Urban and Rural Dynamics Between Economy and Place Attachment. The Case Study of the Region of Sardinia (Italy)

Historically, the relationship between city and countryside has always been an unbalanced one. While on the one hand, the countryside has conditioned the city’s possibility of survival, the city has made it possible for the countryside to have advantages by initiating alternative production mechanisms and innovation processes starting with the industrial revolution. In recent times, these relations have been modified, with the introduction of a new way of considering the urban/rural connection, also because of the negative effects of capitalism and globalisation. The case study of the Region of Sardinia is useful to investigate the influence of place attachment and identity on social and economic dynamics between urban and rural areas, in both historical and contemporary perspectives. The research focuses on the link between participatory planning and community place attachment in the Regional Landscape Plan and in the local urban plans. The results highlight the importance of community participation and place attachment in the local governance and reflect on some strategic visions, based on bioregionalism principles, which focus on the management of natural resources to create a new balance between economy, community, and territory.