Suburbanization and centralization dynamics in the social reconfiguration of metropolitan space

Abstract

Suburbanization and centralization are two key factors in the construction of metropolitan space, with the original centralization of the population in inner cities, followed by the development of suburbanization processes, but at the same time, they are residential choices that households and individuals make over their life courses. This chapter aims to shed light on these residential choices. In a first step, we propose a theoretical framework to understand the complexity of the events that trigger these choices, as well as the influence that social, life and spatial contexts have on them. The second step consist in an explanation of these decisions, implementing a strategy to operationalize the proposed theoretical framework with the cross-sectional data available in Spain. The main results highlight how suburbanization and centralization are diverse movements that, far from having a single explanation, vary substantially according to the spatial and life-cycle contexts of the actors