PRESENTS AND FUTURES OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT. MULTI-LEVEL INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES WITHIN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

摘要

Local and regional development is an important topic for both academics and decision makers which, through interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches, enables the connection between science and practice. The variety of issues worldwide (e.g. territorial disparities and competition, postcommunism and transition, governance and spatial planning) respond to significant social and economic concerns such as: the improvement of living conditions, decentralisation, inequalities and inequities, intensifying environmental pressures (Pike et al., 2011, Rodríguez-Pose, Hardy, 2015). When addressed at multiple spatial levels, these topics are capable of revealing specific processes and patterns induced by the scale and particularity of the territory. As a consequence, local and regional contexts continue to matter in shaping both patterns of development and the variety of policy responses (Pike et al., 2017).