Sustainable Population Growth in Low-Density Areas in a New Technological Era: Prospective Thinking on How to Support Planning Policies Using Complex Spatial Models

Eduardo Gomes

doi:10.3390/land9070221

Abstract

Urban development is the result of the interaction between anthropogenic and environmental dimensions. From the perspective of its density, it ranges from high-density populated areas, associated with large cities that concentrate the main economic and social thrust of societies, to low-density populated areas (e.g., rural areas, small–medium-sized cities). Against the backdrop of the new technological and environmental era, this commentary offers insights on how to support spatial planning policies for sustainable urban growth in low-density areas. We propose the integration of technological drivers such as Internet networks, telecommuting, distance-learning education, the use of electric cars, etc. into the complex spatial models to project and thus to identify the best locations for urban development in low-density areas. This understanding can help to mitigate the disparities between high- and low-density populated areas, and to reduce the inequality among regions as promoted in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

Highlights

Human settlements—i.e., locations where people live, work and/or study—are the result of an interrelated set of dimensions [1]
We find that complexity science and geography can contribute to a better understanding of where people will live in the future by providing answers to unpredictable changes and describing how local interactions between individuals in the system shall lead to emerging patterns over time [2,3,4]
In a technological and environmental era, where people can increasingly decide where to live and work [15], and to face to one of the most significant challenges from the spatial planning perspective, the territorial population imbalance between low and high-density areas, there is a lack of the critical thinking needed to study low-density populated areas, identifying different drivers to promote the sustainable urban growth in these areas

Summary

Introduction

Human settlements—i.e., locations where people live, work and/or study—are the result of an interrelated set of dimensions [1]. In a technological and environmental era, where people can increasingly decide where to live and work [15], and to face to one of the most significant challenges from the spatial planning perspective, the territorial population imbalance between low and high-density areas, there is a lack of the critical thinking needed to study low-density populated areas, identifying different drivers to promote the sustainable urban growth in these areas This commentary casts a light on how using complex spatial models can be effectively applied in land-use planning by promoting new territorial strategies to mitigate the imbalance between high- and low-density populated areas, as support to predict future urban areas growth in low-density populated areas, and to find the most suitable areas. This commentary casts a light on how using complex spatial models can be effectively applied in land-use planning by promoting new territorial strategies to mitigate the imbalance between high- and low-density populated areas, as support to predict future urban areas growth in low-density populated areas, and to find the most suitable areas. (Figure 1)

Population Dynamics

Complex Spatial Models

Method

Land-Use Planning

Findings

Conclusions