Signal Denser Spanish cities show more short trips and closer access to services (2021)

Summary

The report analyses how residential density relates to daily patterns in Spanish municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants in 2021. Cities with more people per square kilometre of residential land showed a larger share of trips shorter than 2 km. In those same cities, a higher proportion of households lived near basic services such as schools, hospitals and health centres, supermarkets, pharmacies and restaurants. The analysis draws on INE urban indicators and census data together with open mobility data from the transport ministry, counting only trips that start from the home. The report offers these results as evidence in favour of redensification, in which cities grow inward. Bringing services closer to where people live, it argues, can cut car dependence and increase active mobility.