by Marc Antrop
Urbanization is one of the fundamental characteristics of the European civilization. It gradually spread from Southeast Europe around 700 b.c., across the whole continent. Cities and the urban networks they formed were always an important factor in the development and shaping of their surrounding regions. Polarization of territory between urban and rural and accessibility are still important aspects in landscape dynamics. Urbanization and its associated transportation infrastructure define the relationship between city and countryside. Urbanization, expressed as the proportion of people living in urban places shows a recent but explosive growth reaching values around 80% in most European countries. Simultaneously the countryside becomes abandoned. Thinking, valuing and planning the countryside is done mainly by urbanites and future rural development is mainly focused upon the urban needs. Thinking of urban places with their associated rural hinterland and spheres of influence has become complex. Clusters of urban places, their situation in a globalizing world and changing accessibility for fast transportation modes are some new factors that affect the change of traditional European cultural landscapes. Urbanization processes show cycles of evolution that spread in different ways through space. Urbanization phases developed at different speeds and time between Northern and Southern Europe. Main cities are affected first, but gradually urbanization processes affect smaller settlements and even remote rural villages. Functional urban regions (FURs) are a new concept, which is also significant for landscape ecologists. Local landscape change can only be comprehended when situated in its general geographical context and with all its related dynamics. Patterns of change are different for the countryside near major cities, for metropolitan villages and for remote rural villages. Planning and designing landscapes for the future requires that this is understood. Urbanized landscapes are highly dynamic, complex and multifunctional. Therefore, detailed inventories of landscape conditions and monitoring of change are urgently needed in order to obtain reliable data for good decision-making.
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