Stefania BENETTI, Dipartimento di Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Italy
Simone GAMBA, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università IULM, Italy
Taranto (Italy), an industrial landscape (Mansfeld, Y., 1992) with one of the largest steel plants in Europe, is currently facing a severe economic crisis, attended by high levels of environmental pollution, an alarming unemployment rate, and a declining population. The strong dependency on the industrial sector and the uneven local geographical development make Taranto a very fragile city (Greco & Di Fabbio, 2014; D’Ovidio, 2021). Today, the local administration and residents are trying to face a difficult and uncertain path of reconversion and territorial regeneration, also based on tourism development. The article aims to contribute to the debate on tourism governance in the Anthropocene by providing qualitative evidence on the case of Taranto. First, we seek to identify the attractivity of the city (historical center, beaches, important museums, regatta of the naval league, etc.) and the current initiatives (promotion of actions for the recovery and enhancement of properties, creation of an ecomuseum, development of marine projects, etc.) to design Taranto as a tourist destination (Saarinen, 2004). Second, we give evidence that this process of reconversion and urban regeneration is likely to affect landscape enhancement, local knowledge, and pro-environmental behaviours. Third, we discuss critical aspects of touristic development in the framework of resilience (Cheer & Lew, 2018), considering the infrastructural problems of the city (lack of an airport and high-speed trains), the uncertainty of the industrial sector, the unsustainability of cruise ships arrivals, and possible conflicts between inhabitants and tourists.
Mots clés : Industrial pollution|Urban regeneration|Sustainable tourism|Socio-ecological systems|Resilience
A103324SB