Reyes González-Relaño

Despite the progress of the information society, there are currently still notable differences between the access to, and usage of, information and communication technologies (ICTs) and Internet for a broad range of activities by individuals in the regions of Italy and Spain. These differences could be related to features of material and social deprivation. With 13 variables of the 40 NUTS 2 of Italy and Spain, deriving from EUROSTAT regional statistics for 2018, the aim is to respond to the following questions. Is there a relationship between the variables of ICT access and usage by households and individuals and those of social and material deprivation in the regions analysed? What is the interrelationship? Are there differences between Spanish and Italian regions in the behaviour of spatial and regional factors? Factor analysis was used to discover the relationship between variables; spatial patterns were identified by means of spatial autocorrelation; and a typology of regions has been identified by using cluster analysis. The results show that there is a relationship between the variables of ICT access and usage by households and individuals and those of deprivation in Spanish and Italian regions, and indicate that the advanced and daily use of Internet in households is negatively associated with the variables of social deprivation; and the regions with higher levels of per capita income and daily access to Internet have less employment-linked material deprivation. These results also reveal the existence of a north–south spatial pattern in both countries, and six types of regions with homogeneous characteristics have been identified.

Las vías verdes son itinerarios no motorizados resultado de adaptar líneas ferroviarias en desuso al cicloturismo y otras actividades de ocio. El artículo resalta las potencialidades y deficiencias de estas rutas en Andalucía. Con información procedente de sus órganos de gestión, se realiza el diagnóstico con una matriz DAFO como base para abordar la planificación mediante objetivos. Se proponen acciones para resolver los problemas detectados y crear una red de vías verdes eficiente para Andalucía, gestionada de manera coordinada y comparable internacionalmente con respecto a su uso público. Rail trails are non-motorised routes resulting from the conversion of disused railway lines, geared towards cycle tourism and other leisure activities. This paper seeks to highlight the potentialities and shortcomings of rail trails in Andalusia. A diagnosis is made through a SWOT matrix, with information from the management bodies and a coherent planning is applied. The results enable proposals intended to remedy the shortcomings detected and create an effective rail trail network in Andalusia, managed in a coordinated fashion and internationally comparable with regard to public usage.

El sector turístico español se ha visto afectado gravemente por los impactos de la pandemia de la COVID-19. Sus repercusiones se han producido de manera diferencial por regiones, por tipologías de la actividad y también por sexo. Así, el trabajo ahonda en los impactos, tanto territoriales como de género, ocurridos en el empleo turístico como consecuencia de la primera ola de la pandemia. Se ha empleado una metodología cuantitativa, confeccionando una base de datos con indicadores estructurales y coyunturales a escala provincial y municipal, parte de estos desagregados por sexo. Con ellos se ha elaborado cartografía temática y se han efectuado análisis de componentes principales complementados con análisis de autocorrelación espacial (Índice de Moran). El estudio revela, entre los resultados significativos, que aquellos territorios muy especializados (ej. turismo de sol y playa), fueron muy vulnerables a la crisis, en relación con la caída de la demanda internacional. Los ámbitos rurales y los de montaña se han mostrado más resilientes, debido a las preferencias del turismo nacional. El empleo femenino también experimentó un decrecimiento importante y tuvo un comportamiento similar al conjunto de la actividad, tanto desde un punto de vista sectorial como en relación con las variaciones territoriales.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been consolidated as a fundamental pillar of the new model of competitiveness and sustainable development of territories. However, there has still not been sufficient in-depth study of the role that geographical proximity plays in the digital inequalities that affect regional competitiveness. In this context, this paper aims to identify and characterise the clusters and patterns that define the spatial behaviour of ICT access and usage variables at household and individual level in the Technology Readiness (TR) pillar of the Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI). A database of 280 NUTS2 has been created in order to perform: i) an exploratory statistical analysis to show the regional behaviour of the ICT variables; and ii) a spatial autocorrelation analysis to detect the presence of spatial dependence. The results at regional level in Europe demonstrate that: i) the greatest inequalities occur in the ICT usage variables and not in those of access; ii) the indicators of TR create a spatial pattern with a gradient from the regions of the extreme north-west to south-western and eastern Europe; and iii) there is evidently an opportunity to incorporate other regional variables of ICT usage for future editions of the RCI.

A smart sustainable city (SSC) is a paradigm that encapsulates the latest lines of development in multiple fields of research. The attempt to converge towards a model of sustainable urban life, made difficult by increasing anthropic pressure and polluting activities conducted by man, is also reflected in the intentions of public institutions to take measures of environmental risk mitigation. The change towards more liveable cities must also include the adoption of more far-reaching measures in various sectors. The objective of our work was to provide an analysis in order to assess which of the Italian provincial municipalities were most closely related to the paradigm of SSCs. This aim was pursued through a comparison based on the results of a partially non-compensatory quantitative method, known as the Pena’s Distance method (DP2). The smartest and most sustainable cities, such as Siena, Milan and Padua, were not identified on the basis of common urban characteristics but rather derived from the combination of distinctive and functional elements in the pursuit of a strategic approach aimed at fully exploiting the resources of each area. Moreover, at a macro-geographical level, from the analysis emerged the presence of contiguous clusters, i.e., areas in which a major concentration of smart sustainable municipalities tended to form.

Estudios recientes muestran la existencia de desigualdades espaciales en la dotación y uso de infraestructuras TIC de los hogares e individuos entre el norte, sur y este de Europa. Los estudios previos se han realizado a escala país o para ámbitos rurales-urbanos, sin analizar la existencia de patrones de distribución espacial. El objetivo es identificar patrones espaciales de uso de las TIC en hogares e individuos a nivel regional en Europa. La investigación se realiza con dos variables complejas: “Disponibilidad de acceso a internet y uso diario de comercio, banca y administración electrónica” o uso transaccional; y, “Uso de redes sociales por banda ancha” o uso relacional. Con 233 NUT 2 se analiza la: a) distribución y dispersión estadística del grado de variabilidad del uso de TIC; y, 2) autocorrelación espacial con SIG para identificar patrones espaciales mediante el cálculo de los índices globales de I de Moran y Getis-Ord, Anselin local de Moran y Getis-Ord Gi*. Se obtiene como resultado que el uso relacional presenta valores similares entre las regiones europeas, mostrando una distribución territorial uniforme, donde la componente espacial no es un factor de igual magnitud que para la variable transaccional que dibuja un definido patrón espacial con gradiente noroeste-sureste.