The legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic on residential mobility in major Spanish cities: spatial and socioeconomic patterns
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/estgeogr.2024.1196Keywords:
Residential Mobility, Internal Migration, COVID-19, Urban Exodus, Spanish Cities, Educational GradientAbstract
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about possible shifts in the determinants of residential mobility and the potential for a crisis in densely populated urban settings. Some studies have noted significant effects in the early months following the outbreak, though generally not intense enough to induce profound changes in residential systems.
This research aims to explore aspects not yet addressed in the context of Spanish urban areas: (i) we focus on central municipalities, which were subject to speculation regarding a possible mass migration to rural areas; (ii) we extend the period of analysis until 2022, marking the third year since the pandemic’s onset; (iii) we incorporate a socioeconomic dimension, enabling us to examine changes in the profiles of individuals who changed residence after the pandemic; and (iv) we consider intra-city moves, a critical aspect for validating (or invalidating) the urban exodus hypothesis.
By addressing these aspects, we outline the legacy and future implications of the pandemic in terms of residential mobility and its interplay with the socio-spatial reconfiguration of urban areas. After two years with some observable changes compared to the pre-pandemic period, by 2022, residential mobility patterns aligned with pre-pandemic tendencies in most dynamics. However, a significant change has been the reinforcement of movements away from urban cores among the most socioeconomically advantaged groups.
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Funding data
'la Caixa' Foundation
Grant numbers LCF/PR/SR21/52560007
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Grant numbers PID2021-125351OB-I00
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Grant numbers Programa Investigo
