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The paper moves from the necessity of understanding the implications of landscape changes, as it is a very important issue for the sustainable planning of rural areas.
The observation of the current decrease in rural landscape, which is mainly due to both abandonment and the uncontrolled and rapid spreading of certain urban areas, especially underlines the pressure on rural-urban fringes. The attention to these areas is increasing, as policy makers and institutions recognise their particular role in the balance of rural landscape and, as a consequence, the particular issues and requirements.
The paper aims at the definition and testing of an integrated system for the analysis and the evaluation of the effects of agricultural and urban policies on land use change and landscape, in order to supply policy makers and public administrators with an important tool for the decision making process.
