The urban transformation of Italy's Adriatic coastal strip: fifty years of unsustainability

The study regards the processing of data on urban land conversion along the Italian Adriatic coast in the last 50 years. The results obtained show different aspects of the phenomenon: values were obtained for the average annual speed of transformation of the coastal strip; clustering, dispersion and statistical concentration of the data obtained were studied, which has made it possible to show unparalleled threshold values in the present levels of urbanization; analyses were developed to point out what landscape and morphological elements have emerged, and are tendentially confirming greater sensitivity to land artificialization; important information has emerged on the different territorial policies implemented by the regions over the long-term. A further result of the work carried out concerned the extraction of data on the remaining coastal stretches, i.e. those not yet affected by urban transformation and thus of extreme importance for policies focused on the preservation of community habitats and the preservation of coastal landscape. In conclusion, it has been possible to draw a map of management responsibilities at the municipal and regional levels for the revision of future urban planning trends in terms of sustainable governance.