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Unveiling U rban Sprawl in the M editerranean Region: Towards a Latent U rban Transformation?
Author(s) -
Salvati Luca,
Gargiulo Morelli Vittorio
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of urban and regional research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.456
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1468-2427
pISSN - 0309-1317
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2427.12135
Subject(s) - urban sprawl , economic geography , urbanization , geography , population , regional science , economic growth , urban planning , demography , sociology , economics , ecology , biology
The relationship between form and function in E uropean M editerranean cities has been widely addressed from various perspectives. A number of studies indicate that, until the 1980s, compactness was a key trait of several cities of the N orthern M editerranean. However, after the ‘compact growth’ period, these cities experienced patterns of urbanization that differed from their traditional trends. Since the 1990s, sprawl, coupled with population decline in the inner cities, has become the main pattern of urban development. This article explores the key features of exurban development in the M editerranean region in order to provide material for a discussion based on the differences and similarities in the characteristics of sprawl processes originating in the US and N orthern Europe. It concludes that any debate on policy responses to sprawl must be specifically formulated according to the scope, administrative level, housing and planning system, territorial and socioeconomic characteristics of the urban system under examination. It is our belief that sprawl requires site‐specific analyses and policy strategies for the region being studied if the process is to be effectively controlled.