Urban growth triggers massive changes in land use cover, exacerbating extreme natural and technological events. In order for land use planning to be efficient, it requires the integration of comprehensive risk and vulnerability assessment. This paper aims to create a bridge between the existing vulnerability theories and their implementation in land use planning policies and proposes an innovative approach to determine whether the changes in the territorial dynamics of cities draw considerable changes in communities’ social vulnerability. The methodology identifies and selects three case studies from the Urban Atlas inventory, representative of the dynamics of large Romanian cities, taking into consideration the following hazards: earthquakes, floods, and technological hazards. Vulnerability was then assessed by assigning each land use class a specific vulnerability level. The methodology involved assessing the level of vulnerability specific to the situation in 2018 compared to 2006. The results showed that major changes in land use are related to the transition of areas with a low level of vulnerability to areas with a higher level of vulnerability as a result of the urban areas expansion to the detriment of natural and agricultural areas. This is generally translated into a higher degree of vulnerability due to an increased density of artificial elements and of population in the residential areas. The findings of the study of territorial dynamics in the proximity of large industrial operators did not reveal a tendency that differed from the general trend. Although many territorial changes have been observed in the period 2006–2018, it is necessary to extend the analysis, with the issue of the new versions of the Urban Atlas, to confirm the identified trends and to express the up-to-date situation.

Water shortages in rice production represent a formidable challenge for the world’s food, economic, and social security. Water is the most important single component for sustainable rice growth, especially in the world’s traditional rice-growing areas. Therefore, this study attempts to evaluate the improvement of rice water productivity in Northern Iran on the basis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. This study is a qualitative-descriptive survey. A random sampling method was used to determine the sample size, and finally, 105 male and female rural facilitators in Sari city (the capital of Mazandaran Province located in Northern Iran) were surveyed. The results showed that the development of appropriate infrastructure, increasing new irrigation and drainage networks with the aim of increasing the use of efficient water technologies, was the most important strategy. The most necessary strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to improve the water productivity and management of paddy farms in the study area are, respectively, as follows: “fertile paddy fields and relatively good soils in most areas”, “weakness in the participation and interaction of users in water resources projects and paying attention only to the physical development of irrigation networks and ignoring the issues of network operation and farmers’ participation in the management”, “improving irrigation planning”, and “surplus harvest from Tajan River and drop in water level”. Obtained findings may be used to address water scarcity and water quality management issues in the agriculture sector. The results demonstrate that, under potential climate change and water shortages, SWOT may be seen as a guide for contingency initiatives.

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The population and economy growth in the past years, and subsequently the increased demand for freshwater, led to an increased pressure on water resources. The quality of surface water is affected by anthropogenic factors, such as: domestic sewage, industrial activities, agricultural activities, recreational activities, land use change, urbanization. Therefore, the impact on surface water vulnerability is higher in large urban areas or in urban areas with intense touristic activities. The analysis of water vulnerability in such areas is important in order to develop sustainable water resources management strategies. In this paper, a vulnerability assessment index was developed in order to analyze the surface water vulnerability on a section of Prahova River (from source to Breaza city). The urban areas located in this section of the river are characterized by intense touristic activities, with a large influx of people. The vulnerability index was developed using GIS tools and analyzing specific indicators such as: different types of land use and in particular urban areas, length of the roads in the study area, resident population, influx of tourists, animals, slope and sinuosity of the river. The river was divided into sectors and a vulnerability index was calculated for each sector. Moreover, a comparison analysis was done, considering a second scenario for the year 2020 in which the number of tourists was highly reduced, in order to investigate the impact of this indicator on the water vulnerability. The results, represented by the vulnerability map showed that the most vulnerable sectors of the river are situated in proximity to urban areas and furthermore, the touristic activities increase the impact on surface water resources.

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