- Data, Statistics and AI for Well-Being of People and Organisations
- A cura di Luigi Fabbris, Alberto Franci, Pietro Renzi
Depopulation of inner areas and subjective wellbeing during commuting: Evidence from the Italian time use survey
- Erica Aloè
- Marina Zannella
- Roberta Di Stefano
- Alessandra De Rose
- © 2026 Author(s) |
- CC BY 4.0
- DOI: 10.36253/979-12-215-1062-1.4
Depopulation processes are strongly connected with ageing, driven by a lower birth rate compared to the death rate and negative net migration. An alternative to migration is commuting, which may help counteract depopulation. However, travel-to-work or travel-to-school patterns significantly impact subjective well-being and quality of life, especially for residents in inner areas. This paper aims to study the relationships between depopulation processes, mobility choices, daily life activities and individual well-being by taking into account the spatial heterogeneity between those living in small towns and disadvantaged areas versus those living in core areas. Our case study is Italy. To investigate the determinants of positive commuting experiences, we draw on the most recent wave (2013–2014) of the Italian Multipurpose Time Use Survey (IT-TUS). Our results confirm that commuting is not experienced uniformly across individuals and territories but reflects the interplay between spatial opportunities and gendered time constraints.
- Keywords:
- Depopulation,
- Inner Areas,
- Commuting,
- Wellbeing,
Sapienza University of Rome, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-3483-6936
ISTAT, Italian National Institute of Statistics, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-2412-0819
Sapienza University of Rome, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-2352-3571
Sapienza University of Rome, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-7533-1435
- Chatterjee, K., Chng, S., Clark, B., Davis, A., De Vos, J., Ettema, D., Handy, S., Martin, A., Reardon, L. (2020). Commuting and well-being: A critical overview of the literature with implications for policy and future research. Transport Reviews, 40(1), pp. 5–34. DOI: 10.1080/01441647.2019.1649317
- Costa, G., Pickup, L., Di Martino, V. (1988). Commuting — a further stress factor for working people: Evidence from the European Community. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 60(5), pp. 377–385. DOI: 10.1007/bf00405674
- De Luca, C., Tondelli, S., Aberg, H. E. (2020). The Covid-19 pandemic effects in rural areas. Turning challenges into opportunities for rural regeneration. TEMA - Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, pp. 119–132. DOI: 10.22605/rrh6404
- Gimenez-Nadal, J.I., Molina, J.A. (2019). Daily feelings of US workers and commuting time. Journal of Transport and Health, 12, pp. 21–33. DOI: 10.1016/j.jth.2018.11.001
- ILO (2018). Care Work and Care Jobs for the Future of Decent Work.
- Liu, J., Ettema, D., Helbich, M. (2022). Systematic review of the association between commuting, subjective wellbeing and mental health. Travel Behaviour and Society, 28, pp. 59–74. DOI: 10.1016/j.tbs.2022.02.006
- Reynaud, C., Miccoli, S. (2018). Depopulation and the aging population: The relationship in Italian municipalities. Sustainability (Switzerland), 10(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041004 DOI: 10.3390/su10041004
- Reynaud, C., Miccoli, S., Benassi, F., Naccarato, A., Salvati, L. (2020). Unravelling a demographic ‘mosaic’: Spatial patterns and contextual factors of depopulation in Italian municipalities, 1981–2011. Ecological Indicators, 115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106356 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106356
- Schoeni, R.F., Ofstedal, M.B. (2010). Key themes in research on the demography of aging. Demography, 47(Suppl 1), pp. S5–S15. DOI: 10.1353/dem.2010.0001
- Sun, B., Lin, J., Yin, C. (2021). How does commute duration affect subjective well-being? A case study of Chinese cities. Transportation, 48(2), pp. 885–908. DOI: 10.1007/s11116-020-10082-3
- Viñas, C.D. (2019). Depopulation processes in European rural areas: A case study of Cantabria (Spain). European Countryside, 11(3), pp. 341–369. DOI: 10.2478/euco-2019-0021
- Wheatley, D. (2014). Travel-to-work and subjective well-being: A study of UK dual career households. Journal of Transport Geography, 39, pp. 187–196. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2014.07.009
- Zannella, M., Rose, A. De, Aloè, E., Corsi, M. (2024). Paid and unpaid work in pandemic times. A study on the division of household labour and the subjective well-being of working mothers in Italy. Springer Proceedings in Mathematics and Statistics, 467, pp. 101–112. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-65699-6_21
Informazioni sul capitolo
Titolo del capitolo
Depopulation of inner areas and subjective wellbeing during commuting: Evidence from the Italian time use survey
Autori
Erica Aloè, Marina Zannella, Roberta Di Stefano, Alessandra De Rose
Lingua
Inglese
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1062-1.4
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Anno di pubblicazione
2026
Copyright
© 2026 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Informazioni bibliografiche
Titolo del libro
Data, Statistics and AI for Well-Being of People and Organisations
Curatori
Luigi Fabbris, Alberto Franci, Pietro Renzi
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Numero di pagine
420
Anno di pubblicazione
2026
Copyright
© 2026 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Editore
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1062-1
ISBN Print
979-12-215-1061-4
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-1062-1
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-1063-8
Collana
Applied Statistics Series