**4. Final remarks**

and distribution of the territory and their consequent land uses [31]. The lack of knowledge aligned with an existence of planning conducts to the destruction of the natural resources causing relevant (negative) impact on the local communities [33]. Thus, the proper identification and defining of risk areas—considering the planning and territorial management—are pivotal conditions for the prevention and minimization of the damages resulting from the phenomena and dangerous activities [34]. The uncontrolled growth (due to the lack of well-planning process) to built-up areas contributes to increasing the soil vulnerability and increasing the risk of natural disasters [35, 36], as is the case of erosion or landslides [37]—considering the local geomorphic features. In this regard, the urban expansion toward topographically "more" inclined and geologically unstable ground can cause problems and affect the population, the environment, and the local economy. The slope is assumed to be fundamental for the occurrence of slope movements, mainly due to the higher slope and the greater influence of gravity forces on the existing materials in the slopes that, if they are fragile, easily will disintegrate and move along the slope—which is their case in RAM [38]. Therefore, and considering the geomorphological risks, the slope assumes the main role, since it interacts with and for the erosion increasing in a geomorphological context and in the lithology allowing to define critical slopes for landslides—even in the vegetal cover ground, eliminating natural resources of the island [39]. The definition of land uses consistent with the risk degree that characterizes it and the prohibition or limitation to the urban expansion in the unstable areas are some of the options pointed out by Zêzere [37] to avoid such risks. In fact, the crossing of the constraints to urban growth with risk areas leads to the determination of land suitability for each category of use and respective infrastructure implementation. The limitation groups lead to the analysis of the urban land use capacity at the level of the existing one and at the level of areas of urban expansion (urbanizable land), consolidation, and reconversion [39–41]. Contextually, it is important to define classes and levels for specific land uses, based on urban and spatial planning criteria as well as in accordance with urban growth limitations, including the possibility of occurrence of natural hazards and disasters in specific areas [39].

24 Land Use - Assessing the Past, Envisioning the Future

On the other hand, the relief could also influence the urban growth and development [42]—once it forces the city to grow in a dispersed or apparently disorganized way, creating urban voids. In this case, it works as a topographical barrier and constitutes a natural element of obstruction to the urban expansion and as a barrier protecting (somehow) the fragmentation of the natural habitats. Such phenomenon is more relevant in cities located in hilly areas where the variation of altitude is large and there are steep slopes. Thus, the land uses of Madeira Island have been assessed from different perspectives and methods at RAM according to the abovementioned; in

Nevertheless, despite all the limitations inherent to the territorial relief, such topographic barriers at RAM will value the environmental dimension—considering as fundamental in a perspective of social and economic well-being, promoting the full exploitation of the values and endogenous natural resources. For this, the relationship between the economic activities and biodiversity and nature conservation is strongly influenced, namely, by the *unique fauna* and *flora* of the island as well as their ecosystems, natural landscapes, and humanized landscapes; in fact, these factors could also be seen as opportunities to promote sustainable development. The valorization of the agricultural heritage of RAM (despite the stagnation of land use for agriculture) should be preserved and protected in a sustainable way; once in Madeira Island, there are several typical crops—i.e., banana, sugarcane, and vineyards, among many others.

fact, the geomorphology of the territory strongly affects its development and growth.

Through the present study, it is possible to understand the impact of the land use changes and their dynamics on the specific insular territory. Also, throughout the analyses of the land use change patterns along with empirical knowledge of the territory, barriers and opportunities for a sustainable development and growth have been identified. Moreover, the limitations of such "ultra-peripheral" territories are evident, not only by the physical spatial dimensions presented but also by the difficulty to proceed to the reconversion of the uses. Considering such remarks and the particularity of these territories, the main actors/decision-makers and their policies and action over the territory are even more relevant and need to be conducted in a more reasonable way—considering the fragility of this region; such policies and actions present higher impact on the territory as well as on their inhabitants' life's quality standards and finally on the long-term sustainable development.

Therefore, the study of the land use change patterns is seen as pivotal to understand the dynamics and tendencies of these territories as well as to provide clues for the main actors to where the efforts toward a sustainable development and growth should be placed.

As the final remarks, the land uses could be understood as another tool for the knowledge of the territory—assessing the past and envisioning the future.
