Swimming in the pools’ landscape: A canonical analysis of socioeconomic disparities, suburbanization models, and sustainable development in Mediterranean Europe

Abstract

The sudden increase of residential swimming pools in fringe landscapes is reflective of urban sprawl and depends on intricate processes of social stratification and economic diversification. They are considered a dominant feature of low-density settlements expanding into rural areas. To achieve a better understanding of the spatial distribution of swimming pools in the context of varying mechanisms of wealth accumulation and income polarizations, a comparative analysis was conducted in three metropolitan regions of Southern Europe, specifically Barcelona (Spain), Rome (Italy), and Athens (Greece). The unique characteristics of the local context in each city were intended as a multivariate predictor of urban diversity and regional heterogeneity in the socio-spatial evolution of human settlements. To achieve this, a Canonical Correlation Analysis was run on five dependent variables (left set) that illustrate the spatial distribution of swimming pools and 50 indicators (right set) that characterize the socioeconomic context and the conditions leading to sustainable (local) development. The empirical results of this analysis delineate a consistent association between swimming pools and urban sprawl, regardless of the specific region/country under investigation. The spatial distribution and density of swimming pools also reflect the distinct local dynamics that underlie recent metropolitan growth, with implications for sustainable development on a broader scale. Due to the spatially varying economic foundations and socio-demographic circumstances, the distribution of swimming pools in Southern Europe reflects unique patterns of suburbanization. These patterns imply different forms of social diversification and economic polarization which, in turn, shape fringe landscapes, ranging from the micro-geography of neighbourhoods to the macro-scale of metropolitan regions.