How much does urban location matter for growth?

This paper analyses the effect of location characteristics on urban growth using regression cubic splines. Our empirical analysis shows that in Spain, differences in accessibility to major urban centres and geographic isolation help explain differences in population growth rates across municipalities between 2001 and 2014. Moreover, even though physical proximity to large cities is usually assumed to be closely related to the attractiveness of a municipality, we found that urban population growth is even more related to the joint effect of distance to major centres and agglomeration. In this respect, there seems to be a threshold from which agglomeration diseconomies come into play such that a greater proximity to major cities and/or being localized within a more densely populated area goes against local growth.     

Unstabilized and stabilized compressed earth blocks with partial incorporation of recycled aggregates

This article aims to characterize the physical, mechanical, and water-resistant behavior of unstabilized and stabilized compressed earth blocks (CEB) produced with partial incorporation of recycled fine aggregates from construction debris. The objective was to produce an alternative-earth construction material with lower embodied energy. To this end, different types of common CEB were covered, namely: unstabilized CEB; stabilized CEB with 8% cement; stabilized CEB with 4% cement and 4% lime. CEB were characterized in terms of density, thermal conductivity, compressive and tensile strength, water absorption, permeability, and resistance to water erosion from drip and spray tests. The influence of moisture content was also analyzed. Lime stabilization had little effect on the early age mechanical and durability behavior of CEB. Design coefficients are suggested for common cement-stabilized CEB under different environmental conditions. A minimum of 4% cement content was sufficient to produce water-resistant CEB with partial incorporation of recycled aggregates.     

Ria de Aveiro A: a shipwreck from Portugal dating to the mid-15th century; a preliminary report

The remains of a coasting vessel were found in a lagoon close to the coast. Four radiocarbon determinations provided a date in the mid-15th century and it has been the subject of several seasons of excavation of CNANS. The excavation strategy is described, as are its surviving constructional details which are analysed with reference to early sources for Portuguese naval architecture. This coaster has constructional features found in ocean-going ships of the Iberian-Atlantic tradition. Its cargo of pottery is one of the most extensive and closely dated from the Age of Discovery and includes 18 forms.     

Educating geographers in Spain: geography teaching renewal by implementing the European Higher Education Area

This article discusses the current state of the geography discipline in Spanish Universities after putting into action the European Higher Education Area. After decades of geography teaching, following theoretical and expository discourse models, the so-called Bologna Process has been a great opportunity to reflect what geography should be taught, how geography should be taught and why geography should be taught. Aspects such as competences, employability, learning methodologies, assessment, Geographical Information Systems domain have been incorporated into the renewal of geography teaching in Spanish higher education, which has contributed to the strengthening of geography in a context of geospatial technologies revolution and public awareness of spatial challenges.     

Ductility-Equivalent Viscous Damping Relationships for Beam-to-Column Partial-Strength Steel Joints

This paper seeks to contribute to the development and improvement of displacement-based design procedures, proposing improved ductility-equivalent viscous damping relationships for steel moment-resisting framed structures with dissipative beam-to-column partial-strength joints. These relationships can be used directly in procedures like the Direct Displacement-Based Seismic Design (DDBD) that uses effective stiffness, ductility-equivalent viscous damping relationships, and period-displacement relationships in a performance-based design approach. To this end, a finite element model of a steel beam-to-column sub-assemblage, characterized by an extended end-plate, is developed in ABAQUS. The model, which is validated against monotonic and cyclic experimental data obtained in previous research, is employed to carry out non-linear time-history (NLTH) analyses, using real records scaled to target several levels of ductility demand. A procedure is then proposed and applied to determine the ductility-equivalent viscous damping relationships of the sub-assemblages. The equivalent linearization technique is applied to the non-linear responses obtained in the NLTH analyses, using an elastic single degree of freedom structure and the elastic displacement spectra. The influence of joints mechanisms and of the dynamic characteristics of the structure in the equivalent viscous damping is investigated, and an expression for ductility-equivalent viscous damping is proposed. The proposed expression represents a clear improvement in relation to the existing expressions available in literature.     

A Roman Skeleton with Possible Treponematosis in the North‐East of the Iberian Peninsula: A Morphological and Radiological Study

The main goal of this paper is to describe and discuss pathological lesions observed in a Roman skeleton (between 2^nd and 3^rd century AD) from the north‐east region of the Iberian Peninsula (St Nicasi 18–24 site. Gavà, Barcelona), which may be compatible with treponematosis. Most of the skeleton, with the exception of the neurocranium, was recovered. Only the left tibia was affected, whereas the rest of the recovered skeletal remains were unaffected. Macroscopic examination revealed a male individual between 25 and 30 years of age at death with a sabre‐shaped left tibia. The proximal half of the diaphysis was pitted and the bone overall enlarged. The surface of the tibia showed occasional vascular impressions where, in some instances, small raised plaques of new bone appeared to bridge over them, specifically in the most affected area of the proximal half of the tibia. No destructive lesions were observed. Radiographic examination and gross inspection at the cross section of the tibia showed encroachment into the medullary cavity of coarse cancellous bone and cancellization of the cortex. The observed lesions indicate that the tibia was affected by a chronic infectious disease. Differential diagnoses were considered, and these included other infectious diseases, fibrous dysplasia, Paget's disease, chronic varicose ulcers affecting bone and trauma, with the conclusion that the disease affecting the tibia could have been treponematosis. This could be significant in the history of the treponematoses being one of the oldest examples of treponematosis in pre‐Columbian Europe. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polycentrism as a Multi-Scalar Relationship Between Urban and Rural Areas: The Case of Portugal

This article introduces a reflective analysis of polycentrism. Since the 1990s, polycentrism has provided the foundation for countless spatial planning policies in Europe. Most studies highlight the importance of cities and towns as the principal nodes for regional development. This article discusses whether polycentrism is the best planning solution for managing the imbalances and relationships between urban and rural areas. Empirically, it will focus on the polycentric discourse that has recently gained strength in Portugal, by evaluating the national spatial planning policy programme and its consequences for regional development. It will make a comparative analysis between the national spatial development perspective proposed by the programme and certain sociological findings that characterized the rural areas caught out between urbanization and marginalization. This will be illustrated with research on the Alentejo region, one of the largest rural areas in Portugal.     

Identifying wine and oil production: analysis of residues from Roman and Late Antique plastered vats

The production of oil and wine was an important aspect of the ancient Mediterranean economy. Among the material remains related to the production of these substances, installations used for their production provide evidence that is still unexploited. Although archaeological studies have been carried out on these installations, problems can arise in the identification of their function, as wine and oil production structures can be similar and the archaeological traces insufficient to establish which substance was produced.     

Seismic Vulnerability of an Inventory of Overturning Objects

A methodology is presented for assessing the probability of overturning under the action of ground motions of given intensities, and the expected values and standard deviations of damage produced by overturning of objects in a group or inventory exposed to the same seismic event. We apply this methodology to one example of the typical contents located on the base (i.e., free-field) of a middle-class house or apartment. A detailed inventory was gathered, and recent well-recorded accelerograms at the site were used to compute the rocking response of every object. Vulnerability functions for the whole inventory computed at four different sites in terms of epicentral distance and site effects show large differences between them.