Revisiting a Hegemonic Concept: Long-term ‘Mediterranean Urbanization’ in Between City Re-polarization and Metropolitan Decline
TL;DR: The authors proposed a thorough analysis of post-war urban development in four southern European countries (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) focusing on homogeneous patterns and possible sources of heterogeneity in spatio-temporal trends of individual city expansion.
Abstract: Urban development in southern Europe differs from urbanization patterns observed in other affluent countries. Urbanization processes in the Mediterranean region reflect heterogeneous spatial forms and more similar socioeconomic dynamics. Rejecting a unique ‘Mediterranean city’ model, this study proposes a thorough analysis of post-war urban development in four southern European countries (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) focusing on homogeneous patterns and possible sources of heterogeneity in spatio-temporal trends of individual city expansion. Urbanization without industrialization - boosted by the informal economy and the development of traditional services - has driven the growth of large cities through agglomeration economies enhanced by internal immigration. This trend has deflated shortly after the end of the baby boom, favoring slow dynamics towards spatially-balanced settlements and determining a recovery of medium-sized cities, which have been further consolidated with the economic crisis.
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TL;DR: In this article, a multi-criteria approach based on descriptive, correlation and multivariate statistics and mathematical morphology was proposed to investigate long-term morphological changes in a metropolitan region (Attica, Greece) representative of the Mediterranean compact city archetype.
196 citations
TL;DR: Investigating the socioeconomic background underlying land-use changes in metropolitan regions allows identification of place-specific factors improving the design of effective strategies containing land consumption in different European urban typologies, and contributes to find alternative policies for land- use efficiency and long-term environmental sustainability.
131 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a comparative analysis of the spatial distribution of pools in three Mediterranean cities (Barcelona, Rome and Athens) provides an alternative reading of recent urbanization in southern Europe, questioning the supposed homogeneity in socioeconomic patterns and processes across the region.
Abstract: Swimming pools are together an exemplificative outcome of urban sprawl and an indicator of socio-spatial polarizations in metropolitan regions. A comparative analysis of the spatial distribution of pools in three Mediterranean cities (Barcelona, Rome and Athens) provides an alternative reading of recent urbanization in southern Europe, questioning the supposed homogeneity in socioeconomic patterns and processes across the region. In the present study, the socio-spatial structure underlying dispersed urban expansion in these three cities was studied using 53 background indicators at the spatial scale of municipalities. Four indicators were proposed to study variability in the spatial distribution of pools. Relevant differences between cities were observed in the density of pools, reflecting heterogeneous patterns of dispersed urbanization and class segregation: socioeconomic polarization in Athens, settlement scattering and social mix in Rome and a more balanced socio-spatial structure in Barcelona...
130 citations
Cites background from "Revisiting a Hegemonic Concept: Lon..."
...…and the architectural symbol of post-industrial suburban landscapes resulting from the combination of contextual factors including land prices, changes in housing preferences and increased demand for public transportation (Zambon et al. 2015; Zitti et al. 2015; Carlucci et al. 2016)....
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TL;DR: The authors investigated class diversification at both spatial scales in a Mediterranean city (Athens, Greece) using the European Socioeconomic Classification based on population census data referring to 1991-2001, a phase of economic expansion and intense urban sprawl preceding the 2004 Olympic games.
Abstract: Economic expansion indirectly promotes class diversification at the neighbourhood scale with a consequent reduction of social divides at the regional scale. To verify this working hypothesis, the present study investigates class diversification at both spatial scales in a Mediterranean city (Athens, Greece) using the European Socioeconomic Classification based on population census data referring to 1991–2001, a phase of economic expansion and intense urban sprawl preceding the 2004 Olympic games. Results of multivariate analysis and diversity indexes outline a local-scale social mix associated to suburban expansion, and regional-scale class segregation, reflecting an increasing polarization in affluent and economically deprived urban districts. The contrasting pattern at the two spatial scales results in a complex social geography with class diversification and moderate changes over time in the economic spatial divide between urban and neighbouring rural areas. These findings contribute to design scale-dependent policies reducing social inequalities and improving quality of life in urban areas. Future paths for socio-spatial processes were delineated for sprawling metropolitan regions under economic expansion and discussed in the light of future demographic trends in both developed and emerging countries.
87 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate spatio-temporal patterns of growth between the 1920s and the 2010s in three Mediterranean cities with different structure and functions (Barcelona: compact and moderately polycentric; Rome: dispersed, medium-density; Athens: mono-centric, hyper-compact).
Abstract: Metropolitan growth in Europe has resulted in drastic changes of urban forms, socio-spatial structures and land-use patterns due to sequential processes of urbanization, suburbanization and re-urbanization. To assess latent shifts from mono-centric models towards more disarticulated and decentralized settlement configurations, the present study evaluates spatio-temporal patterns of growth between the 1920s and the 2010s in three Mediterranean cities with different structure and functions (Barcelona: compact and moderately polycentric; Rome: dispersed, medium-density; Athens: mono-centric, hyper-compact). To identify and characterize long-term urban transformations, an original approach was illustrated in this study, based on a multivariate analysis of 13 indicators resulting from descriptive statistics and linear regression modeling the relationship between population density and distance from inner cities. The empirical results of this study indicate that Barcelona, Rome and Athens have experienced different urbanization cycles, characterized by a (more or less) concentrated distribution of population along urban gradients. Despite similarities in demographic dynamics and planning practices, these processes have determined (i) a mostly centralized growth in Barcelona, (ii) a relatively dispersed and discontinuous spatial structure in Rome, and (iii) a steep decline of population density with the distance from downtown Athens. Compact urban expansion, population decline and urban de-concentration were finally assessed using the analytical approach proposed in this study.
80 citations
Cites background from "Revisiting a Hegemonic Concept: Lon..."
...Exurban development has become a widespread pattern of growth in Mediterranean Europe [1,17,46–51]....
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...In the last two decades, distinctive growth paths outline consolidation of more entropic and spatially-fragmented socioeconomic transformations in Mediterranean Europe [45]....
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...Leapfrogging development further away from fringe land, ribbon sprawl along highways, sparse residential settlements in rural areas, are forms of exurban development typically observed in Mediterranean Europe [7]....
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...Until the early 1990s, large metropolitan areas in Mediterranean Europe have been frequently considered as regions with structurally compact urban forms and functionally monocentric spatial organizations [33–35]....
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...The three investigated areas cover the metropolitan regions of Barcelona (Spain), Rome (Italy) and Athens (Greece) which represent—together with Istanbul, Marseille and Naples—the largest cities in coastal Mediterranean Europe....
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References
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Book•
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: The New Urban Economy: The Intersection of Global Processes and Place as mentioned in this paper is an example of a new urban economy that is based on economic globalization and place and production in the global economy.
Abstract: Chapter 1. Place and Production in the Global Economy Chapter 2. The Urban Impact of Economic Globalization Chapter 3. National and Transnational Urban Systems Chapter 4. The New Urban Economy: The Intersection of Global Processes and Place Chapter 5. Issues and Case Studies in the New Urban Economy Chapter 6. The New Inequalities Within Cities Chapter 7. Global Cities and Global Survival Circuits Chapter 8. The Urbanizing of Global Governance Challenges Chapter 9. A New Geography of Centers and Margins
2,031 citations
1,661 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a broad overview of the recent patterns and trends of urban growth in developing countries, and the challenges of achieving sustainable urban development will be particularly formidable in Africa.
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Posted Content•
TL;DR: Anas et al. as discussed by the authors discuss the role that urban size and structure play in people's lives and how to understand the organization of cities, which yields insights about economy-wide growth processes and sheds light on economic concepts.
Abstract: Author(s): Anas, Alex; Arnott, Richard; Small, Kenneth A. | Abstract: An interview with Chicago's current mayor, Richard M. Daley:'New York is too big this way,' the mayor says, raising a thick hand over his head. Stretching both arms out at his sides, he adds, 'Los Angeles is too big this way. All the other cities are too small. We're just right.' (Bailey and Coleman, 1996, p. 6)Mayor Daley is catering to a widespread fascination with the roles that urban size and structure play in people's lives. Academic as well as other observers have long sought explanations for urban development patterns and criteria by which to judge their desirability. Furthermore, as we shall see, understanding the organization of cities yields insights about economy-wide growth processes and sheds light on economic concepts of long standing interest: returns to scale, monopolistic competition, vertical integration, technological innovation, innovation diffusion, and international specialization. Cities also are prime illustrations of some newer academic interests such as complex structural evolution and self-organization.
1,473 citations