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This study addresses urban vulnerability in the Barcelona metropolitan area. The first stage involved constructing an urban vulnerability index of metropolitan neighbourhoods to establish a hierarchical structure and carry out a longitudinal analysis for the period 2001-2011, identifying change and persistence within the index hierarchy. The second stage entailed conducting an explanatory analysis of the permanence of, and transition to, extreme vulnerability, focusing on the role of institutional thickness. A methodology new to urban studies was used that was based on Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). The results showed persistent extreme vulnerability in the area and provided evidence that institutional thickness plays a complex and limited role in this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]