Local Development Processes Research Articles

Turizmin Yerel Kalkınmadaki Öneminin Değerlendirilmesi: Van Kenti Örneği

Günümüz şehirlerinin kendi kimlikleriyle ön plana çıkmalarıyla birlikte, uluslararası piyasada rekabet edebilirliğinin güçlendiği, her kentin kendi simge ve değerleriyle pay alma yarışının uluslararası alanda geçerlilik kazanması yadsınamaz bir gerçeklik haline bürünmekte olduğu şu günlerde, yerele ait değerler ulusal ve küresel ölçekte pazarlanarak katma değerler ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Yerel ekonomik kalkınma, kısaca bir bölgeye özgü dönüşüm süreçlerinin dinamik olarak harekete geçirilmesi olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Bu dönüşüm ekonomik karar alıcılarını, ekonomik hususlarda merkezi otoritenin güçlü ve tek olduğu klasik yönetim anlayışından yerel öncelik ve karar mekanizmalarının önem kazandığı yerel kalkınma anlayışına sevk etmiştir. Yerel Ekonomik Kalkınma (YEK) süreci için yöre ekonomisinin sektörel analizlerinin yapılması, öncelikli ve sürükleyici sektörün belirlenmesi gerekmektedir. Yerel ekonomik kalkınma sosyal, kültürel, ekonomik ve çevresel parametrelerin birlikte gelişimini ifade etmektedir. Bu yönüyle tüm bu parametreleri bünyesinde barındıran turizm sektörü YEK sürecinin lokomotifi olarak görülmektedir. Van kenti özelinde, sanayi ve tarım sektörünün istenilen düzeyde olmadığı mevcut ekonomik göstergelerden de anlaşılmaktadır. Van destinasyon bölgesi için turizmin mevcut potansiyel varlığı ve bunun ekonomik bir değere dönüşmesinin sağlanması yani turizmin geliştirilmesi yerel ekonomik kalkınma için fırsat mıdır? Anlayışı üzerinden hareket edilmektedir. Bu bağlamda çalışmanın amacı, Van ilinin kalkınmasında turizmin etkisi ölçülerek genel bir çerçevenin çizilmesidir. Bu bağlamda 300 İranlı turist ile anket çalışması yapılmıştır.

Use of Cultural Heritage for Place Branding in Educational Projects: The Case of Smederevo and Golubac Fortresses on the Danube

Medieval fortresses represent an important tangible heritage of a nation’s culture and a valuable development asset for a particular destination on which its place-branding strategy for tourism could be built upon. Traditionally in Serbia, heritage protection and conservation have been mainly concentrated on the tangible aspects of cultural sites and monuments. Nevertheless, with the advent of urban heritage integration in the local sustainable development processes and place-branding strategies, a greater appreciation of the spirit of the place and its intangible components, as well as the need to adapt it to local contexts with more participatory forms of heritage planning, have started to emerge. A wide range of stakeholders brought the involvement and participation of both the local government and community members, including residents, as an indispensable element of the protection actions and broader urban development policies. The paper aims to validate the correlation between both intangible and tangible cultural heritage and its contemporary use for place branding and tourism development. In doing so, we have employed the case study method on the two fortresses on the Danube in Serbia to show the ways in which local stakeholders have mobilized their forces in cooperation with the university to use their cultural heritage assets for tourism and more extensive sustainable territorial development. We have found that despite new inclusive forms of governance, which is attracting the attention of planning and heritage practitioners in Serbia, the contemporary approach of integrative protection and the intangible aspects of cultural heritage are still not fully utilized. For this reason, in this study, we consider methods based on environmental aesthetics approaches to cultural heritage that point out the significant inclusion of immaterial intangible cultural heritage in an unbreakable bond with material tangible heritage. The most remarkable result of our research is that while a vast number of stakeholders with local knowledge and sense of the spirit of the place have been involved in the planning process, intangible aspects of the analyzed heritage cases are present in educational projects, and are only partially present if it comes to implementation. This clearly demonstrates that the focus on tangible aspects and spatial interventions of the place branding of cultural heritage is still dominant in Serbia, despite acknowledgment of the economic and social aspects of sustainability in the planning phase in educational projects.

A few main parents contributed to the traditional grapevine cultivar assortment in north-western Italy, as revealed by microsatellites and single-nucleotide polymorphisms

Studies on parentage and kinship of traditional Vitis vinifera grape cultivars allow light to be shed on the likely natural breeding at the basis of the assortment evolution of cultivated grapevines in a particular area over several centuries. They therefore contribute to our understanding of the process of domestication and local development of viticulture through farmer selection and allow us to infer the origin and history of traditional grape cultivars. For wine grapes, this evidence adds significant marketing value to wines and their terroirs, being highly appealing for wine consumers and wine lovers. Around 200 grape cultivars, traditional to north and north-western Italy, and nearly 700 unique cultivars mainly from other Italian regions and Central Europe were examined for genetic kinship through nuclear microsatellite markers (nuclear simple sequence repeats; nSSRs). More than 100 genotypes showed parent/offspring or kinship relationships, as revealed by 32 SSR loci. Forty trios of parents and descendants were disclosed, among which was the pedigree of 'Dolcetto', the third most widely planted cultivar in Piedmont. For samples also analysed by the 20K Illumina SNPs chip, the parental relationships were confirmed. The results, corroborating a pattern shown by other studies, indicate closer kinship among cultivars from the same geographical area, and a complex network of pedigrees with a few major founders showing 12-21 links with other cultivars. These main genitors are often cultivars that are no longer cultivated and/or are nowadays threatened with extinction. On one hand, this highlights the urgency of rescuing and preserving these key genetic links before they are lost. On the other hand, it explains the still unsolved jigsaw puzzle of the origin of many renowned grape cultivars. Also, their ampelographic features provide significant clues for linking their identity with ancient cultivars depicted or described centuries ago, shedding light on the history of descendant cultivars of current high economic value.

Facilitative Institutional Infrastructure to Optimise Productive Participation of Rural People in Local Development Processes: South Africa

Facilitative Institutional Infrastructure to Optimise Productive Participation of Rural People in Local Development Processes: South Africa

Empreendedorismo e políticas públicas: percepções das beneficiárias sobre o programa trabalho e empreendedorismo da mulher em Pernambuco

Este artigo é resultado de um estudo sobre a implementação do Programa Trabalho e Empreendedorismo da Mulher em Pernambuco (PTEM) e seus benefícios para as mulheres que participaram de suas atividades. O Programa tinha como objetivo alterar a inter-relação presente nos processos de desenvolvimento local e as questões de gênero, atendendo mulheres em situação de vulnerabilidade por renda (participantes ou não dos programas de inclusão social), apresentando oportunidades de alternativas de geração de renda, de inserção no mercado e de organização em associações e cooperativas. Os resultados da pesquisa apontaram que o PTEM-PE teve seus méritos e trouxe benefícios para as participantes, ainda que não tenham sido os postos como objetivos nos documentos oficiais, pois se referiram mais aos aspectos subjetivos, comportamentais e existenciais. O significado por elas atribuído dos benefícios foi mais perceptível no que se refere às mudanças produzidas nos olhares e opiniões sobre si mesmas e não necessariamente ao seu protagonismo e efetiva participação no desenvolvimento econômico local, inclusive pelo destaque dado por estas mulheres às dificuldades persistentes para criarem ou gerirem um negócio (seja individualmente ou em grupo) e aos obstáculos em garantir a independência financeira em relação aos maridos.

Rural Arts Festivals as Contributors to Rural Development and Resilience

AbstractThis article explores how two rural arts festivals, one in the town of Boyle (Boyle Arts Festival), in Western Ireland and the other in the municipality of Mäntyharju, (Salmela Festival) Eastern Finland, contribute to the development of their respective localities and communities via two different models of festival implementation. Both festivals have a major focus on visual art along with other events such as music and enjoy strong reputations for promoting quality artistic experiences. Drawing on the concepts of cultural capital, resilience and resourcefulness, the article investigates how the arts can work in providing wide‐ranging possibilities for engaging with local development activities and shaping local development agendas in diverse and changing rural contexts. The research is based on semi‐structured interviews with 15 festival contributors and individuals in institutional support roles. It finds that an emphasis on community‐focused, quality of life priorities that is a feature of the Boyle festival increasingly presents challenges to sourcing funding, and that an entrepreneurial approach applied in the case of the Salmela festival, while economically successful, does not provide the same scope for community participation. Both approaches have implications for the ways the festivals impact on local development processes.

Panorama dos programas de pós-graduação da área de planejamento urbano e regional e demografia: a lacuna nas regiões Norte, Centro-Oeste e Nordeste

Os Programas de Pós-Graduação no Brasil iniciaram sua trajetória nos anos de 1950, sendo que os primeiros Programas da área de Planejamento Urbano e Regional (PUR), assim denominados inicialmente, sem o campo da Demografia (D), surgem na década de 1970. Porém, por mais de uma década a contar de 1980, não ocorreu sua expansão territorial, verificada após os anos de 1990, sobretudo, nos anos 2000, inclusive, com a criação de Mestrados Profissionais. Atualmente, a área de avaliação na Capes é denominada Planejamento Urbano e Regional e Demografia (PLURD). Desta forma, ao buscar dados e informações, por meio de análise documental no Relatório de Avaliação da Área(2017), no websiteGeoCapes e na Plataforma Sucupira, objetivou-se realizar uma análise descritiva e quantitativa acerca dos Programas de Pós-Graduação da área PLURD no país. Como resultados, se pode destacar que há lacuna ou baixa oferta de Programas na área PLURD nas regiões Norte, Centro-Oeste e Nordeste; há igualmente baixa oferta de Programas Profissionais; e há ausência de Programas de Doutorado na região Centro-Oeste do país. Considerando a relevância da área, com destaque para a sua multi, inter e transdisciplinaridade, para o processo de desenvolvimento local e regional, se fazem necessários esforços para que todas as regiões do país possuam programas afins, que podem contribuir para o processo de reflexão teórica e prática aplicadas ao planejamento territorial [urbano e/ou regional].

Ecological Family Agriculture Held In Remígio, PB, Brazil

This article describes, identify and analyze the social and technological, innovation and the production of knowledge among the family farmers syndicated in the municipality of Remígio, Paraíba’s State, located in the Brazilian semi-arid and belonging to the so-called Polo da Borborema - a network of labour unions and rural workers. The said Polo has been practising innovation in ecological-based agriculture and with an emphasis on existing social relations, knowledge and local expertise. Thus, the case study and the qualitative approach were chosen. The collection of the data was carried out through a half-structured interview with farmers. The main results indicate that ecological agriculture practiced in the municipality of Remígio is an advanced process of local and private development. The local and particular aspect refers to the important feature that is the aspect of providing innovation from the experimentation and the necessity of each farmer, respecting their particularity and knowing. This process of producing knowledge and innovations is mainly based on the reflexive practice and the contextualization of knowledge through daily and informal processes of innovation. As important innovations that arise through these processes, there were several techniques and actions deployed, such as seed bank, solidarity rotary funds, among others, that take on innovative role, awareness and the growing change in Thought of the farmers. Some of these innovations are set up as "novelties", since they are based on external models. It is concluded by reaffirming the rich process of innovations and knowledge produced by these ecological farmers in communion with their old acquaintances allied to those brought by the Polo da Borborema, reaffirming and valuing the identities of these farmers

Global production networks and strategic coupling in value chains entering peripheral regions

In economic geography, scholars have discussed how endogenous regional sources of skills, networks and capital have led to new regional industrial growth. However, extra-regional dimensions and global production networks has mostly been left behind in the literature. In this paper, I develop a conceptual framework through the eanalysis of how exogenous sources are coupled to regional actors through the lenses of Global Production Networks and Global Value Chains in offshore oil. The author find that strategies in GPN lead firm vary between local integrative strategies and more complex global strategies. I demonstrate that GPN strategies have different impacts on local development processes, whereby strategies in the early phases of the value chain (i.e. drilling and seismic surveys) were path dependent and led to few local linkages due to lack of competence and infrastructure locally. The GPN strategies in late stages of the value chain (operations) were more context sensitive, as GPNs sought new solutions in procurement and oil spill preparedness, which together increased the local linkages. The implications for policy are to develop cautious regional development policies that are sensitive to specific GPN value stages and lead firms within GPNs.

European cross-scale spatial planning and territorial frames in the Italian Median Macroregion

ABSTRACTThis article describes the preliminary outcome of interdisciplinary research that arises from a study by the Italian Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport and the Abruzzo Region (IT) on local development processes in central Italy, and specifically in the Median Macroregion, whose results have been extended to European context. It concerns the European spatial planning, specifically the study of an original interpretative model of European space, called Territorial Frames – TFs, a particular multi-scale infrastructural mesh that connects the ‘local’ territories with ‘global’ ones and that can represent the activating element of processes and policies of spatial development of settlements, of processes of valorization of the productive, naturalistic and landscape sectors. This new model interfaces with the territorial reticular component through the concept of polycentrism, also projecting evolution, and with that of the governance of development projects, using the potential of European Macroregions. The main objective of the research is to feed the topic of spatial planning, oriented to the integration between territories through a cross-scale approach, and to the activation of new processes of sustainable territorial development, with reference to the economically disadvantaged inner areas in a context of Macroregional governance.

Evolution of Farming Systems in the Mediterranean High Mountain: The Case of the Alpujarra Alta (Spain)

In mountainous Mediterranean areas, even at high elevations, the landscapes are generally strongly transformed by humans. Agriculture is a key factor in this because, until very recent times, farming has been the main occupation of its inhabitants and has dominated their history and culture. This study examines the evolution of agroecosystems in the Alpujarra Alta (a set of mountain valleys and ravines, located in south-eastern Spain, within the Penibetic Range), from the Neolithic revolution and the Roman period until the present emphasizing the eight centuries under Muslim rule and the serious agrarian crisis induced by the expulsion of the Moorish from the area in the last third of the 16th century. This provoked profound transformations leading to the so-called “evolved farming system” in the early nineteenth century. This system continued until the middle of the twentieth century, when a massive rural exodus, prompted by the industrialization of the country, made farming unfeasible, triggering a phase of gradual system degradation. Finally, the current situation is discussed, resulting from the degradation of the established system as well as from new opportunities arising from the processes of endogenous local development induced in the area during the last quarter of a century.

Index-based livestock insurance to manage climate risks in Borena zone of southern Oromia, Ethiopia

Index-based livestock insurance has been introduced in Borena zone of southern Ethiopia by the International Livestock Research Institute working in partnership with Oromia Insurance Company and humanitarian agencies since 2012 as an instrument to help protect pastoralists’ herders against drought related mortality of livestock. Despite the some positive success to the concerted efforts, the continued adoption of index-based livestock insurance by pastoralists and agro-pastoralists has been limited. The current study highlighted the status, and determinants of index-based livestock insurance to managing risks resulted from the changing climate in the study area. The study used household surveys from 359 sampled households, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions to collect the data. Descriptive statistics (i.e. frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation), inferential tests (Chi-square test and t-test), and binary logit model were used to analyze the collected data. The results of the current study evidenced that the adoption of indexed insurance is below expectation. The results further indicated that several factors appeared to affect demand for index-based livestock insurance. Those households in a farming system with moisture stress, those who perceived climate risks, those who aware the insurance, who are better educated, who have access to credit and off-farm activity are more likely to adopt the index-based livestock insurance. Furthermore, households who have a membership to a large number of social organizations are more likely to purchase the insurance. However, households who are far from the weather station and old aged households are less likely to purchase index-based livestock insurance. Adaptation pathways to support the uptake of index-based livestock insurance must take in to account these critical factors influencing household’s decision to adopt the insurance scheme. It is also imperative to integrate the insurance into indigenous institutions and link it with the local development process.

Adaptation to Climate Change in the Pastoral and Agropastoral Systems of Borana, South Ethiopia: Options and Barriers

The pastoral and agropastoral systems of the Borana in southern Ethiopia are highly vulnerable to climate change and its impacts. Assistance to enable these smallholders to successfully adapt to future climate change in locally relevant ways can be usefully informed by the analysis and better understanding of past and ongoing adaptation. We conducted farm household surveys, focus group discussions, expert consultations and secondary data collation in 2012 in the Borana. The study employed a combination of Pressure-State-Response (PSR) framework to analyse how climate change put pressure on pastoral and agropastoral farming systems and livelihoods, and Pelling’s (2011) typological framework to analyse local adaptation responses. Results showed that pastoral and agropastoral households, their communities and institutions adopted a wide range of adaptation options primarily through adjusting their farming practices and diversifying into non-pastoral livelihoods. The smallholders primarily pursued a resilience approach to adaptation with short term goals intended to avoid system disruptions instead of long-term transformational approaches that significantly address the root causes of vulnerability. A range of barriers constrained local adaptive capacity and shaped routes for adaptation. Adaptation pathways that address critical barriers to adapt, integrate indigenous institutions into adaptation and link adaptation with local development process are necessary to bring long-term and non-marginal, major changes that reduce vulnerability and ensure co-benefit of improving livelihoods.

Entrepreneurial Activity, Market Orientation, Investment Attractiveness and Transaction Costs for Enterprises in Local Development Context

The goal of the paper is to explore phenomena of entrepreneurial activities and market orientation of local governments, and also to identify a relation between these phenomena and investment attractiveness of local units and transaction costs for entrepreneurs and investors that authorities of local units might impact. We performed Boolean key word and subject term searches of selected scholar databases between 21 and 24 July 2017. It enabled us to identify less proliferated aspects of local development, which we deepened our knowledge of through systematic literature review aiming to reach the purpose of the paper. Entrepreneurial activities and the market approach of local units are widely explored in scientific research literature, but investment attractiveness of local units and their impact on transaction costs for enterprises are less represented. We present relations between investment attractiveness and transaction costs for enterprises with entrepreneurial activities and market orientation. There are actions local governments can undertake to impact investment attractiveness of local units and transaction costs for enterprises to stimulate the local development process. This work indicates the importance of increasing investment attractiveness of local units by local governments and lowering transaction costs for enterprises in the local development process.

The rhetoric of participation: A study of the planning and development of low-income human settlements in the province of KwaZulu-Natal

Participation in South Africa is encouraged and institutionalized in a variety of processes at different levels of government. The right of citizens and their representatives to exchange views and influence decision making at the local governance sphere such as the right to be included in decision making on the local budget, planning and development processes, and service delivery matters, is embodied in a wide range of national policies. However in reality, participation praxis appears to be theoretical, unclear, superficial and at times a tool to exercise political hegemony at the local level. This paper examines the level of people's participation in the planning and development of low-income human settlements in three research localities in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. It highlights, contrary to policy mandates to create real opportunities for participation by ordinary citizens, what one may term "rhetoric" that best serves the hegemony of political actors.

Smartening up Participatory Cultural Tourism Planning in Historical City Centers

ABSTRACT Radical developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) have widely affected urban sectors including cultural tourism. Furthermore, ICT have influenced modern spatial planning practices and have contributed to the advancement of interactive Web-GIS technologies that create new challenges and opportunities for spatial data management and potential for stakeholders’ engagement in planning. The convergence of culture, tourism, and ICT; developments in ICT-enabled planning; and interactive Web-GIS technologies have offered new opportunities for collaborative cultural planning. In such a context, the scope of this paper is to combine ICT-enabled, planning-related principles, cultural mapping, crowdsourcing, data management tools, and spatial models in an integrated framework, serving heritage-led development objectives. Focus is placed on broadening cultural planning perspectives through strengthening stakeholders’ engagement in the process of sustainably managing local assets and designing cultural tourism products that spread benefits to the local economy and reboot development processes. The study attempts to illustrate the added value of mature ICT-enabled approaches, tools, and technologies in the cultural tourism sector, reflecting the increasing smart tourism interest and applications that flourish in a smart city context.

Turismo rural y desarrollo local en América Latina: los casos de Perú y Argentina

Rural tourism as well as rural spaces have increased their importance. They can have an effect as factor of local and regional development, especially considering some of the issues in local development such as political, social, economic and ecological aspects. The article analyses the relationship between rural tourism and the process of local development in Perú and Argentina. Both countries offered rural tourism despite the fact that they are very different territories in concern to the landscapes, history and resources. This work aims to describe the role that tourism and especially rural tourism plays, and its relationship with local development. The objectives, strategies and characteristics of rural tourism within the National Strategy Plans will be analyzed. The methodology is explorative and descriptive. It is based on the comparative technique of documented cases. The qualitative investigation will be performed with the research, selection and revision of academic and documental articles, such as the National Strategy Plans of both countries. Rural tourism promotes local development actions in both territories, despite the differences and coincidences in these countries.

One Belt One Road: la riapertura delle Vie della Seta o un nuovo percorso geopolitico per la Cina?

With increasing frequency we talk about giving new impulse to the path that, for centuries, has marked the trade between East and West. This New Silk Road would open up not only new socio-economic, geo-political and strategic scenarios but also interesting local development processes in the regions involved. In particular, it would represent an undoubted opportunity for China (now the second economic power in the world), for Europe (in search of new projects) and for Africa (on the fringe of the ‘world system’). The contribution aims to highlight the challenges and opportunities that the different territories and actors involved, first and foremost China, will be called to seize with the revival of the old connections and the opening of new routes through Asia, Europe and Africa.

Changes in Individual Economic Activities and Regional Market Structures Caused by Rural Road Improvements in Cambodia

In rural areas of developing countries, most individuals engage in farming of staple foods and trading them in their local markets for daily earnings. If a road is improved, what would happen to those markets and the local populations’ economic activities? This study aimed to examine the effects of rural road improvements on local economic activities and market structures in rural areas of Cambodia using quantitative and qualitative data collected from face-to-face interviews. The data included both individual economic status and households’ travel behavior around their markets. This study showed that improving road conditions helps low-income individuals visit a market frequently and releases rice farmers from the time and cost burdens of transporting their rice to markets or enables customers to now approach them directly for trades. The enhancement of economic activities was also confirmed among local populations on the roadsides, particularly groups with economic capacities, and this effect was distributed to markets even beyond the roadsides. Our findings suggest that rural road improvements enhance the economic status of individuals who engage in dominant economic activities along the improved roads and that these benefits extend beyond roadside markets themselves. However, such positive impacts were not realized by households that did not own any land for rice farming and whose economic status remained poor. Instruments should be integrated into future rural road improvement projects to include households of small economic capacities in the local economic development process.

El gobierno municipal ¿Promotor del desarrollo local? El caso del municipio semiurbano de Cd. Ixtepec, Oaxaca

Objetivo: realizar un diagnóstico al ayuntamiento del municipio semiurbano de Ciudad de Ixtepec, Oaxaca, para determinar si el gobierno municipal de Ciudad Ixtepec es promotor del desarrollo local. Metodología: cualitativa de tipo exploratorio. Se utilizan la entrevista y metodología “Agenda Desde lo local” y un cuestionario aplicado a la ciudadanía. Resultados: no hay una relación positiva entre los diversos actores locales, públicos y privados, ni los diversos niveles de gobierno; no articulan el proceso de desarrollo local. Se señala la ausencia de una unidad administrativa cuyas atribuciones sean la promoción del desarrollo local. Limitaciones: podemos mencionar que se consideró un solo cuadrante, el de “Desarrollo Económico Sostenible”, de los cuatro que propone el programa “Agenda desde lo local”, y que sólo se ha contemplado el caso del ayuntamiento de Ciudad Ixtepec, lo que una generalización de los resultados dependerá de las características políticas, institucionales y culturales de municipios de otras entidades federativas. Conclusiones: para que el municipio efectúe el proceso de desarrollo local, requiere de instrumentos de modernización de la gestión y de una estructura administrativa con el propósito de ejercer mejor las competencias económicas; que pueda diseñar, implementar y difundir las políticas públicas de desarrollo, así mismo, hay que resaltar la importancia de la movilización y participación de los actores locales.