The experiences of cross-border cooperation (CBC), undertaken not only in Europe but throughout the world, have enabled areas to gain greater importance in recent decades at an international level, showing potential for integrative functions and joint development as exemplified by several CBC projects. The present paper assesses the impact of CBC projects by analyzing a protocol established in 2013 between the cities of Elvas and Badajoz, which induced the creation of the Eurocity Elvas-Badajoz. The paper kicks off with a critical review on territorial factors for success in CBC areas, considering the analysis of several case studies throughout Europe. The lessons learned, taken from the analyzed case studies, and the identified territorial success factors were used as assessment points for the investigation of the target study area, the Eurocity ElvasBadajoz. The investigation explores public participation perceptions towards the identification of what changes with respect to standards of life with the CBC project, providing the current state of affairs and identifying where to place efforts in order to reach sustainable development for the region. While being a transition area, it presents several opportunities for growth. These opportunities have not yet been object of analysis and debate with respect to lasting, sustainable successful growth. The present research enables the identification of several territorial factors for success in the study area, such as the connectivity/movement between cities and strong political commitment. From the identified critical factors, it was possible to highlight the importance of public transportation as a priority for achieving success in this CBC project.

Accessibility plays a major role in achieving sustainable transport, and therefore urban and regional sustainability. The urban public transport system promotes mobility and realizes a large part of urban movements. Moreover, improving accessibility in order to promote sustainable transport requires the application of new concepts and indicators as a powerful tool in the process of creating a balanced urban transport system. In this regard, one of the main goals of this research is to present an overview of the relevant accessibility indicators and assessment of accessibility in regional Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) in order to transcendence challenges and obstacles for sustainable transportation in these regions along of Portuguese-Spanish border. This paper focuses on the accessibility of cross-border cooperation scenarios along the border regions of Alto Alentejo (Portugal) and Badajoz (Spain) where the Case Study Research Method (CSR) made it possible to recognize accessibility as a key factor in territorial success. Also, accessibility analysis can assess improvements as well as regional imbalances. In addition, this methodology can be used to identify missing links, which requires new investments enabling long-term sustainability.

The main objective of this study was to analyze the flood propensity of the main watercourse of Ribeira Brava drainage basin and, if necessary, to suggest two methodologies to mitigate the impacts, i.e., detention basin sizing and riverbed roughness coefficient adjustment. For the flood propensity assessment, geomorphological data obtained from the watershed characterization process was used through the SIG ArcGIS software and then used for the calculation of the expected peak flow rate for a return period of 100 years using the Gumbel Distribution. Finally, the drainage capacity of the river mouth was verified via the Manning-Strickler equation, with the purpose of establishing whether the river mouth of the watershed has the capacity to drain the entire volume of rainwater in an extreme flood event. In summary, the results indicate that the river mouth of the Ribeira Brava watershed does not have the capacity to drain the rain flow for the pre-established return period; therefore, the detention basin was sized using the Dutch Method and the Simplified Triangular Hydrograph Method, and the roughness coefficient was adjusted in order to ensure the increase in the river mouth’s drainage capacity.

As the main island of the Madeira Archipelago, Madeira is faced with a clear demand for more precise and specific planning policies, in order to respond to regional requests. Bearing in mind the urgency of this issue linked to the concept of sustainability, planning strategies must be based on and strengthened by several studies, with the most varied themes, as a way of incisively understanding the problem at hand. Based on tools such as GIS (geographic information systems), this study allows the analysis of variations and patterns of land use and occupancy in the municipality of Ribeira Brava, located on Madeira Island. In a comprehensive manner, the study allows us to highlight the stagnation of the urban fabric of the region and, on the other hand, the change in the dynamics of agricultural cultivation present in the county. In addition, this study highlights the change in the predominant native vegetation in the municipality between the years 1990 and 2018. It is still necessary to emphasize the worrying scenario with the loss of native vegetation due to human activity, which requires more emphatic monitoring by regional government actors to protect, preserve and conserve these landscapes, environments and ecosystems.

The urban planning development process in urban territories has multiple consequences, not only in spatial structure but also in land valuation patterns. The economic value of land encompassed in municipal planning—which is associated with a certain urbanized use—increases as the planning processes evolve over these lands. For economic land valuation to comply with the required parameters of urban and territorial sustainable development, it is pivotal that in the determination of land value there are no expectations of difficult or impossible realizations, in order to eliminate any speculative element from the valuation. The land valuation model presented in the current study complies with this premise, proposing a sustainable land valuation model based on the evolution of urban planning development, achieving maximum value when it is fully urbanized. The main objective of the present work is to analyze how land value increases as municipal planning develops and to suggest a sustainable valuation model for land with urban use. Contextually, through a case study analysis, the development of municipal planning has been divided over time into four urban states: (i) land without detailed planning; (ii) land with detailed planning; (iii) land with re-parceling; and (iv) urbanized land. In this regard, the gradual evolution of land value which has reached different states over time has been determined, as has scenarios where the value has increased up to the value of urbanized land.