Territorial dynamics and settlement development in low-density areas. The case of Ogliastra in Sardinia

The processes of marginalization and socio-economic depression strongly affect the inner areas of Italy, far from the main centres of agglomeration and delivery of essential services, but at the same time characterized by important environmental, landscape and cultural resources that are the result of long-term processes of territorialisation. In the Sardinian regional context, the case study of Ogliastra is selected in order to investigate the issue of territorial dynamics and settlement development of low-density territories. It is an example of the critical balance between internal and coastal areas, where settlement development has encouraged the polarization of economic activities and the concentration of the population near the coast, leading to a gradual and apparently inevitable depopulation of the mountain villages. The geographical conditions and the infrastructural deficit have determined a situation of insulation for long centuries, which has deeply affected the economic development of the territory and has marked some features difficult to erase in the social and productive structure. At the same time, it has also made communities less disposed to accept the changes imposed by globalization trends, preserving environmental and historical-cultural resources and the territorial heritage from economic pressure. The paper analyses the territorial context and the polycentric settlement system of Ogliastra focusing on processes related to the development of the tourist industry, based primarily on coastal heritage as an attractor of seaside tourism. In particular, it proposes a territorial interpretation of the elements that represent the local identity and environmental and cultural features in a bioregionalism perspective. The final reflections focus on the need to define local development strategies that integrate the social, economic and territorial components in a project based on the principles of co-evolutionary balance and territorial equity.