Spatial configuration and the Messina Strait question: A discussion on Reggio-Calabria and Messina road-networks linkage

Abstract

A permanent traverse across the Messina Strait connecting Sicily to the Italian mainland at Calabria has been discussed since the 19th century. From this period onwards, several studies addressed aspects that ranged: from its political significance; to project costs and engineering-design feasibility. Interest in the matter declined during the 2010's due to the ever-unstable Italian political scenario. This, associated to an incipient development of instruments and methods to analyze urban networks, has hindered further studies on Messina and Reggio di Calabria cities' spatial configuration, or the consequential changes that their permanent connection across the Strait would ensure. As the Messina Strait question resurfaced in the 2020–2022, exploratory analyses on urban configuration become crucial in providing spatial-knowledge for decision-making process, as Southern Italy's territorial and transport integration are part of the Italian government and European Union agenda regarding post-pandemic recovery. This paper addresses this question from a territorial-configurational standpoint and simulates spatial changes in the advent of a permanent connection amongst Messina and Reggio di Calabria road-circulation networks. The objective is to compare and discuss these changes within the context of twin-cities, as Messina and Reggio di Calabria have the potential to be interdependent in geographical and socio-economic terms. Modeled with Space Syntax – a quantitative method that estimates centralities and movement patterns in urban road-networks – simulations demonstrate how changes in the Strait cities' urban configuration could alter the twin-cities functional and hierarchical dynamics. Results and discussion present evidence on how the road-circulation networks react to the cross-strait connection, and conclusions point-out lessons to be learned from the simulations and what can be applied in other projects worldwide.