Southern European Cities Research Articles

Containing urban expansion: Densification vs greenfield development, socio-demographic transformations and the economic crisis in a Southern European City, 2006–2015

Abstract Self-contained urban expansion is associated with accelerated (or decelerated) rates of metropolitan growth depending on the different phases of the economic cycle; self-contained growth is usually more intense during recessions. To verify such framework, a specific approach based on novel indicators of urban growth (2006–2015) was illustrated and applied to a metropolitan region in southern Europe (Athens, Greece) experiencing progressively worst economic conditions as a consequence of the 2007 crisis. This approach allows assessment of greenfield development and densification processes – intended as a specific form of brownfield development – at municipal level, with the aim to relate such patterns with the socioeconomic local context. The empirical results of this study outlined that total urban expansion decreased over time with greenfield development. The share of brownfield development in total urban expansion was relatively low in the first time interval and increased afterwards, fuelling metropolitan growth in a period characterized by a generalized decline of building activity. High per-capita income and local specialization in advanced services were characteristic traits of peri-urban districts with a particularly high rate of brownfield development. A comparative analysis of spatial patterns of greenfield and brownfield development forms a basic knowledge informing strategies that promote self-contained urban expansion.

Sports facilities, socio-economic context and overweight among the childhood population in two southern European cities: a cross sectional study

BackgroundTo evaluate relationship between socio-economic environment and overweight in Madrid and Barcelona, adjusting for possible confounding factors.MethodsWe obtained three indicators which reflected socio-economic context, namely, unemployment rate, percentage of population with tertiary education, and percentage with a second home. The design is a cross sectional study. The association with overweight was estimated using odds ratios by multilevel logistic regression. The statistical analysis, data synthesis, or model creation was performed from the 2017. In all, 707 children from 21 districts of Madrid and 474 children from 10 districts of Barcelona were analysed.ResultsIn Madrid, standardised ORs for personal and family characteristics were 1.17, 1.53 and 1.57 by reference to unemployment rate and percentages of population with a university education and second home. After adjustment, only the OR obtained with unemployment rate decreased, specifically by 58%. In Barcelona, the following ORs were obtained: 1.80 with unemployment rate; 1.80 with population having a university education; and 1.86 with population having a second home. After being standardised, these ORs decreased by 14% in the case of unemployment rate, 10% in the case of population with a university education, and 9% in the case of population with a second home.ConclusionsOverweight displayed a risk gradient in Madrid and Barcelona alike. This risk of overweight is not accounted for by physical inactivity and could, in part, be due to the availability of sports facilities.

Modelling the absorption properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and derivatives over three European cities by TD-DFT calculations

While brown carbon is a strongly-light-absorbing type of organic aerosol that is capable of significant regional radiative forcing, it has been neglected from climate models, which results in differences between model predictions and measured data. This also results from uncertainty regarding the relationship between the chemical composition of brown carbon and its optical properties. Herein, here was utilized a time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) approach to model the “real-world” absorption of thirty polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and twenty-five derivatives (ten nitro-PAHs and fifteen oxygenated-PAHs) present in the atmosphere over three Southern European cities (Porto, Florence and Athens). These data were corrected both for “real-world” experimental concentration of these molecules over these cities, and for their theoretical fluorescence yield. These results indicate that the absorption of the molecules more relevant for climate forcing are at ~330, ~360 and ~440 nm. Furthermore, the absorption is explained mainly by PAH and oxygenated-PAH molecules, while nitro-PAHs provide only negligible contributions. Porto should be the city to be most affected by radiative forcing induced by these molecules, while Florence and Athens appear to be similarly affected. Finally, these models also demonstrate that absorption at ~330 nm is explained by both PAH and oxygenated-PAH molecules, while absorption at ~360 and ~440 nm is only attributed to oxygenated-PAHs. More specifically, from the fifty-five studied molecules, only coronene (a PAH), 1,8-naphthalic anhydride, 6-H-benzo[cd]pyrene-6-one and 7H-benz[de]anthracence-7-one (three oxygenated-PAHs) provide relevant contributions to radiative forcing.

Impact of climate change and urban development on the flora of a southern European city: analysis of biodiversity change over a 120-year period

Ecological studies in cities are not only aimed at investigating floristic diversity, but also represent informative test cases for understanding ecological system dynamics and responses to urban and climate changes since cities represent microcosms of environmental changes happening globally. The city of Bologna was selected as a case study since two specific and complete studies have been carried out in a 120-years timespan, one in 1894 and one in 2018. Since 1894, a large increase occurred in the number of taxa (families from 41 to 101, species from 176 to 477) and alien species (from 22 to 144), with a 65% total species turnover. The comparison of species life forms pointed out a noticeable recent expansion of phanerophytes and geophytes at the expense of therophytes and hemicryptophytes. The correlation between urbanistic features and plant richness indicated that the main factor affecting plant richness is the presence of green spaces (parks, tree lines, flowerbeds, etc.). Analysis of variation in Ellenberg’s indicator values over the last 120 years evidenced a shift toward shade-tolerant species, mainly connected to the increased presence of parks and trees within the city. Climate change and the presence of artificially irrigated areas within the city has led to an increase in both hygrophilous and drought-resistant species. In particular, the temperature index showed a significantly higher amount of macrothermal species in accordance with a warmer climate and the urban heat island effect.

Pregnant Women's Risk Perception of the Teratogenic Effects of Alcohol Consumption in Pregnancy.

There is ample evidence of the teratogenic effects of prenatal alcohol exposure, with long-term consequences throughout the entire life cycle. Nevertheless, research on risk perception of alcohol consumption among pregnant women is scarce. In order to analyze risk perception of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, a cross-sectional study was conducted with a random sample of 426 pregnant women (in their 20th week of gestation) receiving care at the outpatient clinics of a public university hospital in the southern European city of Seville (Spain). Data were collected through structured face-to-face interviews conducted by trained health professionals using a customized questionnaire. Data analysis included structural equation modeling. Only 48.1% of the sample indicated that the sequelae from alcohol consumption during pregnancy were life-long. The structural equation model showed that a lower risk perception about beer and wine consumption, and a lower educational level, were related to more frequent alcohol consumption. Younger participants showed lower risk perception concerning beer consumption. Higher levels of education were related to a greater risk perception of beer. Healthcare institutions should articulate programs that facilitate health advice regarding alcohol consumption during pregnancy, particularly when providing care for women with low educational levels.

Food consumption contribution to nitrogen pollution of cities in Northern and Southern Europe

City-related nitrogen (N) loads pose a threat to the environment and alter its natural cycle. In this regard, citizen food consumption choices can have an essential impact on reducing N pollution. In this study, we present the first attempt to analyze the food N pollution of food consumed at city level. To this end, the nitrogen footprint (NF) concept is used, distinguishing between N released associated with consumption and N released associated with production. The food NF per capita and total food NF were obtained for six cities in Southern Europe (Athens, Lisbon, Marseille, Madrid, Rome, and Zagreb) and four cities in Northern Europe (Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm). Highly populated cities present a higher total food NF. However, the food NF per capita showed that Helsinki is the city with the highest N losses with 15.8 kg N released/cap/year. For both food NF, N losses from production accounted for an average of 94%. By adopting the recommendations of the healthy diet proposed by the World’s Health Organization the average food NF is reduced by 31%. The findings of this study are relevant for reducing food consumer-induced N loads to the environment and promote sustainable development in cities.

Farmers and the city: Urban sprawl, socio-demographic polarization and land fragmentation in a mediterranean region, 1961–2009

Abstract Southern European cities experienced important transformations toward a more fragmented socio-demographic structure in recent decades. Under the hypothesis that farm characteristics were influenced by the local context where holders live, long-term patterns of socio-demographic polarization in a Mediterranean city were assessed using diachronic data on basic characteristics of farms held by residents in urban and rural districts of the Athens' metropolitan region, Greece (1961–2009). Evidence of this study indicates that the spatial distribution of farms according to the holder's place of residence reflects both traditional and new social gradients linked with the dominant phase of urban expansion. As a result, the local context was related to farmers' preferences and long-term strategies, influencing decisions toward a (more or less) sustainable management of peri-urban land. Results of this study aliment the debate on future development of contemporary cities, shedding further light on the (evolving) socioeconomic relations with the surrounding (rural) regions.

Testing the Poleotolerance Lichen Response Trait as an Indicator of Anthropic Disturbance in an Urban Environment

Urban environments are densely populated areas buzzing with a wide range of anthropic activities that cause disturbances like air pollution or the heat island effect, threatening both human and environmental health. Mitigating its impacts implies understanding the integrated effects that those disturbances exert on urban environments. Lichen biodiversity is frequently used as an ecological indicator, being able to integrate its effects in a quantifiable way. The poleotolerance response trait classifies lichens according to their tolerance to human disturbance, but it was developed for Italy’s flora and has seldom been applied outside Italy or in urban context studies. The aim of this work was to assess this trait suitability as an indicator of urban anthropic disturbance and test it outside Italy. For that, we sampled lichen diversity in 41 green spaces in Lisbon. Lichens were classified into the respective poleotolerance trait functional groups and their community weighted mean related with three type of environmental variables used as surrogates of urban disturbance. We showed that disturbance-tolerant functional groups could be used as an ecological indicator of the integrated effects of environmental disturbances. Some species were clearly misclassified, so we propose reclassification for those. Natural and seminatural functional groups did not behave as expected. Nevertheless, disturbance-tolerant functional groups have the potential to be used in in other Southern European cities.

Assessment between Platanus pollen and Pla a 1 allergen in two cities of North-western Iberian Peninsula

Platanus pollen is considered as a major cause of pollinosis in many southern European cities. This tree is commonly used in parks, avenues and gardens as ornamental species. The flowering period is short and abrupt between March and April, since this tree is characterized by having fast and explosive blooming process. This fact induces an important public health problem when Platanus bloom. The objective of the study is to evaluate the pollen and allergen concentration in two cities in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula, Porto (Portugal) and Ourense (Spain), and analyse how weather parameters and environmental pollutants can affect the patterns of pollen and allergen airborne distribution. The pollen sampling was conducted, during 2018, using a Hirst volumetric sampler, and Pla a 1 aeroallergen was collected using a Burkard multivial cyclone sampler. The pollen counting was obtained following the Spanish Aerobiology Network methodology. Aeroallergens were quantified by ELISA method using a Pla a 1-specific antibody. Platanus pollen concentrations are seven times lower in the Porto atmosphere than in Ourense, but the Pla a 1 content is only 2 times higher in Ourense city. These differences can be explained by the influence of air pollutants in plants and meteorological factors. Platanus airborne pollen and Pla a 1 aeroallergen were correlated with some meteorological parameters, namely temperature, rainfall and relative humidity, and with atmospheric pollutants such as NO2 and O3. The results suggest the existence of different allergenic activities in the atmosphere of both cities.

The Chinese in Southern Europe: Has urban regeneration addressed their new form of clustering?

This paper attempts to analyse the particular features of Chinese clustering in two southern European cities and the urban regeneration responses employed in the decade 2005-2015: Prato in Italy and Santa Coloma de Gramenet in Spain, which are among the cities with the highest rate of Chinese in-migration within their respective countries. The main aim is to show which urban regeneration policies have been adopted in both contexts and to evaluate, in comparative terms, how they have addressed the two local Chinese communities. The paper will argue that their form of clustering, developed since the 1990s, has featured a certain degree of social segregation and tensions with local communities. On the other hand, they have become two dynamic urban nodes in supra-local business networks, possibly demanding new forms of engagement in the governance system. The results show that the urban regeneration policies in place have partially failed to acknowledge the changing nature of their form of clustering, with the risk to exacerbate existing conflicts and to prevent beneficial mutual collaborations.

Queering the city: Spatiality and territoriality of LGBT lives in the cities of Southern Europe and the Global South

Since the 1980s several studies, particularly in Anglo-Saxon and francophone literature, have demonstrated how the settlement and the development of “gay villages” or LGBT neighbourhoods in specific parts of urban contexts around the world (but mostly in North America and Europe) have given rise to specific forms of living the city and have promoted the vitality of certain spaces, more or less open to the rest of the cities in which they are integrated. With similarities to many other areas t...

Impact of socio-economic inequities on tuberculosis in a Southern European city: what is the effect of the recession?

Economic crises affect a population's health, particularly among the most deprived. The increase in health inequalities in the latest recession may have influenced the incidence of tuberculosis (TB). We analysed the effect of socio-economic inequities and recession on TB incidence in Barcelona, Spain. We conducted a population-based incidence study of TB cases in Barcelona of patients who started treatment between 2003 and 2015. A multilevel interrupted time-series analysis was performed to analyse differences in incidence trends between the pre-recession (until 2008) and recession periods. We found differences in TB incidence according to deprivation and immigration status. TB incidence among the most deprived neighbourhoods was 2.72 times higher than the least deprived neighbourhoods. Compared with native-born persons, incidence was nine times higher among those born in Africa, and six times higher among those born in Asia and Oceania. The previous decreasing trend in incidence (4%) was accentuated during the recession (7%). TB incidence decreased during the recession, probably due to a reduction in the number of new immigrants and the TB programme. However, incidence was highly unequal between districts with different levels of deprivation, and between foreign-born persons from different geographic regions. Social measures are important to reduce inequalities and TB incidence in Barcelona.

Population Matters: Identifying Metropolitan Sub-Centers from Diachronic Density-Distance Curves, 1960–2010

The present study illustrates a simplified procedure identifying population sub-centers over 50 years in three Southern European cities (Barcelona, Rome, Athens) with the aim to define and characterize progressive shifts from mono-centric structures towards a polycentric spatial configuration of (growing) metropolitan regions. This procedure is based on a spatially-explicit, local-scale analysis of the standardized residuals from a log-linear model assessing the relationship between population concentration and the distance from a central place in each metropolitan region, under the hypotheses that (i) a mono-centric spatial structure is characterized by a linear relationship between the two variables and that (ii) population sub-centers—considered early signals of a more polycentric regional structure—are characterized by high and positive regression residuals. Results of this study indicate that the three cities have experienced distinctive urbanization waves influencing the overall metropolitan configuration, with variable impact on the original mono-centric structure. Population sub-centers include (i) peri-urban municipalities around the central city and more remote towns situated in rural districts (Barcelona); (ii) scattered towns at variable distances (20–30 km) from the central city (Rome); (iii) fringe municipalities and peri-urban locations in flat districts, 10–20 km away from the central city (Athens). These results may indicate a distinctive evolution path toward polycentric development in the three cities, more evident in Barcelona and Rome and less evident in Athens. The proposed methodology can be generalized and adapted to discriminate population from employment sub-centers in metropolitan regions all over Europe.

The (Evolving) urban footprint under sequential building cycles and changing socio-demographic contexts

Total and per-capita urbanization rates are increasingly divergent worldwide, indicating an accelerated land consumption and an increased ecological footprint of cities. Under the hypothesis that spatio-temporal divides in total and per-capita urbanization rates are representative of the evolving urban footprint, this study proposed a multivariate analysis of land consumption spatial patterns in a southern European city (Athens, Greece) throughout a building cycle (1948–2015) reflecting sequential waves of economic expansion and stagnation. The footprint's spatial structure was investigated along the urban gradient using descriptive statistics, mapping, multivariate techniques and inferential approaches. The increase of total and per-capita built-up area over time followed a non-linear trend as a result of distinct growth waves. Socioeconomic profiles of municipalities with diverging (total and per-capita) urbanization rates changed over the study period as a result of joint transformations in metropolitan form and functions. Population aging, land-use diversification, vertical profile of buildings and a viable agricultural sector were associated to a low divergence between total and per-capita urbanization rates. Results of our study indicate that effective policies for sustainable development of fringe districts may incorporate urban containment strategies based on specific measures: (i) supporting settlement densification, (ii) stimulating brownfield recovery and (iii) concentrating new development in already fragmented, low-quality land, taking account of the background socioeconomic context and the demographic structure of local communities.

Fragmentos urbanos después de la burbuja inmobiliaria: el caso de Madrid

Las lógicas neoliberales tienen un impacto claro y a menudo diferenciado en las ciudades actuales pero resulta conveniente contrastar empíricamente los marcos teóricos provenientes de la tradición francesa o norteamericana, para poder entender las diferencias que se dan en las ciudades del sur de Europa. El objetivo es aplicar la teoría de la ciudad partida (Marcuse y Van Kempen, 2000) a través de análisis cuantitativo multivariable, explicando los procesos de segregación y las diferencias en los espacios sociales en la Comunidad de Madrid y su posible adecuación al modelo teórico que sostiene el crecimiento de las divisiones en los espacios urbanos.

A Human Centric Approach on the Analysis of the Smart City Concept: the case study of the Limassol city in Cyprus

Abstract. The impact of medium-sized southern European cities challenges on the “smartness” of the city is a quite interesting case that is not quite analyzed yet. Our scientific objective is to find a simple understandable model linking human smart characteristics to a group of socio-demographic and urban environment indices, applied to the case of Limassol Urban Complex, the southernmost European city, with a total population of 208 980. The data set of the analysis contains 25 variables in 3 thematic domains using as spatial analysis level, the 126 postal code areas of the most urbanized part of the city. The study results obtained through multivariate statistical analysis and thematic cartography using GIS technology. The results reveal that the human smart characteristics consist of the use of high-speed internet and broad band telephony, recycling activities, employment in creative industry, high educational attainment and open-mindedness (i.e. participation in EU elections), are significantly correlated with demographic dynamics and built infrastructure characteristics. Creativity and open-mindedness tend to appear in most densely urban areas, mostly occupied by indigenous inhabitants. Recycling and technology oriented smart characteristics are mostly correlated with no-native residents, and high educational attainment. In the outskirts of the city of Limassol the developing dynamics are almost the same with a greater blend between native and non-native inhabitants.

Floristic diversity in different urban ecological niches of a southern European city

The present paper aimed at studying the vertical and horizontal spatial distribution, species richness and diversity of vascular plants in different urban ecological niches (urban habitats) by means of the case study of Bologna (Italy), a typical densely populated southern European city. A total of 477 species were found in the study area of the historical city centre, 30% of which were alien species. Alien plant species were mainly present among phanerophytes, while native plants were mainly therophytes and hemicryptophytes. The habitats that mostly contributed to the species total richness were semi-natural soils, followed by paved areas, walls, rooftops and manholes. The number of exclusive species decreased according to the selectiveness of the habitat, with manholes and rooftops being the most selective. The presence of hemicryptophytes constant decreased going from 27% of more humid habitats to 5% of more arid habitats, so that they can be considered a water availability biomarker. Urban habitat quality, measured by the number of native species, was directly proportional to the strength of selective factors and inversely proportional to the rate of disturbance, with roofs and semi-natural soils having, respectively, the highest and lowest quality. Finally, a relation between species richness and street characteristics, like width, orientation and type of flooring, was demonstrated.

Social acceptance and perceived ecosystem services of urban agriculture in Southern Europe: The case of Bologna, Italy.

Urban agriculture has become a common form of urban land use in European cities linked to multiple environmental, social and economic benefits, as well as to diversified forms (from self-production allotments to high-tech companies). Social acceptance will determine the development of urban agriculture and specific knowledge on citizens’ perception is required in order to set the basis for policy-making and planning. The ecosystem services provided by urban agriculture can be determinant in this process. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the social acceptance and the perceived ecosystem services of urban agriculture in the city of Bologna (Italy), as an example of a Southern European city. In particular, we evaluated the preferences for urban land uses, for different typologies of urban agriculture and for the resulting products, the perceived provision of ecosystem services and the willingness to engage in new initiatives. A survey that investigated these topics (including open questions, closed questions and Likert-scale evaluation) was performed on the citizens of Bologna (n = 380) between October and November 2016. Results showed that urban agriculture is widely accepted by the inhabitants of Bologna, particularly regarding vegetable production. Although intensive farming systems were the least preferred forms to be implemented in Bologna, citizens highly accepted a large variety of urban agriculture goods, with preference for those obtained from plants as compared to animal products. The willingness-to-pay for urban food products was mostly the same as for conventional ones, although the participants recognised the social values, proximity and quality of the former. Socio-cultural ecosystem services were perceived as more valuable than environmental ones. Policy-making recommendations can be extracted from the results to facilitate the development of urban agriculture plans and policies.

Association of neighbourhood socioeconomic status and diabetes burden using electronic health records in Madrid (Spain): the HeartHealthyHoods study

ObjectiveTo study the association between neighbourhood socioeconomic status and diabetes prevalence, incidence, and control in the entire population of northeastern Madrid, Spain.SettingElectronic health records of the primary-care system in four...

What calls for service tell us about suicide: A 7-year spatio-temporal analysis of neighborhood correlates of suicide-related calls

Previous research has shown that neighborhood-level variables such as social deprivation, social fragmentation or rurality are related to suicide risk, but most of these studies have been conducted in the U.S. or northern European countries. The aim of this study was to analyze the spatio-temporal distribution of suicide in a southern European city (Valencia, Spain), and determine whether this distribution was related to a set of neighborhood-level characteristics. We used suicide-related calls for service as an indicator of suicide cases (n = 6,537), and analyzed the relationship of the outcome variable with several neighborhood-level variables: economic status, education level, population density, residential instability, one-person households, immigrant concentration, and population aging. A Bayesian autoregressive model was used to study the spatio-temporal distribution at the census block group level for a 7-year period (2010–2016). Results showed that neighborhoods with lower levels of education and population density, and higher levels of residential instability, one-person households, and an aging population had higher levels of suicide-related calls for service. Immigrant concentration and economic status did not make a relevant contribution to the model. These results could help to develop better-targeted community-level suicide prevention strategies.