HS Train and “excellence” activities. New location opportunities in the Rome-Naples urban system

Abstract

This paper analyzes the potential influences of the High Speed Trains (HST) on the location of “excellence” activities, such as directional and management ones, mainly referring to the new HST between Rome and Naples. To this aim, the main features of these activities have been outlined, such as the tendency to the urban concentration, the depedency on effective virtual and physical connections and the relevance of the “time” factor in their location choices (Sassen 2001). Then, according to some European experiences, the main effects, in terms of attraction/concentration of such activities, due to the HST, have been highlighted (Vickerman e Ulied 2006; Gemeente Amsterdam 2007). Based on that and taking into account the most recent definitions of the term accessibility and the related mesurement methods (Axhausen et al. 2006; Spiekermann e Wegener 2005), an accessibility index has been worked out for singling out and ranking a system of urban places, linked through railway networks (both HS and local), from which the mentioned activities could maximize their catchment area. The proposed index may represent an useful decision supporting tool both for public actors, allowing them to extend the benefits due to the HST, and for private subjects, to define the best locations for these activities. The accessibility index has been applied to the urban system Rome-Naples, allowing us to identify in each city, the areas which, according to their accessibility levels, are the most suitable for the location of the excellence activities.