Premium
‘Land of Fires’: Urban Growth, Economic Crisis, and Forest Fires in A ttica, G reece
Author(s) -
SALVATI LUCA,
RANALLI FLAVIA
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geographical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.695
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-5871
pISSN - 1745-5863
DOI - 10.1111/1745-5871.12093
Subject(s) - boom , context (archaeology) , geography , distribution (mathematics) , economic geography , urban expansion , economy , forestry , land use , environmental engineering , economics , civil engineering , engineering , archaeology , mathematical analysis , mathematics
This study investigates the spatial distribution and basic characteristics of 2692 forest fires between 2000 and 2011 in A ttica, G reece, a rapidly expanding urban region. Fire variables were assessed, together with variables describing the socio‐economic local context in three distinct periods of Athens’ expansion (2000–2003: semi‐compact expansion and economic growth before the 2004 O lympic G ames; 2004–2007: infrastructure development and discontinuous expansion following the O lympic G ames; 2008–2011: crisis‐driven decline of the construction industry). Fire characteristics changed over the three periods following the negative trends in the construction industry. Burnt areas decreased in the rural area around Athens and the opposite pattern was observed in the peri‐urban belt. Our findings suggest that the temporal and spatial distribution of forest fires in Attica reflects the construction boom stimulated by the 2004 O lympic G ames and the subsequent economic crisis.