TITLE:
Landscape Profiles, Urbanization and Environmental Protection in Europe: Is Western the Future Scenario for Eastern?
AUTHORS:
Bernardino Romano, Camilla Sette, Francesco Zullo, Cristina Montaldi
KEYWORDS:
Urbanization in Europe, European Environmental Protection, European Landscape, Western and Eastern Europe
JOURNAL NAME:
Current Urban Studies,
Vol.11 No.2,
June
21,
2023
ABSTRACT: The paper aims to analyze the macro landscape profiles of Western and
Eastern European countries in search of affinities or evolutionary signs that
may lead to defining lines of scenario. The landscape mosaic is notoriously
very different in different countries, but several common elements can be
recognized that emerge from some specifically cut surveys and are not
intuitive. In particular, it is of interest to investigate the different configurations
of urban patterns together with those of other key landscape units, such as
agricultural, forest and semi-natural, trying to ascertain affinities.
Interpretive help in this regard is also thought to come from the survey of
environmental protection, investigated through national and community
instruments, which is a very valid indicator for understanding the level and
quality of land management toward which a country is trending. Awarenesses
acquired in Western Europe for many years already testify that the settlement
development patterns followed in the last half century cannot be considered
entirely positive and, therefore, it would be helpful if other Eastern Bloc
countries were able to perceive the pathological aspects and not repeat them in
their trajectories of, albeit legitimate,
economic and social growth. The method used sought to demonstrate the
dependence of settlement growth patterns on economic characteristics, but also
revealed some unexpected differences in environmental protection policies.