Abstract
The socio-economic changes during the past fifty years have favoured settlement dynamics and development models with low sustainability in most areas of the Alpine area
Therefore, the most marginal areas have suffered from strong depopulation and from processes of abandonment.
So far, traditional planning tools, together with the change of lifestyle and the scarcity of economic resources, among other factors, have not been able to counter these dynamics.
The survival chances of vital communities in these specific regions depend on a multi-sectorial development approach which takes into consideration economic growth, environmental conservation, traditions and cultural issues.
This approach should be combined with the enhancement of local communities’ capacities of maximizing the endogenous natural capital and local potentials, by leveraging a technological qualitative leap and establishing new relationships within the surrounding territories in order to be more attractive on a global level.
This contribution describes two case studies located in mountain marginal areas, highlighting common features and differences. The first case study describes the development of an innovative and demonstrative strategic plan for the community of Seren del Grappa (Belluno, Italy); the other introduces "Montagne Vitali", a project aiming at counteracting the abandonment of the most marginal mountain areas in the Autonomous Province of Trento, Italy.
The authors will present the identified essential prerequisites and the process of community empowerment and involvement that made it possible to reach the projects´ aims, to fulfil the innovative methodological approach and to adopt the interaction techniques as planned.
The analysis hereby presented wants to foster the academic discussion about an innovative and self-sustainable development of smart communities, and its potential replication in other international contexts.