title: The park-view effect: Residential development is higher at the boundaries of protected areas.
abstract: Land-use changes in the surrounding of protected areas might compromise their conservation efficacy, and thus the potential attractive effect that protected areas may exert on urban development is particularly concerning. We investigated whether the proximity to protected areas in a region (Lombardy, Italy) with a high density of urban areas and parks may increase the likelihood of residential development. The main change around protected areas was the loss of open areas (mostly due to development processes at the expense of arable land), which was higher in proximity of parks. Changes in residential discontinuous development were significantly and negatively related to proximity to parks, whereas changes in productive developments were unrelated to park proximity. The higher likelihood of residential development in proximity to parks is likely due to the attraction exerted by parks. The severe loss of open areas and increase of residential development around parks heavily impacted on habitat availability for a declining bird species (Alauda arvensis). Conservation policies considering also what happens around protected areas are urgently needed.
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Lombardia per l'Ambiente, Settore Biodiversità e Aree protette, Largo 10 luglio 1976 1, I-20822 Seveso, MB, Italy; Museo delle Scienze, Sezione Zoologia dei Vertebrati, Corso della Scienza e del Lavoro 3, I-38123 Trento, Italy. Electronic address: brambilla.mattia@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mattia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brambilla
authors.affiliation: Politecnico di Milano, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, via Bonardi 3, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ronchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D006798:Housing / Q000600:supply & distribution; D007558:Italy; D020308:Songbirds; D014507:Urbanization
keywords: Conservation; Land-cover; Land-use; Parks; Residential development