Toward a Sustainable Urbanization in Rural Districts? Insights from a Case Study in Central Italy

Urban expansion adapts to rural areas, as far as shape and structure, on the basis of the local socio-economic backgrounds and the spatial configuration of forms. Due to urbanization pressure in rural areas, landscapes significantly transformed over time. In traditional peripherical regions of Europe, urban dispersion has become to blend the typical rural landscapes with a new residential settlement matrix based on low-density patches. In Italy, sprawl has been particularly intense, thanks to the lack of compliance with residential planning rules. Tuscia (province of Viterbo, near the city of Rome) is a rural district located in Central Italy and characterized by traditional crops of high agricultural value coexisting with urban dispersion due to "tolerant" urban plans. Therefore, in these areas, urban sprawl phenomena are intrinsically associated with agricultural activities. Our work originates from the assumption that, while the study area is more liveable compared to the neighbourhoods around the city of Rome, urbanization processes in Tuscia are shaped by mixed processes of socio-economic transformations associated with rural population trends that depend on the primary sector. This, in turn, has contributed to preserve a strong naturalness of the local context. Ultimately, Tuscia is probably one of the most pertinent Mediterranean local contexts where spatial dynamics have better adapted to rural communities, influencing the long-term development growth.