The cultural embeddedness of population mobility in the Alps: Consequences for sustainable development

Abstract

This article investigates the impact of culture on population mobility, settled landscapes, and regional sustainability in the European Alps over the past c.1500 years. For older developments, the authors analysed existing research on specific areas in the Alps, and for developments that are more recent they analysed census, agricultural, and tourism data at municipal level. They find that, following immigration in Late Antiquity and early Middle Ages, different historical settlement and socio-demographic systems have evolved in the Alps as a result of various cultural traditions of the local population. These cultural differences have essentially persisted over centuries and still influence socio-ecology and regional development indirectly, especially via fundamentally different developments in agriculture and tourism. The way that culture affects the relationships between socio-demographic, economic, and even ecological sustainability is discussed. The authors conclude that the Alps may serve as a case in point to suggest that culture might be a steering component for regional sustainability, as different cultural practices lead to regionally diverse developments.

Brand Revitalization of Heritage Enterprises for Cultural Sustainability in the Digital Era: A Case Study in China

“…Cultural sustainability matters because it can significantly shape individuals' decision making and the development of social policies [6,11]. The preservation of culture means preserving elements of the past in the present and future.…”

“…The preservation of culture means preserving elements of the past in the present and future. Because decisions made within a given social context are significantly affected by the shared beliefs of society, cultural sustainability ensures that individuals can live within the cultural framework inherited from the past and therefore leads to consistency among different generations [6,11]. Additionally, cultural sustainability can provide viable options or solutions within the scope of social policy [11].…”

“…Because decisions made within a given social context are significantly affected by the shared beliefs of society, cultural sustainability ensures that individuals can live within the cultural framework inherited from the past and therefore leads to consistency among different generations [6,11]. Additionally, cultural sustainability can provide viable options or solutions within the scope of social policy [11]. The supreme importance of preserving cultural heritage and achieving cultural sustainability is widely recognized internationally, as reflected in the World Heritage movement of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as well as extensive heritage preservation work on different levels in many countries, such as Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, India, the USA, and Japan.…”

Trento Social Commons. Community Engagement as Tools for New Physical and Cultural Relationships Between Rural and Peripheral Spaces

“…Examples of collective management in the Alps are indifferently related both to Latin (" res nullius") or German ("Gemeinschaft") customs and traditions and were supportive in conserving most of the features of the multiple use of agricultural, grazing and forest land and related buildings. These systems of communitarian governance and collective properties have been investigated by various authors since the late 1960s with a focus on the Swiss and Italian experiences (Cole and Wolf, 1999, McNetting, 1981, Viazzo, 1989 and still nowadays their historical and cultural backgrounds are valuated as a leverage of local mountain development (Bender and Haller, 2017).…”

Among rewilding mountains: grassland conservation and abandoned settlements in the Northern Apennines

“…Agricultural abandonment was also observed in the second half of the past century in Italian mountain regions (Vecchio, 1989). Bender and Haller (2017) analysed the nexus of population mobility and landscape development in the Alps and identified deep-rooted cultural practices as important drivers of change. In a quantitative study, Falcucci, Maiorano, and Boitani (2007, p. 622) detected large increase in forest areas in the Alps and Apennines between 1960 and 2000.…”