Soil consumption, climate change, and large commercial structures. The Italian case study. – In Italy, between 2006 and 2022, over 1,200 km2 of land was consumed, most of which was derived from urban expansion processes. There are many relationships between soil consumption and climate change, both in causes and consequences. In this work, I focus on the soil consumption of large commercial structures, such as shopping centers, factory outlets, and retail parks. In Italy, there are over 1,300 of these structures, and – apart from the few cases that have occupied areas derived from the reconversion of abandoned industrial sites or other urbanized areas – they have mostly developed in rural areas or by occupying residual urban and suburban green areas. In this work, I first reviewed the interna-tional literature on soil consumption deriving from GSCs, discovering that it is extremely rare and does not deal with this type of urbanization independently but only in a generic way as one of the many aspects of urban sprawl. Instead, they become protagonists of scientific literature when they are abandoned. There is no specific legislation in the European Union or Italy on soil consumption in commercial areas. In Italy, the legislature in this matter is delegated to the regions. Still, despite the existence of restrictive regional laws on land consumption, there is no effective response to the problem at the moment.

Economic resilience and sustainability: Macroeconomic indicators and pre- and post-crisis political dynamics in the European Union. – This study examines the complex articulation of the global economic crisis on the member countries of the European Union (EU) in the last decade, and outlines diversified empirical results based on economic performances detected through appropriate indicators at national and community scale. Adopting a multi-disciplinary perspective, the study investigates the possible responses to the crisis of the EU institutions and individual member states by evaluating, among others, the adjustment programs supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the initiatives aimed at promoting solidarity tax. The study is based on the comparison of macroeconomic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), public debt, budget deficit, and unemployment rate. This allows us to provide a comparative perspective on regional disparities and national economic dynamics. The impact of external factors such as the pandemic (Covid-19), and geopolitical conflicts on continental chessboards, finally allow us to highlight the current challenges and the importance of coordinated action and inclusive governance to guarantee unity and, together, resilience of member countries. The study highlights the importance of promoting fiscal solidarity, improving economic governance and closing disparities in order to promote sustainable growth and prosperity across the EU.

The enclave of Melilla: an urban area on the edge of the Mediterranean. – The Autonomous City of Melilla as well as that of Ceuta, located on the edge of the Mediterranean, represents the only two land borders between Africa and Europe. Given the particular geographical position that covers the enclave, Melilla is considered as a peripheral territory of the European Union (Sánchez, 2022). The Spatial, cultural and linguistic conflicts are reflected in the urban geography of the enclave and in the division of the city’s neighborhoods. In districts I and II, located in the center of the city, the Spanish language and the Catholic religion are pre-dominant, while the presence of Muslims and the use of the Tamazight language, mainly characterized the peripheral districts of the cities belonging to districts III, IV and V; “Language is also a place of struggle” (hooks, 1998, p. 64). The aim of this work is to analyze the marginal role that the enclave plays between urban, linguistic and religious conflicts.

The NRRP, going towards Sustainability. Focus on Piedimont. – The role of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), as regards the response that has been created following the pandemic, urges the long-standing processes in European planning. The pandemic has accelerated smart behaviours and the NRRP is the operational means of this programming for the choices that will be made in the next two or three years, which will define Italy’s future in the energy transition as well as some of its important regional specializations. The response to the crisis caused by the SARS-Cov-2 epidemic has accelerated and induced the European Union to respond to the dictates enclosed in the UN 2030 Agenda in response to climate change and the social and economic needs that are considered fundamental for the global stability and peace. From the point of view of sustainability, the data of Piedmont compared to the Italian average attest the Region in 8th place out of 20 Regions (IRES 2020, 2021). The answer largely depends on the indicators chosen. In 2020, the National Table for the implementation of the SNSvS selected 43 indicators in order to monitor the 17 Goals of the 2030 Agenda. These 43 indicators incorporate some of the Fair and Sustainable Well-being indicators. This ensured greater significance at the national level and allowed greater comparability with the European and international level of the Piedmont Region.

The Mission Tourism and Culture in the PNRR: Unrepeatable Opportunity for the Sustainability of Italian Tourist Development. – The pandemic Covid19 has brought down tourism and the Italian Government, thanks to the funds made available by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU programme, has given to this sector a strong boost in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), granting a series of investments and financing useful for a new restarting, included in the culture and tourism mission. The article, therefore, will analyze the main guidelines on which this mission is based, trying to outline the future scenarios, highlighting the costs and benefits for Italy as a whole and for inland areas and old towns, which are currently very compromised due to the sharp demographic decrease and the ageing of the population. The funds available in the PNRR could be used to launch a different phase in Italy’s tourism development, completely overturning the geography of flows that until now have been concentrated on two main routes, namely cities of art and seaside tourism, with consequent environmental and social impacts. In conclusion, the PNRR may constitute a major turning point in this sector, allowing for a spread of tourist flows, easing the impact on the now traditional destinations, but also giving development opportunities to the marginal areas of our country, expanding tourist products vertically and innovating the entire system in a sustainable manner.

Environmental transition and energy transition. A regional analysis – The relationship between environmental quality and GDP has been emphasized in the past, placing the accent on the “natural” trend towards improving environmental quality during the maturity of economic growth, after its deterioration in “takeoff” phases of the economy, according the socalled Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). This condition has in many parts been disavowed or weakened. In the same way, an attempt was made to read the energy transition through the EKC filter, but a regional analysis, carried out within the European Union, of the components of the energy transition (energy demand, intensity of energy, consumption of fossil fuels and renewables) shows that these conditions can vary considerably from country to country and that policies can determine changes, not just economic growth.

Geopolitics of pandemic: soft and hard power as reading keys. - The Covid 19
pandemic is one of the hardest challenge of the last century. With its
m edical emergency, Covid 19 has created a lot of changes in the
international relationships and in the geopolitical equilibrium. In this
paper, we are attempting to show and analyze global governments’
behavior against the pandemic through the use of both h ard and soft
power. We’ll see, particularly, Chinese and American government’s use of
hard and soft power. Then we’ll examine how European Union deal with
this global emergency. Each nation has carried on different diplomatic strategies to face the pandemic and to promote is own international image. Hard and soft power, in this sense, will be useful also to implement the social and economic policies and to make them effective in the post pandemic phase.

Banks and Brexit. The “revenge” of territorial issues – The exit of United Kingdom from European Union will cause deep changes that will involve companies, investments and the entire productive structure of Great Britain. UK, indeed, will lose his position of comparative advantage because of belonging to European market. The aim of this work is to outline how the banking and financial sector will be affected by Brexit especially in light of the choices of economic operators and the reasons that are driving many financial groups to move to other EU countries. We will demonstrate that these choices will have a huge impact in the overall picture of redesigning the new European financial geography.

The Importance of the Mediterranean for a Different Centrality in the European Union – The Eu needs a cultural political design that goes back to enhancing the fundamental aspects of the Ventotene Manifesto. The Mediterranean macro region is experiencing ever increasing difficulties which would deserve joint intervention policies and, if these had no positive effects, which could undermine the foundations of the same European mechanism. This article aims to trigger a reflection on the future of the Eu that lies in the ability to give life to a new order of centrality, giving back to the     Mediterranean the role that geography has always assigned to it.

The Geographic Approach to the Analysis of the Consequences of “Brexit”. Who will Benefit? – The outcome of the referendum on the Brexit opened an era of uncertainty, questioning the relationship between UK and European Union, making it difficult to define future paths. The aim of this work is to analyse the possible consequences of Brexit through a geoeconomic approach which, focusing on foreign trade, will explore the different issues at international, national and regional levels. Aknowledging that from now on the British decisions will be crucial in defining the outcomes, the purpose of this study is not to achieve an indisputable conclusion but rather to present arguments to feed and enrich the debate on the matter within the scientific community of geographers.

 

European Citizenship: A Geopolitical Issue. – The signatory states of the Maastricht Treaty resolved to “establish a citizenship common to nationals of their countries". The issue of European citizenship usually turns around a conception of individuals as citizens of states which are themselves members of the European Union. The term “European citizenship” is perceived as a condition by which people from different nations should have similar rights, but there are still many uncertainties that accompany this process.