Toward ‘Unequal Landscapes’? Second-Home Expansion, Tourism Polarities, and Socioeconomic Disparities Revisited
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13052/spee1048-5236.4528Keywords:
Regional economics, territorial background, urban-rural gradient, local dynamics, indicatorsAbstract
Empirical research examining the interrelations between settlement morphology and functional dynamics in metropolitan regions of advanced economies engages with a field that is both complex and intellectually stimulating. Within this framework, metropolitan systems in the old continent constitute a particularly compelling case, as they exhibit pronounced local specificities while simultaneously revealing (broader) structural trends and functional dynamics. These cities especially display a composite landscape in which diverse settlement morphologies intersect with intricate patterns of socio-spatial segregation. Against this background, the present study focuses on metropolitan Athens, Greece, with the objective of discussing the spatial distribution of residential (private) swimming pools in relation to a restricted set of socioeconomic aspects taken as indicators of territorial disparities. Particular attention has been devoted to evaluating claims that swimming pools act as ‘territorial markers’ of luxury consumption and ‘lock-living’ suburbanization, with implications for local class segregation and regional socio-spatial organization. More broadly, the study contributes to an empirical assessment of the evolving relationship between metropolitan expansion, demographic restructuring, and environmental sustainability in Mediterranean landscapes.
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