The purpose of this research is to find out how transport modes shape the configuration of a metropolitan area in terms of population. Evolutionary analysis is undertaken to ascertain the impact of mobility on population distribution over a number of stages. The case study analysis puts the spotlight on the Valencia Metropolitan Area (Spain) over a long period of time, from 1900 to 2021. The research focuses on quantification, first in terms of how different means of transport affect population distribution, and subsequently, on the time gap between the emergence of a means of transport and its potential in distributing the population. Results show that the prevalence of the means of transport in structuring a metropolitan area has varied over time. At first, trains and trams played a major role in shaping the urban area while, in more recent eras, cars have remodelled the urban space. It was found that municipalities which did not have a railway service had very low, or even negative, increases in population until 1981. By contrast, since then, they have outstripped the increases in municipalities with rail connections. The time gap between the emergence of a means of transport and its potential to distribute the population is quantified in terms of decades. Automobiles took less time than trains and trams to have an impact on population distribution. These results can be understood as an indicator of the length of time needed to change previous dynamics and can be used to guide new policies in the field.

El trabajo evalúa la eficacia de los mapas de peligrosidad de inundación en episodios extremos. Para ello se comparan las zonas inundables según las cartografías oficiales y las realmente inundadas durante la DANA de 2024, en los sistemas de Poyo-Poçalet-Saleta y río Magro. La peligrosidad oficial se basa en MIPICOVA (Mapa Integrado de Peligro de Inundación en la Comunidad Valenciana), que integra PATRICOVA y SNCZI. La zona inundada se cartografía a partir de fuentes digitales, corregidas mediante participación ciudadana. Los resultados muestran que la coincidencia entre área inundable e inundada es importante (85,9%) mientras que en el resto la inundación real superó a la esperable. MIPICOVA ofrece mejor información que las capas originales, porque resuelve incongruencias y discontinuidades espaciales. La participación ciudadana ha resultado crucial para delimitar la inundación. El trabajo apunta vías de mejora de la cartografía de peligrosidad para mejorar la gestión de la emergencia.

Se analizan los datos geolocalizados de la red social Twitter con el fin de conocer las posibilidades que ofrecen para el estudio de las pautas de movilidad diarias, aplicado al caso del área urbana de Valencia, España. Basado en dicho análisis, se propone una metodología para el tratamiento y explotación de los datos, focalizada en la detección del lugar de residencia de sus usuarios, información básica en el análisis de la movilidad. El buen ajuste de los resultados con distintas fuentes de comprobación ratifica la adecuación de la metodología y las amplias posibilidades de la fuente analizada.

New territorial units resulting from urban sprawl processes constitute a major challenge for territorial planning. The aim of this paper is to analyze periurban spaces, focusing on the delimitation and characterization of the urban units arising from urban sprawl processes. The delimitation derives from fractal analysis, where urbanized space is used to detect the limits of the units. The characterization starts with the calculation of eight different indicators, using Geographic Information Systems tools. PCA is used to obtain different dimensions of the urban sprawl phenomenon. Finally, a cluster analysis has been applied to establish a typology of territorial units and facilitate the comparative analysis. The methodology is applied to a case study, the metropolitan area of Valencia. Results show six groups of urbanized spaces, which present different types of urban sprawl structures with different necessities. This applied research can be useful for the spatial planning of the periurban spaces, insofar as it allows the identification of supra-municipal or infra-municipal areas, where it will be possible to improve infrastructures, facilities, or green infrastructure, to empower secondary urban nuclei and to create new inter-municipal cooperation and governance formulas. In addition, the results can constitute a non-administrative territorial basis for the calculation of land occupation indicators that are often used as thresholds for the creation of new residential spaces in regulatory planning documents.

Natural events become disasters when they affect human populations, demanding a rapid, coordinated response supported by accurate geospatial information. Satellite remote sensing (RS) is essential for providing timely and scalable data, especially during flood events where early warning systems, rapid mapping, and post-event analysis are critical. This study focuses on the flash floods that struck València on October 29, 2024. The Image Processing Laboratory and the Department of Geography at the University of València collaborated to collect and analyse data from both citizen science and remote sensing sources. Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) maps were validated and refined using ground-level reports. A novel mud mapping approach was developed using Sentinel-2 imagery to assess post-flood impacts, offering a wide-scale, synoptic view of the affected areas. The study demonstrates the value of integrating remote sensing and citizen data for effective disaster response and flood impact assessment.

El trabajo realizado tiene como objetivo analizar la vulnerabilidad de las zonas residenciales localizadasen el litoral valenciano ante un escenario de cambio climático, específicamente, teniendo encuenta las inundaciones marinas. La metodología compara las zonas residenciales que se inundan por efecto de temporales marinos en la situación actual y con un escenario de cambio climático RCP 4,5. Una vez evaluados los resultados a escala municipal, se muestra la afección territorial de parte de los municipios costeros de: Peñíscola, Benicarló, Oropesa, Cullera, Gandia, Oliva, Xàbia, Dénia y Santa Pola. Los resultados muestran que, en el escenario de cambio climático analizado, la vulnerabilidad de las zonas residenciales por episodios de inundación marina aumentará, aunque de forma diferente en función de la tipología de las costas. Este análisis destaca la importancia de profundizar en los efectos territoriales del cambio climático, así como de incluir este riesgo en los futuros procesos de ordenación territorial con el fin de minimizarlo.