Residencial mobility and urban expansion in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona 1982-2005

Abstract

Residential mobility strongly intervenes in the processes of urban sprawl and the formation of new territorial structures within metropolitan areas. The analysis of residential migration of the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona (RMB) is especially relevant for the expansion of low-density settlements within one of the densest populated areas of Europe. The evolution of residential mobility during a long period of time, from 1982 to 2005, the analysis of residential changes during the course of life, and migratory relations between cities and their suburban rings permit the differentiation between the role of city sizes and the distance to the central city in the process of dispersion of the population.