Urban Polycentricity and the Costs of Commuting: Evidence from Italian Metropolitan Areas

Abstract

In the last 25 years, Łódź and the region surrounding the city have undergone significant transformations in respect of both the socio-economic structure and spatial development. In consequence of radical restructuring carried out after 1990, the traditional manufacturing branches disappeared and have been replaced by dynamically growing new types of business activity, especially in the services sector, which has enhanced the metropolitan character of Łódź and strengthened the functions belonging to 4th sector of the economy. The purpose of this article is identification of the actual extent of Łódź Metropolitan Area in terms of the functions performed and its delimitation for management purposes, as well as analysis of conditions for further development of this area in the context of metropolisation processes. Future development largely depends on making good use of the favourable location in European space, European funds, cultural heritage and social potential. A serious challenge is coordination of activities of territorial self-government units and revision of the policies of the communes so as to create a consistent conception of the development of the metropolitan area. Łódź Metropolitan Area, despite certain barriers, has a potential strong enough to become an advanced, creative node in the sphere of culture, science and innovative economy, and a major element of the European settlement system.

Exploring Differences in Commuting Behaviour among Various Income Groups during Polycentric Urban Development in China: New Evidence and Its Implications

“…There are two major issues of contention. One issue is whether the evolution of a polycentric spatial structure in mega cities could provide more opportunities to enhance spatial matches between the jobs and housing location selections of employees and thus improve workers' commuting patterns [12][13][14][15][16][17]. Another issue is whether and how jobs-housing balance policies reduce employees' commuting trip duration in metropolitan areas [8,[18][19][20].…”

Questioning Polycentric Development and its Effects. Issues of Definition and Measurement for the Italian NUTS-2 Regions

“…Some authors recognised some environmentally virtuous effects of polycentricity on commuting flows (Tsai, 2001;Veneri, 2010), especially because of the proximity between work and home locations (Gordon et al, 1989). In fact, a pure monocentric region involves a huge amount of flow directed towards the centre, causing congestion and higher social costs, while a polycentric region would allow more sustainable commuting patterns, encouraging the proximity between housing and work.…”

“…This could present the advantage of allowing territories to expand spatially, without paying some of the costs of dispersed development that have already been highlighted in the literature (Muniz et al, 2006). Even in terms of traffic, polycentric development could facilitate shorter distances, the use of public transport and, as a consequence, more sustainable commuting patterns in terms of time spent travelling and polluting emissions (Veneri, 2010).…”

The impact of urban form on commuting in large Chinese cities

“…In our approach we build on previous aggregate studies (e.g. Kenworthy 1989a, b, 1999;Cervero and Gorham 1995;Kenworthy and Laube 1999;Schwanen 2002;Veneri 2010;Yang et al 2012) that analysed inter-city differences in travel behaviour in Europe and the US. The different dimensions of urban form and their relations with commuting behaviour described in these and other studies are briefly discussed in the following sections.…”