Place brands and local development in inner Catalonia: A case study of the Territoris serens (el Lluçanès)

Abstract

So-called «rural restructuring» necessarily entails the transformation of the primary sector of the economy, which has been the traditional mainstay of the countryside. In recent years, the rural economy has undergone a clear process of outsourcing, which has to a large extent been capitalized on by the tourism industry. This has led to the need to rethink the concept of rurality and build it socially through the internal and external projection of imageries with the help of place brands. The main aim of this article is to explore how the Territoris serens spatial brand permits the creation of a competitive image for the Lluçanès territorial association through the diffusion of stories associated with several intangible values embodying serenity, the landscape, and hence the territorial identity. The review of the literature on place brands, the analysis of documents related to Territoris serens and the organization of a focus group discussion sheds light on the process to transform territories into brands in order to achieve, with a view to competitiveness, a renewed and postmodern «sense of place».