Risultati per " Resources"

The memory of water. Hydrosocial fragility and urbanisation in Cagliari. – In Italy, the modern abstraction of human beings from the environment has led to a strict technicist management of natural resources and to a clear separation between urban and social policies, not entirely overcome by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). In particular, urban strategies struggle to reason about the role of water in the territorial system, relegating it to technical risk management interventions. From the debate around the mesological approach, various declinations of the relationship between human presence and water outline an often-chaotic palimpsest of plans and visions of urban space.
The contribution addresses the case study of the Cagliari municipality of Pirri, in the relationship between the historical condition of hydrogeological and social fragility and the new urban strategies to contrast risk. This systemisation is possible by adopting a reading of Pirri as a hydro-social territory, which allows us to critically reconstruct the history of the hydro-social fragility of this territory and consequently to re-read past and future planning policies.
Counter-Geographies of Wine: Marginal Viticultural Practices and the Transition To-ward a Post-Alcoholic Enotourism. The Role of Acquata. – This article proposes a critical re-reading of contemporary wine geographies through the notion of counter-geographies, focusing on acquata—a traditional post-fermentative beverage derived from the rehydration of grape pomace—as an epistemic and territorial device capable of reconfiguring the cultural and ecological meanings of wine production. Building on the theoretical framework of post-alcoholic enotourism, the study explores how emerging “NoLo” (no- and low-alcohol) consumption regimes intersect with transformations in rural landscapes, sustainability policies, and socio-symbolic practices of conviviality. Historical and geographical analysis reveals that acquata, far from being a marginal residue of pre-industrial viticulture, embodies a vernacular knowledge system rooted in circular use of resources, social equity, and ecological restraint. Its historical erasure through modern regulatory frameworks reflects broader processes of epistemic and territorial exclusion within capitalist agri-food regimes. By reactivating ac-quata as a cultural and political tool, the paper advances the hypothesis of a regenerative geography of wine, in which residual practices and marginal knowledges serve as generative forces for more inclusive, sustainable, and plural forms of enotourism and territorial identity.
The participatory process of community tourism in Oscata for the enhancement of Alta Irpinia. - Tourism is one of the most disruptive phenomena on a global scale, both as concerns intensity in terms of the flows of people it moves and for the economic, social and environmental transformations it brings. The exploitation of territorial resources and the effects tourism produces can at times result irreversible on the environmental system of reference. This element has often been underestimated by the tourism industry remaining unable to prevent the negative consequences of mass tourism which, on the one hand, damages resources and, on the other, corrodes the socio-territorial fabric. Consequently, a rethinking of the processes of development in the sector is necessary from the perspective of sustainability through local community participation.
The paper, based on the experience of Oscata, a rural village situated in Alta Irpinia, aims to reflect on alternative forms of tourism such as community tourism which welcomes visitors offering them hospitality underpinned by emotional and culturally interesting involvement thus triggering integration and participation in the local community's routine activities and mainstream social events.
Mountain Villages and Resources for Sustainable Development: The Role of Traditional Water Systems in the Tourism-Cultural Ecosystem in Oman. – Prior to the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Hajar Mountains, which are renowned for their distinctive peaked hills (Jebel Akhdar and Jebel Shams), were primarily frequented by the local community. However, recent years have seen a significant rise in international visitors, particularly to the mountain villages of northern Oman, known for their unique natural and cultural heritage. Key elements include the wadis, seasonal riverbeds, and the aflaj, ancient irrigation channels crucial for agriculture and daily life. Among the most significant aflaj are Falaj al-Khatmeen (Birkat Al Mouz) and Falaj Daris (Nizwa), both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Despite their cultural value, these sites experience short tourist stays, usually not exceeding two days. This study explores tourist flows, visitor motivations, and local tour guides’ perspectives, using archival research, field surveys, and semi-structured interviews. The findings highlight the need for a new tourism strategy, shifting from a transit-based model to a sustainable tourism approach. Proposed itineraries integrating Birkat Al Mouz and Nizwa aim to extend tourist stays, enhance engagement with the region’s cultural and natural assets, and generate lasting economic benefits for local communities. By promoting responsible tourism, this study advocates for the protection of UNESCO sites, cultural heritage preservation, and the active involvement of local populations in tourism development.
The new opportunities offered by immersive and inclusive technologies to represent and rediscover the complex relationship between human communities and water resources. – In order to know, represent and interpret the complex relationship between water landscapes and human communities the new technologies (immersive cartography, three-dimensional web, augmented reality, 3D environments) represent extraordinary and functional tools both for research and for territorial information and promotion actions in terms of tourism. Evidence of this is the project “Tourist Itineraries to Discover the Waters of Italy”, conceived and promoted by the GECOAGRI LANDITALY Interuniversity Research Group Association and financed by ACEA, aimed at promoting a process of water resource enhancement in the dimension of environmental, economic and social sustainability. The authors through some exemplifications and using a methodology of operational analysis, characterized by new syntaxes, reconstruct with the help of augmented reality and immersive technologies, as well as the canonical geocartographic and documentary sources, the material and immaterial dimension of the water resource in the Conca reatina, Umbilicus Italiae, where the sociocultural dynamics underlying the relationship between water and population, narrate experiences of vulnerability and development, participation and conflict, protection and threat. Through 10 ten interactive and implementable totem-stations, it is possible to embark on an inclusive and participatory journey that allows people to explore even inaccessible places. Not only video and audio, historical and thematic cartographies, photos and three-dimensional images, but also drone shots from which to observe from above what nature and culture have achieved and, if necessary, to land in particular places reconstructed through augmented reality that allows one to observe them as they were and as they are today, making clear the processes of transformation of which signs and sedimentations remain in the landscape palimpsest.
The management of water resources in mountain contexts in ecological transition. – The frequency and concatenation of environmental and climatic phenomena requires a reflection on our way of managing the change, and in this direction the principle of “custody of the high lands” enhances the awareness of the communities on ecosystem services related to the precious water resources, essential to the biodiversity and the basis of stable economies for the mountain. The contribution intends to build a critical framework on interventions oriented to stem the water crises, adopted in the most vulnerable national mountain areas but which at-tempt the difficult territorial transition path on the climate tendency scenarios. The strategies will be analyzed, promoted by regional legislation and innovative regulations, for the territorialization of the actions on the management of the resource, but also complex projects and multi-sectoral studies with direct repercussions on physical and cultural landscapes, which therefore lead to inclusive forms of governance and participate.
Sound waves. Podcasting and teaching on water geographies. – In a resonant world, the attention to soundscapes of the international geographic community is growing, bringing into hearing ongoing reflections on cohabitation and interspecies alliances in the Anthropocene. At the same time, the use of podcast in academia is growing, to teach and disseminate geography beyond academic boundaries, and thus increase the public impact of research.
In this context, starting from the narration of the recording practices of
two sound artists – Renato Rinaldi and Attila Faravelli – with whom the author has recently collaborated in research on sonic waterscapes, the article question and discuss if and how podcasts can help develop a sensitivity towards water resources.
Territorial management and promotion of the tourism offer: a study on the city of Benevento. – This paper explores tourism management in the Sannio region, focusing on Benevento. It highlights the importance of integrating the region’s natural, cultural, and gastronomic resources into a cohesive tourism offer. Through surveys and interviews with visitors, the study identifies key strengths, such as the region’s unique identity and attractions, but also highlights challenges like limited accessibility and inadequate infrastructure. Wellness, nature-based, and cultural tourism are identified as high-potential growth segments. The paper recommends strategic, integrated management, including infrastructure improvements, targeted marketing, and collaborative governance to enhance tourism developTerritorial management, Proximity tourism, Tourism, Territo-rial competitivenessment and competitiveness.
Water resources as an engine of local development: the case of the “water villages” of Rasiglia and Borghetto. – There are several cities have made water their hall-mark of tourist attractiveness and socio-economic development. In Italy, this category includes all the large coastal cities (such as Venice, Naples, Cagliari or Palermo) or those crossed by large rivers (Bologna, Florence, Rome), the centers that have sprung up on the edges of large lakes (Riva del Garda, Bolsena, Bracciano, etc. ) or those known because they are linked to the presence of hot springs (Saturnia, Montecatini, Fiuggi Acqui, etc.), but also the localities that bear precisely the title of “water village” and thus make it a distinctive and characteristic element. It is precisely these small and charming villages, hamlets of municipalities in inland areas, scattered in the various regions of Italy that over time have been able to enhance water both as a landscape element but also as an element of production and economic development, that are the subject of this contribution. Among these, the cases of Rasiglia and Borghetto will be analyzed to describe the role that technology in the past has played in building the relationship of these localities with water, the role it has today and could have in the next future to contribute to their path toward building a circular economy and thus sustainable development.
Remote, inner, left behind? The actors, social infrastructures and multivelevel governance of remote habitability. – This paper focuses on the assemblage of material and immaterial infrastructures, actors and multilevel policies that enhance (or impair) what we define as “remote habitability” in left-behind, remote areas. Applying the ethnographic sensitivity urged by Tomaney et al. (2024) for understanding in-depth the “making, unmaking and remaking” of contested social infrastructures in left-behind places, we present theoretical reflections and empirical evidence that draw upon a multisite fieldwork in the municipalities that compose the “Gran Sasso-Valle Subequana” subgroup within the Italian “National Strategy for Inner Areas” national policy framework (SNAI). The archival research, semi-structured inter-views and empirical observations that engaged institutional and non-institutional actors let emerge patterns of action, discourse and perception of social infrastructures and resources that are necessary for grappling with the identification and conceptualization of “remote habitability”.
Glaciers and Water bodies: Considerations and Emerging Prospects in Alpine Settings. – This research highlights the importance of the relationship between glacier health, snow cover, water resources availability and territories in the Alpine region. Snow has the strategic task of protecting glaciers, feeding freshwater reserves, regulating sea level and supporting local communities. However, snowfall is decreasing and snow and ice are melting faster due to global warming. Therefore, planning future risk management strategies is mandatory for water governance and environmental protection. In this regard Engadin represents an interesting case study. In this region, a local project aims at slowing down the retreat of the Morteratsch glacier. Moreover, a watercourse renaturation project has also been implemented in order to overcome the problem of substantially increased river flow due to rapidly melting glaciers. These are examples of policies that should take into account current climate changes and the physical conditions of the mountain environment.
Territorial education through the rivers. The “Flowing with the rivers” public engagement project. – The contribution reflects on how the value of water resources in the ecological transition can be shared and strengthened through geo-graphical education. In particular, the Public Engagement project “Flow-ing with the rivers”, financed with 48,500 euros by the University of Turin, whose objective was the development of an educational model to sustainably reconstruct the relationships between human communities and territory around water as a resource and fundamental element in all relationships between natural and human systems. The project activities developed between 2021 and 2023, concentrating the action on the territory between Turin and Savigliano, in particular between the Po, Tanaro and Maira rivers, and involved universities, associations, schools with teachers, students and parents, citizens, media and local administrations. The involvement of local communities was considered a basis of geographical education, starting from the idea that through awareness of the ecological, cultural and economic value of rivers it is possible to arrive at a plan for life, care and sustainable development that produces a social and cultural change in the valorization and management of water resources. The interdisciplinary working group, scientifically directed by Cristiano Giorda, involved fifteen researchers from six different departments and scientific areas. The main methodology followed was that of territorial education through outdoor education and place and art based learning activities, ca-pable of territorialising the scientific and artistic dimensions with skills linked to territorial values, landscape, sustainable development -bile and active citizenship.
Inland, trails and local tourism as a tool for local development: the case of Centola in Campania. – The municipality of Centola, in Campania, in his hinterland is rich in naturalistic resources, in particular linked to paths and slow routes, which are rather marginal when compared to the popularity of the coastal area. In the framework of a proximity tourism oriented to the rediscovery of less valued resources (paths, green ways, nature trails, etc.), this contribution, through a field survey and the aid of qualitative instruments, investigates the underestimated potential of some paths, located in the immediate surroundings of the most popular coastal attractions in the municipality of Centola. The work aims to understand how the potential of slow and proximity tourism can be seized for the valorisation of the areas investigated in view of new forms of local development
Territorial and geopolitical dynamics of the international professional tennis tour. – Major events, and in particular sports events, play an important role in contemporary society, mobilising huge amounts of resources and helping to delineate political, social and territorial phenomena of great interest. In this sense, just think of how many actors are involved in the organisation and management of competitions that, although they often take place in local contexts, are part of broader and more complex relational networks that often reach the international level. This contribution focuses on the territorial and geopolitical dynamics that characterise the major events of the international professional tennis tour. In particular, an attempt will be made to identify the logics underlying the geographical distribution of the different locations in an attempt to understand whether the choices depend on geopolitical reasons or are instead essentially linked to territorial characteristics or whether they depend on a mix of motivations. In addition, we aim to investigate whether and with what effects climate variations has already influenced or may influence the organisation of events on the international professional tennis tour in the future.
Rationalities and socio-spatial effects of hydraulic infrastructure in Sardinia. – The infrastructural processes of the water system unfold over extended periods, often resulting in nonlinearities within the processes themselves, despite originating as explicit projects aimed at material control over resources and territorial development. These constructions give rise to various interpretations of irrigation systems, intersectoral conflicts, and power struggles among the different actors involved in their management and use. The aim of this article is to engage in dialogue regarding the water infrastructure process in Sardinia, examining its intersection with the different rationales guiding water management and territorial development policies. It highlights both internal and external factors influencing these processes, as well as the significance of historical legacies.
Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Water Resources Management. Case Study: Gorgovivo, Ancona. – The urgent need to address challenges related to the sustainable management of water resources has prompted the scientific and technological community to explore innovative solutions that can make a significant contribution to achieving the goals and sustainability strategies of the UN’s 2030 Agenda. In this context, Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerges as a powerful ally, offering advanced tools for the collection, analysis, and management of water data efficiently and effectively. Using machine learning algorithms and neural networks, AI enables accurate prediction of water demand, facilitating optimal planning and allocation of resources. Moreover, the integration of smart sensors and monitoring systems allows real-time control of water resources, improving the response capacity to environmental variations and emergencies.
The purpose of the research is to examine how AI can optimize water treatment and distribution processes, reducing waste and enhancing the energy efficiency of water facilities; the use of predictive models based on historical data and environmental variables allows for proactive management of resources, thus contributing to their conservation and long-term sustainability. In this perspective, an AI-based system will be adopted to predict the groundwater levels of the Gorgovivo spring (AN), using historical data from the spring itself, the level of the Esino river, and rainfall stations. The proposed AI model is based on the Prophet predictive algorithm, specifically designed to manage time series forecasting applications; as adapted by us, the predictive model was evaluated using the mean absolute error (MAE), mean squared error (MSE), and correlation criteria.
Hydric resources as patterns for a community regeneration: the Gleno dam between memory and innovation in Scalve Valley. – Geography offers tools for territorial analysis and planning which, by integrating field research with geographic information technologies, propose innovative approaches to support re-generation processes. This is strategic in mountain contexts where, over time, water resources management has been at the core of a delicate co-evolutionary relationship between humans and non-humans and, sometimes, has caused catastrophic fractures induced by anthropic action, like dam collapsing. The essay presents the case study of the Gleno Dam in the Scalve Valley, province of Bergamo, where, since the collapse centenary (1923-2023), the geographers of the Imago Mundi Lab at the University of Bergamo have been carrying out research aimed at reconstructing the territorial stratification generated over time, focusing on the role of water and the disastrous results of the dam collapse on the entire valley. Many places abandoned after the disaster can today be regenerated through co-design processes using mapping systems and placing water at the centre of new symbolic meanings, cultural functions, and production practices.
Relational goods, imbalances, and the society-environment relationship. – The interactions between the economy, the environment, and territorial systems form a complex network that influences the structure and development of regions. The reflection is carried out both in relation to imbalances and in the reinterpretation of ecological and socio-spatial relations, collaborative processes, and the organisation and reorganisation of space as relational goods. The issue of territorial imbalances is linked to the question of conflicts within political ecology. The objective of this paper is, therefore, to present a theoretical reflection that aims to deepen the relationship between the economy, the environment, and territorial systems, focusing specifically on relational goods in the context of two spatiotemporal dimensions and referring to a territorial system as an alternative approach. The complexity of the territorial system, therefore, suggests taking into account the communicative and relational interdependencies between local actors, that influence economic growth and sustainable development. Finally, the responsible use of territorial resources requires public policies that reduce spatial inequalities, promote the active participation of territorial actors and the sustainable management of resources as components of local development.
Urban regeneration and tourism in peripheral neighbourhoods: the case of Bagnoli (Naples). – This article deals with the relationship between suburbs, urban regeneration and tourism development by addressing the case of Bagnoli, a former industrial district on the western outskirts of Naples. Bagnoli is a coastal neighbourhood which preserves the dismissed facilities and the social landscape from its industrial past and is still struggling to fully implement a regeneration process that would allow it to regain its ancient tourist vocation. However, the new debate and the new planning ferment that seem to be developing around the issue today perhaps justify cautious optimism: If good intentions are followed by concrete facts, it could actually be possible to get out of this thirty-year impasse and enhance the territorial resources of Bagnoli, which range from sea bathing to thermalism, from traditional to innovative kinds of cultural tourism.
Agreements on the use of water, cooperation, policies and conflicts: river contracts in Italy. – The paper aims to explore the concept of river contract as a tool for participatory management of water resources, analyzing in this context the key role of conservation and management of their naturalness. The main objective of the research is to understand how river contracting can facilitate the conservation, enhancement and transmission of cultural heritage while promoting the sustainable development of local communities. The methodology is based on a review of the available literature on the river contract concept, its role in cultural heritage enhancement, and the need for the geo-mediation phase as an important moment of shared and participatory planning. The results of the research, in addition to highlighting regional differences in the application of River Contracts in Italy, indicate that the river contract although not widespread can act as a catalyst for the management and enhancement of cultural heritage, actively involving local communities in the conservation of their territories. The implications of the research may be useful for scholars, practitioners and institutions interested in the conservation and enhancement of water resources through the implementation of planning strategies by identifying the figure of the geomediator as a facilitator of performative processes.
Water as a resource and as a value: territories in competition and the need for protection as a strategic tool. – The aime of this work the value of water as a primary good, focusing the attention on the sustainability and value of water as a limited and not infinite resource, to arouse a new awareness. The protection of water resources and aquatic ecosystems is one of the cornerstones of environmental protection. The value of water is the result of both the complex interactions between natural and anthropic factors distributed across the territory, and of their dynamics over time. The Danube region is facing several challenges and a new development protection strategy aimed at promoting economic development and envi-ronmental protection. A truly important step for the protection of biodi-versity and the environment. UNESCO has designated the Danube River as “the first 5-country Biosphere Reserve in the world”. The adhering States undertake to administer with particular attention to resources and sustainable development, with the full involvement of local communities. Is underlined the need for balance taking into account the multiple val-ues of water: biological, social, environmental, symbolic and cultural.
Major events and local identity. The case of “la notte della taranta” in Salento. – Major events are often created to enhance or regenerate territorial attractiveness. The goal is not only to maximize the economic and employment impacts that can directly affect the event itself but also to attract the attention of investors, tourists, and institutions to invest resources and projects in the territory. In reality, these events, in addition to their attractiveness purposes, also have generative purposes, potentially contributing to strengthening the sense of belonging within the local community, territorial cohesion, and, consequently, the affective and financial investment of individual inhabitants as well as the community as a whole. This contribution, starting from the analysis of the summarised interpretative framework, aims to evaluate the effects of the Notte della Taranta on the territory and the Salento identity over a quarter of a century.
Geospatial methodologies for the monitoring of eutrophication of water bodies. – As collective awareness of environmental issues increases, the debate on water pollution becomes more focused on all anthropogenic activities (industrial, agricultural and domestic discharges, waste management) that cause water eutrophication. This paper aims to highlight how the use of GIS makes it possible to examine soil erosion and to calculate the theoretical load re-located over time in watersheds by human activities. The USLE/RUSLE and CREAMS models, coupled with satellitary data, allow to examine the evolution of land and watersheds. In the first part of the paper, the focus was on the Mediterranean, one of the most polluted seas on the planet; in the second part, the watersheds of the Rio Santa Lucia, Rio San Girolamo and other minor ones in south-western Sardinia were investigated. The research highlighted the connection between spatial planning and environmental processes, underlining the importance of best practices of territory management, especially in contexts with water vulnerability. The objective is to set up an integrated methodology to monitor soil erosion and eutrophication of water resources, in order to identify strategies and actions to mitigate these phenomena.
Olympic territorializations: the case studies of Cortina and Bormio. – The material construction processes of Olympic territoriality have often triggered dialectics, controversies, and conflicts of a rather widespread political, social, and communicative nature, as emerged, also in the case of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, by the chronicles of recent months. These controversies unfold on multiple discursive levels. Firstly, on the legal level, which is the focal point around which revolve all the configurative conflicts of an environmental and landscape nature. Secondly, on the economic level through strategies of appropriation and access to territorial resources. Finally, on the political level in the dual dialectic of contrasts and different positions within administrations and between administrations and civil society. The study aims to investigate some of the outcomes of the projects and territorial transformations produced by the organization of the Milan-Cortina 2026 mega Olympic event, focusing in particular on the analysis of two case studies related to two infrastructures designed in mountain municipalities with a strong tourist characterization such as Cortina and Bormio. In this context, more specifically, controversies arising from the design of the bob track in Cortina and the so-called “Alute” bypass road in Bormio will also be considered.
Transhumance and landscape: relationship between settlements and tractural roads in central southern Italy – The study analyzes the historical and spatial evolution of the settlement system in central-southern Italy, with reference to Abruzzo aquilano, affected by the phenomenon of transhumant farming. The main element examined is the historical evolution of the settlement
structure with respect to the tractural ways, understood as a fundamental morphogenetic element of the urban systems and the landscape. The objective of the analysis is the identification of a series of elements useful for the protection and enhancement of the paths and of the historical and landscape pre-existences attributable to the phenomenon. The methodol-ogy is based on the analysis of the bibliography, especially recent innovative elements about the degradation of the “Tratturi” system, and, with cartographic analyzes and in situ surveys, it defines the critical issues and the territorial resources to lay the basis for a valorization project.
Territorial disparities and SNAI criteria: re-thinking the classification criteria of inner peripheral areas– The concept of periphery can be defined at different scales (cities, regions, states) and according to multiple aspects which, over time, have attenuated the meaning of spatial position to favor the condition of socioeconomic marginality. In the regional context, there is a tendency to underline the decline in population and economic competitiveness, and the social decline of a territory in terms of poor relationships, often attributing them to the lack of opportunities and services, other times to poor accessibility. Some of these new meanings have been adopted by the National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI in Italian matter), launched in 2012 and revised in 2020, to identify and classify peripheral municipalities, i.e. those municipalities that suffer from the distance from some public basic services offered by the larger cities. This conceptualization has stimulated a large debate on the choice of classification criteria and applied methodology that directly influence the elaboration of territorial rebalancing policies. Considering this debate, the authors of this paper have analyzed the criteria underlying the SNAI classification as a pretext for exploring the different narratives of peripheral areas that have been following one another for several decades, sometimes overlapping, other times integrating and flanking each other. According to all this, the authors propose a revision of SNAI criteria and methodology to consider the accessibility of areas and their resources and endowments, recognizing the inner and peripheral areas as a place of opportunities.
Wetlands, leaf fodder trees and ancient grasslands: a characterization of the environmental heritage of transhumance. – For centuries, transhumance has been a socio-economic system capable of shaping mountain landscapes and environments. The paper presents two case studies aimed at identifying the historical-ecological traces of seasonal breeding systems to characterize the environmental legacy of transhumance. The proposed approach enables the evaluation of the positive externalities of past pastoral practices in terms of vegetation resources activation (leaf-fodder trees, ancient grasslands) and water resources maintaining (springs, ponds, small lakes, peat-bogs, etc.).
Conflict mitigation goes (also) through ecological economy. – «It is foreseeable that, once certain resources have been depleted, the scene will be set for new wars, albeit under the guise of noble claims»: this recent quote by Pope Francis (Laudato Sì, p. 57) has once again drawn the attention of world public opinion to the issue of the limitation of available resources, which already is one of the main causes of war and violence, and it is likely to cause even more in the future. The more the depletion of non-renewable sources, the higher the number of the conflicts, as well as their seriousness. In 2022, the Earth Overshoot Day underlined that mankind has depleted all the resources annually available on July 28th (a day earlier than 2021); moreover, land grabbing is out of control due to hyper-connection at the basis of global production chains. These processes also continued during the pandemic that, on one hand, mitigated overexploits thanks to lock-downs but, on the other hand, it has not driven to a U-turn in attitudes towards the environment and access to resources. In this essay, after a preliminary analysis of global value chains and of the social consequences with regard to the increase of fear and violence indirectly provoked by the quest to sources, we discuss an in-depth study of an ecological and circular economic development model, based on the regionalization of exchanges for the exploitation of domestic resources.
The Youth of the Inner Areas and the Italian NRRP. – The Italian NRRP provides considerable financial resources to promote a green transition and a digital transformation of people and territories. Young people living in the inner areas of Italy have an opportunity to overcome marginality and become key actors of development, making of diversity an asset rather than a source of inequality and epistemic injustice. Based on these premises, the research illustrates the youth policies and the strategies for inner areas within the framework of the Italian NRRP, then focuses on the peculiarities of young people living in inner areas. The analysis highlights the need to create new jobs in peripheral territories, to make migration an opportunity rather than a necessity. Specifically, it is important to approach the issue of employment in inner areas with the lens of youth policies, that is, by developing bottom-up approaches to discover latent and untapped potential to be used to achieve sustainability.
The Protection and the Development of Mountain Areas in the Perspective of the Italian National Plan of Recovery and Resilience. – In Italy, implementing the cohesion and territorial development strategies displayed by the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience (PNRR) is complex because of its increasing socio-economic divides. In particular, the mountain areas – traditionally left on the margins of the national development strategies – ask for careful consideration. The traumatic experience of the pandemic, the lockdowns and the ecological transition challenge have awakened the political and media attention to these vital but fragile territories that produce natural resources and ecosystem services for the benefit of the whole community. The contribution discusses whether the NRRP contains adequate invest-ment indications and priority of intervention for the protection, long-term development and functional integration of mountain areas with the rest of the national territory. Concerning the methodology, the paper develops a qualitative analysis of the evaluation reports on the NRRP published by some leading mountain associations (UNCEM, ASVIS, INU, CAIRE) and the communication of a specific NRRP call (call “Villages” on Action 2.1 Village Attractiveness) employed to communicate and promote some calls.
The Society of Anthropocene in the material and immaterial diffusion of violence. – The contribution aims to reflect on the social dimensions of violence linked to the elements of the physical transformations of the Anthropocene. The hypothesis is that in the material and immaterial diffusion of violence there is a growing interaction and hybridization between the two dimensions and this is largely due to the globalization and the technology with a new spatio-temporal, transcalar and autopoietic configuration. This is called the Social Anthropocene.
This configuration is moving Anthropocene society into a dimension in which the abstract subsystems of the anthroposphere (society, economy, culture, politics) are increasingly dependent on the technosphere, a phenomenon already considered by other disciplines in an evolutionary dimension and extended to other living species.
From a geographical perspective, this dependence generates new relationships between abstract subsystems that relate resources, men and machines in an interdependence that generates violence, from the material to the immaterial world and in the interconnections between countries at different levels of development. This perspective, which can be explained empirically using data through the metaphorical potential of the Anthropocene, by not denying it shifts the theme of violence from a territorial perspective, linked to the individual local culture (interpersonal, familiar) and social (of an urban district, of a city or region) to a global one. It also shifts attention from a political to a biopolitic perspective.

New perspectives on Covid-19 and epistemic injustices. – The Covid-19 outbreak is often associated with pollution and overexploitation of common global resources. Less attention, though with a few exceptions, has been paid to the social and human origins of the crisis. In fact, asymmetric power relations among social groups can determine the outbreak of crises and a reallocation of their related risks towards social and territorial peripheries. Research shows how the concept of epistemic injustice can take on systemic connotations, as the use of inappropriate or ineffective analytic tools can lead to practices that are perceived as just, effective, or efficient, but in fact lack these requirements. The negative impacts of such an eventuality would far outweigh the mitigating effect and magnitude of the ongoing redistribution processes and may fuel increasingly unequal power relations between insiders and outsiders. In this scenario, the rediscovery of an ethic of the common good is an essential element in the design and implementation of a collective way out of the crisis.

The hydrogeological risk in Calabria in the relocation of Cavallerizzo (Northern Calabria, Italy). – In Italy, there are many areas in hydrogeological instability and many others show clear signs that, added to neglect, poor maintenance, absence of maintenance works and unsustainable territorialization processes, turn into critical issues. Risk mitigation interventions vary depending on the exposure, but even more so on the availability of resources and the perception of risk by the communities involved. About one third of the population lives in these areas with a high hydro-geological risk, which see the relocation of settlements with the consequent abandonment of unstable historical centers among the most complex and controversial interventions. The case study concerns the relocation of the Cavallerizzo di Cerzeto hamlet in Calabria, affected by a deep gravitational movement in the area of more recent urbanization and chosen as it was rebuilt with the urban structure and neighborhood relations of the old village as a settlement for the minority ethnic-linguistic arbëreshe. 

Thermal and SPA tourism in Italy: evolution, impacts and future perspectives. – Thermalism is a complex and articulated sector that in Italy over the years has changed its positioning. This study aims to identify the SPA tourism evolution and its contribution to the development of local economies, as well as how it can generates and increase a value proposition for the local sys-tems in the post pandemic. The data confirm the assumption of the importance of the SPA tourism in the sustainable development of the local economies that have specific resources. Furthermore, this contribution aims to state the objectives, which need to be achieved to reinvest, and regenerate territories devoted to SPA tourism in order to benefit from the possibility of reconstructing new models as a unique opportunity offered by the pandemic for this tourism sector, which represents an important resource in social and economic terms.

Interactive apps for the tourist enhancement of Oman. – Many tourist destinations are embracing ICT in order to become an STD (Smart Tourist Destination), a place that uses the available tools and techniques to allow demand and supply to co-create value, pleasure, and experiences for the tourist in addition to wealth, profits, and benefits for organizations and the destination. The main aim of this paper is to present the prototype of an application for smartphones to explore the territory of Oman in relation to its resources (natural and cultural), infrastructure and accommodation for tourism purposes sector. The methodology provided for: the collection of data from the main statistical sources, the acquisition of geographical maps, the georeferencing of a substantial number of natural, cultural and recreational resources, the use of the Arc-GIS and Google Earth tools for data processing, the compilation and addition of text information to feature locations in tables, and the use of specific software for programming the app. The main goal of the app is to meet the needs of experiential tourism through interactivity that allows the users to obtain itineraries that reflect their tastes, needs and preferences.

What remains of the legacy of Matera 2019 after Covid-19. – The health crisis, which brought with it a consequent economic and socio-cultural crisis, dramatically revealed the vulnerability of our economic and production model, which is not very resilient to sudden and sudden changes. The coronavirus crisis requires, in fact, to take the lens of sustainable development and the 17 Sdgs grid to "inspire" the restart, proposing and taking better choices for the future, thus avoiding wasting resources and perpetrating in secular errors. Nothing will be like before for the sectors that have suffered and are experiencing the uncertainty of tomorrow: first of all, tourism. Tourism and, more generally, the entire hospitality, catering and culture sector are among the sectors most affected by the Coronavirus crisis. Some particularly critical situations are above all in cities that add culture, business and congresses. The case of Matera, ready to manage and reap the legacy of the extraordinary year from ECoC, clearly poses the urgency of the convinced turn towards the 2030 Agenda, to make our territories more sustainable, resilient and inclusive.

Habitat, society and “post virus” economy. Possible scenarios. – Starting from the necessary rethinking of the hyper-technological, hyper-fast and hyper-connected global system in which we have been so far immersed and which has contributed to trigger the current pandemic, the present work aims at starting some preliminary reflections on possible scenarios aimed at overcoming the current critical issues and at safeguarding the human group from similar future risks. More precisely, the research will try to highlight not only how the necessary social distancing and forced isolation can strengthen the hypothesis of the shut-in economy and the remodeling of urban spaces, but also how the destruction of habitats and the emissions generated by a linear system of productivity, aimed more at exploitation than at the protection of renewable resources, make urgent both the launch of an economy rethought in a circular sense, and the strengthening of "zero km" production.
Cultural heritage and urban regeneration. Roma Capitale suburbs Announcement for the launch of a culture driven development. – The management and the rethinking of urban spaces, old and new, central and peripheral, in use or in assignment, is an essential and unavoidable challenge for the competitiveness of any urban systems. This implies a profound change of policy and relations between the actors and the stakeholders that act in it. In this challenge, the culture is a new, and so far underestimated, competitive advantage, able to act as a catalyst to encourage and stimulate creative and innovative processes of territorial development, starting from available local resources. In fact, in the current globalizing scenario, each territory must continually generate local revitalization processes, in order to remain economically competitive and culturally attractive. In this context, urban areas characterized by inadequate spaces and public services, in which there are abandoned structures with particular emphasis on those connoted by landscape features and historical architecture of a certain level, may represent flywheels and natural incubators with a cultural background from which starting to redefine the overall structure of any local systems. The recovery projects proposed for three areas of the northwest area of the city of Rome, falling in the suburbs Announcement recently presented by the municipality, fit in attempts to develop urban resilience proposals according to an approach of culture driven development.

Useful agricultural area income indicators, processes and development.  a reading of rural landscape and its functions. – Since the last century has grown, local and global scale, the awareness of the multifunctional role of agriculture, which adds to the productive purposes of environmental protection, landscape conservation and management of resources. Transverse to the multiple functions is the pursuit of sustainability, whose social, economic and environmental dimensions, are put at risk by increasingly binding market dynamics and agricultural policies. It seems useful, therefore, to highlight some key points of these synergies with the possible indicators, including through the presentation of case studies, aimed at understanding trends in productivity and gradual reduction of SAU. 

Mauritius island has been nearly uninhabited until XVIth Century, when firstly Portuguese, then Dutch, French and Eng-lish powers took possession of it. The island’s population growth was due to two main causes: in the first moment to the commerce, then to the exploitation of resources, with important environmental transforma-tions.Until the independence was declared in 1968, the main economic source was the cultivation of sugar cane, for which African slaves, and then In-dian and Chinese workers was used.Starting from the independence period the economic structure of the is-land has changed, with a significant diversification of the productive ac-tivities. Beach tourism is now a vital economic sector of the island, but it hasn’t changed the population distribution of the island, mainly concen-trated in the internal areas.The aim of this article is to analyze the evolution of the populating dy-namics of the island and the economic trends and finally observe their territorial and environmental impacts.

The “Via degli Abruzzi”. a key route to local development. – The renewed attention paid by Institutions, public authorities and scholars to main historical routes as well as their more serious consideration of rural areas’ development suggest the author to focus his interest on the ancient route of the “Via degli Abruzzi”, which played a crucial role for several centuries for religious, cultural and most importantly commercial purposes, connecting Central and Northern Italy to Southern Italy. This paper aims not only to discover again such a history, but also to let re-emerge nowadays a network of potential relationships and a renewed interest in the areas covered by this communication route, by stimulating new cultural tourism flows which could travel through this route again, and even envisaging a possible institutionalisation of its itinerary, for a more varied and efficient use of its environmental and cultural resources.

The importance of knowledge for the innovation process is widely recognized in the literature. The diffusion of it passes through the use of resources internal and external to the firm. The work focuses on two aspects. On one side it identifies the impact of internal and external resources on the innovation process. The other aim is to find an indicator that captures the combined effect of the two resources with the objective of demonstrating the importance of using these synergies for developing the firm in a given territory. The territory in this case emerges as a key element in the analysis as it is able to provide a complex set of elements: social, cultural and economic, which are able to support the development of enterprises. In some cases, they become determinants by allowing an area of become more competitive than another.
than another.

The depth of the changes taking place in the area object of the present study is of such importance as to ask questions about the features that this urban space should take in the process of growth of the Capital city. In the perspective of this evolution even more importance is given to what happens in the suburb area, which pertains to and is managed by the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. The difficulties faced by the local authorities bring to the attention a new need arisen from the interest in finding resources to proceed with and accomplish a project of functional redefinition, which seems hard to be implemented. The 2009 World Aquatics Championships seemed to be a good opportunity, since it was thought that the construction of the sport structures would let to resume the project of urban requalification of the areas of Tor Bella Monaca and Torre Gaia, which are known to be dominated by lack of planning that has its roots in the Fifties of the last century and in which the influence of organized crime is overbearing. A new occasion, always connected with a major event, seemed to emerge to relaunch the possibility of implementing this project. All involved institutions and local authorities seemed to agree that the 2020 Olympic Games could be the right chance to reorganize this territory. In this direction, the size of the planned measures continues to change and, consequently, the disorientation of residents, while an investigation on different scales of the potential and of future possible difficulties seems to be essential.
difficulties seems to be essential.