Parnian Pourtaherian
Project
How effective are greenbelts at mitigating urban sprawl in European cities?As Europe takes continuous steps towards urbanization, many cities in this continent suffer from the negative repercussions caused by urban sprawl. Among the efforts adopted to overcome urban sprawl and its adverse impacts is the greenbelt policy that is highly popular in several European countries. However, the actual effectiveness of this growth management strategy was to be determined. Using a sample of 60 European cities, 30 of which have greenbelts, this study compares (1) changes in urban sprawl in a 9-year timeframe (2006-2015) between the cities with and without greenbelts, and (2) the level of sprawl between the cities with and without greenbelts in 2006 and 2015 separately, to investigate the performance of the greenbelts, applying the metrics of Weighted Urban Proliferation (WUP) and Weighted Sprawl per Capita (WSPC). The findings of this study can be employed as an important part of any de-sprawling strategies in future urban and regional planning, environmental monitoring, and formulating new scenarios as well as targets and limits to urban sprawl in support of more sustainable forms of urban development.
Keywords
Built-up area, dispersion, Europe, Growth management strategies, Land uptake, monitoring, Urban development, Urban growth, Urban sprawl, Utilization density, Weighted urban proliferation (WUP), Weighted Sprawl per Capita (WSPC)Publications
1- How effective are greenbelts at mitigating urban sprawl? A comparative study of 60 European citiesPourtaherian, Parnian, Jochen A.G. Jaeger
2022 Landscape and Urban Planning
