Description
Uneven Urban and Regional Growth: Global Urbanization, Regional Economies and Local Dynamics examines the links between economic growth, metropolitan development, and environmental sustainability in advanced economies. Focusing on urban areas as hubs of innovation and social change, the book explores how social and environmental factors intersect with economic processes. It advocates for new governance strategies that promote sustainable growth through inclusive policies and integrated urban tools. Drawing on regional economics, it offers a comparative analysis of settlement patterns and spatial planning, emphasizing multilevel governance to address social inequalities and contemporary urban challenges effectively.Structured in three sections, the book begins with a global-to-regional perspective on urbanization and economic dynamics, featuring analyses of uneven economic growth, urban-rural dynamics, and urbanization trends supported by global statistics and case studies from the United States, Iran, and Italy. The second section delves into socio-demographic drivers of urbanization at the regional and district levels, including population dynamics, family patterns, migration, and environmental health indicators in Mediterranean contexts. The final section focuses on local planning and territorial factors influencing urbanization, addressing topics such as landscape quality, labor markets, sustainable regional development, port infrastructure economics, and gendered urban spaces. Richly illustrated with photographs, graphs, maps, and case studies, the book integrates interdisciplinary perspectives from applied economics, geography, sociology, demography, planning, and socio-environmental sciences.- Explores the complex interplay between economic growth, social dynamics, and environmental sustainability in urban contexts across advanced economies through a multidisciplinary lens- Analyzes diverse global case studies that compare settlement patterns, urban-rural dynamics, and spatial planning strategies to reveal integrated approaches to sustainable metropolitan development- Examines innovative, multilevel governance models designed to address territorial inequalities, urban sprawl, and socio-environmental challenges at multiple spatial scales- Integrates perspectives from regional economics, sociology, demography, geography, and environmental studies to offer a comprehensive and original framework for understanding urban transformation- Presents accessible empirical data, composite indicators, and visual aids that support applied research and practical decision-making for academics and urban practitioners alike
Table of Contents
1. The uneven economic growth in the anthropocene2. Urban-rural dynamics and long-term economic development: a global analysis of world regionsSection 1. From global to regional: urbanization and economic dynamics3. Urbanization in progress: a complete and comparative overview with global statistics4. The use of elementary indicators and composite indexes when monitoring urbanization all over the world5. Estimating urbanization and production functions in the United States6. The challenge of housing prices as an engine of early urbanization in Iran7. Tourism as an engine of growth in ItalySection 2. From regional to district: socio-demographic aspects as urbanization drivers8. Exploring urban-rural population dynamics in Mediterranean countries9. A comparative analysis of family patterns in Greece and other Southern European countries10. The inherent shift from monocentric to polycentric settlements in northern Italy11. Migration patterns and the contribution to Mediterranean urbanization12. Relating mortality records to the Discomfort Index (DI) and Air Quality Stress Index (AQSI) in an industrial city of GreeceSection 3. From district to local: planning and territorial aspects as urbanization drivers13. Pedestrians' perception of landscape quality and urban livability: a field survey in Iran14. Regional labor markets and jobs creation: Geographical and socio-economic characteristics and the role of local and regional authorities15. Material topics, regional development and distributed value in the sustainable reports: the case of the paper industry16. The local economics of port infrastructures17. Gendered urban spaces and (dis)satisfaction with ladies-only parks in Iran
