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Geographies, Volume 6, Issue 1

2026 March - 35 articles

Cover Story: Urban expansion is reshaping cities worldwide, raising important questions about the efficiency of land use and the sustainability of urban growth. This study evaluates urban land use efficiency across the contiguous United States between 2000 and 2020 using the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 11.3.1, which measures the relationship between land consumption and population growth. By integrating satellite-derived impervious surface data with gridded population estimates, the analysis examines growth patterns across 2229 urban areas. Results indicate that urban land expanded by 23%, while population increased by 31%, suggesting a general shift toward denser development. However, regional disparities remain, highlighting the need for coordinated planning strategies to support more sustainable and efficient urbanization. View this paper
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Articles (35)

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,994 Views
21 Pages

Mapping the Boundaries of Community Land in Mainland Portugal to Support Governance and Wildfire Hazard Assessment

  • Iryna Skulska,
  • Maria Conceição Colaço,
  • Francisco Castro Rego,
  • Muha Abdullah Al Pavel,
  • Paulo Adão,
  • José Castro and
  • Ana Catarina Sequeira

Community land management plays an important role in wildfire-prone landscapes in Mediterranean Europe. However, in Portugal, information on the spatial extent and boundaries of community land remains fragmented across multiple institutions. This stu...

  • Article
  • Open Access
760 Views
32 Pages

Increasing frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events, together with altered soil saturation dynamics, have significantly increased the occurrence of shallow landslides. These processes are closely linked to climate change and increasing...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
1,006 Views
34 Pages

Catastrophic disturbances pose significant challenges to remote sensing because landscapes can change rapidly, while access for field validation is limited, making it difficult to consistently track the spatiotemporal dynamics of discrete land-surfac...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geography as a Transdisciplinary Science in a Changing World)
  • Article
  • Open Access
1,442 Views
16 Pages

Tornadoes pose growing threats to both communities and the built environment, yet few studies have quantified how spatial characteristics of the built environment interact with social and economic factors while influencing tornado impacts. This paper...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,421 Views
21 Pages

Perceptions of Participatory Forest Management in Adjacent Communities: A Case Study in the Kilombero Valley Ramsar Site, Tanzania

  • Shadrack Kihwele,
  • Victor Anthony Gabourel-Landaverde,
  • Felister Mombo,
  • Eliapenda Elisante,
  • Imelda Gervas,
  • Jesús Barrena-González and
  • Manuel Pulido-Fernández

This study evaluates the costs and benefits of participatory forest management (PFM) versus non-participatory forest management based on the perceptions and involvement of local communities in the Kilombero Valley Ramsar site, Tanzania. The area host...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,039 Views
28 Pages

This study aims to investigate the relationship between basin hydrology and estuarine processes such as dynamics that influence salinity and water quality in the Shatt Al-Arab River, southern Iraq. Extensive samplings were conducted at 25 sites along...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,130 Views
24 Pages

Spatiotemporal Study of Land Degradation Impacting the Oldest Mountains of the Indian Subcontinent

  • Rahul Devrani,
  • Rohit Kumar,
  • Jitendra Kumar Roy and
  • Abhiroop Chowdhury

The Aravalli Mountain System (AMS) is one of the oldest fold orogens in the world, serving as a natural boundary against desertification in north-western India. The AMS has high environmental importance and faces accelerated soil degradation driven b...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,996 Views
13 Pages

Traditional fieldwork in Physical Geography courses is considered a key activity to fix concepts and ideas taught in class. Unfortunately, it is a complex and expensive activity. Over recent decades, with the advancement and emergence of new technolo...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geography as a Transdisciplinary Science in a Changing World)
  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,309 Views
19 Pages

This study was conducted to assess the impact of land allocation on the land tenure security, settlement, and land use stability of households, individuals in Central Vietnam. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test the model using su...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,380 Views
32 Pages

Urban hydrological risks are endangering vulnerable populations, particularly in densely populated metropolitan areas undergoing rapid land use transformation. This study uses geospatial analysis to identify zones in the Athens metropolitan area that...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
4,370 Views
40 Pages

Coastal settlements in Bangladesh are geographically flood-prone areas. This physical nature erodes the size and shape of those settlement boundaries over time. Such changes leave communities vulnerable in terms of securing a living place and livelih...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,405 Views
21 Pages

Spatial Footprint of Anthropogenic Activities in the Lubumbashi Charcoal Production Basin (DR Congo): Insights from Local Community Perceptions

  • Dieu-donné N’tambwe Nghonda,
  • Héritier Khoji Muteya,
  • Sylvestre Cabala Kaleba,
  • François Malaisse,
  • Amisi Mwana Yamba,
  • Wilfried Masengo Kalenga,
  • Jan Bogaert and
  • Yannick Useni Sikuzani

Village landscapes within an 80 km radius of Lubumbashi (south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo) are undergoing rapid spatial transformation driven by subsistence agriculture, charcoal production, and mining activities. This study analyzes ho...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geography as a Transdisciplinary Science in a Changing World)
  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,147 Views
21 Pages

Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Ecotourism Route Suitability

  • Riyan Mohammad Sahahiri,
  • Abdullah Alattas,
  • Ahmad Fallatah and
  • Ammar Mandourah

This study intends to develop a GIS–AHP integrated framework to identify and analyze potential ecotourism routes between Jeddah and Alula, a corridor rich in ecological and cultural resources in Saudi Arabia. The research employed an integrated...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,502 Views
18 Pages

Assessing the Spatiotemporal Impact of ENSO on Coastal Vegetation in Peru Using Random Forest and MODIS Data

  • Rosmery Ramos-Sandoval,
  • Ligia García,
  • Luis Huatay-Salcedo,
  • Denisse Chavez-Huaman,
  • Jonathan Alberto Campos-Trigoso and
  • Meliza del Pilar Bustos Chavez

The spatial–temporal impact of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon in Peru is characterised by marked regional variability, affecting the economy and general well-being. This study focuses on the Piura region, which...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,915 Views
22 Pages

Urban expansion has intensified concerns regarding land use efficiency and sustainable urban development worldwide. Despite growing global application of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 11.3.1, comprehensive assessments within the United...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,490 Views
33 Pages

Coastal erosion is a growing concern along many Mediterranean sandy coasts, particularly where reduced fluvial sediment supply, relative sea-level rise and coastal development coincide. This study uses multi-mission Landsat 5/7/8/9 and Sentinel-2 dat...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
1,025 Views
23 Pages

Urbanization in mountainous valley regions is constrained by rigid topography, generating complex correlations between spatial growth and ecological security. The coupling between urban expansion and landscape ecological risk (ERI) was evaluated for...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
2,770 Views
27 Pages

The role of poverty, specifically the urban poor, in shaping the urban landscape is often solely linked to slums and informal settlements in urban centers. However, contrary to this common perception, this study aims to elucidate how urban poor resid...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,664 Views
33 Pages

Climate Study Insights for the Tourism Sector: Analysis of Selected Pilot Regions in Croatia

  • Mira Zovko,
  • Izidora Marković Vukadin,
  • Krešo Pandžić and
  • Tanja Likso

Understanding the impact of climate change on tourism is vital for the economies that rely on it. The tourism sector in Croatia, a country with diverse climatic regions, but also diverse features of tourism, is particularly sensitive to changes in cl...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,109 Views
23 Pages

The growing recognition of the need for systemic approaches to urban climate transitions calls for comprehensive monitoring and evaluation frameworks that extend beyond Greenhouse Gas emissions to include measures that impact human behaviours, as wel...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,087 Views
20 Pages

Management Evaluation of a Semi-Urban Beach in Northwestern Mexico

  • Gisela García-Morales,
  • María Sara Burrola-Sánchez,
  • David Urías-Laborín and
  • José Alfredo Arreola-Lizárraga

Evaluations of recreational beaches are necessary to guide their management. In this study, we conducted a socio-ecological evaluation to propose management guidelines for San Francisco beach in northwestern Mexico, using a beach quality index and re...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,249 Views
20 Pages

Land use change driven by accelerated urbanization in Mongolia has precipitated significant degradation of urban riverine ecosystems over the past two decades. This study investigates hydrological transformations in the Selbe River Catchment of Ulaan...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,326 Views
26 Pages

Modeling and Factor Assessment of Pond Silting in Forest-Steppe Agrolandscapes of the Central Russian Upland

  • Natalya A. Skokova,
  • Anastasiya G. Narozhnyaya,
  • Artyom V. Gusarov and
  • Fedor N. Lisetskii

This paper presents the results of assessing the influence of siltation factors in 23 ponds in one of the most agriculturally developed macro-regions of European Russia—the Central Russian Upland. Key natural and anthropogenic factors determini...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,545 Views
16 Pages

Atmospheric contamination and thermal pollution are two phenomena that impact negatively on the quality of life of residents in a city. Furthermore, exposure to these phenomena has a differential impact on socioeconomic strata, with the poorest being...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
1,772 Views
22 Pages

Postsocialist peri-urban spaces are characterized by a chaotic development as a result of the transition from communism to capitalism. Recent research has highlighted that liveability in peri-urban spaces encounters challenges of adaptation to the pe...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,262 Views
21 Pages

Global Climate Change and Regional Vulnerability: Quantifying CO2–Temperature–Precipitation Interactions with a Focus on Armenia

  • Liana Hakobyan,
  • Ruzanna Armenakyan,
  • Lilit Baghdasaryan,
  • Aida Martirosyan and
  • Svetlana Ratner

Understanding how global climate drivers manifest at regional scales is critical for designing targeted adaptation strategies, particularly in vulnerable mountainous countries. This study provides an integrated assessment of atmospheric CO2 concentra...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
2,502 Views
21 Pages

The island of Gran Canaria (Spain) has undergone a significant transformation in wildfire dynamics over the past two decades, characterized by a decline in wildfire frequency but a marked increase in the severity and spatial impact of extreme events,...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,621 Views
20 Pages

Land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) is a crucial indicator of environmental transformation and has significant implications for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and climate change. This study investigates land-cover changes between 2017 and 2023...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,871 Views
20 Pages

This study explores global experiences of capital relocation to extract lessons relevant to North Maluku, Indonesia, where Sofifi has yet to develop into a functional provincial capital. Drawing on six theoretical perspectives, including growth pole...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,284 Views
14 Pages

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), a rapidly expanding crop in northeastern Pará, first emerged in the 1970s as a crucial response to the global oil crisis. However, its swift expansion has subsequently generated significant socio-environmental con...

  • Article
  • Open Access
942 Views
17 Pages

Western North Carolina (WNC), part of the Appalachian landscape, hosts a robust forest product industry but faces increasing challenges like land marginalization, warming temperatures and raw material shortages. This study evaluates the site suitabil...

  • Review
  • Open Access
2,488 Views
32 Pages

Chelmos Vouraikos UNESCO Global Geopark: Links Between Geological and Landscape Diversity with Biodiversity in the Context of Geotourism

  • George Iliopoulos,
  • Penelope Papadopoulou,
  • Vasilis Golfinopoulos,
  • Eleni Koumoutsou,
  • Ioannis P. Kokkoris,
  • Irena Pappa and
  • Panayotis Dimopoulos

Chelmos Vouraikos UNESCO Global Geopark is located in North Peloponnesus, Greece. As a member of the Global Geoparks Network, it is valued for its rich geoheritage in combination with its natural and cultural wealth. Several different landforms of in...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
1,880 Views
20 Pages

Urban expansion in cold semi-arid regions poses significant threats to river ecosystems through land use changes and impervious surface proliferation. This study examined the Selbe River in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, integrating Landsat satellite imagery...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,215 Views
19 Pages

Sedimentological and Mineralogical Signature of Torrential Flow Depositional Area: A Case Study from Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria

  • Valentina Nikolova,
  • Radostina Rizova,
  • Ivan Dimitrov,
  • Jan Babej,
  • Dimitar Dimitrov and
  • Ana M. Petrović

Torrential flows are hazardous hydro-geomorphological phenomena characterized by sudden water discharge and intense sediment transport. They occur in mountainous areas where hydrometeorological monitoring is often limited or absent. The lack of such...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
3,058 Views
20 Pages

Jakarta frequently experiences flooding due to several sources. To address this, the Indonesian government initiated the Great Garuda Seawall (GGSW), a structural countermeasure to protect the city from floods. This study assesses the effectiveness o...

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Geographies - ISSN 2673-7086