The Sustainability of Territorial Transformations in the Context of Next Generation EU

Dear Colleagues,

At the end of 2020, the European Parliament approved an agreement on a budget that will strengthen existing specific programs. Next Generation EU (NGEU) is a tool designed to ameliorate the economic and social impact caused by the recent pandemic crisis and to shape a post-COVID-19 Europe that is more sustainable, resilient and responsive to current and future challenges.

Territorial planning and land management systems play a cross-cutting role, dealing with the issues of political reform and investment, ecological transition, and sustainability in its three environmental, economic, and social dimensions.

Further changes in land use, territorial transformations, and the implementation of new practices are thus expected. Their effects on territorial components need to be assessed and expressed in terms of performance with respect to sustainability requirements and consistency with the European strategies (the EU Environmental Action Programme to 2020 (7th EAP), the new EU Soil Strategy, the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the EU Forest Strategy, and the Farm to Fork Strategy).

The current challenge for scientific research is to develop methodological frameworks and tools for assessing the expected effects at the different territorial scales and monitor the impacts in the short, medium and long term.

Suitable integrated planning approaches (e.g., ecosystem services), with greater use of satellite technology and able to realize effective and forward-looking systems of land use and soil and carbon monitoring, are still lacking. In addition, decision makers need support systems that help them to design policies and actions that ensure long-term sustainable land uses and match both local priorities and broader European and global goals.

Based on your work in this field, I think that you can make an excellent contribution.

Dr. Angela Pilogallo
Dr. Lucia Saganeiti
Dr. Gabriele Nolè
Guest Editors

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• land use/land cover change
• ecosystem services
• land take
• territorial planning
• urban development
• sustainable development
• land management system
• territorial/landscape/habitat fragmentation
• climate adaptation and mitigation
• ecological transition
• governance
• sustainable development goals
• environmental processes
• approaches and frameworks
• urban sprawl
• remote sensing
• decision support system
• urbanization
• land use policy
• geographic information system
• spatial analysis