Polycentrism and Effective Territorial Structures: Basilicata Region Case Study

The term ‘polycentrism’ describes a model of territorial settlement of all human activities in which there are a plurality of connected centres. Polycentrism refers to two very important aspects: the morphological one, which concerns the distribution of built environment in the territory, and the functional one, which concerns the relations between the different poles. The study for the identification of territorial structures in Basilicata region was conducted through the analysis of several variables: the demographic structure, the infrastructural endowment and the organizational models that condition territorial accessibility. This led to the delineation of a decentralized network scheme, formed by several centralized networks whose nodes are connected to the node of the main network. Three levels of polycentric hierarchy have been identified in Basilicata. Those correspond the urban centres with the highest population density in which the concentration values of services and equipment are meant. The proposed geography represents a relevant starting point to compare ex-ante and ex-post scenario of current programming acts.