Schlagwort-Archiv: territories with geographical specificities

Forschung & Projekte, Publikationen, , , ,

Settlement Systems in Mountain Regions: A Research Gap?

Cities and their networks play an important role in spatial development. This is true for settlement systems in general, and there is no reason why this should be different in mountain contexts. However, research on this topic is scarce, and it remains a relatively niche topic. In our latest article, we present a scoping review of settlement systems in mountain regions. We reflect on thematic foci, temporal developments, and regional differences in the global scientific debate. The paper is p...

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How to overcome the ‘size problem’ of the Alpine settlement system?

The Alpine settlement system is of key relevance for sustainable development in the mountain region. However, maps on the European scale indicate almost no cities in the Alps but only a few small towns. The Alpine region seems to be an ‘empty’ space (see, e.g. Atlas for the Territorial Agenda 2030). We argue that a differentiated mapping approach should involve medium and small settlements in mountain regions, as they have a high functional importance for the surrounding area.   Our r...

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Roles beyond size? Investigating polycentricity and accessibility of small towns in the Alps

Fair accessibility to services of general interest is a considerable challenge in mountain regions due to low population density and morphological context (see, ESPON Alps2050). However, the centrality debate has hardly taken morphology into account, even though mountain areas require a specific form of spatial organization. A lower level of accessibility leads either to longer distances and travel times or (in the better case) to increased service supply in smaller settlements. Our recently ...

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