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Prof. Dr. Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir
Department of Overland Communication Ways, Foundation and Cadastral Survey, Polytechnic University of Timisoara, 300224 Timisoara, Romania

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0 Climate Change Adaptation
0 Land Management
0 water management
0 sustainable urban development
0 Sustainable rural development

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Climate Change Adaptation
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Nature-based solutions and ecosystem services

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Journal article
Published: 06 April 2021 in ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information
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This study investigates long-term landscape transformations (1949–2016) in urban Rome, Central Italy, through a spatial distribution of seven metrics (core, islet, perforation, edge, loop, bridge, branch) derived from a Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) analyzed separately for seven land-use classes (built-up areas, arable land, crop mosaic, vineyards, olive groves, forests, pastures). A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has been finally adopted to characterize landscape structure at 1949 and 2016. Results of the MSPA demonstrate how both natural and agricultural land-uses have decreased following urban expansion. Moreover, the percent ‘core’ area of each class declined substantially, although with different intensity. These results clearly indicate ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ after long-term landscape transformations: urban settlements and forests belong to the former category, the remaining land-use classes (mostly agricultural) belong to the latter category. Descriptive statistics and multivariate exploratory techniques finally documented the intrinsic complexity characteristic of actual landscapes. The findings of this study also demonstrate how settlements have expanded chaotically over the study area, reflecting a progressive ‘fractalization’ and inhomogeneity of fringe landscapes, with negative implications for metropolitan sustainability at large. These transformations were unable to leverage processes of settlement and economic re-agglomeration around sub-centers typical of polycentric development in the most advanced socioeconomic contexts.

ACS Style

Samaneh Nickayin; Luca Salvati; Rosa Coluzzi; Maria Lanfredi; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Rosanna Salvia; Giovanni Quaranta; Ahmed Alhuseen; Luisa Gaburova. What Happens in the City When Long-Term Urban Expansion and (Un)Sustainable Fringe Development Occur: The Case Study of Rome. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 2021, 10, 231 .

AMA Style

Samaneh Nickayin, Luca Salvati, Rosa Coluzzi, Maria Lanfredi, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Rosanna Salvia, Giovanni Quaranta, Ahmed Alhuseen, Luisa Gaburova. What Happens in the City When Long-Term Urban Expansion and (Un)Sustainable Fringe Development Occur: The Case Study of Rome. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information. 2021; 10 (4):231.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Samaneh Nickayin; Luca Salvati; Rosa Coluzzi; Maria Lanfredi; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Rosanna Salvia; Giovanni Quaranta; Ahmed Alhuseen; Luisa Gaburova. 2021. "What Happens in the City When Long-Term Urban Expansion and (Un)Sustainable Fringe Development Occur: The Case Study of Rome." ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 10, no. 4: 231.

Commentary
Published: 28 January 2021 in Land
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Urban growth is a largely debated issue in social science. Specific forms of metropolitan expansion—including sprawl—involve multiple and fascinating research dimensions, making mixed (quali-quantitative) analysis of this phenomenon particularly complex and challenging at the same time. Urban sprawl has attracting the attention of multidisciplinary studies defining nature, dynamics, and consequences that dispersed low-density settlements are having on biophysical and socioeconomic contexts worldwide. The present commentary provides a brief overview on nature and implications of the latent relationship between sprawl, demographic dynamics, and background socio-environmental contexts with special focus on Europe. Empirical evidence supports the idea that spatial planning should cope more effectively with the increasing environmental and socioeconomic exposure of European regions to sprawl and demographic transitions, being progressively far away from a traditional urban cycle with sequential waves of urbanization, suburbanization, counter-urbanization, and re-urbanization. Growing socio-ecological vulnerability of metropolitan regions was evaluated based on a literature review demonstrating how a better comprehension of the intimate linkage between long-term demographic dynamics and urban cycles is necessary to inform fine-tuned policies controlling sprawl and promoting a sustainable management of peri-urban land.

ACS Style

Daniela Smiraglia; Luca Salvati; Gianluca Egidi; Rosanna Salvia; Antonio Giménez-Morera; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. Toward a New Urban Cycle? A Closer Look to Sprawl, Demographic Transitions and the Environment in Europe. Land 2021, 10, 127 .

AMA Style

Daniela Smiraglia, Luca Salvati, Gianluca Egidi, Rosanna Salvia, Antonio Giménez-Morera, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. Toward a New Urban Cycle? A Closer Look to Sprawl, Demographic Transitions and the Environment in Europe. Land. 2021; 10 (2):127.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Daniela Smiraglia; Luca Salvati; Gianluca Egidi; Rosanna Salvia; Antonio Giménez-Morera; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. 2021. "Toward a New Urban Cycle? A Closer Look to Sprawl, Demographic Transitions and the Environment in Europe." Land 10, no. 2: 127.

Journal article
Published: 20 January 2021 in Sustainability
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Fertility is a spatially non-stationary property of regional demographic systems. Despite the wealth of quantitative (micro–macro) information delineating short-term population dynamics in advanced economies, the contribution of economic downturns to local fertility has still been under-investigated along urban–rural gradients, especially in low-fertility contexts. Recent studies have assumed suburban fertility rates as systematically higher than urban and rural fertility rates. This assumption (hereafter known as the “suburban fertility hypothesis”) has been grounded on stylized facts and spatial regularities in advanced economies that reflect a significant role of both macro (contextual) and micro (behavioral) factors that positively influence fertility in suburban locations. To test the suburban fertility hypothesis at the macro-scale, the present study compares gross fertility rates from seven regional units of the Athens metropolitan area between 1991 and 2018. A refined spatial analysis of gross fertility rates during an economic expansion (1999–2008) and recession (2009–2018) was carried out in 115 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities of the same area. Experiencing sequential waves of economic expansion and recession, Athens’ socio-demographic dynamics were considered a sort of “quasi-experiment” for Southern Europe, linking late suburbanization with the multiple impacts of (rapid) economic downturns. Compared with both urban and rural locations, a higher fertility rate in suburban municipalities (15–20 km away from downtown Athens) was observed during the study period. However, a subtle distinction was observed during the economic expansion versus the recession. In the first period, the highest birth rates were recorded in industrial locations west of Athens, hosting economically disadvantaged communities with a relatively young population structure. With the recession, the highest fertility was associated with residential and service-specialized (wealthier) locations east of Athens, attracting resident population from neighboring areas, and better responding to crisis. The results of our study document how recent urban expansion and economic downturns have intrinsically shaped fertility dynamics, with implications for urban sustainability and social cohesion of metropolitan regions.

ACS Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Gianluca Egidi; Rosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati; Adele Sateriano; Antonio Gimenez-Morera. Recession, Local Fertility, and Urban Sustainability: Results of a Quasi-Experiment in Greece, 1991–2018. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1052 .

AMA Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Gianluca Egidi, Rosanna Salvia, Luca Salvati, Adele Sateriano, Antonio Gimenez-Morera. Recession, Local Fertility, and Urban Sustainability: Results of a Quasi-Experiment in Greece, 1991–2018. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (3):1052.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Gianluca Egidi; Rosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati; Adele Sateriano; Antonio Gimenez-Morera. 2021. "Recession, Local Fertility, and Urban Sustainability: Results of a Quasi-Experiment in Greece, 1991–2018." Sustainability 13, no. 3: 1052.

Commentary
Published: 30 October 2020 in Sustainability
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Reflecting a broader form of neo-liberal urban policy underlying the progressive return of capital investment, gentrification is a key issue in urban studies. Although earlier definitions of “gentrification” focused mostly on socio-cultural processes, recent works have qualified gentrification as a mixed political–economic issue. Clarifying whether inner city gentrification should be supported, controlled, constricted, or prevented is a key debate in urban sustainability and metabolism, contributing to managing and, possibly, enhancing metropolitan resilience. To define the causes and consequences of gentrification, understanding the intrinsic linkage with different social contexts is crucial. There are no universal and comprehensive gentrification processes, displaying similarities and differences at the same time. A comparative analysis of different forms of gentrification and urban change provides basic knowledge to delineate complex, non-linear paths of socioeconomic development in cities, shedding light on the increased socioeconomic complexity and the most appropriate policies to fuel metropolitan sustainability in a broader context of global change. From this perspective, our commentary focuses on the main issues at the base of gentrification in Europe, starting from basic definitions and providing a regional vision distinguishing three “gentrification ideal-types” (northern, eastern, and Mediterranean). The implications of these different socioeconomic processes for the policy and governance of sustainable and resilient cities were discussed, evidencing new lines of investigation to frame (or re-frame) the increasing complexity of urbanization patterns and processes.

ACS Style

Samaneh Nickayin; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zanfir; Matteo Clemente; Francesco Chelli; Luca Salvati; Federico Benassi; Antonio Morera. “Qualifying Peripheries” or “Repolarizing the Center”: A Comparison of Gentrification Processes in Europe. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9039 .

AMA Style

Samaneh Nickayin, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zanfir, Matteo Clemente, Francesco Chelli, Luca Salvati, Federico Benassi, Antonio Morera. “Qualifying Peripheries” or “Repolarizing the Center”: A Comparison of Gentrification Processes in Europe. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (21):9039.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Samaneh Nickayin; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zanfir; Matteo Clemente; Francesco Chelli; Luca Salvati; Federico Benassi; Antonio Morera. 2020. "“Qualifying Peripheries” or “Repolarizing the Center”: A Comparison of Gentrification Processes in Europe." Sustainability 12, no. 21: 9039.

Commentary
Published: 09 October 2020 in Sustainability
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Land degradation is more evident where conditions of environmental vulnerability already exist because of arid climate and unsustainable forms of land exploitation. Consequently, semi-arid and dry areas have been identified as vulnerable land, requiring attention from both science and policy perspectives. In some regions, such as the Mediterranean region, land degradation is particularly intense, although there are no extreme ecological conditions. In these contexts, a wide range of formal and informal responses is necessary to face particularly complex and spatially differentiated territorial processes. However, the fit of responses has been demonstrated to be different over time and space according to the underlying socioeconomic context and the specific ecological conditions. The present commentary discusses this sort of “entropy” in the policy response to land degradation in Southern Europe, outlining the intrinsic complexity of human–nature dynamics at the base of such processes. Reflecting the need of differentiated regional strategies and more specific national measures to combat desertification, three policy frameworks (agro-environmental, economic, social) with an indirect impact on fighting land degradation have been considered, delineating the importance of policy assemblages. Finally, the importance of policy impact assessment methodologies was highlighted, focusing on the possible responses reinforcing a continental strategy against land degradation. By evidencing the role of participatory planning, developmental policies indirectly addressing land degradation reveal to be an important vector of more specific measures abating desertification risk, creating, in turn, a favorable context for direct interventions of mitigation or adaptation to climate change.

ACS Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Daniela Smiraglia; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati; Antonio Giménez-Morera. Land Degradation and Mitigation Policies in the Mediterranean Region: A Brief Commentary. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8313 .

AMA Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Daniela Smiraglia, Giovanni Quaranta, Rosanna Salvia, Luca Salvati, Antonio Giménez-Morera. Land Degradation and Mitigation Policies in the Mediterranean Region: A Brief Commentary. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (20):8313.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Daniela Smiraglia; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati; Antonio Giménez-Morera. 2020. "Land Degradation and Mitigation Policies in the Mediterranean Region: A Brief Commentary." Sustainability 12, no. 20: 8313.

Journal article
Published: 19 September 2020 in Systems
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This study estimates demographic resilience in local socioeconomic systems of Southern Europe using long-term population dynamics. We assume attractive places with a continuously expanding (resident) population as ‘demographically resilient’, and locations experiencing a persistent decline of population as more fragile to external shocks. Based on these premises, a comprehensive assessment of demographic resilience in more than 1000 municipalities along the urban–rural gradient in Greece, a Mediterranean country with marked regional disparities, was carried out between 1961 and 2011. Municipalities were considered representative of homogeneous local communities, especially in rural areas. The results of non-parametric correlations suggest how basic geographical gradients (coastal–inland and urban–rural) have significantly influenced the demographic resilience of Greek municipalities. These findings outline two contrasting spatial patterns that reflect (i) continuous expansion of peri-urban local communities and (ii) a particularly intense rural shrinkage, linking depopulation to land abandonment and scarce accessibility of inland districts. While long-term population growth in Greece has progressively re-shaped the intrinsic divide in urban and rural areas, the traditional gap in central and peripheral districts is still reflected in the spatial polarization between the ‘demographically resilient’, socially dynamic coastal locations and the ‘demographically fragile’ inland, economically marginal places. These results indicate the persistence of a center–periphery model characterizing long-term settlement expansion in Greece, with spatial patterns delineating ‘resilient’ and ‘fragile’ districts based essentially on infrastructures, accessibility, and amenities.

ACS Style

Andrea Colantoni; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Cristina Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Pavel Cudlin; Luca Salvati; Antonio Gimenez Morera. Demographic Resilience in Local Systems: An Empirical Approach with Census Data. Systems 2020, 8, 34 .

AMA Style

Andrea Colantoni, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Cristina Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Pavel Cudlin, Luca Salvati, Antonio Gimenez Morera. Demographic Resilience in Local Systems: An Empirical Approach with Census Data. Systems. 2020; 8 (3):34.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Andrea Colantoni; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Cristina Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Pavel Cudlin; Luca Salvati; Antonio Gimenez Morera. 2020. "Demographic Resilience in Local Systems: An Empirical Approach with Census Data." Systems 8, no. 3: 34.

Commentary
Published: 27 July 2020 in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
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Assuming the importance of a “socioeconomic mosaic” influencing soil and land degradation at the landscape scale, spatial contexts should be considered in the analysis of desertification risk as a base for the design of appropriate counteracting strategies. A holistic approach grounded on a multi-scale qualitative and quantitative assessment is required to identify optimal development strategies regulating the socioeconomic dimensions of land degradation. In the last few decades, the operational thinking at the base of a comprehensive, holistic theory of land degradation evolved toward many different conceptual steps. Moving from empirical, qualitative and unstructured frameworks to a more structured, rational and articulated thinking, such theoretical approaches have been usually oriented toward complex and non-linear dynamics benefiting from progressive and refined approximations. Based on these premises, eleven disciplinary approaches were identified and commented extensively on in the present study, and were classified along a gradient of increasing complexity, from more qualitative and de-structured frameworks to more articulated, non-linear thinking aimed at interpreting the intrinsic fragmentation and heterogeneity of environmental and socioeconomic processes underlying land degradation. Identifying, reviewing and classifying such approaches demonstrated that the evolution of global thinking in land degradation was intimately non-linear, developing narrative and deductive approaches together with inferential, experimentally oriented visions. Focusing specifically on advanced economies in the world, our review contributes to systematize multiple—sometimes entropic—interpretations of desertification processes into a more organized framework, giving value to methodological interplays and specific interpretations of the latent processes underlying land degradation.

ACS Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Andrea Colantoni; Enrico Maria Mosconi; Stefano Poponi; Simona Fortunati; Luca Salvati; Filippo Gambella. From Historical Narratives to Circular Economy: De-Complexifying the “Desertification” Debate. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2020, 17, 5398 .

AMA Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Andrea Colantoni, Enrico Maria Mosconi, Stefano Poponi, Simona Fortunati, Luca Salvati, Filippo Gambella. From Historical Narratives to Circular Economy: De-Complexifying the “Desertification” Debate. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17 (15):5398.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Andrea Colantoni; Enrico Maria Mosconi; Stefano Poponi; Simona Fortunati; Luca Salvati; Filippo Gambella. 2020. "From Historical Narratives to Circular Economy: De-Complexifying the “Desertification” Debate." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 15: 5398.

Journal article
Published: 17 June 2020 in Land
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Considering settlement characteristics and population dynamics together over multiple spatio-temporal scales, the present study analyzes the spatial distribution of sparse settlements and population surrounding a large city in Southern Europe (Athens, Greece), in relation with long-term metropolitan growth and recent economic downturns. Results of the analysis identify regional-scale processes of urban compaction during economic expansion (2000s) with incorporation of scattered settlements in a high-density urban fabric, and moderate urban dispersion affecting low-density, peripheral areas in the subsequent period of recession (2010s). However, more heterogeneous dynamics were observed at the local scale. With economic expansion, a slight increase in the number of settlements was observed in local districts experiencing intense sprawl in earlier decades. With recession, a slight decrease in the number of settlements was, in turn, recorded in some rural districts surrounding compact urban centers, likely acting as local hotspots of urban re-densification. Given the multiplicity of socioeconomic factors involved, our findings highlight how urban development follows sequential phases of compaction and dispersion, based on locally differentiated spatial regimes characterizing settlement expansion and population growth. Sustainable urban management should face more actively with increasingly fragmented settlement dynamics at the fringe, prefiguring an appropriate spatial balance between urban centers and sparse settlements in light of recent demographic trends.

ACS Style

Rosanna Salvia; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sirio Cividino; Luca Salvati; Giovanni Quaranta. From Rural Spaces to Peri-Urban Districts: Metropolitan Growth, Sparse Settlements and Demographic Dynamics in a Mediterranean Region. Land 2020, 9, 200 .

AMA Style

Rosanna Salvia, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Sirio Cividino, Luca Salvati, Giovanni Quaranta. From Rural Spaces to Peri-Urban Districts: Metropolitan Growth, Sparse Settlements and Demographic Dynamics in a Mediterranean Region. Land. 2020; 9 (6):200.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rosanna Salvia; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sirio Cividino; Luca Salvati; Giovanni Quaranta. 2020. "From Rural Spaces to Peri-Urban Districts: Metropolitan Growth, Sparse Settlements and Demographic Dynamics in a Mediterranean Region." Land 9, no. 6: 200.

Journal article
Published: 11 May 2020 in Sustainability
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While urbanization trends have been characterized for a long time by deconcentration of inner cities with expansion of low-density settlements, economic repolarization leading to re-urbanization and recovery of central districts are now counterbalancing population shrinkage in compact urban areas and slowing down suburban growth. In this context, the recent demographic evolution of a large metropolis such as Athens (Greece)—following expansion, crisis, and a more subtle economic recovery—may reveal original relationships between form and functions at the base of recent urban growth. Based on an exploratory analysis of demographic indicators on a metropolitan and urban scale, the present study provides an updated and integrated knowledge framework that confirms and integrates the most recent urban trends in southern Europe. Documenting the emergence of more individualized paths of urban expansion at the local scale (recovery of the historic center, shrinkage of semicentral neighborhoods, ‘reverse gentrification’ of disadvantaged peripheral areas, late suburbanization of accessible peripheral areas), results of the present study justify an ad hoc analysis of metropolitan growth based on demographic indicators as a proxy for sustainable land management and local development.

ACS Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Gianluca Egidi; Enrico Maria Mosconi; Stefano Poponi; Ahmed Alhuseen; Luca Salvati. Uncovering Demographic Trends and Recent Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Regions: A Paradigmatic Case Study. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3937 .

AMA Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Gianluca Egidi, Enrico Maria Mosconi, Stefano Poponi, Ahmed Alhuseen, Luca Salvati. Uncovering Demographic Trends and Recent Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Regions: A Paradigmatic Case Study. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (9):3937.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Gianluca Egidi; Enrico Maria Mosconi; Stefano Poponi; Ahmed Alhuseen; Luca Salvati. 2020. "Uncovering Demographic Trends and Recent Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Regions: A Paradigmatic Case Study." Sustainability 12, no. 9: 3937.

Journal article
Published: 02 April 2020 in Sustainability
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In the light of complex adaptive system thinking, population age structures in Europe have increasingly reflected the interplay between ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ socioeconomic dynamics driven by natural population growth and migration. Assuming the importance of demographic dynamics shaping regional growth in recent times, a diachronic analysis of local-scale population age structures was developed for 156 districts of Greece between 1971 and 2011. By using appropriate indicators, the analysis was aimed at demonstrating how ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ transitions contribute to socioeconomic change in both urban and rural areas. A comprehensive analysis of change in population age structures between 1971 and 2011 allows identification of latent spatial structures as a result of population re-distribution from urban cores to broader rural regions. Following residential mobility, the empirical results of this study indicate (i) a late phase of urbanization (1971–1981) with population densification and settlement compactness, (i) a rapid suburbanization (1981–1991) consolidating distinctive demographic structures in urban and rural areas, (ii) a mild counter-urbanization (1991–2001) with moderate aging of suburban populations and (iii) a latent re-urbanization (2001–2011) reducing the suburban-urban divide in population age structures. Residential mobility contributed to a more balanced age structure during suburbanization and an increased demographic divide in the subsequent urban waves. A refined analysis of long-term population dynamics in metropolitan regions reflects spatial outcomes and latent aspects of demographic transitions shedding light on the debate over the future development of urban and rural societies in advanced economies.

ACS Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sirio Cividino; Gianluca Egidi; Rosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati. Rapidity of Change in Population Age Structures: A Local Approach Based on Multiway Factor Analysis. Sustainability 2020, 12, 2828 .

AMA Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Sirio Cividino, Gianluca Egidi, Rosanna Salvia, Luca Salvati. Rapidity of Change in Population Age Structures: A Local Approach Based on Multiway Factor Analysis. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (7):2828.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sirio Cividino; Gianluca Egidi; Rosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati. 2020. "Rapidity of Change in Population Age Structures: A Local Approach Based on Multiway Factor Analysis." Sustainability 12, no. 7: 2828.

Journal article
Published: 12 February 2020 in Land
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Mediterranean regions have experienced a shift from accelerated urban growth typical of a post-industrial phase to a more recent spatial delocalization of population and economic activities reflecting discontinuous settlement expansion, land take, and the abandonment of cultivated areas around central cities. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of land-use, settlement, and demographic indicators, the present study explores urban growth and population density over a sufficiently long time period in a metropolitan region of Southern Europe (Rome, Italy). Local-scale population trends were compared with the evolution of the primary sector (workers in agriculture, number of farms, cultivated land) between 1951 and 2011. Our results indicate non-linear growth waves alternating compact and discontinuous expansion shaping fringe land. The future development of metropolitan regions is increasingly dependent on the relationship between urban diffusion and economic viability of peri-urban agriculture. Crop abandonment and land take rates increase in local contexts where peri-urban agriculture rapidly declines. Policies managing ex-urban development and promoting the recovery of fringe soils are increasingly required to contain the expansion of dispersed settlements and preserve relict agricultural systems from land conversion to urban use.

ACS Style

Gianluca Egidi; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sirio Cividino; Giovanni Quaranta; Luca Salvati; Andrea Colantoni. Rural in Town: Traditional Agriculture, Population Trends, and Long-Term Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Rome. Land 2020, 9, 53 .

AMA Style

Gianluca Egidi, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Sirio Cividino, Giovanni Quaranta, Luca Salvati, Andrea Colantoni. Rural in Town: Traditional Agriculture, Population Trends, and Long-Term Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Rome. Land. 2020; 9 (2):53.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gianluca Egidi; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sirio Cividino; Giovanni Quaranta; Luca Salvati; Andrea Colantoni. 2020. "Rural in Town: Traditional Agriculture, Population Trends, and Long-Term Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Rome." Land 9, no. 2: 53.

Journal article
Published: 05 February 2020 in Sustainability
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A comparative, diachronic analysis of urban population dynamics allows for the identification of specific demographic trajectories influencing metropolitan expansion worldwide. However, a wide-ranging characterization of long-term population trends in metropolitan areas identifying sequential urban cycles with distinctive demographic dynamics is still incomplete. By hypothesizing a trade-off between ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ population dynamics that reflect ‘high’ and ‘low’ fertility regimes in both advanced and emerging economies, the present work investigates the relationship between city size (considering absolute population) and population growth rate in 1857 metropolitan agglomerations (>300,000 inhabitants in 2014) of 154 countries across the globe. Analysis covers a relatively long time period (1950–2030) and uses descriptive statistics (average and coefficient of variation) of the spatial series of population growth rates derived from United Nations demographics by metropolitan agglomeration and time interval. The results of our study indicate that metropolitan growth was associated with highly variable rates of population growth, being highly positive before 2000 and declining progressively in the subsequent decades. Despite important differences at the regional scale, an inverse relationship between population growth and city size was observed up to the late 1990s, with a higher spatial heterogeneity reflecting a moderate slowdown in demographic dynamics during recent years. Rapid population expansion dependent on city size and a higher spatial heterogeneity in growth rates insensitive to city size, evidence distinct metropolitan cycles reflecting worldwide transition from high to low fertility, ageing, and more unpredictable migration patterns.

ACS Style

Sirio Cividino; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Luca Salvati. Revisiting the “City Life Cycle”: Global Urbanization and Implications for Regional Development. Sustainability 2020, 12, 1151 .

AMA Style

Sirio Cividino, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Luca Salvati. Revisiting the “City Life Cycle”: Global Urbanization and Implications for Regional Development. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (3):1151.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sirio Cividino; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Luca Salvati. 2020. "Revisiting the “City Life Cycle”: Global Urbanization and Implications for Regional Development." Sustainability 12, no. 3: 1151.

Abstract
Published: 01 January 2019 in Proceedings
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Urbanization is a continuous and dynamic process which has a direct impact on ecosystems and their services provided to human society. Restriction of green areas greatly accentuates urban ecological risks, having an immediate negative impact on their viability and sustainability, on life quality and population health. Increasing population density in urban areas leads to an increasing need for space. Parallel to the tentacular development of urban agglomerations, structure, architecture and design have changed, at the expense of green spaces. The development of urban areas in several European Countries (e.g., Romania, Portugal, Sweden, amid substantial demographic growth, it was made at the expense of green areas. Historical milestones of urban and peri-urban development are also key milestones in green space strategies, both in terms of development and conversion into different land-uses. This article investigates the evolution of green infrastructure in three distinct countries in Europe. In western Romania (Timisoara urban area and its neighboring peri-urban zones) we investigate the strong correlation with the evolution of urban development and the strategies developed for improving the life quality. In central Portugal, we analyze the dynamics of green infrastructures in a peri-urban catchment close to Coimbra city Centre, driven by long term urbanization. In Sweden (Malmö city), we study the history of blue-green infrastructures such as sustainable urban drainage over the past two decades and application of this in the physical planning. We will emphasize the main key milestones in green space strategies, similitudes and differences between three urban areas located in three different bio-geographical areas.

ACS Style

Halbac- Cotoara- Zamfir; Zahra Kalantari; Carla Sofia Ferreira; Cristina Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. Evolution of Green Areas in Europe—A Comparison Between Three Urban Areas. Proceedings 2019, 30, 15 .

AMA Style

Halbac- Cotoara- Zamfir, Zahra Kalantari, Carla Sofia Ferreira, Cristina Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. Evolution of Green Areas in Europe—A Comparison Between Three Urban Areas. Proceedings. 2019; 30 (1):15.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Halbac- Cotoara- Zamfir; Zahra Kalantari; Carla Sofia Ferreira; Cristina Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. 2019. "Evolution of Green Areas in Europe—A Comparison Between Three Urban Areas." Proceedings 30, no. 1: 15.

Abstract
Published: 01 January 2019 in Proceedings
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Flooding is a wide-range natural hazard that noticeably damages property, people, and the environment. In the context of climate change, the integration of spatial planning with flood-risk management has gained prominence as an approach to mitigating the risks of flooding. Land use is regulated through various mixes of top-down laws, regulations and governance structures and sets of locally based practices that can vary widely across localities and contexts. These under-researched aspects can often make the difference between success and failure in implementing new insights and proposals for better nature-based and diverse technological solutions for flood storage. Generally, water management has first dealt with technical and hydrological issues before addressing land management, and then found implementation to be hampered by the lack of land management approaches. Land owners/users are often regarded as mere recipients of water management, not as key stakeholders. Most existing research initiatives on water-related risks focus on technical or hydrological aspects, forecasting, disaster management, or institutional governance aspects. Approaches for collaborating with private land users to realize mitigation and adaptation measures on private land are lacking both in theory and practice. The absence of dialogue tools and collaborative approaches, lack of access to integrated and high-quality information and technologies and tools to use information, are among the factors that impede this integration. Limited research has been conducted to develop a framework and to investigate the interplay between involvement, information and technologies in this integration. These shortcomings could be resolved through an integrated approach which can be based on the features and characteristics of an environmental citizenship. Based on the definition provided by ENEC, an environmental citizen has the necessary knowledge, skills, values, and beliefs to effective public participation and stakeholders’ engagement in solving controversial environmental problems and therefore to negotiate land for flood within a sustainable context. Starting from the definitions of environmental citizen and environmental citizenship, this paper will try to provide an approach for smoothening the process of negotiating land for flood as a key tool for mitigating the risk of flooding through sustainable cooperation with land users.

ACS Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Andreas Hadjichambis; Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi. Negotiating Land for Flood Using an Environmental Citizenship Approach. Proceedings 2019, 30, 40 .

AMA Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Andreas Hadjichambis, Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi. Negotiating Land for Flood Using an Environmental Citizenship Approach. Proceedings. 2019; 30 (1):40.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Andreas Hadjichambis; Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi. 2019. "Negotiating Land for Flood Using an Environmental Citizenship Approach." Proceedings 30, no. 1: 40.

Abstract
Published: 01 January 2019 in Proceedings
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Climate change is expected to substantially alter temperature and precipitation regimes, leading to more intense and more frequent extreme rain events, droughts, reduced air quality and consequently negatively influences biodiversity and ecosystems. The importance of protecting and improving ecosystems for reducing disaster risk started to receive higher attention in the recent years after a long period of neglection. Nature-based solutions (NBSs) focus on working with nature and, in essence, aim at increasing the natural capital of the ecological systems. Implementation of NBSs requires extensive dialogue processes in order to ensure knowledge exchange and to “bring everyone on-board”. To be successful, NBSs must take into account the local socioecological systems, so that local and regional stakeholders are engaged in order to secure the thresholds of interventions that can effectively reduce the risks from climate change disasters. In addition, a successful implementation of NBSs also requires a strong environmental education. Education is an essential element of the global response to climate change. It helps people understand and address the impact of global warming, encourages changes in their attitudes and behavior and helps them adapt to climate change-related trends. Environmental Citizens, with their responsible pro-environmental behaviors, can act as promoters of NBSs through individual and collective actions, in the private and public sphere, in the direction of protecting and improving ecosystems and effectively reducing the risks from climate change disasters. Thus, Education for Environmental Citizenship (EEC) has a strong practical orientation including community engagement and public participation and therefore can be marked by teaching and learning approaches with remarkable contribution on enhancing the implementation of NBSs. This type of education also embraces systemic learning, understanding relationships being crucially important. This paper will use the model for EEC developed by COST action 16229 “European Network for Environmental Citizenship” (www.enec.eu) to propose an education framework for enhancing the successful implementation of NBSs.

ACS Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Andreas Hadjichambis; Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi. Education for Environmental Citizenship—Potential Key Tool for Enhancing the Implementation of NbSs. Proceedings 2019, 30, 37 .

AMA Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Andreas Hadjichambis, Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi. Education for Environmental Citizenship—Potential Key Tool for Enhancing the Implementation of NbSs. Proceedings. 2019; 30 (1):37.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Andreas Hadjichambis; Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi. 2019. "Education for Environmental Citizenship—Potential Key Tool for Enhancing the Implementation of NbSs." Proceedings 30, no. 1: 37.

Journal article
Published: 12 November 2018 in Science of The Total Environment
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Throughout the history of Romania, political decisions, socio-economic measures, and cultural (traditional) characters have affected the implementation of environment friendly techniques (EFTs) policies. In the context of this paper, EFTs can be defined as solutions for the use of land resources aiming the increasing of goods for meeting the changing human needs and with neutral or positive environmental impact. Changes in the political regime have always had a visible impact on the EFTs issue in Romania. EFTs has gone through several major phases. The political impact on EFTs implementation mainly affected sustainable land management (SLM) and to a small extent, at the end of the communist era and partly during the capitalist period, climate change mitigation. Throughout history, the political factor has dominated and influenced the capacity of the EFTs implementation process in responding to socio-economic stimuli. In addition, quality of life, rural-urban and urban-rural migrations, poverty, education level, and climate change adaptation have had impacts on the status of EFTs according to governance and political reflections. The agrarian reforms from the last two centuries, based on socio-economic demands, have strongly influenced the capacity to implement EFTs both positively and negatively. However, the cultural factor was least affected by political and socio-economic changes as a stability factor in ensuring continued implementation of the EFTs. Currently, there is a strong need to reconsider EFTs as sustainability tools for Romanian agriculture that can cope with climate change and sustainable land management (SLM) demands. This paper presents a brief history of EFTs in Romania and their benefits in achieving SLM equilibrium, describing the impacts of political decisions, socio-economic measures, and cultural features on implementing ETFs policies.

ACS Style

Rareș Hălbac-Cotoară-Zamfir; Saskia Keesstra; Zahra Kalantari. The impact of political, socio-economic and cultural factors on implementing environment friendly techniques for sustainable land management and climate change mitigation in Romania. Science of The Total Environment 2018, 654, 418 -429.

AMA Style

Rareș Hălbac-Cotoară-Zamfir, Saskia Keesstra, Zahra Kalantari. The impact of political, socio-economic and cultural factors on implementing environment friendly techniques for sustainable land management and climate change mitigation in Romania. Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 654 ():418-429.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rareș Hălbac-Cotoară-Zamfir; Saskia Keesstra; Zahra Kalantari. 2018. "The impact of political, socio-economic and cultural factors on implementing environment friendly techniques for sustainable land management and climate change mitigation in Romania." Science of The Total Environment 654, no. : 418-429.

Conference paper
Published: 01 October 2017 in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
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Climate change is expected to alter average temperature and precipitation values and to increase the variability of precipitation events, which may lead to even more intense and frequent water hazards. Water hazards engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of scientific and engineering principles for protection of human populations from the effects of water hazards; protection of environments, both local and global, from the potentially deleterious effects of water hazards; and improvement of environmental quality for mitigating the negative effects of water hazards. An integrated approach of water hazards engineering based on mapping, nature-based and technical solutions will constitute a feasible solution in the process of adapting to challenges generated by climate changes worldwide. This paper will debate this concept also providing some examples from several European countries.

ACS Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sorin Herban; Jannes Stolte; Csaba Bozan. Integrated Water Hazards Engineering Based on Mapping, Nature-Based and Technical Solutions. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 2017, 245, 022030 .

AMA Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Sorin Herban, Jannes Stolte, Csaba Bozan. Integrated Water Hazards Engineering Based on Mapping, Nature-Based and Technical Solutions. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 2017; 245 (2):022030.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sorin Herban; Jannes Stolte; Csaba Bozan. 2017. "Integrated Water Hazards Engineering Based on Mapping, Nature-Based and Technical Solutions." IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 245, no. 2: 022030.

Journal article
Published: 18 October 2016 in Procedia Engineering
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ACS Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. Applied Hydrotechnics Multidisciplinary Research and Future Challenges. Procedia Engineering 2016, 161, 2019 -2022.

AMA Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. Applied Hydrotechnics Multidisciplinary Research and Future Challenges. Procedia Engineering. 2016; 161 ():2019-2022.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. 2016. "Applied Hydrotechnics Multidisciplinary Research and Future Challenges." Procedia Engineering 161, no. : 2019-2022.

Journal article
Published: 16 February 2015 in Sustainability
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A diverse topography along with deforestation, changing climatic conditions, long-term human settlement, overuse of agricultural lands without sustainable planning, cultural difficulties in accepting conservative land management practices, and wrong political decisions have increased the vulnerability of many soils to degradation and resulted in a serious decline in their functional capacity. A progressive reduction in the capacity of soils to support plant productivity is not only a threat in the African continent and its large desert zone, but also in several parts of Central and Southeastern Europe (CASEE). The loss of soil functions throughout CASEE is mainly related to the human activities that have profound influence on soil dynamic characteristics. Improper management of soils has made them more vulnerable to degradation through water and wind erosion, organic matter depletion, salinity, acidification, crusting and sealing, and compaction. Unmitigated degradation has substantial implications for long term sustainability of the soils’ capability to support human communities and resist desertification. If sustainable agricultural and land management practices are not identified, well understood and implemented, the decline in soil quality will continue and probably accelerate. The lack of uniform criteria for the assessment and evaluation of soil quality in CASEE countries prevents scientific assessments to determine if existing management practices are leading to soil quality improvement, or if not, what management practices should be recommended to mitigate and reverse the loss of soil health.

ACS Style

Hikmet Günal; Tayfun Korucu; Marta Birkas; Engin Özgöz; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. Threats to Sustainability of Soil Functions in Central and Southeast Europe. Sustainability 2015, 7, 2161 -2188.

AMA Style

Hikmet Günal, Tayfun Korucu, Marta Birkas, Engin Özgöz, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. Threats to Sustainability of Soil Functions in Central and Southeast Europe. Sustainability. 2015; 7 (2):2161-2188.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hikmet Günal; Tayfun Korucu; Marta Birkas; Engin Özgöz; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir. 2015. "Threats to Sustainability of Soil Functions in Central and Southeast Europe." Sustainability 7, no. 2: 2161-2188.