IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i10p7899-d1144850.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of COVID-19 on the Territory and Demographic Processes: A View from Spanish Rural and Urban Areas

Author

Listed:
  • J. Javier Serrano

    (Geography Department, Research Institute of Local Development, Universitat de València, 46010 Valencia, Spain)

  • Félix Fajardo

    (Geography Department, Research Institute of Local Development, Universitat de València, 46010 Valencia, Spain)

Abstract

The current physiognomy and problems of rural and urban territories in Spain are directly related to the demographic processes linked to the rural exodus of the 1960s. In the year 2020, a new problem and/or conditioning factor arose, COVID-19, which has modified dynamics, routines, and aspects of the daily life of the population. The objectives of this research are to check whether there are differences in the effect of COVID-19 between urban and rural municipalities and, in turn, to analyse the demographic dynamics of the population between 2020 and 2022, as well as territorial distribution patterns. To this end, population data were extracted from the Population Register and Residential Variation data for the period 2010 and 2022 and demographic and statistical calculations (Student’s t -test and Pearson’s correlation) were carried out. Among the main results, it is observed that COVID-19 has less of an effect in Spanish rural areas. Moreover, these areas show a positive demographic trend for the period 2020–2022. Population growth has had a direct influence on the improvement of demographic data, although with differences according to autonomous communities. This fact represents a break in the trend in rural areas, but is beginning to show signs of exhaustion and a return to the pre-pandemic trend.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Javier Serrano & Félix Fajardo, 2023. "Impact of COVID-19 on the Territory and Demographic Processes: A View from Spanish Rural and Urban Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-27, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7899-:d:1144850
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/7899/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/7899/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Chiara Burlina, 2021. "Institutions and the uneven geography of the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 728-752, September.
    2. Borjas, George J., 2020. "Demographic Determinants of Testing Incidence and COVID-19 Infections in New York City Neighborhoods," IZA Discussion Papers 13115, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Irune Ruiz-Martínez & Javier Esparcia, 2020. "Internet Access in Rural Areas: Brake or Stimulus as Post-Covid-19 Opportunity?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Max Nathan & Henry Overman, 2020. "Will coronavirus cause a big city exodus?," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 47(9), pages 1537-1542, November.
    5. Miyu Komaki & Haruka Kato & Daisuke Matsushita, 2023. "Why Did Urban Exodus Occur during the COVID-19 Pandemic from the Perspective of Residential Preference of Each Type of Household? Case of Japanese Metropolitan Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    6. Hanna Elisabet Åberg & Simona Tondelli, 2021. "Escape to the Country: A Reaction-Driven Rural Renaissance on a Swedish Island Post COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-16, November.
    7. Haruka Kato & Atsushi Takizawa, 2022. "Impact of the Urban Exodus Triggered by the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Shrinking Cities of the Osaka Metropolitan Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-13, January.
    8. Jayson S. Jia & Xin Lu & Yun Yuan & Ge Xu & Jianmin Jia & Nicholas A. Christakis, 2020. "Population flow drives spatio-temporal distribution of COVID-19 in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 582(7812), pages 389-394, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dasgupta,Susmita & Wheeler,David R., 2020. "Modeling and Predicting the Spread of Covid-19: Comparative Results for the United States, thePhilippines, and South Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9419, The World Bank.
    2. Rink, Dieter & Haase, Annegret & Leibert, Tim & Wolff, Manuel, 2022. "COVID-19 als Ursache temporärer Schrumpfung: Zur Einwohnerentwicklung der 15 größten deutschen Städte im Jahr 2021," UFZ Discussion Papers 5/2022, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    3. Jonathan Muringani & Rune Dahl Fitjar & Andres Rodriguez-Pose, 2024. "Political trust and economic development in European regions," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2435, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Oct 2024.
    4. Bart Roelofs & Dimitris Ballas & Hinke Haisma & Arjen Edzes, 2022. "Spatial mobility patterns and COVID‐19 incidence: A regional analysis of the second wave in the Netherlands," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(S1), pages 21-40, November.
    5. Nicholas W. Papageorge & Matthew V. Zahn & Michèle Belot & Eline Broek-Altenburg & Syngjoo Choi & Julian C. Jamison & Egon Tripodi, 2021. "Socio-demographic factors associated with self-protecting behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 691-738, April.
    6. Brandily, Paul & Brébion, Clément & Briole, Simon & Khoury, Laura, 2021. "A poorly understood disease? The impact of COVID-19 on the income gradient in mortality over the course of the pandemic," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    7. Kuchler, Theresa & Russel, Dominic & Stroebel, Johannes, 2022. "JUE Insight: The geographic spread of COVID-19 correlates with the structure of social networks as measured by Facebook," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    8. Javier Barbero & Ernesto Rodríguez-Crespo, 2022. "Technological, institutional, and geographical peripheries: regional development and risk of poverty in the European regions," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 69(2), pages 311-332, October.
    9. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Chiara Burlina, 2021. "Institutions and the uneven geography of the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 728-752, September.
    10. Alfano, Vincenzo, 2024. "Unlocking the importance of perceived governance: The impact on COVID-19 in NUTS-2 European regions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).
    11. Wang, Peipei & Liu, Haiyan & Zheng, Xinqi & Ma, Ruifang, 2023. "A new method for spatio-temporal transmission prediction of COVID-19," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    12. Lei Che & Jiangang Xu & Hong Chen & Dongqi Sun & Bao Wang & Yunuo Zheng & Xuedi Yang & Zhongren Peng, 2022. "Evaluation of the Spatial Effect of Network Resilience in the Yangtze River Delta: An Integrated Framework for Regional Collaboration and Governance under Disruption," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Bergeaud, Antonin & Eyméoud, Jean-Benoît & Garcia, Thomas & Henricot, Dorian, 2023. "Working from home and corporate real estate," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    14. Luca, Davide & Özgüzel, Cem & Wei, Zhiwu, 2024. "The spatially uneven diffusion of remote jobs in Europe," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122651, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. van Vuuren, Aico, 2022. "Is There a Diminishing Value of Urban Amenities as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic?," IZA Discussion Papers 15025, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Andrew J. Curtis & Jayakrishnan Ajayakumar & Jacqueline Curtis & Sam Brown, 2022. "Spatial Syndromic Surveillance and COVID-19 in the U.S.: Local Cluster Mapping for Pandemic Preparedness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-15, July.
    17. Abel Brodeur & David Gray & Anik Islam & Suraiya Bhuiyan, 2021. "A literature review of the economics of COVID‐19," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1007-1044, September.
    18. Liu, Li-Jing & Yao, Yun-Fei & Liang, Qiao-Mei & Qian, Xiang-Yan & Xu, Chun-Lei & Wei, Si-Yi & Creutzig, Felix & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2021. "Combining economic recovery with climate change mitigation: A global evaluation of financial instruments," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 438-453.
    19. Richard Florida & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Michael Storper, 2023. "Critical Commentary: Cities in a post-COVID world," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(8), pages 1509-1531, June.
    20. Miyu Komaki & Haruka Kato & Daisuke Matsushita, 2023. "Why Did Urban Exodus Occur during the COVID-19 Pandemic from the Perspective of Residential Preference of Each Type of Household? Case of Japanese Metropolitan Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7899-:d:1144850. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.