Metropolitan dynamics and mobility flows: A national comparative study (1991–2011)

The first national interest in metropolitan areas dates back to the seventies stimulated by the strong growth in population around the main metropolitan conurbations in Italy and linked to the issue of constructing administrative bodies of a metropolitan nature. Since then, the presence of metropolitan areas has been covered by sector literature sharing, albeit from different disciplinary perspectives, the aim of identifying territorial collocation and socio-demographic structure. In a similar way to those in English in the fifties on metropolitan areas, Italian studies define metropolitan areas by combining criteria of homogeneity, interdependence and morphology. Similar attention to integration of the defining criteria is present in this study, which aims to identify metropolitan areas in Italy and study their evolution in the period from 1991 to 2011. Compared to studies carried out so far this proposal stands out for its choice to consider as metropolitan those areas that meet specific requisites of density of metropolitan functions, including special attention dedicated to mobility for work or study reasons. More than an accessory function that supports the other activities, mobility is considered a fundamental dimension of metropolitan areas, helping to define the shape of the area and draw its borders.