ABSTRACT
In Italy, the rise of emerging forms of mobility may be highlighted also by statistical data available on the national scale: in 2011, 48.6% of the Italian population commuted every day either for work or study reasons. Mobility times have increased and, in particular, it is possible to recognise a growth of people commuting for work. Chapter three is an interlude that helps to build a contextual research framework at a national scale. Analysing emerging mobility in Italy is interesting for at least three different aspects: first of all, because of the changes in mobility behaviours that are visible also through data aggregated at the national level; secondly, because of changes in social and economic structures that affected Italian society; and, last but not least, because of the configuration of transport and the increase in high speed train connections. In the last part of the chapter, in order to better understand the dynamics of mobility in the country, a portrait of the most important cities involved in the research will be introduced according to some relevant indicators: number of inhabitants, dimension and availability of public spaces and garden, income and property values, in order to understand what the factors are that make a city more attractive. Notwithstanding the importance of this data, it is clear that it is not sufficient to describe the complexity of the phenomenon, and to explain the reasons hidden behind mobility.
