Article
What has become of the urban exodus since the pandemic?
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1The pandemic caused specific changes in the residential behaviour of the urban population in 2020 and 2021.
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2In 2020 there was an increase in the drift towards municipalities with a small population, especially those at an intermediate distance from the big cities. In general, second homes, previous links with the area and the environmental setting all played a key role.
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3In 2021 there was a recovery of the intensity of the drift from the major core cities to metropolitan municipalities and, in comparison with 2020, a drop in moves to rural municipalities. The intensification of suburban drift may persist in coming years, but this will not affect the appeal of the city centres.
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4As a consequence of the spread of teleworking and other hybrid forms of employment, moves to less densely populated municipalities involved the more advantaged socioeconomic groups. It is important to follow up the implications of this trend on the sociospatial makeup of the metropolitan regions.
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5Despite the changes brought by the pandemic, one cannot talk of an urban exodus, as no profound modification has been found in the residential mobility patterns that predominated in previous decades.
