Polycentricity

This paper uses commuting flows to investigate the development of polycentricity in the Veneto region between 1991 and 2001, which is located in the North-East of Italy. Both ingoing and outgoing commuting flows are used to measure two aspects of polycentricity at two spatial scales; the inter- and the intra-urban scale. Although commuting flows are limited to some extent it is considered an appropriate measure to analyze the urban structure of regions. It is argued that the monocentric model is being surpassed by the polycentric model. Where commuting used to be aimed at the city, it is the multi-directional aspect of commuting that the polycentric model sets forth. Furthermore, polycentricity refers to a balanced distribution of employment centers throughout a region. The results from this thesis show that only Venice can be characterized by the monocentric model. However, the polycentric model does not fully characterize the other regions in the entire Veneto region. Only between a few functional urban regions in the Veneto region there is a polycentric structure, and the same holds for the urban structure within a few functional urban regions. Hence, this thesis does not support the argument from previous studies that the Veneto region is a polycentric region.