Anastasia STRATIGEA, Department of Geography and Regional Planning, School of Rural, Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece , Greece
Apostolos LAGARIAS, Department of Geography and Regional Planning, School of Rural, Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece , Greece
Ioannis ZACHARAKIS, Department of Geography and Regional Planning, School of Rural, Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece , Greece
Urban sprawl in the Mediterranean coast is currently an alarmingly escalating phenomenon, reaching unprecedented dimensions. Such an expansion in coastal zones accounts for a model of growth that directly leads to environmental degradation of both land and marine counterparts; while simultaneously renders coastal urban areas highly vulnerable to Climate Change impacts. Coastalization and tourism urbanization as prevailing trends in the Mediterranean, but also elsewhere, result in a particular form of linear urban development, stretching with low-density deployment of urban fabric along extended areas near the shoreline. Such a “linear city model” can severely hamper the achievement of urban sustainability and resilience objectives in coastal urban constellations. Monitoring urban sprawl in coastal zones using contemporary multi-temporal data for built-up areas helps identifying and assessing important spatial dimensions of this problem, and properly informing remediation policy action. In this research work, the case of the Corinthian Bay in Northern Peloponnese, Greece, is presented as a typical example of the ‘linear city’ concept. In this example, encroachment of land by residential areas and tourism infrastructure during the past few decades has led to the formation of a particular type of a “linear city”, marked by extremely thin low-density ribbon features along the coast. The study is based on the use of high-resolution multi-temporal data for built-up areas, provided by the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL). Spatial data are processed using GIS technology; and a set of spatial metrics is estimated that quantifies the morphological and spatial peculiarities of this linear urban sprawl type, and helps identify and assess its spatial qualities. Results obtained depict that this case study area appears to be fragmented in spatial terms, while the lack of an integrated regional policy causes developmental inequalities between coastal and inland zones.
Mots clés : Sustainable coastal zone development|urban sprawl|linear city model|spatial metrics|Corinthian Bay
A102947AL