Socio-spatial inequalities and urban transformation. The case of Rome districts.

Over the past thirty years, public policy in Rome has failed to effectively address a rising level of socio-economic inequality. Indicators such as level of education or number of household members appear to be geographically concentrated and sensitive to the distance from the city centre. The hypothesis that socio-spatial inequalities strongly influence economic performance and foster political instability has been subject to numerous empirical investigations. Nevertheless, studies of specific urban contexts are not common. The absence of empirical applications at this scale is probably due to the fact that variables used for analysing the economic and social performance of regions are difficult to quantify or inapplicable at the micro level. The purpose of this paper is to examine the spatial distribution of socioeconomic inequalities in the municipal territory of Rome and to explore the conditions that account for them. We will analyse the spatial distribution of urban quality indicators and socio-economic profiles with data from different sources, aggregated at the neighbourhood level. • A unique dataset disaggregated at the neighbourhood level is used to investigate the spatial distribution of socioeconomic inequalities in Rome. • Spatial inequalities are analyzed trough multicriteria analysis. • Distribution of inequalities is influenced by the core/periphery effect as well as by demographic trends and political events. • New planning and policy approaches are needed to effectively address inequalities in Roma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]