Entre l’abandonament i l’ús intensiu del territori? Sistema d’assentaments i gestió del territori en espais de muntanya. El cas de l’Alt Pirineu català

Abstract

Depopulation has been an important process in the Catalan Pyrenees until the end of the 20th century and can be hold responsible of profound socioeconomic and spatial changes. The abandonment of agricultural activity, supporter of traditional lifestyles, has caused important processes of environmental degradation and the destruction of territorial and social networks. During the last decades, this socioeconomic crisis has paved the way for new economic activities and the escalation of different land uses. For some people, tourist development seems the (best?) possible way to escape from this crisis, while for others tourism has become a limitation for exploring models of sustainable development. Social spatial changes have originated an important spatial duality. Thus in the Pyrenees we can find spaces which have been abandoned and spaces where new economic activities need intensive land and resource use. Under this context, local development initiatives can help to alleviate this spatial duality and build a new development model for Catalan Pyrenees.