Cities probably represent the most complex and creative component of man-made environment. Nowadays their structure has been altered since the obvious limits (boundaries) of the "classic city" have been changed as result of the expansion of urban functions to the rural land. The main scope of...

The influence of urban form on travel patterns is of growing interest among researchers. It has been notably argued that high density, mixed land use settlements reduce automobile use and distances travelled, hence energy consumption per capita. A precise characterization of urban form calls...

It is a fact that the urban sprawl, known as the process of gradual spread out of urbanization has become a worldwide phenomenon. The growing consumption of land, as a result of the extension of highway networks, open up vast space of territory, which seems to have become an unstoppable cancer,...

The term urban sprawl is often used to describe apparent inefficiencies of spatial development, including disproportionate growth of urban areas and excessive leapfrog development. In Switzerland, where open space is a scare resource, sprawl takes place all over the country. It goes at the...

The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which rural regions benefit from closeness to large cities. It is often argued that rural regions can enjoy urban-based growth through urban sprawl, i.e. deconcentration of urban activities to rural regions. Analyses of rural regions in e.g....