The study of peri-urbanization attracted attention in the final quarter of the 20th century, due to the pace it acquired worldwide and the implication that urbanization and overall settlement patterns have on social sustainability and development. Theoretical and conceptual achievements are remarkable. Multi-country collaboration has produced a growing body of research on sustainability and peri-urban settlements. There is a lack, however, of a review of the practices of peri-urban informal settlements, the predominant mode of urban expansion, mainly in developing and rapidly urbanizing regions of the world. The purpose is, then, to systematize, from recent literature, the knowledge of the context, challenges, and practices, as well as their impacts and potential courses of action, to ensure sustainability in human–natural complex of the territory beyond urban cores, suburbs, or slums. A systematic review approach was adopted, for articles published in reputable journals, with support of previous reviews, books, and reports. A pragmatist combination of content analysis and critical review identified core topics and highlighted contrasting views. An analytical framework is proposed. Four categories—drivers, challenges and practices, impact, and future trends—are proposed as an adequate approach to systematizing the literature. The review finds that the practices focus on service and resource provision, on regulations to approximate informal to formal institutions, and on an economy founded on the resource base and service provision. This review provides insights on future trends and research topics.

The complexities of coupled environmental and human systems across the space and time of fragile systems challenge new data-driven methodologies. Combining geographic information systems (GIS) and artificial neural networks (ANN) allows us to design a model that forecasts the erosion changes in Costa da Caparica, Lisbon, Portugal, for 2021, with a high accuracy level. The GIS–ANN model proves to be a powerful tool, as it analyzes and provides the “where” and the “why” dynamics that have happened or will happen in the future. According to the literature, ANNs present noteworthy advantages compared to the other methods that are used for prediction and decision making in urban coastal areas. In order to conduct a sensitivity analysis on natural and social forces, as well as dynamic relations in the dune–beach system of the study area, two types of ANNs were tested on a GIS environment: radial basis function (RBF) and multilayer perceptron (MLP). The GIS–ANN model helps to understand the factors that impact coastal erosion changes, and the importance of having an intelligent environmental decision support system to address these risks. This quantitative knowledge of the erosion changes and the analytical map-based frame are essential for an integrated management of the area and the establishment of pro-sustainability policies.

Floods are natural disasters that often impact communities living in low-lying areas in the northern and central parts of Morocco. In this study, our aim was to create a flood susceptibility map using three methods; the hierarchy process (AHP) frequency ratio model (FR) and the weights of evidence (WoE) model. We extensively examined the area identified by these approaches using a hydraulic analysis software called HEC-RAS (version 6.3.1). Our analysis focused on the Essaouira watersheds in Morocco, where we identified around 197 flood locations. Out of these, we randomly selected 70% for modeling purposes while the remaining 30% were used for validation. Ten factors that influence floods were considered, such as slope, elevation, proximity to rivers, drainage density, stream order, land use patterns, rainfall data, lithology (permeability level) index (TWI), and curvature. We obtained these factors from data sources. Finally, we generated a flood susceptibility map and evaluated its accuracy by calculating the area under the curve (AUC). The validation results confirmed that all three models were robust and effective with an AUC of 90. Moreover, the research uncovered a trend of vulnerability with the most susceptible area being in close proximity to the city of Essaouira along the Oued Ksob. A detailed analysis using HEC-RAS was conducted at this identified location, pinpointing the village of Diabat as highly exposed. These findings hold significance for flood management, empowering decision makers, scholars, and urban planners to make informed choices and implement strategies that can minimize the impact of floods in susceptible regions while minimizing potential damages.

Purpose: Universities are continually transforming its structure and governance in response to the new social, environmental and economic challenges. Particularly, there has recently been a growing academic interest for measuring sustainable practices of higher education institutions (HEI) aiming to monitor and reduce their carbon emissions, as well as transform them into more sustainable organizations. More recent studies began to focus also on the sustainable performance of distance education Universities. So it became crucial to evaluate their sustainability practices through sustainability assessment tools with the aim of improving their sustainability performance and boosting their role as agents of academic, social and economic change. The purpose of this study is to assess and compare holistically sustainability implementation in two similar distance learning universities and to evaluate their advantages and disadvantages. Design/methodology/approach: One of the most rigorous and internationally used sustainability assessment tools was used – the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, to evaluate and compare sustainability implementation in two distance universities, one from Spain and another from Portugal: the Madrid Open University and Universidade Aberta. Indicators of both universities were compared and ways of improvement in both universities were widely discussed. Findings: The results of this research show that there is a similar pattern in both universities. Both have low performance in campus operations and low levels of community participation but good performance in sustainability courses and programmes offer. The results of both institutions were compared and allowed a learning process for improvement. Originality/value: This research hopes to contribute to the continuous research about the usefulness of sustainability assessment tools in particular when applied to distance universities at the time that offers new paths to carry out improved sustainable practices in crucial areas of interest such as research, administration, education and resource-saving. This research also highlights the value of distance learning universities and their ability to be more sustainable after the advent of COVID-19.

The Essaouira Basin, located in central western Morocco, faces a significant threat of water shortage due to both the substantially reduced rainfall caused by climate change and the continuously increasing demand for this essential resource. Groundwater resources are being increasingly exploited to meet the needs of the population, whether for agricultural or domestic purposes. Therefore, it has become necessary to intensify investigations across the entire basin, particularly through indirect methods such as geophysical techniques, to accurately delineate the productive zones. In this context, the present study was undertaken to investigate the deep structure of this basin with the aim of comprehending the functioning of its aquifer system. This study is based on the interpretation of gravity data covering the Essaouira Basin. In addition to their qualitative analysis, these data underwent a methodological approach involving transformations to extract meaningful insights. The observed anomalies were interpreted in terms of (i) thickness variations within the slightly folded sedimentary series of the basin; (ii) Paleozoic basement topography; and (iii) the presence of salt deposits. In fact, among the negative anomalies, some coincide with evaporitic deposits that are known either from the geological outcrops or the seismic surveys carried out in the Essaouira Basin within the framework of petroleum exploration programs, while others coincide with areas of increased thickness of sedimentary sequences. The latter include synclines and basement depressions, where the accumulation of groundwater tends to occur; as a result, they constitute suitable zones for the drilling of water extraction wells. Groundwater flows observed in some existing wells are consistent with this hypothesis. The results of the contact analysis approach implemented within the framework of the study reveals the Essaouira Basin is affected by a fault network whose main direction is parallel to the Atlantic margin (i.e., NNE–SSW). This implies that the extensional tectonic phase responsible for initiating the rifting of the Central Atlantic in the Triassic era has primarily impacted the structural configuration of this basin. This study demonstrates the strong potential of the gravity method as a tool to delineate the deep structure of sedimentary basins and to identify potentially productive groundwater zones. The final results will provide important support to decision makers in sustainable groundwater management, especially in vulnerable areas.