Luca Salvati

This groundbreaking textbook on territorial economics gives a valuable overview of economic dynamics, urbanization, and regional development. Representing a significant contribution to discipline, this book focuses on territorial economics, distinct from traditional regional economics frameworks. By examining space, regions, and cities as essential components of an ‘economics of places', the book explores the connections between applied economics and regional science. It covers the complexities of globalization and regionalization and emphasizes the increasing importance of territorial economics from both positive and normative viewpoints. The initial chapters of this textbook on territorial economics explore the concept of 'territory' in economic development and analyze regional economic systems' role in spatial planning. Subsequent chapters cover agricultural spaces, environmental sustainability, regional disparities, and land-use challenges. The book concludes with a focus on data sources, variables, and indicators essential for applied economics. Integrating urban studies, demographic dynamics, and environmental assessment, it provides a holistic view of economic dynamics and spatial planning. Territorial Economics serves as a vital resource for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students studying economic geography, urban studies, and related fields. It is also beneficial for researchers and professionals in territorial economics, urban planning, and environmental policy. This textbook offers additional resources such as case studies and spreadsheets to support student learning and facilitate classroom discussions.

This prescient book discusses the importance of reducing the environmental impacts of economic growth in agricultural regions. It examines the relationship between efforts to achieve economically viable food production in marginal and peripheral inland areas and the demand for environmental quality in rural districts.Expert authors examine rural development from a sustainability perspective, illustrating how improved living conditions depend not only on economic growth, but also on the fair distribution of wealth. With a specific focus on Europe, they combine theoretical, qualitative and empirical analysis to explore local sustainable trajectories within rural contexts. Chapters delve into comparative case studies, exercises and advanced teaching on European farms. The book adopts a multidisciplinary approach to reflect on pressing environmental and economic issues, advocating for sustainable and long-term rural development paths.Students and scholars of agricultural and regional economics, development studies, rural sociology and economic and environmental geography will greatly benefit from this illuminating book. It is also an essential resource for practitioners and policymakers in related fields such as planning, law, agronomy, development and forestry.

This book identifies and discusses opportunities and constraints in applying the sustainability paradigm to urbanization. It integrates this wide concept with ‘local competitiveness’ and focuses on the role of both general and specific political action in shaping the economic structure of a region.By linking sustainability and local competitiveness within metropolitan regions, it offers an innovative exploration of urbanization processes. Moving beyond the usual institutional and regional economic approaches, the book integrates perspectives from economic geography, sociology, demography, ecology, and planning. It presents practical tools and real-world data, enabling readers to interpret and delve into new urban development paths. By exploring the interaction between urban sustainability and economic competitiveness, a framework is provided that supports informed policymaking decisions at local, regional, and national scales.This book is written for academics and students—from undergraduates to doctoral candidates—who want a clear, practical look at how local economies, sustainability, and competitiveness come together. It is also helpful for professionals, policymakers, and for anyone curious about how economic growth might become a long-term sustainable political goal.

This book identifies and discusses opportunities and constraints in applying the sustainability paradigm to urbanization. It integrates this wide concept with ‘local competitiveness’ and focuses on the role of both general and specific political action in shaping the economic structure of a region.By linking sustainability and local competitiveness within metropolitan regions, it offers an innovative exploration of urbanization processes. Moving beyond the usual institutional and regional economic approaches, the book integrates perspectives from economic geography, sociology, demography, ecology, and planning. It presents practical tools and real-world data, enabling readers to interpret and delve into new urban development paths. By exploring the interaction between urban sustainability and economic competitiveness, a framework is provided that supports informed policymaking decisions at local, regional, and national scales.This book is written for academics and students—from undergraduates to doctoral candidates—who want a clear, practical look at how local economies, sustainability, and competitiveness come together. It is also helpful for professionals, policymakers, and for anyone curious about how economic growth might become a long-term sustainable political goal.

This book gives a unique description of urban geography of Europe and specifically, Southern Europe, and provides a fine guide to urban complexity and resilience in the light of metropolitan sustainability. Sprawl is a multifaceted phenomenon that needs to be quantified with distinct measures and during an enough long observation period. Landscape change is recognized to be a relevant topic when studying the impact of urban growth and sprawl on peri-urban land. In the kaleidoscopic panorama of urban Europe, Mediterranean cities represent an element that breaks with the stereotypes of the 'old continent' urbanities. Originally developed according to a purely mono-centric structure, which grew radio-centrically with the progressive addition of satellite urban areas, Mediterranean cities have more recently oriented their growth path towards dispersed settlement models. This resulted in a high consumption of land, in contrast with the 'judicious compactness' that characterized the tumultuous development of the cities at least in the first three decades after World War II. This book tells, through narratives, photographs, qualitative-quantitative descriptions of landscapes, maps and indicators, the transition from a compact model—`judiciously mono-centric' and `land saving'—to contemporary sprawl, with practical implications in economic geography. The environmental, social and economic implications of this phenomenon, far from being a unique characteristic of the European Mediterranean region, have been also discussed, and the planning and policy implications addressed with respect to the individual ecological problems faced from time to time.

If we assume recession as being the starting point for policy challenges, then we can interpret these economic downturns as opportunities for change and the reshaping of society, landscapes and the latent mechanisms of growth. This book illustrates different aspects of local strategic development introducing a novel interpretation of the intimate relationship between demographic and economic aspects in complex socio-environmental systems. A specific approach investigating the mechanisms of local development, cultural and environmental values within a strategic territorial vision, is proposed. Coming from and appealing to diverse academic backgrounds, our book address paradigmatic visions about regional and urban dynamics, focusing on landscape transformations and socioeconomic disparities. Technical topics discussed in the book include:Urban management; Metropolitan governance; ? Landscape; Spatial planning; Applied economics;Regional demography.

Departing from conventional narratives centered on economic stagnation and social secularism, this book offers a fresh perspective on Mediterranean urbanities. It posits their correlation with housing and welfare regimes, societal transformations, local governance structures, and deficiencies in spatial planning. The analysis within delves into the neglected potential for mitigating regional disparities, conducting a meticulous examination of environmental disparities, economic imbalances, and overarching social inequalities in Southern European regions. The outcome aims to furnish an integrated, and potentially holistic, understanding of spatial divisions between cities and their surrounding territories.

In the panorama of studies related to the ability of lands to support both natural processes and agricultural production activities, this research introduces a still unexplored or under-studied theme which is that of the relationship between urban sprawl in its various forms and land quality.The first part of the book is dedicated to the motivations and the theoretical premises from which the research originates, connected to the concept of land and those of sustainable urban form. The second part concerns the complex path towards a sustainable use of land, both in terms of institutional and regulatory measures, and in terms of knowledge and understanding of soil degradation processes. This research focuses on the Mediterranean area which is discussed in more detail in the third part. In this part of Europe we try to establish relationships between settlement dynamics and land quality: here fragile ecosystems are diffused both from a biological point of view. physical as well as socio-economic, here we find landscapes that are particularly sensitive to land degradation processes (subject to land degradation, considered the antipodes of land quality) and which in recent decades have been particularly affected by anthropic pressure.In the fourth part, an analysis is presented concerning 76 metropolitan areas representative of southern Europe. The methodology used in this analysis is based on the relationship that exists between soil sealing (or soil waterproofing) and land degradation (or land degradation) aimed at an interpretation, at the metropolitan scale, of how in southern Europe the pattern of Urbanization (compact, dispersive, intermediate) affects the land's ability to support both natural processes and agricultural production activities in a diversified way. In particular, the data on land quality and data on land use were considered together in order to analyze the processes of urban growth and the occupation of productive land for a very large area that includes Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and some parts of the Adriatic coast.There is still a long way to go, in terms of sharing, integration and definition of strategies aimed at achieving certain targets. A necessary and innovative look towards land quality could help to consider the protection of the soil as a whole, even at the planning level.

In the panorama of studies related to the ability of lands to support both natural processes and agricultural production activities, this research introduces a still unexplored or under-studied theme which is that of the relationship between urban sprawl in its various forms and land quality.The first part of the book is dedicated to the motivations and the theoretical premises from which the research originates, connected to the concept of land and those of sustainable urban form. The second part concerns the complex path towards a sustainable use of land, both in terms of institutional and regulatory measures, and in terms of knowledge and understanding of soil degradation processes. This research focuses on the Mediterranean area which is discussed in more detail in the third part. In this part of Europe we try to establish relationships between settlement dynamics and land quality: here fragile ecosystems are diffused both from a biological point of view. physical as well as socio-economic, here we find landscapes that are particularly sensitive to land degradation processes (subject to land degradation, considered the antipodes of land quality) and which in recent decades have been particularly affected by anthropic pressure.In the fourth part, an analysis is presented concerning 76 metropolitan areas representative of southern Europe. The methodology used in this analysis is based on the relationship that exists between soil sealing (or soil waterproofing) and land degradation (or land degradation) aimed at an interpretation, at the metropolitan scale, of how in southern Europe the pattern of Urbanization (compact, dispersive, intermediate) affects the land's ability to support both natural processes and agricultural production activities in a diversified way. In particular, the data on land quality and data on land use were considered together in order to analyze the processes of urban growth and the occupation of productive land for a very large area that includes Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and some parts of the Adriatic coast.There is still a long way to go, in terms of sharing, integration and definition of strategies aimed at achieving certain targets. A necessary and innovative look towards land quality could help to consider the protection of the soil as a whole, even at the planning level.

If we assume recession as being the starting point for policy challenges, then we can interpret these economic downturns as opportunities for change and the reshaping of society, landscapes and the latent mechanisms of growth. This book illustrates different aspects of local strategic development introducing a novel interpretation of the intimate relationship between demographic and economic aspects in complex socio-environmental systems. A specific approach investigating the mechanisms of local development, cultural and environmental values within a strategic territorial vision, is proposed. Coming from and appealing to diverse academic backgrounds, our book address paradigmatic visions about regional and urban dynamics, focusing on landscape transformations and socioeconomic disparities. Technical topics discussed in the book include: ? Urban management; ? Metropolitan governance; ? Landscape; ? Spatial planning; ? Applied economics; ? Regional demography.