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Territorial fragility in Italy: A multidimensional analysis

  • Samuela L'Abbate
  • Paola Perchinunno
  • Antonella Massari
  • Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo
  • Francesco Rotondo
  • Lucia Mongelli

This study explores territorial fragility across Italy’s provinces using a multidimensional framework that integrates social, economic, environmental, and infrastructural indicators. The aim is to identify at-risk areas and uncover spatial patterns of fragility that are not necessarily aligned with the conventional North–South divide. To capture the complexity of fragility, we applied the Totally Fuzzy and Relative (TFR) method, which synthesizes multiple dimensions into a single, interpretable index. Each province received a fuzzy value ranging from 0 to 1, with lower values denoting higher fragility. The method also provides indicator-specific weights, emphasizing the relative influence of each variable on overall fragility. Subsequently, the DBSCAN clustering algorithm was employed to identify spatial groupings of provinces with similar fragility profiles. This density-based approach detects clusters of arbitrary shape without requiring the number of groups to be specified in advance and distinguishes meaningful patterns from statistical noise. Findings reveal a heterogeneous distribution of fragility, with clusters of high-risk areas emerging not only in southern regions, but also in parts of central and northern Italy. These results challenge macro-regional assumptions and highlight the need for place-based policies tailored to local conditions. The integrated methodology proposed provides a robust tool for territorial planning, supporting more targeted and equitable interventions. By combining multidimensional assessment with spatial clustering, the approach offers a novel lens for understanding the geography of fragility and guiding context-sensitive decision-making.

  • Keywords:
  • Territorial fragility,
  • Multidimensional analysis,
  • TFR method,
  • DBSCAN,
  • Spatial clustering,
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Samuela L'Abbate

University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-1700-3377

Paola Perchinunno

University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-7343-5900

Antonella Massari

University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-9652-5423

Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo

Sapienza University of Rome, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-9785-0436

Francesco Rotondo

Marche Polytechnic University, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-8599-7994

Lucia Mongelli

ISTAT, Italian National Institute of Statistics, Italy

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  2. Campello, R.J.G.B., Moulavi, D., Zimek, A., Sander, J. (2015). Hierarchical density estimates for data clustering, visualization, and outlier detection. ACM Transactions on Knowledge Discovery from Data, 10(1), pp. 1-51. DOI: 10.1145/2733381
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  4. ISTAT (2023). Rapporto BES 2023: Il benessere equo e sostenibile in Italia. ISTAT, Roma. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-17299-1_1549
  5. ISTAT (2024). BES at Local Level – 2024 Edition. ISTAT, Roma.
  6. McInnes, L., Healy, J., Astels, S. (2017). HDBSCAN: Hierarchical density based clustering. Journal of Open-Source Software, 2(11), pp. 205-205. DOI: 10.21105/joss.00205
  7. Schubert, E., Sander, J., Ester, M., Kriegel, H.P., Xu, X. (2017). DBSCAN revisited, revisited: Why and how you should (still) use DBSCAN. ACM SIGMOD Record, 46(3), pp. 30-39.
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  • Anno di pubblicazione: 2026
  • Pagine: 243-248

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  • Anno di pubblicazione: 2026

Informazioni sul capitolo

Titolo del capitolo

Territorial fragility in Italy: A multidimensional analysis

Autori

Samuela L'Abbate, Paola Perchinunno, Antonella Massari, Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo, Francesco Rotondo, Lucia Mongelli

Lingua

Inglese

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-1062-1.43

Opera sottoposta a peer review

Anno di pubblicazione

2026

Copyright

© 2026 Author(s)

Licenza d'uso

CC BY 4.0

Licenza dei metadati

CC0 1.0

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

CC BY 4.0

Licenza dei metadati

CC0 1.0

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

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979-12-215-1063-8

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Applied Statistics Series

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