Mr Norbert Jaworski (p), Prof Tomasz Kopczewski

We introduce a new spatial competition index that blends the classical Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) with ideas from ecological competition. The metric is density-aware: it uses Voronoi catchments to assign population to the nearest unit (e.g., store or school) and summarises concentration at both the unit and type levels. We also extend the index to separate inter- and intra-type competition. As a proof of concept, we use simulations to test the behaviour of the index for different numbers of units and population-density schemes. The simulations show intuitive patterns: concentration rises when units are sited unevenly or when people are clustered; doing both amplifies the effect. Case studies from Warsaw—Żabka as a monopoly-like network, the Biedronka–Lidl duopoly, and public primary schools—are based on real data and serve as an empirical proof of concept. We also frame location choice as a practical optimisation problem for planners (minimise concentration) and managers (strengthen a focal type), showing how a density-aware approach changes the diagnosis and guides siting decisions. Results are robust across data and modelling choices and are reproducible with open data.

Ms Inessa Tregubova (p)

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped urban dynamics, shifting the traditional “home-work-third place” triad toward a new “home-third place-home” pattern. As remote work facilitates residential relocation to more affordable suburbs, “new third places” increasingly substitute for traditional Central Business District (CBD) offices. While diverse urban amenities are known to attract remote workers, the specific influence of these third places on neighborhood choice remains under-researched due to complex identification challenges.

This study develops a novel methodology to identify emerging “new third places” in the Tel-Aviv Metropolitan Area (TAM) and examines their role in supporting neighborhood-level remote work. We construct a dataset for potential remote-work Points of Interest (POIs) using GPS signals (January 2020–September 2023) and Google Places API features. To pinpoint exact office substitutes, we apply a Natural Language Processing Word2Vec model to measure the semantic distance of each POI to “work,” followed by a Logistic Regression classifier with Elkan and Noto adjustment, utilizing Google Reviews as positive ground truth.

To evaluate how this newly identified infrastructure reshapes commercial activity, we employ a stepwise Two-Way Fixed Effects panel regression. This spatial econometric framework interacts the post-COVID structural shift with CBD distance, occupational telework capacity, and local third-place density.

Our results reveal that a robust local stock of third places significantly anchors residents and boosts localized commercial vitality. However, this magnetic pull is subject to steep spatial decay: while it successfully shrinks travel radii and drives neighborhood consumption in the urban core, it struggles to replicate this retention power in auto-dependent suburban peripheries. Ultimately, these findings provide critical insights into the spatial limits of the “15-minute city” and the uneven geographic footprint of the remote work transition.

Mr Ricardo Martinez De Vega Perancho (p), Mr Wladimir Cerda Cerda

Spain faces an unprecedented demographic challenge. Declining birth rates and rapid population aging threaten the sustainability of public finances, economic growth, and the efficient allocation of resources. In this context, immigration has emerged as a key driver of population dynamics, with the foreign-born population growing by nearly \textbf{48\%} between 2014 and 2025. This resurgence in immigration flows has sparked an intense public and political debate about the consequences of immigration, not only for the labour market but also for the housing market. This concern is particularly pressing given that, over the same period, housing supply has remained highly inelastic relative to the construction boom of the early 2000s, leaving local housing markets with limited capacity to absorb demand shocks. In this context, and at a time when the government has announced new regularisation measures for 2026, housing has become a focal point of the social and political agenda.

We study how local housing markets adjust to immigration using a novel municipal-level panel that offers substantially greater spatial detail and measurement accuracy than existing evidence for Spain, which largely operates at the provincial (NUTS 3) level and often relies on listing or appraisal values. Our analysis draws on a balanced panel of 699 municipalities (LAU 2 level), those municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, excluding Vasque Country, Navarra, Ceuta and Melilla due to data limitations.), combining administrative population registers (Padrón Continuo) with transaction-level housing data from the Portal Estadístico del Notariado for the period 2014--2025. Housing variables include the average transaction price per square metre and the average transaction price per dwelling.

Our IV estimates show that a one percentage point increase in the local immigration rate raises housing prices by 0.7\% in the short run, with the effect growing to 2.36\% in the long run. These estimates are robust to the use of alternative price measures, including appraisal values and rental prices, although the effects are smaller in those cases.