The role of central cities in urban sociodemographic changes in Southern Europe: an analysis of individuals moving into, out of and within inner cities in Spain

Antonio Lopez Gay, Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics
Joaquin Recano-Valverde, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Since major inner cities in Spain have reached their urban and demographic maturity, migration and residential mobility have been the determinant factors of the sociodemographic change of urban cores and metropolitan areas. It has been proved in many urban areas that individuals moving into, moving out of and moving within the urban core are linked to certain sociodemographic profiles. Based on the analysis of the Census 2001 microdata, results points out that in most of the Spanish inner cities, young people, singles, professionals and the highly educated are more willing to move into and within the central city. Meanwhile, family dimension is linked with most of the leaving the inner city movements. Manual workers and medium educated are also more likely to leave central areas. As a consequence, major metropolitan areas in Spain have experienced an intense process of sociodemographic change during the last decade.