Rediscovering Valley Hillslopes: Their Forms, Uses, and Considerations in Urban Planning Documents
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Valley Hillslopes’ Resources
- Identifying—and consequently representing—the valley hillslope as an autonomous whole and, at the same time, interfacing with the valley and plateau areas;
- Adopting a multi-scalar approach to investigate the possible multiplicity and co-presence of uses and, therefore, in perspective, the possible valley hillslopes’ roles and meanings in an urban context;
- Questioning the valley hillslope—beyond landslide and flooding—to analyse which variables related to its forms influence its use.
1.2. Valley Hillslopes’ Representation in Urban Planning
1.3. Theoretical Background
1.4. Contribution Trajectories and Research Questions
- How can we define valley hillslope forms within an urban agglomeration?
- What uses and roles—linked to different land cover—do valley hillslopes have in today’s city?
- How and what variables—related to their form—influence their use and role?
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Context of Research
2.2. Methodological Process
2.2.1. Method for Identifying Relief Forms
2.2.2. Method for Identifying Recurrent Use Types
2.2.3. Method for Analysing Correspondences between Recurrent Use Types and Independent Variables
3. Results
3.1. Relief Forms’ Description
- “branched valleys” resulting from the excavation of tertiary watercourses tributary to a secondary watercourse that flows into the main watercourse;
- “linear valleys”, more elongated in shape, following the excavation of a secondary watercourse flowing into the main watercourse;
- “amphitheatres”, also generated by the excavation of a secondary watercourse flowing into the main watercourse but characterised by a more accentuated lateral extension of the slopes, converging to a secondary watercourse’s axis.
- “escarpments”, resulting from the incision of the main watercourse;
- “terraces”, differing from the ‘escarpments’ in that they are sub-units always situated between an upper and a lower flat surface or plain area but articulated within them in intermediate plateaus.
3.2. Recurring Types of Land Use Description
- Cluster 1: agricultural land (“rotational herbaceous cover”, code 6);
- Cluster 2: forest (“deciduous trees”, code 9; “coniferous trees”, code 8);
- Cluster 3: grasslands (“continuous herbaceous cover”, code 7);
- Cluster 4: soil modified by infrastructural development (“Surface water”, code 5; “Bare soil”, code 4; “Railway network”, code 3);
- Cluster 5: soil predominantly covered by buildings (“Artificial ground cover”, code 1; “Artificial above-ground structures”, code 2).
3.3. Correspondences between Recurrent Land Use Types and Independent Variables’ Description
- Cluster 1 groups geochores whose declivity distribution is considered homogeneous, and whose declivities are predominantly low (the declivities within the same geochore are more likely to be between 0% and 11%). This is particularly the case for geochore n°235, a dry valley north of Jemeppe;
- Cluster 2 groups geochores whose declivity distribution is considered variable, and where declivity is predominantly high (declivities within the same geochore are more likely to be between 13% and 42%). This is particularly the case for geochore n°133, the escarpment of Coromeuse on the left bank of the Meuse;
- Cluster 3 groups geochores whose declivity distribution is considered highly variable, and where declivities are generally very high (declivities within the same geochore are more likely to be between 26% and 70%). This is particularly the case for geochore n°433, the escarpment of the St Jacques wood on the left bank of the Ourthe.
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Appendix B
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Dallatorre, G.; Pepe, L.; Schmitz, S. Rediscovering Valley Hillslopes: Their Forms, Uses, and Considerations in Urban Planning Documents. Land 2024, 13, 1353. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13091353
Dallatorre G, Pepe L, Schmitz S. Rediscovering Valley Hillslopes: Their Forms, Uses, and Considerations in Urban Planning Documents. Land. 2024; 13(9):1353. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13091353
Chicago/Turabian StyleDallatorre, Giacomo, Lauriano Pepe, and Serge Schmitz. 2024. "Rediscovering Valley Hillslopes: Their Forms, Uses, and Considerations in Urban Planning Documents" Land 13, no. 9: 1353. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13091353