Territories of innovation. Practices and actors of integrated
planning in Apulia
This paper focuses on the relationship between «area-based integrated actions
» and the traditional spatial planning and development modes in Apulia,
southern Italy. These actions have recently spread in public policy arenas, introducing
new discourses often centred on simplified mix of key-words such as local
capacity building, stakeholders involvement, shared visions. After having experienced
a phase of enthusiasm for the potentials of these approaches, it is important
to look into on-going practices in order to shed some light upon a number of basic
ideas permeating their underlying approach. Four cases studies are interpreted
using three points of view: actors’ inclusion/exclusion in/from decision-making
process, agreement/disagreement on spatial vision, inside/outside the concerned
«locality». The paper highlights the importance to investigate in depth which actors
are actually involved and why, what kinds of territorial visions they hold and
create, which sort of ‘locale’ they produce in the interactions that take place during
the processes, and if and how these interactions are able to bear upon well-established
spatial planning and development practices.