Following the population of European urban areas in the last half century (1961-2011): the TRADEVE database

Marianne Guérois,Anne Bretagnolle,Natalia Zdanowska,Paul Gourdon,Antonin Pavard

doi:10.4000/cybergeo.32034

Abstract

In this paper we present the methodological issues and choices related to the construction of the TRADEVE database, which allows following the population of European urban areas since 1961. Whereas most of the recent academic works related to this issue focus either on time depth (for larger cities) or on the large coverage of urban hierarchy (for a shorter period), one of the main interests of the TRADEVE database is to extend over a relatively long period (from 1961 to 2011) and to cover small and medium sized cities at the same time. But, above all, it distinguishes by taking into account the spatial expansion of urban areas during a period characterized by a pronounced sprawling process. First insights are provided that allow studying the hierarchical and regional expressions of urban growth slowing down during this period. A cluster analysis performed on the demographic trajectories of cities shows that 22% are decreasing, i.e. 870 out of the 3,930 considered in the database. Along with the paper, the TRADEVE database fully documented with metadata is available online in open access.

Highlights

The following of European cities’ population has received an increased interest in the last decades due to various major issues
The TRADEVE database presented in this paper is part of a larger research field focused on the investigation of urban systems over several decades and on the necessary spatiotemporal harmonization of urban objects
The originality of this work lies in four main contributions: the data extend over a long period, they allow specific studies on small and medium sized cities (Bretagnolle et al, 2019, Gourdon et al, 2019), they take into account the spatial expansion of cities and bring new discussions about the interest of a retropolation method, and they aim at the operational objective to be an open database, fully documented with metadata

Summary

Introduction

The following of European cities’ population has received an increased interest in the last decades due to various major issues. Cybergeo : European Journal of Geography , Espace, Société, Territoire for some years new investigations on the evolution of the rich heritage of small and medium-sized towns in Europe (Pumain, 1999), which comprises a worldwide concern for the shrinking cities issues (Martinez-Fernandez C. et al, 2016). The interest for this subject is related to major socio-demographic issues like the ageing process and slowing down of demographic growth (Bretagnolle et al, 2018; Rink et al, 2012). Along with this growing field of studies, the observation of more recent trends of a resurgence (regrowth after years of decline) has more recently made it necessary to consolidate comparative knowledge about the demographic future of cities (Rink et al, 2012, Wolff and Wiechmann, 2017)

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Conclusion