Mountain Geography in Europe: Depopulation, Spatial Inequalities, and the Challenge of Territorial Cohesion

In the present paper, it is attempted to correlate the position of critical spots of waterbodies of the mountainous region of Epirus, in terms of pollution, with the ones of possible point pollution sources. Furthermore, in this work, freshwater pollution is to be correlated with the income of the local inhabitants. Who pollutes Epirus’s waters? Are the polluted municipal localities, poor? These daring questions are tried to be answered using primary data from a series of official state organizations. Freshwater quality documentation is provided by Epirus’s River Basin Management Plan of the Greek Ministry for Environment and Energy (YPEN). Possible pollution sources documentation is given by the Hellenic Survey of Geology and Mineral Exploration (EAGME). Local GPD per capita documentation is granted by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). Conclusions are drawn using a spatial approach of the forementioned data. River and lake parts’ ecological and chemical condition, possible pollution sources and local GDP per capita are placed on their actual location using Q-GIS program. The study of these three layers lets us figure out what the relation between them is and, thus, ascertain whether our initial hypotheses are confirmed.

This paper investigates new forms of dwelling emerging in the mountain settlements of Epirus in Greece, under conditions of peripheralisation. Focusing on the mountainous areas of Zagori and Tzoumerka, the study examines how the spatial and social practices of local communities shape new models of habitation and collective organisation, highlighting alternative responses to the pressures of demographic shrinkage, tourism monoculture and institutional marginalization, as characteristics of neoliberal spatial planning. The theoretical framework is organised around the concept of peripheralisation as a dynamic process rooted in asymmetric urbanisation, producing deep socioeconomic and ecological restructuring. Four research dimensions are analysed: the traditional built environment as a bearer of local identity and community regeneration; the gender dimension and the role of women in the production of space; social innovation and the reactivation of traditional productive practices; and public space through placemaking as a field of community cohesion and resistance. These dimensions are connected through the concept of "socio-ecologies of care" — the ways in which communities care for their place, built environment and members, as an active act of resistance to peripheralisation. In Epirus, these practices are historically expressed through the stewardship of the architectural heritage, the role of women shaped by the historical tradition of male emigration and the traditional agropastoral activities that have largely disappeared, whose underlying potential for sustainable community regeneration this research seeks to explore. Methodologically, the study combines fieldwork, interviews, ethnographic research, GIS mapping and participatory design workshops. Keywords: Peripheralisation, Mountain Settlements, Traditional Built Environment, Gender Dimension, Socio-ecologies of Care

Greece is a country characterized by strong mountainous terrain, as mountainous areas cover a significant share of its territory and contribute to the intense geographical fragmentation of space. These areas, located both in mainland Greece and on the islands, are associated with distinct natural, cultural and settlement characteristics. At the same time, they constitute environmentally sensitive areas facing multiple spatial pressures, including population decline, abandonment of traditional activities and increasing built-up area dispersion. In the Greek context, mountainous areas are not governed by a unified planning framework, but rather through a combination of environmental, forest, spatial planning and regional policies. This paper examines built-up area dispersion in the mountainous areas of Greece during the period 2006–2018. Mountainous areas are defined using geomorphological criteria that combine elevation and slope. Three categories are identified: moderately mountainous areas (400–800 m elevation and 4–10% slope), steep mountainous areas (400–800 m elevation and slope above 10%) and high mountainous areas (above 800 m elevation). The analysis is based on Copernicus built-up data for 2006 and 2018 and elevation and slope datasets. Spatial overlay techniques are used to combine these datasets and examine the distribution and changes in built-up areas across the three mountainous categories. The results show the spatial distribution and intensity of urban sprawl in mountainous Greece, highlighting differences in built-up area dispersion across the three mountainous categories. The paper contributes to the understanding of spatial transformations in mountainous environments and underlines the need for systematic monitoring and more effective spatial planning policies in environmentally sensitive areas.

The decline of human populations in the settlements of the Pindus mountain regions of Aitoloakarnania and Evrytania, western Greece, has resulted in significant changes to the adjacent land cover types. Numbers of goats and sheep have decreased, while EU subsidies have favored the increase of the population of the Greek shorthorn cattle breed. Because of these changes, it is important to assess the impact of cattle grazing on plant structure and composition, as this can influence fire risk and hazards, which are serious threats for the sub-Mediterranean regions of Greece. In this contribution, the results of our ongoing research on this topic will be presented. We will assess the impact of grazing regimes and environmental factors on plant cover, focusing on shrublands near cattle sheds. This assessment will consider both total plant cover and cover of the functional plant groups. Particular attention will be given to the kermes oak (Quercus coccifera) because of its abundance in the region. We will consider factors such as stocking rates, the distance from animal sheds and watering points, as well as topographic and soil conditions. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) will be used to examine the impact of each factor. Keywords: Greek shorthorn cattle, cattle grazing, Mediterranean shrublands, kermes oak, fire risk

Mountain regions across the Mediterranean face persistent depopulation, as younger residents migrate to cities in search of employment and services. Conventional infrastructure-evaluation frameworks, which weigh benefit by population served, tend to deprioritise small-scale interventions in sparsely populated upland areas, even when those interventions deliver order-of-magnitude improvements in accessibility for the communities they reach. This paper examines the contrasting accessibility impact of two classes of road infrastructure in mainland Greece: a major motorway spine connecting the principal cities of the north, and a set of small mountain tunnels that bypass the most isolating terrain in the country's central massifs. Using a settlement-level accessibility index computed over the full census-settlement network, we compare the breadth and the per-settlement depth of benefit delivered by each class. Results show that the motorway spine reaches the much larger beneficiary set, consistent with its intended national role. However, the per-settlement accessibility improvement delivered by mountain tunnels — for the relatively small number of upland communities they serve — is substantially deeper than that of the spine, in some cases reducing journey times to neighbouring market towns and service centres several-fold. Population-weighted welfare measures, while appropriate for aggregate economic accounting, systematically obscure this threshold effect. We argue that targeted, small-scale infrastructure of this kind deserves a distinct evaluation framework. By making routine access to employment, education and health services tractable from villages that have spent decades effectively cut off, such interventions create the conditions under which return migration becomes viable, local enterprise can scale beyond subsistence, and the demographic decline of mountain communities can begin to reverse. The accessibility benefits visible in our results, though modest in aggregate population terms, identify these tunnels as instruments of regional development rather than merely transport-cost reductions, with implications for how mountain-area infrastructure is appraised and prioritised.

Based on their outstanding natural and cultural assets, mountainous regions are globally perceived as attractive alternative tourism destinations. However, in order for such a developmental direction to keep track with sustainability objectives, cooperatively-driven bottom-up policy decisions, delineating particular alternative tourism pathways that ensure integrity of those assets and are in alignment with local values and traditions need to be in place. In addition, the deployment of relative tourism accommodation infrastructure – supply side – that values these assets and attempts to minimize its environmental footprint has to be embedded in the management spirit and practice of the respective entrepreneurial community. The latter is the focus of this work, aiming to establish and implement a participatory methodology for exploring, through stakeholders’ engagement, the extent to which tourism accommodation businesses in a specific mountainous destination – the settlement of Metsovo, Epirus, Greece – integrate environmental management systems or generally adopt relevant actions with the aim of reducing their environmental footprint in the study area. This methodology follows a two-step stakeholders’ engagement approach, namely: a questionnaire, distributed through a Google form to relevant local tourism businesses, aiming to realize the current state of environmental management as a practice for handling tourist accommodation businesses in the study region; and a Focus Group discussion, building upon questionnaire’s results and seeking to identify potential barriers or deficits applying towards an environmentally-responsible tourism accommodation management. Results of such an effort demonstrate a certain gap that crosscuts both the policy and the entrepreneurial community, being roughly sketched as the lack of a certain future vision for sustainable tourism as a pillar for local development and related policy measures for its implementation; and the knowledge gap as well as the lack of incentives, technical and financial support for adopting environmental management schemes at the business level.

The evolving role of mid-mountain ranges—here, the Vosges and the Massif Central—within the route of the Tour de France lies at the heart of this proposal. The aim is to understand how a sporting event can become a driver of development for regions facing a form of marginalization. Historically, mid-mountain ranges were regarded merely as intermediaries between the plains and the high mountains, crossed without any major sporting ambition. Since 2007, however, a paradigm shift has taken place: race organizers have made the routes more demanding, increased the number of summit finishes (La Planche des Belles Filles, Markstein, Le Lioran), and positioned these stages at decisive moments in the race. Mid-mountain terrain has therefore moved from being a transition zone to becoming a true “decisive battleground” for the general classification. This sporting valorization has been accompanied by territorial appropriation by local authorities. Departmental councils, in partnership with municipalities and intermunicipal bodies, finance the hosting of stages and develop long-term strategies: marking cycling tourism routes that follow Tour de France stages, organizing large cyclosportive events (L’Alsacienne, Les 3 Ballons), and creating greenways. These initiatives aim to capitalize on spectators’ desire to imitate sporting practices and to build lasting tourist appeal. The observed impacts—increased cycling tourism, longer tourist seasons, and greater visibility—illustrate how sporting events can become a territorial resource for rural mid-mountain areas facing demographic and economic decline. These territories, often affected by deindustrialization or agricultural decline, find in cycling a path toward economic transition that highlights their geographical specificity: accessibility, selective slopes, and usability outside the winter season. The objective, therefore, is to demonstrate that mid-mountain regions are increasingly asserting themselves as mountains in their own right, with temporalities and potentialities distinct from those of high mountains.

Sporting events are now seen as tools for territorial promotion, relying on media coverage and local anchoring to highlight the places where they are held. Among them, major events such as the FIFA World Cup or the Olympic and Paralympic Games seem to stand apart, as they occur less frequently over time and their territorial anchoring is more diffuse and debatable. By contrast, events that take place in the same locations year after year become more deeply rooted among local populations and appear to benefit the local economy more, which is largely residential and partly based on tourism. Through these heritage events, the aim is to showcase a wide range of skills, the culture of the host location, and beyond that, a broader “event culture” that indirectly embeds the event within the local heritage. This can be observed both in their integration into the landscape and the local calendar, as well as in the highlighting of the territories’ heritage elements—though still far removed from very large-scale events. The case of the Tour de France is nevertheless unique. As the third most visible sporting event in the world, it is held annually and brings visibility to a consistently large number of places thanks to its geographical variability. In this sense, it promotes an ever-growing array of local expertise, regional cultures, and a search for authenticity through the lens of a heritage sporting event—a concept that is constantly evolving.

Mountain areas account for approximately 30% of the European Union’s territory and are home to 17% of its population. European mountain landscapes are cultural landscapes that reflect the long-standing interactions between human societies and natural systems. Nevertheless, within the framework of European social and economic cohesion, mountain regions are recognised as disadvantaged areas due to their specific characteristics, particularly the natural constraints associated with altitude and topography, which limit their development potential. Stretching from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, Europe’s mountain regions exhibit considerable topographical diversity, ranging from high mountain ranges, such as the Pyrenees, the mountains of southern Norway, the Alps and the Romanian Carpathians, to lower-altitude or “mid-mountain” areas, which cover a substantially larger geographical extent. Accordingly, morphological characteristics, such as elevation and slope, influence local microclimatic conditions and play a crucial role in shaping ecosystems and determining existing and potential land uses. Mountain regions across Europe exhibit varying levels of economic development and distinct employment structures. More specifically, northern mountain regions include prosperous communities with strong tourism-based or industrial economies, in contrast to those in Southern Europe, where economic diversification tends to be more limited. Furthermore, these regions display divergent demographic trends and varying rates of demographic change, as well as differences in land cover, vulnerability to climate change and infrastructure provision. Overall, the European mountain environment cannot be regarded as a homogeneous category in terms of regional development, but rather as a multidimensional geographical space characterised by pronounced spatial inequalities and diverse development prospects. Although some mountain regions are economically viable and well integrated into the EU economy, the majority face development challenges and require targeted support. Understanding these regional disparities is essential for designing effective policies that promote the sustainable and balanced development of mountain areas. This study examines the spatial distribution of mountain regions in Europe and subsequently seeks to synthesise their diverse characteristics and development dynamics. By bringing together geographical, demographic, economic and environmental dimensions, the study seeks to establish a framework for understanding the heteroge