Closeness is not accessibility: Isolation and depopulated rural areas in the proximity of metropolitan urban areas, a case-study in inland Spain

The increase of accessibility is one of the most important strategies to achieve territorial cohesion and slow down depopulation processes in rural areas. Accessibility is a wide concept with a range of interpretations. When it comes to rural areas, usual accessibility measures introducing proximity...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martínez Sánchez-Mateos, Héctor Samuel, Ruiz Pulpón, Ángel Raúl
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
Repositorio:RUIdeRA. Repositorio Institucional de la UCLM
OAI Identifier:oai:ruidera.uclm.es:10578/39095
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2021-0025
https://hdl.handle.net/10578/39095
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Accesibilidad
Accessibility
Áreas rurales despobladas
Depopulated rural areas
Guadalajara province
provincia de Guadalajara
proximidad
proximity
Descripción
Sumario:The increase of accessibility is one of the most important strategies to achieve territorial cohesion and slow down depopulation processes in rural areas. Accessibility is a wide concept with a range of interpretations. When it comes to rural areas, usual accessibility measures introducing proximity and ease of physical connection could lead to misinterpretations and a lack of knowledge for rural areas. This study proposes an accessibility analysis based on connection and function of one of the most depopulated territories in inland Spain: the province of Guadalajara (NUTS-3) which constitutes an interesting case-study because its proximity to the Spanish capital city (Madrid) and the integration of part of the province on its dynamics and economic processes. Results show different rural accessibility levels useful for public policies and decision making on infrastructures. In addition, the accessibility model suggested can be applied in other depopulated rural areas of Europe.