Un’analisi comparativa dello sprawl nei sistemi urbani di Avellino e Benevento

The researches regarding the urban sprawl, which refers, as it is known, to a model of expansion of the cities characterized by lowdensity housing and high urban fragmentation and dispersion, have has always been conducte from the prospective of growth, as result of the intense processes of urbanization that have redesigned Western cities over the last two centuries (Bencardino, 2015a). So, if in some regions there is a growth that occurs within the limited borders of the city, leading to an urban densification, in others, there is a suburbanization with a consequent urban sprawl. More recently, many «European regions are already facing population decline and a quasi surplus of urban land». In fact, the implications of an aging population and migration to the suburbs are felt in many cities of the continent, both in large attracting cities and in shrinking cities (cities in decline), generating many problems concerning the cost of public services, the increase of traffic and pollution (Siedentop, 2010). Therefore, this paper aims to show the demographic dynamics and a measure of the spatial expan-sion of the built-up area in two middle-sized towns of the inland areas of Campania and, through this, to conduct an analysis of the most complex phenomenon of urban sprawl in relation to housing demand. So, in this paper, a physical and anthropic correlation index between the changes of the builtup areas, seen as a measure of the taken land, and the demographic changes is proposed. Finally, the urban system has been chosen as analytical context. In fact, it became very effective contextualize the extent of urban evolution to a specific phase of the cycle of life of the city, according to the model of Van den Berg.