas [20,27], although further research is necessary in this direction. As a matter of fact, understanding socio-environmental impacts of residential urban expansion requires a thorough investigation of dispersion and compaction processes, focusing on the role of specific territorial contexts [88,89]. Analysis of population dynamics contributes to a refined understanding of the latent re-organization of peri-urban spaces, as demonstrated in the present study.…”

Urban sprawl literature review: Definition and driving force

“…Salvia et al also alleged that the trend in countries with recently rising economies such as China, have the highest occurrence of urban sprawl. Aurambout et al (2018) applied the Averaged Concentric Weighted Urban Proliferation index (ACWUP) and insisted that urban sprawl is a growth that extended once the urban center becomes tremendously crowded. They explained how changes in density and the proportion of development gradually lowers as it occurs further away from an urban center.…”

Dispersão e fragmentação urbana: uma análise espacial com base na distribuição da população

“…Há uma pluralidade de estudos de casos que buscam identificar as causalidades do fenômeno da dispersão urbana. De modo geral, a dimensão espacial da dispersão urbana está associada à uma baixa densidade populacional, baixa conectividade entre os fragmentos de mancha urbana e alto custos e uso de energia e transportes (AURAMBOUT; BARRANCO;LAVALLE, 2018). Apesar da característica espraiada e, geralmente, descontínua que o fenômeno apresenta, os fatores condicionantes desses processos possuem particularidades de acordo com os contextos sócio-espaciais.…”