1,720,976 research outputs found
Defining and measuring polycentric regions: the case of Tuscany
Full text linkPolycentric development in regions has many dimensions, which involve several definitions and measures. This paper tackles the problem of defining and measuring polycentricity under an integrated and multi- dimensional perspective. Firstly, the policy relevance of polycentricity is analysed. Then, the paper identifies the definitions and measures of polycentricity by surveying the literature. It also provides a taxonomy among two main aspects involved in the definition of polycentricity: the morphological dimension and the functional dimension. Based on this background, an empirical analysis is carried out, by using data about population and commuting flows in the Tuscany Region (Italy). The results show that Tuscany can be viewed as a polycentric spatial structure, both considering rank-size distribution of cities and spatial interaction
Spatial structure and economic development: the case of Italy
No full textThe aim of this thesis is contributing to the debate about the organization of economic activities across space and its impacts both on economic competitiveness and on environmental sustainability.
The first chapter states the most important aspects of spatial structure, which are polycentric development and urban dispersion, and highlights the relevance of spatial economic organization for public policies, in particular with reference to the spatial policies addressed by the European Union.
In order to assess the effects of spatial structure, the second chapter tackles the issue of the analytical definition and measurement of polycentricity and dispersion. By surveying the most relevant literature in urban and regional economics, and geography and spatial planning, the chapter illustrates the main analytical dimensions and the empirical methods for the measurement of spatial structure at regional level, providing an empirical illustration on Italian regions.
The third chapter analyses the relationships between spatial structure and economic competitiveness in Italian NUTS-3 regions. It presents the theoretical framework, grounded on agglomeration economies literature, and check whether agglomeration economies may depend on spatial organization of economic activities across Italian regions. In the empirical analysis labour productivity is taken as a proxy for economic competitiveness and both of polycentricity and urban dispersion seems to have negative impacts.
The fourth chapter analyses the links between spatial structure and environmental pressure. The latter have been measured by gas emissions generated by private road transport and house heating. After the literature review, the chapter shows, through regression analysis of NUTS-3 regions, that spatial structure influences CO2 emissions from transport and PM10 emissions from house heating, with no evidence that polycentricity helps in reducing emissions.
The thesis concludes discussing the main results from the empirical part of the work and sketch further steps in the analysis of spatial structure and economic development
Rigassificatori in Toscana. Scelte Complesse
No full textObiettivo di questo lavoro è mostrare come le decisioni relative a impianti energetici quali i rigassificatori debbano essere prese non solo facendo riferimento ai danni e ai rischi ma anche, e soprattutto, valutando i potenziali benefici del progetto. L’analisi, inoltre, non può non includere le altre alternative (e strumenti) possibili. Dopo aver ripercorso in modo documentato le principali tappe circa i processi decisionali sui rigassificatori in Toscana, vengono proposte delle linee interpretative per una loro lettura organica
Urban spatial structure and environmental emissions: A survey of the literature and some empirical evidence for Italian NUTS 3 regions
No full textThis paper addresses the relationship between urban spatial structure and emissions. Surveying the most relevant literature, first we discuss the concept of spatial structure, focusing in particular on polycentricity and dispersion, and then we summarise the possible links between spatial structure and emissions. The survey provides the framework to explore the empirical evidence for Italy concerning CO2 and PMs emissions originating from private transport and residential heating. Our results suggest that spatial structure affects CO2 emissions from private transport and PMs from housing emissions. There is no evidence for polycentricity to reduce emissions
Questioning Polycentric Development and its Effects. Issues of Definition and Measurement for the Italian NUTS-2 Regions
Full text linkPolycentric development is a widely used term both in academic research and in the normative agenda. However, its theoretical foundations and economic implications are still unclear and the concept of polycentricity still does not have a shared definition or a shared measurement method. The aim of this study is two-fold. First, it defines and measures polycentricity at a NUTS-2 regional level, by comparing functional and morphological methods. Second, in the light of the role assigned to polycentric development in terms of policy, the study investigates the relationships between the degree of regional polycentricity and the key economic variables of performance, namely, competitiveness, social cohesion and environmental sustainability. Our main finding was that functional and morphological methods lead to similar results. In addition, we find a correlation between polycentricity and a more unequal income distribution and a higher level of productivity, especially when polycentricity was measured in functional terms. No stable correlations were found between polycentricity and measures of environmental sustainability, such as land consumption and greenhouse gas emissions
Sistemi locali e politiche regionali: alcuni spunti di riflessione a partire dal caso toscano
No full textIl volume approfondisce e sviluppa le innovazioni introdotte con la definizione dei sistemi locali del 2011, dando altresì voce al punto di vista di chi ha già avuto modo di utilizzare tale modalità di partizione territoriale. Questa nuova geografia, che è generata dagli spostamenti quotidiani per raggiungere la sede di lavoro, consente di individuare i luoghi dove si concentrano sia la maggior parte delle attività che gli spostamenti quotidiani delle persone e dei soggetti economici.
A quasi vent’anni dall’ultima pubblicazione articolata e approfondita sul tema dei sistemi locali, questo volume offre un’occasione per riflettere sulle questioni legate alle partizioni funzionali del territorio, all’utilizzo dei sistemi locali in diversi ambiti, al loro legame con la questione urbana e delle città metropolitane.
Vengono, inoltre, documentati in maniera particolare sia gli aspetti concettuali e metodologici connessi all’aggiornamento dei sistemi locali del 2011 sia alcuni temi legati all’utilizzo dei sistemi locali per finalità di analisi socio-economica o di attuazione delle policy.
A questo riguardo, il contributo propone alcuni elementi di riflessione sul ruolo, le potenzialità ed i limiti che si sono manifestati per i Sistemi locali affinché essi possano venire effettivamente considerati come unità geografiche di riferimento per la progettazione, l’elaborazione e implementazione delle politiche regionali.
Si tratta di spunti che sono emersi sulla base della zonizzazione funzionale del territorio fornita da Istat e che si sono concentrati sul caso della Toscana, ma che consentono una serie di riflessioni più generali. Un primo aspetto si riferisce alla delimitazione spaziale dei Sistemi locali, che può non prestarsi ad un loro effettivo utilizzo come unità di policy. Il secondo si riferisce all’analisi economica dei territori (e dei loro sistemi produttivi), che può essere integrata attraverso l’utilizzo di ulteriori informazioni riferite alle singole imprese, di tipo amministrativo e economico, o ai territori in cui le imprese si trovano a operare
Dimensione e offerta funzionale nella crescita Urbana. Alcune evidenze nel Periodo 2001-2011
No full textSmall and medium-sized cities host a large share of the Italian population and jobs and represent the engines of economic growth in many regions. The study explores the economic dynamic experienced by small and medium-sized urban systems in the decade 2001-2011, investigating whether the presence of highly specialised functions may have acted as substitutes for the metropolitan scale. To this end, the Italian Functional Urban Areas (fua) are first classified according to a synthetic urban rank index and then used in a regression analysis carried out to identify the drivers of urban growth
Polycentricity and regional development: an analytical framework and some evidence from Italy
Full text linkThis paper analyses the relationships between polycentricity and regional development, under a multi-dimensional and policy oriented conceptualization of development. We provide an analytical framework and an explorative analysis of Italian regions, by taking into account several aspects of spatial structure. We found that competitiveness is positively associated with agglomeration and negatively with polycentricity. However, larger regions show to be less inclusive, while there is a positive association between polycentricity and social cohesion. Our results allow for a discussion on regional polycentricity and its effectiveness when planning and evaluating public policies, possibly enriching the debate on regional policy assessment and implementation
L’efficacia interpretativa delle partizioni funzionali del territorio: l’evoluzione dei sistemi locali del lavoro ISTAT e la capacità di cogliere aree metropolitane, città e distretti
No full textI sistemi economici locali (SLL) costituiscono le ripartizioni del territorio adottate dall’Istat allo scopo di rappresentare adeguatamente aree economicamente omogenee. è naturale, quindi, interrogarsi sull’adattamento di queste ripartizioni analitiche alle configurazioni territoriali che si vanno delineando. Questo è il tema del terzo contributo, che guarda ai SLL del paese, dal punto di vista della specializzazione produttiva dei territori (Cap. 4: D. Burgalassi, S. Iommi, D. Marinari, L’efficacia interpretativa delle ripartizioni funzionali del territorio; l’evoluzione dei sistemi locai del lavoro Istat e la capacità di cogliere aree metropolitane, città e distretti). Nel lavoro si verifica una incompleta rispondenza delle specializzazioni individuate dall’Istat alle realtà dei diversi contesti e si propone un diverso sistema di classificazione, capace di meglio evidenziare le specificità economiche dei diversi sistemi locali. La nuova classificazione consente di adottare questa ripartizione territoriale con una più efficace individuazione degli ambiti dello sviluppo local
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