Exploring long-term land cover changes in an urban region of southern Europe

This paper addresses two important issues for large Mediterranean city regions: the differential impact of compact urban ‘growth’ and low-density ‘sprawl’ on land cover changes (LCCs), and their final effect on changing land cover relationships (LCRs). The urban expansion of Rome (Italy) during the last 50 years and the related LCCs were investigated as a paradigmatic example of compact versus dispersed urban development. LCCs were assessed over 5 years (1960, 1974, 1990, 2000, 2006) by analysing diachronically the distribution of 12 land cover categories derived from digital land cover maps covering the entire Nuts-3 prefecture of Rome (5353 km²). LCRs were studied using multi-way data analysis. LCCs were found to have relative differences during ‘growth’ (1960–1990) and ‘sprawl’ (1990–2006) phases. Conversion to urban land uses concentrated in the 1960s and 1970s at the urban fringe, while expanding progressively far from the city in the 1990s and 2000s. During the ‘growth’ phase, the land cover classes with the highest probability of being converted to urban uses were arable lands, annual crops, vineyards and pastures. During the ‘sprawl’ phase, olive groves, orchards and forest surfaces also decreased due to the development of low-density built-up areas and infrastructure. Planning suggestions aimed at mitigating the alteration of the rural landscape through sprawl conditions are discussed.     

WATER AND WASTE WATER IN IMPERIAL ROME1

ABSTRACT: Rome is noted for its water and waste water systems which were constructed during ancient times. This paper is a discussion of the impact these systems had on living conditions in the imperial city. Rome's water system provided a constant supply to centrally located areas in contrast to modern systems which deliver water on demand to individual connections. For both water and waste water systems, access points were generally outside the household. Because of this lack of individual connections, Romans were forced to spend much of their time outside their tenements in the baths, latrines, arenas, streets, and shops of the imperial city.     

Life cycle assessment

The basic idea of LCA is that all environmental burdens connected with a product or service have to be assessed, back to the raw materials and down to waste removal. Therefore, the term “Life Cycle Assessment” is more precise than the German “?kobilanz” or the French “écobilan”. This basic idea is undoubtedly true, and LCA is the only environmental assessment tool which avoids positive ratings for measurements which only consists in the shifting of burdens. In the years from 1990 to 1993, SETAC and SETAC-Europe shaped the development of LCA in a series of important workshops culminating in the “Code of Practice” of 1993. The results of these workshops can be illustrated by the famous SETAC-triangle. It shows the basic structure which is now underlying the standardizing activities of ISO: 1. Goal definition and scoping, 2. Inventory analysis, 3. Impact assessment, 4. Improvement assessment. The structure recently defined by ISO differs from the SETAC structure only in the last element which is called “Interpretation” in the international standard 14040. According to ISO, “Improvement Assessment” is only one of the many activities which may follow LCA but is not part of the true analysis. The components of an LCA are described and interpreted in detail, SETAC vs. ISO. Recent developments and activities initiated by ISO, SPOLD and other organisations complete the review.