Measuring Accessibility Within Islands

This paper explores the dynamics of marginality and geographic peripherality at the island level, focusing on accessibility within Italy’s two largest islands, Sicily and Sardinia, and exploring their internal variability. It assesses spatial inequalities faced by populations in the islands’ inner areas by leveraging the SNAI (National Strategy for Inner Areas) classification and analyzing travel times from municipalities (Local Administrative Units—LAU) to major cities, key urban centers providing essential services, and primary transport infrastructure. Travel times, measured in minutes, are derived using GIS tools and reflect the TomTom road network data. Results show that internal travel times are particularly long on both islands and highlight that insularity is not a homogeneous concept but instead exhibits significant within-island differences. In Sardinia, the eastern part is the most disadvantaged, while in Sicily, the disadvantage is more dispersed, affecting multiple areas. The findings offer valuable insights into the challenges of insularity and contribute to discussions on regional development, spatial equity, and policy strategies to improve accessibility for island communities.