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Space–Time Design of the Public City pp 137–156Cite as

Mobility, Accessibility and Social Equity: A Comparative and Interdisciplinary Empirical Study in the Metropolitan Areas of Milan, Bologna and Turin

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Part of the book series: Urban and Landscape Perspectives ((URBANLAND,volume 15))

Abstract

Although mobility is truly essential for access to urban assets and services and fundamental for social and urban integration, it tends to be unevenly distributed between individuals and social groups and does not always share the same quality relating to the resources used or the restrictions limiting their use. The inequalities relate both to the different social distribution of access resources and to the presence of restrictions which hinder their use. The objective of this study is to analyse the way in which the urban structure of residential areas influences the presence and availability of opportunities and how the location of residential areas and opportunities, combined with the residents’ mobility capital, influences their mobility styles and their accessibility to urban assets and services. The theoretical part of the study aims to explain the meaning of the concepts of mobility capital, mobility style and accessibility, while the empirical part aims to describe the relationship between residential location, mobility styles and access to opportunities. The study relates to a comparative Italian survey carried out in the metropolitan areas of Milan, Bologna and Turin in 2009–2010 by the Universities of Milan, Bologna and Turin.

The study has been carried out by an interdisciplinary group of research of the University of Milan Bicocca (Mario Boffi, Matteo Colleoni and Clara Melzi), University of Bologna (Giovanni Pieretti, Marco Castrignanò and Francesca Mantovani) and Polytechnic University of Turin (Cristina Pronello and Cristian Camusso).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For an in-depth examination of the proximity and multi-scale concepts and their application to local planning tools, see Zedda (2009).

  2. 2.

    For an in-depth examination of the ‘urban time policies’ in Italy, see Irer (2009) and Mareggi (2000, 2011).

  3. 3.

    The English term ‘time-budget’ is the most useful survey method to collect data on the use of time and space of representative samples. For an in-depth examination, see Colleoni (2004).

  4. 4.

    By peri-urban we mean the area of settlements stretching between the boundaries of the historical cities and the low-density area, at times inappropriately called countryside (Martinotti 1999).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Milan Bicocca, Milan, Italy

    Matteo Colleoni

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  1. Matteo Colleoni
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Correspondence to Matteo Colleoni .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. f. Stadtplanung/ Regionalplanung, TU Berlin, Hardenbergstr. 40A, Berlin, 10623, Berlin, Germany

    Dietrich Henckel

  2. und Regionalplanung, Stadt‐ und Regionalökonomie Sekr. B4, Institut für Stadt‐, Hardenberg‐Str. 40a, Berlin, 10623, Germany

    Susanne Thomaier

  3. Institut für Stadt- und Regionalplanung, TU Berlin, Hardenbergstr. 40a, Berlin, 10623, Berlin, Germany

    Benjamin Könecke

  4. , Dipartimento di Architettura e Pianifica, Politecnico di Milano, Via Golgi 39, Milano, 20133, Italy

    Roberto Zedda

  5. , Dipartimento di Architettura E Pianifica, Politecnico di Milano, Via Golgi 39, Milano, 20133, Italy

    Stefano Stabilini

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Colleoni, M. (2013). Mobility, Accessibility and Social Equity: A Comparative and Interdisciplinary Empirical Study in the Metropolitan Areas of Milan, Bologna and Turin. In: Henckel, D., Thomaier, S., Könecke, B., Zedda, R., Stabilini, S. (eds) Space–Time Design of the Public City. Urban and Landscape Perspectives, vol 15. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6425-5_10

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