Gülümser, A.A. (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics) Baycan-Levent, T. Nijkamp, P.
Additional information is available for the following
registered author(s):
The sustainability of settlements is determined not only by local ecological quality or availability of green spaces, but also by a wide array of architectural and heritage parameters that contribute to local quality of life and the beauty/attractiveness of settlements in both rural and urbanized areas. As towns and villages are both ecological resources and the resource of locality, i.e. heritage and traditions, this calls for creative ideas to ensure that they are sustainable and competitive in modern economies. The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of such creative practices and dynamics of settlements, with a special focus on the ‘Associations of the Most Beautiful Villages’ in France and Italy. The paper first focuses on the critical parameters of a locality related to the attractiveness of villages from the perspective of visitors and then evaluates the role of the above mentioned Associations from the perspective of the local population. Data and information used in this study are derived from in- depth questionnaires filled out by relevant experts from 32 villages in France and Italy. In order to achieve this aim, a multivariate statistical technique, viz. logistic regression, is used. This study presents the preliminary results of the analysis of the roles of non- profit organizations in the marketing of settlements regarding their performance in terms of creativity, innovativeness and competitiveness. These results emphasize the importance of locality, showing that locality in a traditional sense remains as a critical factor to attract people and to compete in an open market. The results also show that the above-mentioned Associations play a crucial role in the sustainable development of villages, while at the same time creating for villages an attractive image as perceived by both the local population and visitors.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics in its series Serie Research Memoranda with number
0027.