Metropolitan Barcelona 2001–06, or how people’s spatial–temporal behaviour shapes urban structures

ABSTRACT

Traditionally, urban structure has been analyzed using employment density or commuting. The main contribution of this paper is the use of a new source of information which includes other daily activities and that can be integrated into existing subcentre-identification methods. Thus, subcentres are identified using a time-density indicator departing from origin–destination surveys. Results suggest that changes in urban structure during the period under review have taken place in parallel to economic growth and that urban sprawl has increased in all activities except for healthcare and work, where the timeshare lost by the central business district has been redistributed to subcentres and peripheries.

KEYWORDS:

• urban structure
• spatial–temporal behaviour
• trip-chain analysis

JEL:

• C02
• J22
• J62
• O18
• R14

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper is derived from the LugarES project (number CSO-2012-33441); its results are used in the EnerValor Project (number MINECO/FEDER BIA-2015-63606-R). The authors are greatly thankful for the criticism received in the peer-review process.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Carlos Marmolejo-Duarte http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7051-7337

Jorge Cerda-Troncoso http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3526-9240

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad [grant number CSO-2012-33441] – LugarES project.