Ioannis Konaxis – författare

Local Development and Sustainability: Territorial Dynamics Between Economy and Ecology advances a novel synthesis of local development by integrating diverse disciplinary perspectives including applied economics, regional science, sociology, demography, ecology, and planning. This edited volume examines the relationships between social inequalities, demographic change, territorial disparities, and environmental challenges in advanced economies, with empirical evidence spanning Europe, the Middle East, and global contexts. The book uniquely links local development with sustainability, wellbeing, and quality of life, emphasizing the kaleidoscopic and unpredictable nature of territorial transformations. The book is organized into four thematic sections covering geo-economic and territorial issues, socio-demographic implications, socio-environmental perspectives, and planning and governance. Topics include urban expansion, landscape valorization, spatial demography, wildfire behavior, land degradation, administrative reforms, and resilience plans. Each chapter is authored by respected scholars from various countries, offering case studies, visual data, and comprehensive analyses that highlight applied approaches and policy implications. This reference benefits academics, researchers, and students in economics, geography, sociology, demography, socio-environmental science, and planning. It also serves practitioners such as planners, architects, and policymakers interested in sustainable local development and territorial governance. The book supports teaching at B.A., M.Sc., and Ph.D. levels, providing an accessible yet advanced resource for understanding complex socio-ecological systems and their sustainable management.Provides an interdisciplinary perspective linking economics, ecology, sociology, demography, and planning to elucidate complex local development processes, benefiting readers seeking holistic understandingPresents case studies, maps, graphs, and visual aids to facilitate comprehension of territorial dynamics and sustainability challengesOffers a structured, homogeneous chapter format aiding readers in systematic learning and comparison across diverse territorial and socio-economic contexts

Sustainable development is at the forefront of urban, rural, social, agricultural and economic development policies in European countries, out of these areas, agriculture is researched the least as there is currently more focus on central and urban areas. Salvati and Konaxis present an interdisciplinary and multidimensional examination of the complex evolution of rural systems in advanced economies, and more specifically in Europe and the Mediterranean region, providing an integrated framework approaching environmental problems and socioeconomic issues jointly. Distinctive chapters authored by leading scholars in Europe identify the intrinsic peculiarity of the environmental-economic nexus characteristic of advanced economies and the most important differences with other socioeconomic contexts. Both contributions from a traditional ecological/agronomic vision, and studies having a more strict socio-demographic and economic focus, clarify the role of policies addressing sustainable development goals in the ‘kaleidoscopic’ rural landscape, confirming the need of place-specific approaches to socio-ecological complexity and the partial effectiveness of generalized, top-down measures.Against the archetypal vision of economic backwardness of agricultural and forest systems, Transitional Rural Landscapes shows a dynamic image of rural landscapes under the increasing impact of climate change, providing novel interpretations, conceptual definitions, and operational tools designed to reduce ecological fragility and economic vulnerability.

This books focuses specifically on an “applied economics” of landscapes. It means that landscape is investigated here in a completely new setting and academic perspective, starting from the economic, social, and geographical perspective, and then moving to planning, ecological and environmental implications. Likely for the first time in the literature, this book is specifically dealing with landscape science in a perspective of geo-economic disciplines. While preferring an applied perspective to a completely theoretical point of view, the book offers a completely novel approach to landscape complexity—not demising the territorial and environmental issues and implications—but re-framing the debate in the perspective of the human impact on landscape transformations: Landscape change is here envisioned as an economic and geographic problem together.

In advanced economies, landscapes have evolved into complex mosaics shaped by the dynamic interplay between forests, shrublands, agricultural fields, pastures, and urban or industrial areas. This intricate structure creates multiple layers of ecological and socioeconomic interactions that influence how land is used, valued, and managed.Despite increasing awareness of environmental sustainability, the absence of comprehensive continental and national accounting systems for landscape evaluation has hindered the full recognition of landscapes as vital components of economic systems. Bridging this gap requires new methods to quantify and interpret landscape functions, services, and transformations.This book proposes an integrative approach to landscape assessment—combining official statistics, field surveys, remote sensing, forest inventories, and spatial analysis. It demonstrates how these diverse tools can be harnessed to evaluate both quantitative and qualitative aspects of natural ecosystems, offering a clearer understanding of how landscapes contribute to environmental resilience and economic well-being.Through practical examples and detailed case studies, this book provides an essential framework for scholars, environmental planners, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to connect ecological insights with sustainable regional development and policy design.