In a context of aging, low fertility, and progressive slowdown of both internal population mobili... more In a context of aging, low fertility, and progressive slowdown of both internal population mobility and international migration at working age, residential mobility at older ages was regarded as an emerging phenomenon in Mediterranean Europe, a region with increasingly attractive retirement places. The present work discusses the socioeconomic processes (and the environmental impacts) associated with an increasing flow of retirees, which decide to settle from ‘Northern’ countries to Southern Europe, concentrating in coastal districts and in rural countryside. Understanding lifestyle preferences and territorial patterns of residential mobility at older ages allows a refined analysis of short- and medium-term impacts of International Retirement Migration (IRM) on population dynamics in economically growing and declining regions. A refined analysis reveals that destinations of IRM are progressively enlarging from strictly coastal places to a broader set of locations in the rural country...
The essence of sharing platforms and their role in the social context is related not only to tech... more The essence of sharing platforms and their role in the social context is related not only to technology, but especially to the way it is being used today. Ethics, social responsibility and sustainability have become part of this process of development and they stimulate the entrepreneurial mainspring of new market models, that are in evolution. In crowdfunding the “return investment expectancy” plays a key role also in the selection process of innovative ideas, where credibility becomes an essential asset for the business, as well as the need to demonstrate transparency, integrity and responsible governance as priorities. Recently, these platforms are adopting voluntary certification systems, the B Corp certification, to reconcile the need to conduct business under the ethics aspect and raise awareness of stakeholders to adopt guiding values for business, consumption, or the use of services. Our goal is to investigate the role of “ethics”, conducted by the “B Corp” Standard Certific...
Being largely diversified along the urban–rural gradient, fertility gaps have demonstrated to fue... more Being largely diversified along the urban–rural gradient, fertility gaps have demonstrated to fuel metropolitan expansion, contributing to natural population growth and social change. In this direction, population dynamics and economic transformations have continuously shaped urban cycles in Europe. Assuming suburban fertility to be a relevant engine of metropolitan growth, the present study investigates and discusses the intrinsic relationship between fertility transitions and urban expansion, focusing on European metropolitan regions. An average crude birth rate referring to the last decade (2013–2018) was estimated from official statistics at 671 Functional Urban Areas (FUAs, Eurostat Urban Audit definition) of 30 European countries, distinguishing ‘central cities’ from ‘suburban’ locations. Local contexts with a higher crude birth rate as compared with neighboring settlements were identified analyzing differential fertility levels in urban and suburban locations. By providing an...
The transition of the European agri-food sector towards a sustainable production and consumption ... more The transition of the European agri-food sector towards a sustainable production and consumption model is a key element of the Green Deal. The new European “Farm to Fork” strategy aims to make the food system fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly. The consolidation and development of the organic model are two of the main objectives. In Italy, this development can be achieved through the Bio-District model. This model, which was born in the last ten years in Italy, is characterized by innovative multi-actor governance. From an explorative perspective, this study analyses the background literature on Bio-Districts and the context of the development of the Etruscan Roman Bio-District to understand the potential and the factors that allow the application of the principles of the Circular Economy. It focuses on multiple comparative analyses by using a qualitative–quantitative approach. The analysis of the context highlights the potential for expansion linked to an integrated short ...
Customer Satisfaction and Sustainability Initiatives in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
The “loop” approach of the circular model, which aims to live in the business or market environme... more The “loop” approach of the circular model, which aims to live in the business or market environment, requires a radical evolution of the production techniques, management, and skills in a new concept or idea for the market. Circular Economy results from a long awareness-raising process connected with problems concerning environmental protection. The dissemination of circular economy supposes the adoption of business models which will eventually enable environmental sustainability oriented behaviors, an efficient use of resources, and the respect of ethical, social, and environmental values. Benefit Corporations are companies pursuing these objectives. This chapter identifies and discusses the potential of B Corp certification to apply the principle of Circular economy. In particular, a compared multiple analysis of case studies is used to evaluate how the requirements of the scheme of certification influence the potential circularity of the enterprises analyzed.
The present study analyzes population redistribution across metropolitan regions considering toge... more The present study analyzes population redistribution across metropolitan regions considering together changes over time in the spatial distribution of resident and present population from census data. Considering population dynamics in Athens, Greece, between 1991 and 2011, the results of this study evidenced how the ratio of present to resident population increases more rapidly in urban than rural areas along the last twenty years. By revealing different expansion processes at the regional and local scales, the present-to-resident ratio of usual population was correlated to selected variables (population density and growth, distance from the inner city and settlement dispersion) with the aim at delineating apparent and latent relationships with the local socioeconomic context. Statistical analysis indicates that the present-to-resident population ratio is reflective of the intense suburbanization observed until the early 1990s in Athens, determining population redistribution and se...
While urbanization trends have been characterized for a long time by deconcentration of inner cit... more While urbanization trends have been characterized for a long time by deconcentration of inner cities with expansion of low-density settlements, economic repolarization leading to re-urbanization and recovery of central districts are now counterbalancing population shrinkage in compact urban areas and slowing down suburban growth. In this context, the recent demographic evolution of a large metropolis such as Athens (Greece)—following expansion, crisis, and a more subtle economic recovery—may reveal original relationships between form and functions at the base of recent urban growth. Based on an exploratory analysis of demographic indicators on a metropolitan and urban scale, the present study provides an updated and integrated knowledge framework that confirms and integrates the most recent urban trends in southern Europe. Documenting the emergence of more individualized paths of urban expansion at the local scale (recovery of the historic center, shrinkage of semicentral neighborho...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Assuming the importance of a “socioeconomic mosaic” influencing soil and land degradation at the ... more Assuming the importance of a “socioeconomic mosaic” influencing soil and land degradation at the landscape scale, spatial contexts should be considered in the analysis of desertification risk as a base for the design of appropriate counteracting strategies. A holistic approach grounded on a multi-scale qualitative and quantitative assessment is required to identify optimal development strategies regulating the socioeconomic dimensions of land degradation. In the last few decades, the operational thinking at the base of a comprehensive, holistic theory of land degradation evolved toward many different conceptual steps. Moving from empirical, qualitative and unstructured frameworks to a more structured, rational and articulated thinking, such theoretical approaches have been usually oriented toward complex and non-linear dynamics benefiting from progressive and refined approximations. Based on these premises, eleven disciplinary approaches were identified and commented extensively on ...
A complex interplay of socio-ecological drivers of change exists at the different spatiotemporal ... more A complex interplay of socio-ecological drivers of change exists at the different spatiotemporal scales affecting environmental degradation. This is a key issue worldwide and needs to be understood to develop efficient management solutions. One of the most applied theories in the regional analysis is the U-shaped relationship between environmental degradation and the level of income in a given economic system or Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). Specifically, the EKC hypothesis underlines the (potentially positive) role of formal responses to environmental degradation grounded on government policies that are usually more ambitious in wealthier economic systems. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the role of space in EKC, arguing that spatial variability in the environment–income relationship may indicate additional targets for integrated socio–environmental policies. We hypothesize that a spatially differentiated response to environmental degradation could better adapt to dif...
Circular Economy represents today a new economic paradigm based on the environment and on the rec... more Circular Economy represents today a new economic paradigm based on the environment and on the recovery of material. The pursuit of this change can be implemented through different policies with a top-down or bottom-up approach. Following the latter approach Spin-Offs, typically defined as “Science Based” companies, represent an alternative tool to promote technology transfer. In other words, they represent a bridge between the research and the production system. This part of the study is part of a larger and more complex project whose objective is to verify whether the development of research Spin-Offs and in particular academics, operating in the environment sector, or more generally sustainable, facilitate the transition from the classic model of linear economics to the innovative model of circular economics. The aim of the paper is to investigate how spin off enterprises can be a driver for the development of a Circular Business Model and to facilitate the transition from the cla...
Innovations play a significant role in the primary sector (i.e., agriculture, fisheries and fores... more Innovations play a significant role in the primary sector (i.e., agriculture, fisheries and forestry), ensuring a greater performance towards bioeconomy and sustainability. Innovation is being progressively applied to examining the organization of joint technological, social, and institutional modernizations in the primary sector. Exploring the governance of actor relations, potential policies, and support structures is crucial in the phase of innovation, e.g., during research activities, often applied at the national or sectorial scale. However, when opposing normative guidelines for alternative systems of agriculture arise (e.g., the industrial agriculture paradigm), modernizations in agricultural and forestry may contribute to outlining more sustainable systems. To date, innovations in the primary sector do not seem as advanced as in other sectors, apart from industrial agriculture, which sometimes appears to be the most encouraged. The present review aims to shed light on innova...
A circular economy has been gaining momentum as the most innovative approach in business. Its pro... more A circular economy has been gaining momentum as the most innovative approach in business. Its proposed model, based on sustainability and new product-driven differentiated strategies of production and organizational exchange, has brought to light the need to better understand the relevance of stakeholders as a critical factor in the creation of new added value in business management. The primary purpose of this paper is to investigate how the B-Corp Certification System could contribute to a process of awareness raising in business organizations. It also focuses on the stakeholders’ commitment, within the framework of circular economy principles, and demonstrates that those companies who are adopting the certification concerning “recycling service and waste management” strongly contribute to the development in the direction of the circular economy. The analysis of the case studies shows two possible scenarios describing the circular approach in business and the different roles of st...
Studying and modeling plants for producing electric power obtained from vegetal wood cellulose bi... more Studying and modeling plants for producing electric power obtained from vegetal wood cellulose biomass can become an opportunity for building a supply chain based on the local fuel-producing capacity. Focusing on energy-producing technologies, such as pyrolysis or gasification, the present work assessed the amount of vegetal biomass that may be used as fuel, both in terms of actual availability and supply price, in the Province of Rieti (Italy). The aim is to draw up a supply plan that has an intrinsic relationship with the local area. The results confirmed a production of 24 MW of project thermal power and 4 MW of project electric power. The ensuing plant was then studied following current norms about renewable energy, environmental consistency, and atmospheric emissions. An economic analysis of the cost investment was also carried out, where the total return is approximately of 19%. The results exposed that plant costs are acceptable only if short-supply chain fuel is purchased. T...
This special issue was founded after the creation of a department of excellence at the University... more This special issue was founded after the creation of a department of excellence at the University of Tuscia (Viterbo, Italy). [...]
This article presents empirical results of a multivariate analysis run with the aim to identify (... more This article presents empirical results of a multivariate analysis run with the aim to identify (apparent and latent) socioeconomic transformations that shape the distribution pattern of cropland in a metropolitan region of southern Europe (Athens, Greece) over a sufficiently long time interval spanning from 1960 to 2010. The study area is representative of monocentric cities expanding in an unregulated fashion and experiencing sequential cycles of economic growth and recession. Percent share of cropland in total municipal area increased moderately over time. A non-linear relationship with the distance from downtown Athens was also observed, indicating that the highest rates of cropland were observed at a distance ranging between 20 and 30 km from the inner city. A multivariate regression was run by decade at each municipality of the study area using 11 predictors with the aim to identify the factors most associated with cropland decline along urban fringes. Distance from downtown A...
In a context of aging, low fertility, and progressive slowdown of both internal population mobili... more In a context of aging, low fertility, and progressive slowdown of both internal population mobility and international migration at working age, residential mobility at older ages was regarded as an emerging phenomenon in Mediterranean Europe, a region with increasingly attractive retirement places. The present work discusses the socioeconomic processes (and the environmental impacts) associated with an increasing flow of retirees, which decide to settle from ‘Northern’ countries to Southern Europe, concentrating in coastal districts and in rural countryside. Understanding lifestyle preferences and territorial patterns of residential mobility at older ages allows a refined analysis of short- and medium-term impacts of International Retirement Migration (IRM) on population dynamics in economically growing and declining regions. A refined analysis reveals that destinations of IRM are progressively enlarging from strictly coastal places to a broader set of locations in the rural country...
The essence of sharing platforms and their role in the social context is related not only to tech... more The essence of sharing platforms and their role in the social context is related not only to technology, but especially to the way it is being used today. Ethics, social responsibility and sustainability have become part of this process of development and they stimulate the entrepreneurial mainspring of new market models, that are in evolution. In crowdfunding the “return investment expectancy” plays a key role also in the selection process of innovative ideas, where credibility becomes an essential asset for the business, as well as the need to demonstrate transparency, integrity and responsible governance as priorities. Recently, these platforms are adopting voluntary certification systems, the B Corp certification, to reconcile the need to conduct business under the ethics aspect and raise awareness of stakeholders to adopt guiding values for business, consumption, or the use of services. Our goal is to investigate the role of “ethics”, conducted by the “B Corp” Standard Certific...
Being largely diversified along the urban–rural gradient, fertility gaps have demonstrated to fue... more Being largely diversified along the urban–rural gradient, fertility gaps have demonstrated to fuel metropolitan expansion, contributing to natural population growth and social change. In this direction, population dynamics and economic transformations have continuously shaped urban cycles in Europe. Assuming suburban fertility to be a relevant engine of metropolitan growth, the present study investigates and discusses the intrinsic relationship between fertility transitions and urban expansion, focusing on European metropolitan regions. An average crude birth rate referring to the last decade (2013–2018) was estimated from official statistics at 671 Functional Urban Areas (FUAs, Eurostat Urban Audit definition) of 30 European countries, distinguishing ‘central cities’ from ‘suburban’ locations. Local contexts with a higher crude birth rate as compared with neighboring settlements were identified analyzing differential fertility levels in urban and suburban locations. By providing an...
The transition of the European agri-food sector towards a sustainable production and consumption ... more The transition of the European agri-food sector towards a sustainable production and consumption model is a key element of the Green Deal. The new European “Farm to Fork” strategy aims to make the food system fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly. The consolidation and development of the organic model are two of the main objectives. In Italy, this development can be achieved through the Bio-District model. This model, which was born in the last ten years in Italy, is characterized by innovative multi-actor governance. From an explorative perspective, this study analyses the background literature on Bio-Districts and the context of the development of the Etruscan Roman Bio-District to understand the potential and the factors that allow the application of the principles of the Circular Economy. It focuses on multiple comparative analyses by using a qualitative–quantitative approach. The analysis of the context highlights the potential for expansion linked to an integrated short ...
Customer Satisfaction and Sustainability Initiatives in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
The “loop” approach of the circular model, which aims to live in the business or market environme... more The “loop” approach of the circular model, which aims to live in the business or market environment, requires a radical evolution of the production techniques, management, and skills in a new concept or idea for the market. Circular Economy results from a long awareness-raising process connected with problems concerning environmental protection. The dissemination of circular economy supposes the adoption of business models which will eventually enable environmental sustainability oriented behaviors, an efficient use of resources, and the respect of ethical, social, and environmental values. Benefit Corporations are companies pursuing these objectives. This chapter identifies and discusses the potential of B Corp certification to apply the principle of Circular economy. In particular, a compared multiple analysis of case studies is used to evaluate how the requirements of the scheme of certification influence the potential circularity of the enterprises analyzed.
The present study analyzes population redistribution across metropolitan regions considering toge... more The present study analyzes population redistribution across metropolitan regions considering together changes over time in the spatial distribution of resident and present population from census data. Considering population dynamics in Athens, Greece, between 1991 and 2011, the results of this study evidenced how the ratio of present to resident population increases more rapidly in urban than rural areas along the last twenty years. By revealing different expansion processes at the regional and local scales, the present-to-resident ratio of usual population was correlated to selected variables (population density and growth, distance from the inner city and settlement dispersion) with the aim at delineating apparent and latent relationships with the local socioeconomic context. Statistical analysis indicates that the present-to-resident population ratio is reflective of the intense suburbanization observed until the early 1990s in Athens, determining population redistribution and se...
While urbanization trends have been characterized for a long time by deconcentration of inner cit... more While urbanization trends have been characterized for a long time by deconcentration of inner cities with expansion of low-density settlements, economic repolarization leading to re-urbanization and recovery of central districts are now counterbalancing population shrinkage in compact urban areas and slowing down suburban growth. In this context, the recent demographic evolution of a large metropolis such as Athens (Greece)—following expansion, crisis, and a more subtle economic recovery—may reveal original relationships between form and functions at the base of recent urban growth. Based on an exploratory analysis of demographic indicators on a metropolitan and urban scale, the present study provides an updated and integrated knowledge framework that confirms and integrates the most recent urban trends in southern Europe. Documenting the emergence of more individualized paths of urban expansion at the local scale (recovery of the historic center, shrinkage of semicentral neighborho...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Assuming the importance of a “socioeconomic mosaic” influencing soil and land degradation at the ... more Assuming the importance of a “socioeconomic mosaic” influencing soil and land degradation at the landscape scale, spatial contexts should be considered in the analysis of desertification risk as a base for the design of appropriate counteracting strategies. A holistic approach grounded on a multi-scale qualitative and quantitative assessment is required to identify optimal development strategies regulating the socioeconomic dimensions of land degradation. In the last few decades, the operational thinking at the base of a comprehensive, holistic theory of land degradation evolved toward many different conceptual steps. Moving from empirical, qualitative and unstructured frameworks to a more structured, rational and articulated thinking, such theoretical approaches have been usually oriented toward complex and non-linear dynamics benefiting from progressive and refined approximations. Based on these premises, eleven disciplinary approaches were identified and commented extensively on ...
A complex interplay of socio-ecological drivers of change exists at the different spatiotemporal ... more A complex interplay of socio-ecological drivers of change exists at the different spatiotemporal scales affecting environmental degradation. This is a key issue worldwide and needs to be understood to develop efficient management solutions. One of the most applied theories in the regional analysis is the U-shaped relationship between environmental degradation and the level of income in a given economic system or Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). Specifically, the EKC hypothesis underlines the (potentially positive) role of formal responses to environmental degradation grounded on government policies that are usually more ambitious in wealthier economic systems. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the role of space in EKC, arguing that spatial variability in the environment–income relationship may indicate additional targets for integrated socio–environmental policies. We hypothesize that a spatially differentiated response to environmental degradation could better adapt to dif...
Circular Economy represents today a new economic paradigm based on the environment and on the rec... more Circular Economy represents today a new economic paradigm based on the environment and on the recovery of material. The pursuit of this change can be implemented through different policies with a top-down or bottom-up approach. Following the latter approach Spin-Offs, typically defined as “Science Based” companies, represent an alternative tool to promote technology transfer. In other words, they represent a bridge between the research and the production system. This part of the study is part of a larger and more complex project whose objective is to verify whether the development of research Spin-Offs and in particular academics, operating in the environment sector, or more generally sustainable, facilitate the transition from the classic model of linear economics to the innovative model of circular economics. The aim of the paper is to investigate how spin off enterprises can be a driver for the development of a Circular Business Model and to facilitate the transition from the cla...
Innovations play a significant role in the primary sector (i.e., agriculture, fisheries and fores... more Innovations play a significant role in the primary sector (i.e., agriculture, fisheries and forestry), ensuring a greater performance towards bioeconomy and sustainability. Innovation is being progressively applied to examining the organization of joint technological, social, and institutional modernizations in the primary sector. Exploring the governance of actor relations, potential policies, and support structures is crucial in the phase of innovation, e.g., during research activities, often applied at the national or sectorial scale. However, when opposing normative guidelines for alternative systems of agriculture arise (e.g., the industrial agriculture paradigm), modernizations in agricultural and forestry may contribute to outlining more sustainable systems. To date, innovations in the primary sector do not seem as advanced as in other sectors, apart from industrial agriculture, which sometimes appears to be the most encouraged. The present review aims to shed light on innova...
A circular economy has been gaining momentum as the most innovative approach in business. Its pro... more A circular economy has been gaining momentum as the most innovative approach in business. Its proposed model, based on sustainability and new product-driven differentiated strategies of production and organizational exchange, has brought to light the need to better understand the relevance of stakeholders as a critical factor in the creation of new added value in business management. The primary purpose of this paper is to investigate how the B-Corp Certification System could contribute to a process of awareness raising in business organizations. It also focuses on the stakeholders’ commitment, within the framework of circular economy principles, and demonstrates that those companies who are adopting the certification concerning “recycling service and waste management” strongly contribute to the development in the direction of the circular economy. The analysis of the case studies shows two possible scenarios describing the circular approach in business and the different roles of st...
Studying and modeling plants for producing electric power obtained from vegetal wood cellulose bi... more Studying and modeling plants for producing electric power obtained from vegetal wood cellulose biomass can become an opportunity for building a supply chain based on the local fuel-producing capacity. Focusing on energy-producing technologies, such as pyrolysis or gasification, the present work assessed the amount of vegetal biomass that may be used as fuel, both in terms of actual availability and supply price, in the Province of Rieti (Italy). The aim is to draw up a supply plan that has an intrinsic relationship with the local area. The results confirmed a production of 24 MW of project thermal power and 4 MW of project electric power. The ensuing plant was then studied following current norms about renewable energy, environmental consistency, and atmospheric emissions. An economic analysis of the cost investment was also carried out, where the total return is approximately of 19%. The results exposed that plant costs are acceptable only if short-supply chain fuel is purchased. T...
This special issue was founded after the creation of a department of excellence at the University... more This special issue was founded after the creation of a department of excellence at the University of Tuscia (Viterbo, Italy). [...]
This article presents empirical results of a multivariate analysis run with the aim to identify (... more This article presents empirical results of a multivariate analysis run with the aim to identify (apparent and latent) socioeconomic transformations that shape the distribution pattern of cropland in a metropolitan region of southern Europe (Athens, Greece) over a sufficiently long time interval spanning from 1960 to 2010. The study area is representative of monocentric cities expanding in an unregulated fashion and experiencing sequential cycles of economic growth and recession. Percent share of cropland in total municipal area increased moderately over time. A non-linear relationship with the distance from downtown Athens was also observed, indicating that the highest rates of cropland were observed at a distance ranging between 20 and 30 km from the inner city. A multivariate regression was run by decade at each municipality of the study area using 11 predictors with the aim to identify the factors most associated with cropland decline along urban fringes. Distance from downtown A...
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Papers by Enrico Maria Mosconi