Yuval Arbel (p)

Rafael González-Val (withdrawn)

The relationship between health, proxied by the prevalence of obesity, and the level of income is well documented.
Based on the CDC report at a US statewide level between 2011 and 2020, the current study extends this
discussion by exploring the impact of urban environments, proxied by the number of skyscrapers, on this relationship.
In this context, the question that still remains open is what is the extent of urban development that can
reduce the dimensions of the obesity pandemic to a minimum and whether this effect is different across poor
versus rich populations. Consequently, the contribution of this study is the use of the quadratic model, which
permit non-monotonic relationships between obesity prevalence and the number of skyscrapers. We also
examine the incremental change in the number of skyscrapers. The global aspect of our study may be described
as follows. For countries with per-capita GDP higher than $75,000 (lower than $25,000) – urban development of
skyscrapers is expected to be beneficial on obesity prevalence up to 142 (126) skyscrapers. Compared to poor
countries, the incremental impact of high-rise construction on obesity prevalence at the downward domain of the
U-shaped curve is expected to be much more beneficial among rich countries.

Tomaz Dentinho (p)

Yuval Arbel

Characterization

The Guadiana is a Mediterranean river with severe droughts and floods related to strong seasonal variations of flow: 200–600 m3/s in winter, and 0.1–20 m3/s in summer. The average water flow is 6700 Hm3 per year, 4900 Hm3 coming from Spain and 1800 Hm3 from Portugal. From the 571mm of precipitation in Portugal 157 mm flows into the river. From the 540 mm of precipitation in Spain 89 mm flows into the river. Nevertheless, the flow from Spain is now only 2680 Hm3 (55%) and in 2012 it is expected to be 2135 Hm3 (44%). The river flows along 810 km from its sources in Spain to its mouth in Portugal. The Spanish part has 550 Km, 150Km is part of Portugal and 110 km is part of the border between the two countries.

In the Guadiana basin the irrigated area is increasing since the seventies. Most of the irrigated area from ground water is located in the Upper Guadiana – 160000 ha of 195000 in total, consuming 785 Hm3 per year. Most of the irrigated area from dams is located in the Middle Guadiana -140000 ha, consuming 1059 Hm3 per year. There are plans to increase the irrigation capacity of dams in Spain, reaching 200000 ha based on dams and keeping the 195000 ha irrigated by ground water. The plans for Portugal are to increase the irrigated area from 45000 ha to 110000 ha with the water from the Alqueva dam which will also supply more 30000 ha in the Spanish part of Lower Guadiana. Agriculture represents 90% of the water consumption.

The Guadiana basin has 1680000 in habitants in Spain: 580000 in the Upper Basin, 670000 in the medium basin and 430000 in the Lower Basin. The main cities are such as Ciudad Real, Mérida and Badajoz are located close to the river. Agriculture is the driving force of the regional economy. In Portugal the Guadiana Basin has 220000 inhabitants. The main cities such as Elvas, Évora and Beja are located far away from the river. Agriculture and public administration are the driving forces of the regional economy.

In Spain regulation is made by the public administration of water and hydrological planning, taking care of the management of quantity and quality of water associated to the Hydrological Plan of the Spanish Basin of the Upper and Medium Guadiana River and to the Hydrological Plan of the Spanish Basin of the Lower Guadiana River and Huelva Basin. Regional Governments and Municipalities do land use planning, provide water supply and control sewage. In Portugal the National Institute for Water manages the quantity and quality of Water of the Guadiana, the company EDIA promotes the sustainable development of Alqueva area and municipalities promote land use planning and manage water for non-agricultural use and sewage. There is a bilateral agreement between Spain and Portugal for the shared use of the Guadiana water that states a minimum flow of 2m3/s, entering in Portugal in Caia and flowing to Spain in Pomarão, representing 68hm3 per year.

In the Upper Guadiana Basin there are good wetlands classified as a Biosphere Reserve. Furthermore, the hydraulic connection between surface and groundwater is high.The irrigated surface grew from 200-300 Km2 to 1,300-1,400 km 2 in the early nineties, with 60000 wells. This new irrigated agriculture has been a driving force for the region economic development. Nevertheless, it has induced dramatic changes in the catchment hydrology and has caused serious impacts on some wetlands. For pumping rate above 2/3 of the maximum historical rate (400 Hm3/year) most of the wetlands will disappear. There is a need to grow vines under semi-arid crops instead of water consumption crops. The Common Agricultural Policy will have to adapt to new realities and challenges.

Problems / Objectives

With the construction of the large irrigation areas in the Spanish higher and medium Guadiana the average flow of the river in Caia decreased from 4900 Hm3/y in the seventies to 2700 Hm3/y nowadays. The construction of the Alqueva dam, considered the largest artificial lake in Europe, changed dramatically the environment, the land use, the economy and the regulatory conditions in Guadiana River. Flows varying 0,1-600m3/s are becoming constant flows of 2-4 m3/s. Large areas are flooded. Irrigated agriculture can be the driving force in Portugal as was in Spain. Spanish need for water downstream depends on the Spanish supply upstream.

The reduction of river inflow to the estuary will provoke an increase of salinity with consequences for the irrigation in the lower basin and strong impacts on the environment. As a result of trapping of sediment behind the Alqueva dam, a decrease of the sediment load to coastal areas is predicted, and this in turn will exacerbate coastal erosion.

The main conflicts in the Spanish Part of the Guadiana Basin are between water supply on the one hand and nature, tourism and agriculture, on the other hand. Also, between agriculture and nature. The main conflicts in the Portuguese Part of the Guadiana Basin are between agriculture and nature, and between hydropower and tourism. Both countries seem to have similar tools of integrated water management. Spain presents much better conflict management, water assessment and demand management tools than Portugal.

The Guadiana River is no more a Mediterranean River. There will be effects in the coastal erosion. The negotiations between Portugal and Spain changed to a minimum flow of 2m3/s = 63hm3/year, much less than 2700 hm3/year (the average without Alqueva) or 4600 hm3/year (the natural average without Spanish dams) Integrated problems are not solved necessarily by integrate plans. In the Guadiana Basin there are three plans and the only connection between them is the quantity and quality of water. Ecological solutions upstream can improve ecological and economic problems downstream.

All have the solutions have regional and social economic implications that is important to evaluate.

Research Issue

The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology that explains the influence of human interaction within space subject to land aptitudes, accessibility networks and water availability. This allows understanding the impact of political, technological and environmental factors on land and water use and based on the adjustment of the bid-rents /prices on land and water availability, to assess the costs and benefits of those political, technological and environmental impacts.
To achieve this the paper presents an expansion of the Spatial Interaction Model with Land Use (Silveira and Dentinho, 2014) to include the use of available water, calibrate it for the regions of the Guadiana Bassin in Spain and Portugal and evaluate the economic impact of changes in the water flow and use along the river. The paper concludes that the reduction of the water extraction in the Upper Guadiana (Ciudad Real) will increase the use of water in the Lower Guadiana (Huelva) increasing the sustainability of the river but shifting economic value and population from the Upper Guadiana region into the Lower Guadiana region.

Key words: Water Management, Sustainable Development, River Basin Water Management.

Silveira, P. and Dentinho, TP (2024) - Spatial Interaction Models with Land Use. A Tool for Interdisciplinary Analysis and Integrated Territorial Policy

Alexandra Sandu (p)

Tomaz Dentinho

As urbanisation accelerates across Europe, understanding the dynamics of land use in post-socialist cities, particularly in the context of sustainable and resilient urban development is important. Therefore, this study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of land-use changes in cities of different sizes across CEE, focusing on the patterns and dynamics of urban land-use transformation for the period 2006 – 2018 and with a particular focus on the patterns and dynamics of green spaces within urban environments. Using the Urban Atlas database and employing quantitative analysis, the goal is to uncover the evolving nature of land use within these urban environments, taking into account the unique socio-economic and political context of post-socialist cities. Furthermore, the research will explore policy implications and urban planning strategies that enhance the integration of green areas within cities of different sizes. The findings could inform urban planning strategies and policies that address the challenges and opportunities of land-use change in post-socialist cities, promoting balanced and inclusive urban development.

Filippo Di Pietro (p), Maria-José Palacin-Sanchez, Francisco-Javier Canto-Cuevas

Alexandra Sandu

Corporate ESG (environmental, social, and governance) performance is not only related to the sustainable development of firms and therefore their investments, but also to firm financing, including suppliers. The possibility that better ESG performance can lead companies to increase the trust of their suppliers, and thus achieve better access to trade credit, is an emerging and relatively unexplored topic. In this article, we examine the influence of ESG rating on the use of trade credit in the European region. For the empirical analysis, we use a sample of European companies listed on the STOXX 600 Index over the period 2015 to 2022. Our results show that ESG performance, measured by the holistic view of ESG criteria, is positively related with the obtention of trade credit. The main implication of this study is to show that companies' commitment to sustainability favours their access to financing by trade credit.