Resident or Present? Population Census Data Tell You More about Suburbanization

Kostas Rontos,Luca Salvati,Antonio Giménez Morera,Andrea Colantoni,Enrico Maria Mosconi

doi:10.3390/land9100383

Abstract

The present study analyzes population redistribution across metropolitan regions considering together changes over time in the spatial distribution of resident and present population from census data. Considering population dynamics in Athens, Greece, between 1991 and 2011, the results of this study evidenced how the ratio of present to resident population increases more rapidly in urban than rural areas along the last twenty years. By revealing different expansion processes at the regional and local scales, the present-to-resident ratio of usual population was correlated to selected variables (population density and growth, distance from the inner city and settlement dispersion) with the aim at delineating apparent and latent relationships with the local socioeconomic context. Statistical analysis indicates that the present-to-resident population ratio is reflective of the intense suburbanization observed until the early 1990s in Athens, determining population redistribution and settlement dispersion over larger areas.

Highlights

Cities all over the world are expanding rapidly to accommodate even growing demographic inflows [1,2,3]
The ratio of present-to-resident declined slightly from 1.02 in 1991 to 1.01 in 2011, suggesting that there is a small stock of non-resident population declined slightly from 1.02 in 1991 to 1.01 in 2011, suggesting that there is a small stock of population declaring to live in the study area, as typical of large metropolitan areas all over Europe non-resident population declaring to live in the study area, as typical of large metropolitan areas all (Figure 3)
Exploratory multivariate data techniques and regression models allow for an appropriate analysis of multifaceted spatial dynamics characterizing population growth in metropolitan regions, a sensitive indicator to urban cycles providing an indirect evaluation of short-term and medium-term socioeconomic transformations

Summary

Introduction

Cities all over the world are expanding rapidly to accommodate even growing demographic inflows [1,2,3]. A progressive shift toward population redistribution over larger regions and demographic change have characterized urban growth in advanced economies since the 1980s [4,5,6]. A millenary urban tradition and a complex dynamic of socio-demographic patterns makes the Mediterranean region a characteristic example of compact urban expansion with monocentric, dense settlement models [7,8,9]. These general patterns have been moved in the last few decades towards a more dispersed metropolitan expansion [10,11,12]. Earlier research has occasionally associated demographic dynamics with specific models of urban expansion, with the aim of delineating suburbanization trends [16,17,18,19]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion