Rethinking Rural: Data-Driven Approaches for Sustainable Development offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary exploration of sustainable rural development through a quantitative lens. Drawing on official statistics, spatial analysis, and refined indicators, this edited volume brings together leading scholars from ecology, economics, and planning to rethink the environmental-economic nexus shaping rural territories. With a focus on Europe and the Mediterranean, but applicable globally, the book emphasizes continuous, spatially explicit monitoring of socioecological and socioeconomic complexities to inform effective, place-specific policies that enhance sustainability and resilience.
Structured in three parts, the book first presents integrated perspectives on rural system evolution, including climate change impacts, land use, and socioeconomic drivers across diverse contexts such as Mediterranean landscapes and Colombia’s deforestation. The second part details traditional and advanced tools for monitoring rural environments, from territorial indicators to wildfire and habitat assessment. The final section addresses planning and policy challenges, evaluating natural disaster management, resilience strategies, environmental degradation costs, and socio-demographic influences on tourism insurance.
1. Title of Book - p. i 2. Cover Image - p. i 3. Title Page - p. ii 4. Table of Contents - p. iii 5. Copyright - p. iv 6. Contributors - p. xi 7. Chapter 1 Local development and sustainability of rural systems: An integrated, multidisciplinary perspective - p. 1 8. Part 1: Assessing the evolution of rural systems: Theory and practice - p. P1 9. Chapter 2 Climate warming, rural areas and dry landscapes: A monitoring perspective - p. 37 10. Chapter 3 Life under desertification risk: Unravelling socioeconomic and biogeophysical drivers in Mediterranean landscapes - p. 67 11. Chapter 4 Coca in the rural: Depletion of wood resources and the (un)sustainable development of agricultural districts in Colombia - p. 99 12. Chapter 5 Relational density and digital scarcity in rural districts: Mapping institutional ecosystems for digital entrepreneurship in Italian inner areas - p. 133 13. Chapter 6 Demographic engines at work: Disentangling natural and migratory dynamics at local scale for Italian and foreign citizens - p. 209 14. Part 2: Traditional and advanced tools for monitoring rural systems - p. P2 15. Chapter 7 Monitoring forest cover from a mix of data sources: A contribution to landscape analysis - p. 229 16. Chapter 8 A novel indicator of wildfire risk for Greece using big data - p. 263 17. Chapter 9 Toward a geography of land take and forest depletion in Italy - p. 353 18. Chapter 10 Deriving an urban–rural continuum index for Italian municipalities: A quantitative assessment using official statistics - p. 383 19. Chapter 11 Exploring the 2000s fertility transition of native and foreign women in Italy with joinpoint regression analysis - p. 399 20. Part 3: Evaluating, understanding, and planning socioeconomic complexity in rural districts - p. P3 21. Chapter 12 Envisaging and planning natural disasters during recession in Greece - p. 423 22. Chapter 13 Data matters? Estimating monetary costs of a process of landscape degradation - p. 451 23. Chapter 14 “Industry 5.0” and healthcare: State of the art and future trends towards a “Society 5.0” perspective - p. 469 24. Chapter 15 The intersection of sustainable tourism and entrepreneurship: Greece as an emerging startup ecosystem - p. 483 25. Chapter 16 Flooding risk and extreme weather events in Mediterranean regions: Insights from rural mandra, Greece - p. 501 26. Chapter 17 Sustainable (rural) development, optimal resource management, and the role of geo-spatial information: Practical implications - p. 519 27. Index - p. 535
Rethinking Rural: Data-Driven Approaches for Sustainable Development offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary exploration of sustainable rural development through a quantitative lens. Drawing on official statistics, spatial analysis, and refined indicators, this edited volume brings together leading scholars from ecology, economics, and planning to rethink the environmental-economic nexus shaping rural territories. With a focus on Europe and the Mediterranean, but applicable globally, the book emphasizes continuous, spatially explicit monitoring of socioecological and socioeconomic complexities to inform effective, place-specific policies that enhance sustainability and resilience.
Structured in three parts, the book first presents integrated perspectives on rural system evolution, including climate change impacts, land use, and socioeconomic drivers across diverse contexts such as Mediterranean landscapes and Colombia’s deforestation. The second part details traditional and advanced tools for monitoring rural environments, from territorial indicators to wildfire and habitat assessment. The final section addresses planning and policy challenges, evaluating natural disaster management, resilience strategies, environmental degradation costs, and socio-demographic influences on tourism insurance.
1. Title of Book - p. i 2. Cover Image - p. i 3. Title Page - p. ii 4. Table of Contents - p. iii 5. Copyright - p. iv 6. Contributors - p. xi 7. Chapter 1 Local development and sustainability of rural systems: An integrated, multidisciplinary perspective - p. 1 8. Part 1: Assessing the evolution of rural systems: Theory and practice - p. P1 9. Chapter 2 Climate warming, rural areas and dry landscapes: A monitoring perspective - p. 37 10. Chapter 3 Life under desertification risk: Unravelling socioeconomic and biogeophysical drivers in Mediterranean landscapes - p. 67 11. Chapter 4 Coca in the rural: Depletion of wood resources and the (un)sustainable development of agricultural districts in Colombia - p. 99 12. Chapter 5 Relational density and digital scarcity in rural districts: Mapping institutional ecosystems for digital entrepreneurship in Italian inner areas - p. 133 13. Chapter 6 Demographic engines at work: Disentangling natural and migratory dynamics at local scale for Italian and foreign citizens - p. 209 14. Part 2: Traditional and advanced tools for monitoring rural systems - p. P2 15. Chapter 7 Monitoring forest cover from a mix of data sources: A contribution to landscape analysis - p. 229 16. Chapter 8 A novel indicator of wildfire risk for Greece using big data - p. 263 17. Chapter 9 Toward a geography of land take and forest depletion in Italy - p. 353 18. Chapter 10 Deriving an urban–rural continuum index for Italian municipalities: A quantitative assessment using official statistics - p. 383 19. Chapter 11 Exploring the 2000s fertility transition of native and foreign women in Italy with joinpoint regression analysis - p. 399 20. Part 3: Evaluating, understanding, and planning socioeconomic complexity in rural districts - p. P3 21. Chapter 12 Envisaging and planning natural disasters during recession in Greece - p. 423 22. Chapter 13 Data matters? Estimating monetary costs of a process of landscape degradation - p. 451 23. Chapter 14 “Industry 5.0” and healthcare: State of the art and future trends towards a “Society 5.0” perspective - p. 469 24. Chapter 15 The intersection of sustainable tourism and entrepreneurship: Greece as an emerging startup ecosystem - p. 483 25. Chapter 16 Flooding risk and extreme weather events in Mediterranean regions: Insights from rural mandra, Greece - p. 501 26. Chapter 17 Sustainable (rural) development, optimal resource management, and the role of geo-spatial information: Practical implications - p. 519 27. Index - p. 535
