A Wildland–Urban Interface Typology for Forest Fire Risk Management in Mediterranean Areas

The transitional areas that lie between wildlands and urbanized spaces, generally defined as wildland–urban interfaces (WUI), represent an increasing risk factor in Mediterranean areas; these define a new scenario in forest fire fighting and prevention. We have developed a methodological approach in order to assess the hazard and vulnerability of WUI which is based on landscape analysis, on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques and remote sensing. Unlike traditional approaches which are based on local scale characterization of WUI, we propose a progressive multi-scale approach. In order to reach an operative classification of the WUI the methodology was developed in three stages: a regional urban development model, a landscape character assessment and finally, a WUI typology. The last WUI typology has been based on the identification of different urban morphologies and their context within the type of landscape in which they occur.