Presently, peri-urbanisation is one of the most pervasive processes of land use change in Europe with strong impacts on both the environment and quality of life. It is a matter of great urgency to determine strategies and tools in support of sustainable development. The book synthesizes the results of PLUREL, a large European Commission funded research project (2007-2010). Tools and strategies of PLUREL address main challenges of managing land use in peri-urban areas. These results are presented and illustrated by means of 7 case studies which are at the core of the book. This volume presents a novel, future oriented approach to the planning and management of peri-urban areas with a main focus on scenarios and sustainability impact analysis. The research is unique in that it focuses on the future by linking quantitative scenario modeling and sustainability impact analysis with qualitative and in-depth analysis of regional strategies, as well as including a study at European level with case study work also involving a Chinese case study.

Increasing urbanisation and industrial development are occurring at the expense of shrinking forest cover and agricultural land in South Asia. Various land uses compete with each other, reducing forests and farmlands. This book addresses urbanisation and peri-urban land markets, with a special focus on Bangalore, one of the fastest growing cities in South Asia. It contributes to historic perspectives on the spatial transformation of peri-urban locales, as well as providing much-needed empirical evidence. The book discusses issues related to the context of peri-urban land use, land transactions, demand supply relationships and land prices in the peri-urban land market. The steep rise in land prices of the periphery, rapid changes in land use patterns, active land transactions, growth of the real estate market and the challenge to implement efficient land use regulations are explored with the help of field evidence. Insights and challenges to land administration addressed in this book are common to other metropolitan cities, and the key message is that a separate peri-urban land policy is required for the major metropolitan cities of India and other developing countries. The book contributes to the understanding of how these spatial markets function in order to work towards an improved implementation of land policy in the context of dynamic rural-urban periphery. As such, it will appeal to researchers, scholars and students of regional, urban and agricultural economics, economic geography, urban and regional planning and environmental science. It will also be of great interest to city planners and policy makers, action-based think tanks focused on urban governance.

With a current population inflow into cities of 200,000 people per day, UN Habitat expects that up to 75% of the global population will live in cities by 2050. Influenced by forces of globalization and global change, cities and urban life are transforming rapidly, impacting human welfare, economic development and urban-regional landscapes. This poses new challenges to urban governance, while emerging city networks, advancing geo-technologies and increasing production of continuous data streams require governance actors to re-think and re-work conventional work processes and practices. This book has been written to enhance our understanding of how governance can contribute to the development of just and resilient cities in a context of rapid urban transformations. It examines current governance patterns from a geographical and inclusive development perspective, emphasizing the importance of place, space, scale and human-environment interactions, and paying attention to contemporary processes of participation, networking, and spatialized digitization. The challenge we are facing is to turn future cities into inclusive cities that are diverse but just and within their ecological limits. We believe that the state-of-the-art overview of topical discussions on governance theories, instruments, methods and practices presented in this book provides a basis for understanding and analyzing these challenges.

The Routledge Handbook of Small Towns addresses the theoretical, methodical, and practical issues related to the development of small towns and neighbouring countryside. Small towns play a very important role in spatial structure by performing numerous significant developmental functions for rural areas. At the local scale, they act as engines for economic growth of rural regions and as a link in the system of connections between large urban centres and the countryside. The book addresses the role of small towns in the local development of regions in countries with different levels of development and economic systems, including those in Europe, Africa, South America, Asia, and Australia. Chapters address the functional structure of small towns, relations between small towns and rural areas, and the challenges of spatial planning in the context of shaping the development of small towns. Students and scholars of urban planning, urban geography, rural geography, political geography, historical geography, and population geography will learn about the role of small towns in the local development of countries representing different economic systems and developmental conditions.

During modernity metropolitan ruralities have been regarded as land reserves for urban expansion. However, there is a growing insight that there are limits to the urban expansion into rural areas. This volume discusses potential developments in urban (and rural) policy and planning which need to be considered.

The population of cities around the world is growing at an alarming rate, and as a result the landscapes of most cities are going through enormous changes. In particular, fertile agricultural lands at the periphery of cities are being developed without consideration of holistic planning. As such, peri-urban areas, zones of transition from rural to urban land uses located between the outer limits of the urban and the rural environment are experiencing significant losses of agricultural land, increased runoff, and water quality degradation. Concurrently, the demands for water, food and energy are increasing within cities, and unless a balance is struck the liveability of these cities will soon be compromised. The current water and land use changes have serious consequences on lifestyle, environment, health and overall well-being of urban communities. This book therefore helps readers to understand the current issues and challenges and examines suitable strategies and practices to cope with current and future pressures of urbanisation and peri-urban land-use changes. The book examines a number of critical aspects in relation to the future of cities and peri-urban regions, including the suitability of policies and institutions to sustain cities into the future; impact of current trends in land use change, population increase and water demand; long term planning needs and approaches to ensure the secured future for generations ahead; and strategies to adapt the cities and land uses so that they remain viable and liveable. The readership of the book will include policy makers, urban planners, researchers, post-graduate students in urban planning and environmental and water resources management and managers in municipal councils.

The sustainable development of the agriculture sector is the only option to meet the demands of increased and economically viable production in a changing climate. This means there is a need to introduce the latest technologies to enhance production, and also help policymakers make decisions for the future. Geospatial technologies & tools, such as remote sensing, geographical information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), and mobile & web applications, provide unique capabilities to analyze multi-scale, multi-temporal datasets, and support decision-making in sustainable agriculture development and natural resources management. Further, the availability of reliable and timely geospatial information on natural resources and environmental conditions is essential for sustainable agricultural development and food security. Since remote sensing solutions are fast, non-destructive and have large spatial coverage, they can play a significant role in the identification, inventory, and mapping of land resources. Over the past four decades, remote sensing has proved to be a cost-effective and powerful tool to assess crop and soil properties in varying spatial and temporal scales using both visual and digital techniques. Satellite remote sensing coupled with GIS & mobile-app based positional information has emerged as an efficient tool for optimizing input resources, and minimizing cost of production and risk of biotic/ abiotic factors nature to promote sustainable agriculture. This book comprehensively documents the applications of space-based technologies for crop and soil assessments for the sustainable development of agriculture.