Speakers
Description
This contribution stems from a collaboration in academic research, focusing on the potentialities and contradictions of governance frameworks and planning strategies in shaping the ecological and digital transitions driven by the current European Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP). The study is conducted through a research-by-design approach that led us to adopt an empirical methodology applied to the pilot territory of the Valtellina mountain region, in the North of Italy.
Valtellina exemplifies the duality of Alpine territories: its exceptional productive and environmental resources contrast with vulnerabilities from climate change, socio-economic inequalities, and trans-scalar anthropic pressures. The research investigates how new forms of production, energy reorganization, and tourism diversification can integrate into coherent territorial planning scenarios. Participatory mapping of territorial dynamics and the involvement of local stakeholders reveal processes aligning with EUSALP's cohesion, sustainability, and innovation goals (EU Strategy for the ALPine Region, 2023). Flexible and inclusive governance mechanisms capable of navigating tensions between informal “soft spaces” of collaboration and formal “hard” institutional structures are highlighted as critical. Moreover, cross-border governance arrangements that transcend administrative and sectoral silos are emphasized as tools for fostering generative conflict and institutional learning.
The methodology adopts a trans-scalar, interdisciplinary, and place-based approach, actively engaging local communities, cultural associations, and territorial administrations. Results demonstrate that local actors and community-based practices catalyze the conditions needed to implement EU territorial transition objectives (espon, 2018). At the same time, university-led initiatives provide critical support in defining place-based strategies for economic innovation and socio-spatial regeneration. Policy narratives promoting social justice, renewable energy, and digitalization emerge as pivotal for rethinking governance in Valtellina and beyond, offering a spatial approach to support these transitions.
The study also integrates insights from EUSALP, emphasizing the dual role of universities in fostering public action to refine and detail territorial transition strategies while implementing place-based innovation initiatives. In this context, the concept of antifragility takes on particular importance, highlighting how vulnerabilities can be transformed into opportunities through transboundary collaborations in spatial regeneration scenarios (Modica, 2019; Modica, Solero, 2022). Mapping Valtellina's material and intangible networks contributes to a trans-scalar territorial framework that supports cohesion policies and facilitates their local implementation.
Territorial innovation ecosystems are central to the research, which identifies hubs capable of integrating public administrations, associations, enterprises, schools, and universities. These hubs connect productive activities, research initiatives, and material and digital services. Positioned within a cross-border spatial framework, they promote sustainable, resilient, and anti-fragile regional development. Key assets, such as the Milan-Tirano railway, transversal public transport networks, the Adda River’s green and blue corridor, and hydropower infrastructure, are leveraged to enhance these hubs’ effectiveness.
Building on recommendations from the Joint Paper on Spatial Planning (JPSP) within the AlpGov2 framework, the research underscores the importance of sustainable resource management and climate resilience (EU Strategy for the ALPine Region, 2022). It advocates for multifunctional green, blue, and transport infrastructure networks, aligning with broader European objectives such as the Territorial Agenda 2030 and the EU Green Deal (European Commission, 2024). Valtellina emerges as a pilot area for cross-border spatial planning and integrated governance models, offering lessons that can be transferred to other EUSALP regions.
Ultimately, the study outlines how cross-border spatial planning and design approaches can embed trans-scalar governance into European cohesion and transition policies. By positioning Alpine regions as laboratories for addressing complex contemporary challenges (Perlik, 2019), the research aims to develop a transferable, replicable model to tackle governance issues in fragile mountain areas. These efforts are rooted in trans-scalar scenarios of socio-spatial regeneration that respond to the multifaceted crises affecting these territories.
References
Chiffi, D. and Curci, F. (2024) ‘Disentangling antifragility from resilience.’ In Chiffi, D. and Curci, F. (eds.) Fragility and Antifragility in Cities and Regions: Space, Uncertainty and Inequality. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 6-24.
ESpon (2018) Alps2050. Common spatial perspectives for the Alpine area. Towards a common vision. Targeted Analysis: Executive Summary “Vision Alps 2050”. Luxembourg: ESPON. Available at: https://archive.espon.eu/sites/default/files/attachments/05_alps_2050_FR_summary%20spatial%20vision.pdf
EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) (2022) Joint Paper on Spatial Planning: A common spatial development perspective for the Eusalp Region.
EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (2023) Workplan 2023-2025.
European Commission (2024) The future of European competitiveness: A competitiveness strategy for Europe. Available at: https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/97e481fd-2dc3-412d-be4c-f152a8232961_en (Accessed: 11 November 2024).
Modica, M. (2019) ‘Aree industriali dismesse nelle Alpi. Una prima panoramica quantitativa e potenziali implicazioni per lo sviluppo regionale.’ Journal of Alpine Research, 107(1), pp. 1-18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/rga.5298
Modica, M. and Solero, E. (2022) Brownfield transformation in fragile territories. An Interreg-based action research. Cham: Polimi SpringerBriefs.
Perlik, M. (2019) The Spatial and Economic Transformation of Mountain Regions. Routledge.
| Keywords | EU policymaking; transboundary planning; cohesion; Alpine region governance; Research-by-Design approach |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
