ABSTRACT
The case of the Po Valley is especially interesting among several examples in Europe: the phenomenon has been declined in a peculiar way, resulting in a mix of agriculture and urban development currently known as 'città diffusa'. The Po Valley experienced high rates of dispersed urban growth in recent decades, where the presence of numerous small and medium-sized towns, often connected together and to major urban centers, knitted the urban landscapes of the region together. In European Mediterranean countries, the dispersed urban form is increasingly frequent and there are concerns about its potential negative effects on urban sustainability. The process has evolved dramatically since its early phases and has been given various names, including suburbanization, peri-urbanization and rururbanization. In conclusion, diffuse urbanization is sustainability and social challenge, a challenge for scientists, town planners, policymakers and citizens, as well as an opportunity to evolve new conceptions of urbanization.
