Conference Agenda

The Alps are knowing as an area with fairly good quality of life, in most of the aspects offering better living conditions above the EU average. In the 10th Report on the State of the Alps quality of life was investigated through five topics, among which was also the topic of work and financial security. More into detail, we were interested in working conditions in the Alpine regions, social security and potential for the innovation. The topic was observed through enablers (the living conditions), life maintenance and life flourishing according to the ESPON Territorial Quality of Life concept. Following the quantitative analysis of existing and available indicators, a survey with Alpine residents was conducted. The results show that there is large variety between Alpine regions in the indicators of average income, as it is in parental leave among the Alpine countries. In general, 48% of the respondents to the survey are satisfied with the work and financial security (the topic came in 3rd after the environment and social relations). Evaluating individual aspects of work, the number of vacation days, work–life balance and possibilities for training obtained better results. The respondents were least satisfied with parental leave duration, salary and possibilities for telework. Altogether 84% reported to either living comfortably on their present income or were at least coping. Alpine countries had major differences in terms of the latter, as these were based on national legislation, the economic situation and employers’ goodwill. Inflexibility of work conditions and local narrow economic orientation (tourism as prevailing in some localities) were also stated among weaknesses of living in the Alps. The remoteness of some Alpine areas can contribute not only to the social isolation and a lack of social contact, but can also limit the opportunities for work, and jobs accessibility. To summarize, for this aspect of QoL and taking into account the specifics of mountain areas, it can be concluded that more favourable working conditions, such as a longer parental leave, telework options and training opportunities, significantly contribute to greater satisfaction and, in turn, lead to higher overall satisfaction and enhanced QoL.

In the backdrop of ongoing socio-economic transformations prompted by the current social and economic crisis, urban centers and peripheral rural areas confront challenges like rising unemployment, increased poverty, heightened social and economic exclusion, and depopulation. Simultaneously, the diverse needs and individual preferences of residents in these areas present a growing complexity. These factors impede traditional public infrastructure-based services, necessitating innovative solutions for the habitability of places, particularly marginalised ones.Thus, this paper explores 'Enterprising Communities' in rural areas: innovative socio-economic practices set up by local actors to address local needs based on three key factors: self-organisation, communal benefit, and community participation. Conducted between 2021-2023 using a mixed methods analysis, the research focuses on the characteristics, governance models, and participatory specificities of these community-driven initiatives. The focus of the research is on community-based coperatives located in mountain areas along the Apennines and how they are integrated multisectoral activities to enhance habitability and economic subsistance in remote rural areas. These models main strength is the unique blend of enterprise and community dimensions, emphasising a sense of belonging and embeddedness in their local environment. However, they remain isolated and struggle to survive, especially in marginal rural areas. To strengthen Enterprising Communities and overcome these challenges, the paper highlights the need for a dialogue between community-led models and policy-driven initiatives, particularly in long-neglected areas, to unlock missed opportunities for local economies. The analysis reveals that Enterprising Communities, with diverse models shaped by local factors and community needs, contribute to fostering new local development pathways in peripheral and rural areas. However, their contribution to regional and rural development policies is still underexplored, and they face limitations in their dual roles as social and economic actors. In conclusion, this research adds to ongoing debates on the role of place-based entrepreneurship in socio-technical systems transitions through new community-based enterprises. It also provides guidance on how such experiences can emerge from their niches through community-led policy co-creation approaches.

Human-wildlife coexistence, where humans and wildlife share space, has become an important paradigm of European biodiversity protection and conservation management (König et al., 2020). However, the coexistence of humans and permanent or recovering wildlife species remains a societal challenge in all landscapes, which often manifests in trade-offs and conflicts, such as illegal wildlife killing, crop and livestock damages, and ensuing social conflicts (Smith et al., 2017), thus threatening long-term conservation goals. The ecosystems in the mountain areas are often the last places where they can find suitable habitats to save their population. However, the human pressure in these areas also increases as a result of expanding tourism and livestock practices. Therefore, sustainable concepts of sharing space are required that take into account the needs of wildlife species, differences in affectedness and values of stakeholders, regional landscape, and land use conditions, while also learning from successful and unsuccessful stories, to enable long-term sustainable human-wildlife interactions. In this paper, we are trying to identify spatial and temporal patterns of human-wildlife interactions in the case study of the Central Balkan biosphere reserve. The main research question is how these interactions are influenced by landscape and socioeconomic factors, and can we use this information for risk assessment and prediction. We apply the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-Offs) and more specifically its habitat quality module to identify the areas of good habitat quality and the areas of potential risk for human-wildlife interactions. Thus, we reveal spatial mismatches such as benefits concentrated in one area, conflicts concentrated in another area, and hotspots of disservices such as spatial damage concentration from multiple species.

In recent years, mountain areas have experienced a resurgence of interest and repopulation, which challenges traditional representations of these contexts and redefines individual life projects and the collective political dimension. This phenomenon is multifaceted, with various profiles among the so-called "new mountaineers" (Corrado et al., 2014). On the one hand, there are amenity migrants, such as digital nomads, who are attracted to mountain regions due to the increasing availability of digital infrastructure, and neo-rural, who are rediscovering traditional professions linked to mountain territories, such as agriculture and shepherding (Jelen et al., 2024). Additionally, we have been witnessing families fleeing urban environments, retirees, and artists, who have in common the desire to become "mountaineers by choice" (Dematteis, 2011).
People moving to or returning to mountain life often pursue lifestyles that echo historical patterns of mountain living. In the past, the seasonal nature of certain jobs led to a lifestyle characterized by a diverse range of occupations, frequent mobility, temporary living arrangements, and multi-residentiality (Perlik, 2011; Weichhart, 2009). However, these traits are reappearing in the lives of new mountaineers due to different processes.
For geography, these emerging lifestyles offer valuable insights into the field's long-standing yet highly relevant themes. The study of diverse and alternative economies (Gibson-Graham, 1996; 2006) often associated with mountain living sheds light on experiences typically seen as marginal or residual. Furthermore, the role of digital technologies in enabling the mobility of digital nomads in non-urban settings—through the proliferation of remote workstations and coworking spaces (Akhavan et al., 2021; Burgin et al., 2021)—reveals the development of new digital geographies. These connect new mountaineers to both their physical surroundings and a more comprehensive network of supralocal relationships. Finally, alternative forms of tourism, such as the "albergo diffuso" (scattered hotel), encourage new forms of hospitality that engage tourists with local communities and landscapes (Varani et al., 2022).