HomeSpace, Heritage and Sustainable Development

Space, Heritage and Sustainable Development

Espaces, patrimoine et développement durable

*  *  *

Published on Friday, May 13, 2022

Abstract

Pour cette cinquième édition de son colloque international, le Laboratoire de recherche en sciences économiques et sociales (LARSES) de l’université Assane Seck de Ziguinchor n’a pas dérogé à sa tradition scientifique. Comme à son habitude, il a choisi un thème transversal englobant les aspects économiques, managériaux, juridiques, socioculturels et historiques. Cette présente édition qui marque les dix ans du LARSES sera le lieu d’échanges sur différents aspects relatifs à l’espace, au patrimoine et au développement durable.

Announcement

Français English

The fifth LARSES International symposium on 23- 25 November in Ziguinchor

Argument

An investigation of the research themes in these three areas allow us to establish their heterogeneity. There is a great deal of research, both in the subject matter and in the used approaches, the used concepts and the units of chosen analysis. Regardless of the research theme, the particular feature of the field of research linking these concepts is the use of specific theories and approaches. The relationship between these concepts is complex and varies according to the theoretical, disciplinary or perspective adopted by the authors.

For this 5th edition of its international symposium, the Research Laboratory in Economic and Social Sciences (LARSES) has not departed from its scientific tradition. As usual, it has chosen a cross-cutting theme encompassing economic, managerial, legal, sociocultural and historical aspects. This edition which marks the tenth anniversary of LARSES will be the place for exchanges on various aspects relating to space, heritage and sustainable development.

These three concepts present a process of iterative analysis of which factors to be developed can sometimes be linked by feedback loops in a given territory. Therefore, any development model is generally part of a path that cannot ignore space. The strategy followed by the concerned country systematically refers to the way in which men and economic organizations use and consume it. Space is never just a factor of production. It is part of both the model as a means and a component.

The geophagic approach highlights a dynamic to consume space more by the imperative of economic growth. However, by creating imbalances in terms of effects on the environment, challenging the growth achieved over time, the geosophical approach asserts itself by reason. The latter calls for preserving, saving space and making reasonable use of it.

Thus, if one looks at it closely, one observes that the chosen development model leads to the application of a strategy which inserts the concerned country into a production process consuming of saving space, in the same sense as the technological factors allowing to consume or save the labor or capital factor.

In short, all organizations and all actors are in a place or desire a place, while countless borders are formed and disputed, as territories are crossed by atmospheres and affects. Heritage is increasingly identified by international bodies as a vector of differentiation, a provider of authenticity to be put at the service of the development of territories and, by implication, of spaces. Heritage, the foundation of collective identities, is the only response to the fundamental need for each being to place and recognize itself.

As for the concept of sustainable development, it is now a concept that is raised in so many circumstances and with such a clear recognition that it is difficult to understand precisely its definition and the issues it raises. It is often presented as a panacea capable of reconciling economic development, environmental protection and the well-being of local communities. Therefore, the concept of sustainable development is based on the implementation of the rational use and management of natural, human and economic resources, with a view to adequately meeting the basic needs of humanity.

Moreover, despite the efficiency gains achieved by new technologies, current consumption patterns remain in conflict with the capacity of the terrestrial ecosystem to withstand environmental damage and the squandering of available resources. A necessary but not sufficient condition, the objective of efficiency should therefore be accompanied by incentives for sustainable development, both economically (e.g. introduction of environmental taxes) and socially (e.g. environmental education in schools).

During this symposium, the diversity of the proposed themes will show the encompassing character of the meeting between African and other intellectuals who will try to exchange on such diverse and varied issues according to the following axes:

Axis1: tourism, heritage and territorial governance

Given that tourism and heritage are inseparable, it is necessary and even essential to establish a harmonious and sustainable management policy to protect both natural and intangible heritage. The installation of accommodation infrastructures due to the development of tourismactivity in certain ecologically fragile areas requires strict governance on the part of the actors in the sector but also of the state.

This axis shows not only the place of tourism in the development process of the importance of good territorial governance with sustainable governance strategies. Indeed, it is well known that the development of tourism activity generates economic, financial, social and environmental effects, both on the national and regional areas. These effects can be both negative and positive. Therefore, to better understand these effects; it is more than necessary to manage and control the tourist activity as a whole.

Researchers, professionals and students from different fields of training and specialty are invited to submit proposals for communication that revolve around this research axis according to their own methods and their specific problems.

  • Tourism and land-use planning;
  • Tourist activities and organization of spaces;
  • Events and spatial dynamics;
  • Tourism as an opportunity for local authorities;
  • Heritage and urban tourism: enhancement of authenticity
  • Sustainable tourism and gastronomy: what a combination?
  • Sustainable tourism architecture: an identity heritage;

Axis 2: economy and sustainable land management

The relationship between space, heritage and development is complex. Each discipline may have its own reading and the approach angle may vary within the same discipline. This central theme is of interest to many aspects of economics and management science. From a macroeconomic perspective, sustainable development requires stable growth based on equally sustainable patterns of production and consumption. François Perroux’s theory of growth poles make a nod to the notion of space, but without really dwelling on the type of space that is appropriate. From a spatial perspective, sustainable development is part of the territory’s economic approach.

In fact, all economic activity is part of a territory that has its own particularities. In return, there can be no development without a healthy environment. With the decentralization movements, the territory is bound to play an important role in the development process. Like geographers and sociologists, economists have focused on space across the territory which is a fairly homogeneous unit of analysis. The economic theories of territorial development (economy of the territories or space economy) which emerged above all with the work of Von Thùnen (1926 cited by Ponsard, 1998) were particularly interested in the location of economic activities in the territories (the unit costs of enterprises may be very different depending on their location). If Von Thùnen was interested in agricultural activities in terms of optimal location, A. Weber (1929) addressed the question of the location of industries (attraction of raw material, attraction of market, labor pool, etc.). the regional and urban economy, of which Philippe Aydalot is one of the pioneers in France, is the extension of these theories around spatial economic analysis.

Taking into account the environment protection has led to the concept of sustainable territorial development. The well-being and even the survival of many people around the world depends on their resilience to climate change. If there are production patterns, such as agricultural or agroforestry, that are destructive of the environment and a threat to food security, there are also many local agricultural practices and natural resource management systems that contribute to environmental sustainability while helping to strengthen the local economy. Many of these practices are based on the intangible cultural heritage of communities. As a living heritage, it can be an important source of innovation for sustainable development. This is particularly the case for traditional crafts which bear the imprint of the cultural identity of these communities and contribute to economic development by generating decent jobs.

Ultimately, it is a matter of developing territories while protecting the environment and preserving natural, cultural and landscape values for a better quality of life and the well-being of citizens.

No-exhaustive list of themes

  • Special economic zones and industrialization
  • Sustainable territorial development
  • Localized sustainable development practices
  • Enterprise location policy
  • Relocation of economic activities
  • Territorial governance
  • Agricultural practices and sustainable development
  • People’s resilience to climate change
  • Intangible cultural heritage and environmental sustainability
  • Management of natural resources
  • Attractiveness of territories and location of companies
  • The place of territorial marketing in the attractiveness of territories
  • Pole of competitiveness and local development

Axis 3: business, space and sustainable development

The relationship between business, space and sustainable development can be approached from the perspective of management sciences, organizations and management.

Many governments include their industrial policies in the register of territories. Thus, various forms of local collaboration are emerging, including geographic groupings of enterprises (industrial districts, competitiveness clusters). Bringing companies together in a flexible, materialized geographical space reduces or even minimizes inter-company transaction costs.

These inter-organizational structures invite companies to extend the management of their human resources to the dimensions of the territory through the development of “concerted”, “shared” or “mutualized” human resources management actions, such as the development of a training channel or the provision of employees.

From another perspective, the enterprise can be seen as a physical arrangement in space that influences organizational values, identities, engagement and behaviors (primarily effectiveness and creativity). Space affects the sense, the autonomy and the taste of work. On the other hand, behaviors not only take place in but are also part of the space and workplaces. With crises such as covid-19, on the one hand places, spaces, territories and work networks are redefined and reinvented, on the other hand theorizations of organizational space open new avenues of exploration and new debates. How was the organization (office, class, business, etc.) as a space for administrative staff, employees and users perceived? What are the links between the occupants of this space and the users? What is the impact of the coronavirus crisis 19 on the area of autonomy which the employment relationship (in the legal sense of the contract) opens up to concrete employment relationships within companies? Does teleworking improve the employee’s self-efficiency?

At the strategic level, we can question the effectiveness of the spatial proximity desired by African states through the development of industrial clusters. Do these clusters allow established companies to realize localization and/or urbanization savings? How can the creation of technology and industrial clusters be beneficial for the creation of new companies in these countries?  What links can there be between these organizations and the stakeholders established within their host territories?

The question of the company’s border may be raised. What is the model for effective management of a burst or internationalized enterprise?

The enterprise may be considered as an asset. Then comes the question of its belonging. Who owns the company?

In terms of marketing and more particularly geomarketing, the problem of multiple localization (in which market should we establish ourselves? How can we get closer to local demand?) is a very pressing issue. What behaviors do businesses and customers adopt depending on the given geographical area? The debate also focuses on the choice of commercial location that allows the company to seize potential location opportunities. Some theorists have developed models of localization (gravity and spatial interaction models and localization-allocation models).

Authors can explore the following themes:

  • Organizational spaces and behaviors;
  • Internationalization of SMEs;
  • Company boundaries
  • Crises and work organization
  • Geomarketing, choice of commercial location
  • CSR and corporate stakeholders
  • Territorial grouping of undertakings

Axis 4: spatio-cultural dynamics of relations between societies and environments

Starting from the possible consideration within the meaning of Febvre (1922) and taking up the theses of Paul Vidal de la Blache on the relations between societies and environments, man uses the possibilities offered by nature to build spaces, territories, social, cultural and economic products etc. through “framing techniques” (Gourou, 1973) with the sociocultural singularities at the root. The result of this process is the constitutions of a territorial identity (in all its contours) built, lived, valued, sold through a functionalization of space in tourist places among other types. The dynamics of these tourist areas involve several issues, (health, territory, environment and sustainable development, heritage, migration, mobility, margins, etc.), sometimes difficult to grasp especially in the context of low-income countries and often with invaluable tourist potential, to consider in an interdisciplinary approach between spaces and societies. This axis thus proposes a cross-reflection on how to read this relationship through the following thematic:

Health and tourism

  • Tourist development: sanitary offer, an unthinkable
  • Medical tourism: the emergence of a tourist offer beyond the mere recreational
  • Travel-proof health insurance
  • Endemic/pandemic and tourism economy

Space, tourism and environment

  • Sustainability issues in resource spaces
  • Land use planning
  • Mutations of rural areas
  • Public space: collections and appropriations
  • Drugs, crime and marginality: the place of deviations in the territories and their impact on sustainable development

Heritage

  • Wealth transfer in an African context
  • Process of capitalization of social or technological innovations
  • Landscape cosmology
  • Social spaciality
  • Historical heritage in modern times
  • Boundaries of the imaginary
  • Symbolic and spiritual resources of rural areas

Migration and tourism

  • Tourism as a migratory pretext: “false tourists”
  • Border restriction and tourism
  • Tourism and migration networks
  • Mobility between spaces here and elsewhere

These axes are given as an indication but other themes may be proposed by colleagues from LARSES and other structures or institutions. The proceedings of the colloquium will be published in a collective book (by a recognized publisher) and in a scientific journal.

Terms & conditions

All contributions that have not been published are invited and must be submitted by e-mail: colloque.larses@univ-zig.sn in due time. Submissions can be In full text or in draft form consisting of an intensive summary with problematic, methodology, preliminary plan and key bibliographic references.

Please submit the proposals in word format.

The working language of the symposium will be English and French.

Proposals for communication will include:

  • a security; a summary (between 3000 and 5000 signs including spaces) including a clear detailed presentation of the methodology used and the sources/ documents mobilized; First name and name of the author(s) with indication of their institutional affiliation and status and e-mail);
  • Keywords: 5 to 7 clearly specifying the scientific themes and fields. Proposals will be between 25,000 and 50,000 signs (including notes, bibliography and spaces) and will comply with the APA bibliographic standard.
  • Proposals should be sent in a text file (doc, docx) and be titled “LAST NAME”.

NB: The proceedings of the symposium will be published in a book form or in an international journal of economic and social sciences.

Schedule of submission

  • Submission deadline: Thursday 31 may 2022

  • Notification of acceptance: Thursday 15 July 2022
  • Deadline for full paper submission: Monday 31October 2022.

References

DI MEO, Guy (1998). Géographie sociale et territoires, Paris : Nathan, 320 p., coll. Fac-géographie.

PERROUX François (1955). Notes sur la notion de pôle de croissance, Economie appliquée, Vol. VII, n° 1-2.

PONSARD, C., 1988, Analyse économique spatiale. Paris, PUF

Event attendance modalities

Hybrid event (on site and online)


Date(s)

  • Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Keywords

  • patrimoine, développement durable, territoire, afrique

Contact(s)

  • Benoît TINE
    courriel : btine [at] univ-zig [dot] sn

Reference Urls

Information source

  • Benoît TINE
    courriel : btine [at] univ-zig [dot] sn

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Space, Heritage and Sustainable Development », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Friday, May 13, 2022, https://doi.org/10.58079/18wv

Archive this announcement

  • Google Agenda
  • iCal
Search OpenEdition Search

You will be redirected to OpenEdition Search