Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

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Land Use Policy

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/landusepol

Territorial identity and development: From topophilia to terraphilia

Jos Oliveira , Zoran Roca, Nuno Leito
TERCUD Territory, Culture and Development Research Centre, Universidade Lusfona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Campo Grande, 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 31 May 2009
Received in revised form 20 October 2009
Accepted 25 October 2009
Keywords:
Territorial identity
Local development
Topophilia
Terraphilia
Macroscopic analysis
Participatory research

a b s t r a c t
This paper brings about a conceptual and methodological framework for the study of topophilia and its
enrichment in terms of development policy and actions seeking (re)afrmation of landscape-related and
other territorial identity features. To this end, the results of an empirical verication of a newly introduced concept, named terraphilia, are presented. Records and assessments of the topophiliaterraphilia
interface were carried out in the framework of the Identerra Model that enables empirical delimitation
and systematization of the state (spatial xes) and change (spatial ows) of natural, economic, societal
and cultural features of territorial identity. The research area was the Oeste Region (a NUTS III, Northwest of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area). The promotion of terraphilia may be important in the process of
identication and assessment of strategically relevant elements of local and regional development, such
as sense of territorial belonging and territorial attractiveness.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction
Topophilia, or the affective bond between people and place, or
setting (Tuan, 1990, p. 4), changes as localities and regions become
produced and contradictory spaces (Lefevre, 1991) affected
by deterritorialisation (Barel, 1986) and detraditionalization
(Giddens, 1994; Heelas et al., 1999), if not yet by the end of territory (Badie, 1995), or annihilation of space by time (Harvey,
2003). Likewise, topophilia changes with the emergence of global
sense of place (Massey, 1991) and contested spaces (Massey
and Jess, 1995) with landscapes as part of hegemonic culture
(Cosgrove, 1998) and quests towards coherent identity and equilibrium between landscape reality and representation (Harner,
2001). In spite of continuous salience of places as settings for
social and economic existence, and for forging identities, struggles,
and strategies of both a local and global nature (Amin and Thrift,
1994, p. 9), topophilia also changes as places and regions become
networked and receptive to innovation (Todtling, 1994), on
and of the mind (Agnew, 1999), claimed (Haartsen et al., 2000),
recomposed and articulated (Benko, 2000), re-afrmed (Roca,
2004), or indeed re-territorialized (Haesbaert, 2004) in the context of globalized economy and culture.
In a highly globalized country such as Portugal (Ferro, 2002,
2004), strong expressions of topophilia can be found in diverse

Corresponding author. Tel.: +351 962972759.

E-mail addresses: Jantol@netcabo.pt (J. Oliveira), Zoran.roca@ulusofona.pt (Z.
Roca), Nuno.leitao@ulusofona.pt (N. Leito).
0264-8377/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.10.014

traces of the cultural heritage, from rural and urban landscapes

to artisanship and gastronomy (Gaspar, 1994). Topophilia can also
be traced in the Portuguese language. Apart from the fado lyrics,
or words such as saudade (the longing for, and sadness about, a
place) (Houasis and Villar, 2002, p. 3268) and nortear (to direct
to the North, Houasis and Villar, 2002, p. 2629, a word probably
coined by Portuguese navigators), the expression descaracterizaco
(loss of character and distinctiveness, Houasis and Villar, 2002, p.
1249) has been frequently used to label what has become notorious in Portugal: mistreatment, profanation, degradation, waist, etc.
of the uniqueness of places and regions. In fact, descaracterizaco is
an antonym of topophilia since it mirrors a strong pro-identity attitude, i.e., the call for preserving distinctiveness of territories that
have increasingly been subject to environmental degradation and
losses in local economy and culture through indiscriminate assimilation of globalized goods, services and ideas. In fact, it seems that
there is an inverse, negative correlation between the two notions:
the stronger the descaracterizaco, the weaker the topophilia.
The Portuguese academic, political and media discourses have
generally, almost a priori, advocated that it is necessary to curtail descaracterizaco and, at the same time, to strengthen and/or
(re)afrm territorial identity as a development resource (Albino,
1997; Roca, 2004), as well as that people, especially the young,
should not only learn more about, but also take greater care of natural environment, cultural heritage and other specicities of the
geographic space of their residence, work and leisure. Progress in
the encouragement of topophilia can be evidenced, for example,
in the integration of sustainable development principles in basic
education curricula and Local Agenda 21 projects, in the ourishing

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J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

of local/regional museology, in the revitalization of historic urban

nuclei and other built heritage, and in the revival of the regionalist
spirit (Roca, 1998, 1999).
However, in spite of many efforts to promote topophilia,
descaracterizaco has constantly increased in all spheres of economy and culture in Portugal: from the progressive reduction of
ecological and demographic sustainability to the deterioration of
social and economic autonomy at the local level, often accompanied by chaotic land use and visual pollution. Notorious examples of
alterations in rural and urban landscapes are, for example: substitution of the traditional terraced vineyards and mixed cropping by the
modern, more competitive agricultural production techniques;
adoption of the consumer models that favour concentration of
commercial activity vs. traditional retailing; abandonment of social
values such as inter-generational solidarity vs. the emergence of
solitude and exclusion as commonly assumed social patterns;
loss of demographic vitality through ageing and emigration, and,
consequently, the reconguration of the spatial distribution of settlements (Ferro, 2004; Roca, 2004).
Why is there a growing distance between the claims in favour
of strong territorial identity as a local development resource on
one side and, on the other, the anti-identity reality and, in fact, the
fading of topophilia? What could be done to stop this tendency?
Policy-relevant answers and solutions to such questions call for (i)
records and taxonomies of the changing territorial identity features
affecting topophilia, (ii) recognition of local agents attitudes and
deeds, and (iii) strengthening of the very concept of topophilia in a
pro-development perspective.
This paper brings about a conceptual and methodological
framework for the study of topophilia and its enrichment in
terms of development policy and actions seeking (re)afrmation
of landscape-related and other territorial identity features.1 To
this end, the results of an empirical verication of a newly
introduced concept, named terraphilia, are presented. Dened
as the affective bond between people and territory that encourage local development intervention,2 the concept of terraphilia
actually complements topophilia as its pro-developmental
extension.3 Recordings, classications and assessments of the
topophiliaterraphilia interface were carried out by applying the
Identerra Model, a conceptual-methodological framework for the
study of territorial identity as a development resource (Roca and
Roca, 2007). The research area was the Oeste Region (a NUTS
III, North-west of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area) in which the
pro-identity rhetoric and development based on environmental,
economic and cultural competitiveness have been placed high on
the local development agendas.

1
This paper is based on the results of the research project entitled IDENTERRA Territorial Identity in Regional and Local Development: the Oeste Region
of Portugal implemented by the TERCUD Territory, Culture and Development
Research Centre of the Universidade Lusfona de Humanidades e Tecnologias,
Lisbon, nancially supported by the Fund for Science and Technology, Lisbon
(FCT/SAPIENS-POCTI/GEO/48266/2002).
2
The notion of development assumes an a priori positive relation between economic and cultural change on one side, and, on the other, populations wellbeing:
However, every development intervention driven by terraphilia can bring about
positive or negative effects for different stakeholders and/or environmental, economic, social or cultural sphere(s). What actually matters is that positive effects
prevail over negative ones and that power-relations among the development stakeholders are as symmetrical and consensual as possible.
3
The Greek word topos (place, location) was substituted by the Latin word terra
(land, earth) in order to emphasise more explicitly that development of concrete
territorial entities, such as landscapes, places and regions are in focus. In Portuguese
and some other languages the notion of terra is often synonymous to a place of
birth, homeland, social roots, or ancestral livelihood setting. In fact, terra has been
an intrinsic identity feature of rurality and, increasingly, a nostalgia motive among
urbanites.

The analytical framework: the Identerra Model

The Identerra Model is based on the hypothesis that territorial
identities depend on the uniqueness of a geographic area in terms
of its landscape- and lifestyle-related features. Natural (primary or
modied, preserved or degraded, etc.) and cultural (agricultural,
industrial, rural, urban, mixed, etc.) landscapes are constituted of
spatial xes, dened as the sum of permanently and temporarily
rooted and anchored elements of the natural heritage, population
and human-made economic and cultural heritage in a geographical
area. Lifestyles, understood here as the patterns of use and management of spatial xes, are constituted of the activities, relations and
meanings within horizontal (territorial) and vertical (functional)
networks and systems, which determine Nature, Society, Economy
and Culture (Roca and Roca, 2007, pp. 436437).
Two basic aspects of territorial identity the objective and
subjective ones are distinguished in the Identerra Model. The
objective territorial identity combines spatial xes and ows
whose state and dynamics can be measured and assessed on the
basis of macroscopic (deskwork) analyses of secondary and remote
sources of data and images of landscape- and lifestyle-related facts.
The subjective territorial identity can be studied from the point of
view of two basic sets of spatial xes and ows: rst, those that
are practiced/experienced (in the real life) and, second, those that
are claimed/sought (in the mind) and can be assessed by means
of participatory (eldwork) studies based on collection of primary
data and images (Roca and Roca, 2007, pp. 437438).
The macroscopic analyses and participatory research should
be complementary: the former one should enable an overall contextualization of landscape and lifestyle-related identity features
and the selection of locations and methods for the latter ones,
while the ndings of the participatory studies should eventually
point to the discrepancies and/or synergies between the subjective (experienced and sought) and objective identities that
might be relevant for local development policies that wish to promote topophiliaterraphilia interface (Roca and Roca, 2007, pp.
439440).
The macroscopic analysis: taxonomy of spatial xes and
ows
In this chapter, the methods and results of the macroscopic
analysis of the landscape and lifestyle-related territorial identity
features of the Oeste Region are presented. An in-depth macroscopic analysis, performed in order to test the hypothesis of the
Identerra Model, i.e. to detect different landscape- and lifestylerelated components (spatial xes and ows) of the objective
territorial identity of the Oeste Region, was carried out through
the following four phases:
(i) exploration of available statistical data for the latest interCensus period, 19912001, as well as those available for 1999,
at the level of all 121 parishes (smallest statistical units) of the
12 counties of the Oeste Region;4

4
Several data-related limitations were encountered. First, the available statistics
at the level of parishes are relatively scarce, so a full coverage of diverse spatial
xes and ows dened by the Identerra Model was not possible. This was particularly true with the indicators referring to the natural environment, whose coverage,
specicity and availability can hardly match the administrative boundaries. Also,
some statistical criteria applied in the 1991 and 2001 Population and Housing Censuses and the 1999 Agriculture Census do not coincide, which caused omissions of
values for some variables, especially those directly related to the agriculture, so that
it was not possible to obtain all rates of change that would illustrate the dynamic
component of all spatial xes and ows envisaged by the Model.

J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

803

Table 1
The landscape and lifestyle-related indicators for macroscopic analysis of territorial identity of the Oeste region.
Landscape and lifestyle-related
components of the Identerra Model

Selected indicators

Justication of relevance for macroscopic analyses of landscape and

lifestyle-related territorial identity features

Natural heritage

% Areas under forests and bushes with no

crops, over total farm area, 1999

As this indicator includes spontaneous and sub-spontaneous forests

and bushes (i.e., not only industrial forests), it is the closest possible
indirect approximation to the illustration of the state of natural
landscapes.

Economic heritage

% Of area with permanent crops over used

agricultural land of the farm units, 1999

This indicator is a possible approximation to the extent of traditional

rural landscape of the Oeste Region where fruit production is very
important.
This indicator illustrates the potential of modernization/integration of
the agricultural activity into the market economy and more
competitive farming systems.
This indicator of the farmers pluriactivity reects nonagricultural
income generation that can result from the introduction of new
activities.
The second home phenomenon is a consequence of territorial
attractiveness (environmental, cultural and other amenities) that can
have important impacts on local economic and cultural change. It is a
powerful driving force of landscape and lifestyle change especially
when occurring inside very traditional settings.
Indicator of territorial interactivity, showing functional dependencies
between home, studies and working places.
Increased social and economic integration and economic dependence.
An indicator of the improvements in infrastructure and transportation
services.
Indicator of specic lifestyles conditioned by the nature of road
infrastructure and public transportation policies and the level of
functional dependence between the main urban centres.
Increased motorization rate induced by higher living standards and by
the improvement of road infrastructure and public transportation
policies and the level of functional dependence between the main
urban centres.

% Individual farmers with completed upper

secondary education, 1999
% Individual farmers who dedicate up to 25% of
their time to agriculture, 1999
% Seasonal/or second home dwellings over
total number of dwellings, 2001

% Population that works or studies outside the

county of residence, 2001
Rate of change of population that works and
studies outside the county of residence,
1991-2001
% Commuting workers and students using
private car, 2001
Rate of change of commuting workers and
students using private car, 19912001

Cultural heritage

% Foreign over total population, 2001

Indicator of territorial attractiveness related to the local and regional

economy (e.g., job opportunities) or to the environmental and cultural
amenities (e.g., xation of retired foreigners).
Indicator of change from traditional to modern lifestyles related to
urbanization and post-industrial social values.
Indicator of landscape change (built environment) as well as,
indirectly, of probable cultural adaptation of residents through
increased interaction with newcomers.
Persistence of traditional socio-economic, cultural and other
determinants of fertility.
Extent of new family relations (e.g., break up of family ties) associated
with rural to urban migration and increased life expectancy that can
result in social exclusion, as well as in new demand for health and
social care services.

Rate of change of single-parent families,

19912001
Rate of change of seasonal or second home
dwellings, 1991-2001
% Families with more than 5 members over
total number of families, 2001
% Aged 65 + in single person families, 2001

Population/society

Population density (km2 ), 2001

Rate of change of the total population,
19912001
% Population with completed upper secondary
education over total population, 2001
Rate of change of population with completed
upper secondary education, 19912001
Aged/child ratio, 2001
1539/4064 years old population ratio, 2001

(ii) selection of indicators and justication of their capacity to

dene and measure different landscape- and lifestyle-related
components (i.e., spatial xes and ows) hypothesized in the
Identerra Model in terms of the situation in 1999 and 2001,
and of the dynamics of change since 1991 (see Table 1);5

Illustrates the level of the population pressure (demand) on territorial

development resources and of the urbanization levels.
Indicator of change in the availability of human capital (production
and consumption) and changing pressure on territorial development
resources.
Availability of qualied human capital potential (N.B.: national average
is very low, i.e., in 2001 less than 7% of the population has completed
upper secondary education).
Changing availability of qualied human capital potential.
Indicator of population ageing.
Indicator of the vitality level of the population in the active age.

(iii) the application of the principal components multivariate

analysis to the data matrix constituted by the selected indicators for 121 cases (parishes);
(iv) the application of a numeric taxonomy to the matrix of scores
obtained in the previous phase.
The principal components multivariate analysis followed by
the application of a numeric taxonomy resulted in three clus-

5
Ideally, the macroscopic study of the topophilia/terraphilia interface could be
carried out using other types of indicators besides the ones presented in Table 1,
reecting the types and levels of descaracterizaco (e.g., land use anarchy, break up
of community solidarity bonds, preference for fast food, etc.), or of pro development
initiatives (e.g., strengthening of local economic structure and job creation, valori-

sation of local know-how, land use planning efciency, etc.). Such data, however,
are not readily available at the county or parish levels.

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J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

Table 2
Cluster 1: Urban xes with agitated ows.
Averages for the
cluster of 37
parishes
Most important
indicators for the
homogeneity of this
cluster

Less important
indicators for the
homogeneity of this
cluster

% Individual farmers who dedicate up to 25% of

their time to agriculture, 1999
Rate of change of seasonal and second home
dwellings, 19912001
Rate of change of population that works or
studies outside the county of residence,
19912001
Population density (km2 ), 2001
Rate of change of the population with
completed upper secondary education,
19912001
% Seasonal and/or second home dwellings over
total number of dwellings, 2001
% Persons aged 65+ in single person families,
2001
1539/4064 years old population ratio, 2001
Rate of change of the total population,
19912001
Aged/child ratio, 2001
% Of single-parent families, 2001

Averages for the

total set of 121
parishes

Standard deviations
for the cluster of 37
parishes

Standard deviations
for the total set of
121 parishes

11.67

14.43

8.04

8.56

55.08

40.21

45.92

36.39

181.35

121.94

144.40

143.96

536.71
149.86

248.43
214.64

1174.67
73.36

678.89
143.93

15.51

20.95

7.20

10.76

9.16

10.66

1.57

2.65

117.47
12.43

109.20
4.40

14.82
15.24

14.39
12.26

108.74
4.35

139.17
3.46

24.08
1.20

45.61
1.32

ters named as Urban xes with agitated ows; Rurban xes

with intensied ows, and Rural xes with crystallized ows
(Fig. 1). Their description, based on the relative contribution
of the indicators to each clusters homogeneity, is presented
hereunder.6
Cluster 1: Urban xes with agitated ows
This cluster consists of 37 parishes where the county seats
are located, or are in their immediate fringe. Compared to the
Oeste Region as a whole, these parishes are marked by higher
levels of urbanization. The ways in which the main statistical indicators contribute to dene this cluster are: (i) the highest rate
of change of inter-county commuters and the highest population densities; (ii) increased presence of second homes, mostly in
parishes where their presence was below the average for the Oeste
Region in 2001; and (iii) weak presence of part-time farmers, which
indicates low importance of agriculture activity in such dynamic
urbanized parishes. This situation of urban agitation is corroborated with a relatively higher youthfulness of the population and
a higher weight of single-parent families (an indicator of change
from traditional to modern lifestyles related to urbanization and
post-industrial social values) (Table 2).
Cluster 2: Rurban xes with intensied ows
This cluster is composed of 27 parishes, most of which are in
the coastal areas of the Oeste region, or in the neighbourhood of
the county seats, and its main facets are: (i) lower proportion of
areas under bushes and forests (without any crops); (ii) higher
1539/4064 years old population ratio; (iii) higher percentage of

Fig. 1. Landscape and lifestyle-related typology of territorial identities of the Oeste

region.

6
The application of the principal components multivariate analysis to the nal
matrix of 20 indicators and 121 cases (the software package SPAD - Systme Portable
pour lAnalyse des Donne was used) revealed that four components could explain
51.69% of the common variance. Consequently, a numeric taxonomy was applied
by using (i) the scores of the rst factor (whose values synthesize the type of relation between the cases and the components or factors), as a measure of distance
among cases and (ii) the nearest neighbour (a method based on the selection of
the least distance between pairs of isolated or clustered individuals) as the clustering strategy. Each clusters homogeneity was dened by the relative contribution of
the indicators according to their F-test values.

J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

805

Table 3
Cluster 2: Rurban xes with intensied ows.
Averages for the
cluster of 27
parishes
Most important
indicators for the
homogeneity of this
cluster

Less important
indicators for the
homogeneity of this
cluster

% Individual farmers with completed upper

secondary education, 1999
% Aged 65+ in single person families, 2001
% Areas under forests and bushes with no
crops, over total farm area, 1999
1539/4064 years old population ratio,
2001
% Individual farmers who dedicate up to
25% of their time to agriculture, 1999
Rate of change of population using private
car for work and study, 19912001
Rate of change of the population with
completed upper secondary education,
19912001
% Of area with permanent crops over used
agricultural land of the farm units, 1999

Averages for the

total set of 121
parishes

Standard deviations
for the cluster of 27
parishes

Standard deviations
for the total set of
121 parishes

0.85

1.98

1.68

2.67

9.47
3.00

10.66
6.74

2.02
1.90

2.65
6.74

116.26

109.20

10.89

14.39

18.91

14.43

8.71

8.56

202.24

164.45

64.61

64.03

305.99

214.64

120.60

143.93

28.19

48.45

21.63

26.00

part-time farmers; (iv) weaker presence of farmers that completed

upper secondary education; and (v) lower proportion of families
constituted by only one elderly person. The variation pattern of
these indicators highlights the strengthening of urban sprawl and
its effects on traditional rural landscapes and lifestyles. Furthermore, in relation to the Oeste Region as whole, this cluster has a
higher increase of the motorization rate, certainly due to increasing
inter-county commuting ows (Table 3).

Cluster 3: Rural xes with crystallized ows

In this cluster there are 57 parishes, characterized by: (i) higher
proportion of land under bushes and forests (without any crops);
(ii) lower rate of change of second homes; (iii) lower levels of education of the population; (iv) lower rate of change of inter-county
commuting; (v) lower presence of foreigners in the total population. These parishes correspond to the economically and socially
less dynamic, even depressed, rural areas. While permanent crops
such as vineyards and orchards, and also forests, occupy an important proportion of agricultural land, this part of the Oeste Region
is also marked by the permanence of original natural landscapes
(e.g., Environmentally Protected Area of Montejunto Mountain)
and the resurgence of natural landscapes on the abandoned lands,
covered by spontaneous and sub-spontaneous forests and bushes
(Table 4).

The participatory analysis: from topophilia to terraphilia

On the basis of the obtained intra-regional taxonomy of spatial xes (landscapes) and ows (lifestyles) of the Identerra Model,
which illustrate the objective dimension of territorial identity, the
counties of bidos, Peniche, Torres Vedras and Cadaval of the
Oeste Region were selected for the study of types and levels of
topophilia and terraphilia (i.e., the subjective dimension of territorial identity). Every county incorporates a balanced proportion
of parishes that belong to each of the three clusters, so that all
four counties together are a representative sample of the Oeste
Region in terms of diversity of landscape- and lifestyle-related territorial identity features, i.e., from the economically and culturally
vibrant, increasingly diversied, highly urbanized Atlantic coast to
the still traditionally rural interior, including the Environmentally
Protected Area of the Montejunto Mountain.

Methodology: KAP Workshops

The detection and assessment of the subjective territorial identity dimension in terms of topophilia (experienced territorial
identity) and terraphilia (sought territorial identity) was based on
the recordings of local knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP)
regarding qualities of landscape and lifestyles. To this end, a participatory method, labelled KAP Workshop,7 was developed and
applied in each of the four counties. Following the principles of
the Identerra Model, a KAP Workshop is structured in such a way
as to enable recordings of individual and group opinions based on
the sense of belonging to a specic territory, as well as of diagnostic and prospective appraisals of actual (experienced) and claimed
(sought) qualities of the constituents of the natural environment,
society, economy and culture.
A KAP Workshop is based on phased collection and processing of primary information obtained from individual and group
statements, closed and open discussions, and of group-based prioritizations and proposals for change. The initial recording of the
participants proles (age, sex, education, occupation, employment
experience, place of residence and work) is accompanied by their
denition of the concrete local identity features, such as those
of natural and built environment, social customs and habits, arts
and crafts. This is followed by retrospective and prospective diagnostics consisting of individual and group selection of the most
important positive and negative features and of their classication in terms of duration (traditional vs. recent), stability
(vanishing vs. resistant) and the participants feelings (optimism vs. pessimism) about their evolution. Furthermore, local,
regional, national and/or supranational institutional and/or individual responsibilities are attributed to the changing qualities of
all territorial identity features. After these diagnostics have been
shared among the groups of participants, the KAP Workshop comes
to its nal stage the formulation of proposals based on the previous retrospective and prospective diagnostics in which the

7
The KAP Workshops draw the name from the KAP Studies, a widely practiced
research method for evaluating individual and group perceptions and receptiveness
of public health, education and other programmes promoting social change and
development on a given territory. The basic underlying concepts of the traditional
KAP Studies were adopted in this research for their greater cost-effectiveness and
resource conserving qualities than other social science research methods because
they are highly focussed and limited in scope (Kaliyaperumal, 2004), as well as for
the simplicity and exibility of their indicator-free protocols (Eckman, 2009).

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J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

Table 4
Cluster 3: Rural xes with crystallized ows.
Averages for this
cluster of 57
parishes
Most important
indicators for the
homogeneity of this
cluster
Less important
indicators for the
homogeneity of this
cluster

% Areas under forests and bushes with no

crops, over total farm area, 1999
Rate of change of seasonal or second home
dwellings, 19912001
% Foreign over total population, 2001
Rate of change of population that works
and studies outside the county of
residence, 19912001
Rate of change of population with
completed upper secondary education,
19912001

Averages for the

total set of 121
parishes

Standard deviations
for this cluster of 57
parishes

Standard deviations
for the total set of
121 parishes

8.59

6.74

7.80

6.74

28.73

40.21

30.06

36.39

11.42
69.81

14.35
121.94

6.43
54.39

8.52
143.96

4.53

5.35

1.23

1.93

Table 5
KAP workshops: collection, processing and signicance of data on individual qualitative retrospective and prospective diagnostics of territorial identity.
Inputs

Processing

Outputs and their signicance

Phase 1Individual selection of territorial identity elements

Every participant identies territorial identity
elements in the county of his/her residence in terms of:
buildings and other constructions; natural environment;
crafts; erudite and popular plastic arts, music and
literature; folk festivities, fairs and markets; gastronomy,
etc.

Content analysis of the open-ended

responses and their grouping
according to the similarity of referred
territorial identity elements.
Denition of sets of most frequently
referred territorial identity elements.

Classied tangible and intangible elements which the

participants mostly identify themselves with, i.e., primary
sets of symbols and signs that illustrate specicities of the
local territorial identity.
Such elements are, in fact, fundamental for the
participants self-esteem and topophilia.

Phase 2Individual identication of priority territorial identity issues as a development resource

Every participant identies 2 positive and 2 negative
aspects that mark the county of his/her residence and
classies them in terms of duration (traditional vs.
recent), stability (vanishing vs. resistant) and
feelings (optimism vs. pessimism) about their
evolution.

Content analysis of the open-ended

responses and their grouping according
to the similarity of referred aspects.
Frequency analysis of the classied
(positive or negative) aspects in terms
of the territorial identity features of
the Identerra Model (Nature, Economy,
Society and Culture).

A rst empirical record of terraphilia, enabled by the KAP

Workshop participants assessment of positive or negative
aspects that mark respective counties.
A rst quantication of the positive or negative
landscape- and lifestyle-related territorial identity
elements, enabled through the categorization of the KAP
Workshop participants responses in terms of spatial xes
and ows of the Identerra Model.
On the basis of qualitative (positive or negative),
retrospective (traditional/recent) and prospective
(vanishing/resistant, optimism/pessimism)
diagnostic assessments produced by the KAP Workshop
participants, explicit strengths or weaknesses of
landscape- and lifestyle-related territorial identity
elements can be systematized, as well as integrated in
territorial development planning.
Verication of the operational capacity of the Identerra
Model concerning the identication of the experienced
territorial identity.

Phase 3Group identication of priority issues of territorial identity as a development resource

Participants are randomly clustered into groups of 45
persons in order to, on the basis of their inputs in Phase
2, discuss and reach group consensus on the most
important positive and/or negative identity features
related to the development of their counties.

Content analysis of the group

responses (open-ended) and their
clustering based on communalities of
references.

Validation of the concept of terraphilia through

retrospective and prospective diagnostics of territorial
identity as a development resource.
While eliminating the less important/consensual
territorial identity aspects, group discussions may enable
(i) the selection of an individual participants previously
formulated territorial identity aspect, or (ii) the creation of
a new territorial identity aspect resulting from the
amalgamation of previously formulated individual
contributions.
On the basis of qualitative retrospective and prospective
diagnostic assessments produced through group
discussions, a synthesis of the explicit strengths or
weaknesses of landscape- and lifestyle-related territorial
identity elements that can be integrated in territorial
development planning is obtained.

Phase 4Group proposals for actions/policy measures for the (re)afrmation of territorial identity as a development resource
Formulation of concrete policy solutions and actions
aimed at the (re)afrmation of the desired territorial
identity features and identication of key responsible
individual and institutional agents of change.

Content analysis of the group

responses (open-ended) and their
clustering based on the characteristics
of the envisaged actions and on the
institutional framework and scale of
intervention of the responsible agents.

Identied sets of actions/policy measures for the

(re)afrmation of territorial identity as a development
resource, as well as corresponding agents of change.
Verication of the operational capacity of the Identerra
Model concerning the identication of the sought
territorial identity, as well as in terms of empirical
recognition of terraphilia.

J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

participants (i) dene priority issues of territorial identity as a local

development resource, (ii) propose concrete policy solutions and
actions in the eld, aimed at the (re)afrmation of the desired territorial identity features, and (iii) suggest key responsible agents of
change.
The relationship between the collection and processing of data
obtained from KAP Workshops and the signicance of the expected
results in terms of the operational capability of the Identerra
Model, including the empirical recognition of the transition from
topophilia to terraphilia, are presented in Table 5.
Participants prole
The socio-demographic characteristics and work experience
of the participants of KAP Workshops held in the four selected
counties of the Oeste Region guaranteed a collection of data
based on a high level of familiarity with landscape- and lifestylerelated territorial identity and local/regional development issues.
A total of 47 participants representing in a balanced manner the counties of Peniche (13), Torres Vedras (12), Cadaval
(12) and bidos (10) included 23 men and 24 women in age
between 21 and 74 years (median age: 40 years). All of them
both lived and worked in the Oeste (40% at least 30 years
and 80% at least 10 years), mostly (70%) within the same
county; 50% was born in the same county and 15% in another
county of the Oeste Region. A majority in Peniche, Torres Vedras
and bidos had tertiary education (69% in Social Sciences and
Humanities) and in Cadaval upper secondary education. Their professional experience ranged from administrative and technical
functions (including decision-making and coordination), through
commercial entrepreneurship and professional training, to the
management of the natural and cultural heritage. The so-called
third sector such as local/regional development associations
(26%) and private charities (17%), as well as local government entities (21%) predominated in terms of the participants institutional
afliation (Table 6).

807

Table 6
KAP workshops: participants afliation.
Participants, afliation

Number

Local Development Association

Regional Business Association
Training and Education (Central Administration)
Health Care Centre
County Administration
Business Company
Development Consultancy
Private Charity Institution
Trade Union Organization
Tourism Industry (Central Administration)

12
2
4
1
10
4
4
8
1
1

25.5
4.3
8.5
2.1
21.3
8.5
8.5
17.0
2.1
2.1

Total

47

100.0

Fig. 2. Positive identity featuresretrospective and prospective diagnostics.

should become subject to protection, correction and/or promotion.

Individual responses: results and discussion

Most important territorial identity elements
In responding to the question Which are the most important elements that characterize your county?, the KAP Workshop
participants specied a wide range of landscape- and lifestylerelated elements, i.e., from those that are part of the objective
traditional (e.g.: windmills, gastronomy and built heritage) and
emerging identity (e.g.: new orchards, urban settlements and
tourism industry), to the subjective experienced/sought identities
(e.g.: distressed/improved urban environment, traditional/modern
social relations, and fragile/competitive economy).
The territorial identity elements pointed out by the participants
are largely related to their demographic and social prole. Nevertheless, alongside with their age and education, it was found that
there are elements of both the objective and subjective (experienced and sought) territorial identity that clearly correspond to
either individual concerns (e.g.: few references about degradation of natural environment), or collective pride (e.g.: consolidated
elements of the local imagery, such as monuments or gastronomy). From the point of view of local development, a higher
frequency of answers that correspond to the collective pride should
be interpreted as an indication of territorial identity elements that
need to be (re)afrmed. As regards the individual concerns, in
spite of a lower frequency of such answers, some rather sensitive features were identied (e.g.: environment-related issues) that

Positive and negative territorial identity aspects: diagnostic and

prospective attitudes
The KAP Workshop participants were requested to identify two
aspects that, in their opinion, most positively and most negatively
affect their county of residence, as well as to classify them as traditional or recent and as resistant or vanishing. They also had
to declare their pessimism or optimism regarding the future evolution of these aspects. The open-ended responses were classied
and their frequencies recorded in accordance with the landscapeand lifestyle-related territorial identity features (Nature, Society,
Economy and Culture) of the Identerra Model (Tables 7 and 8 and
Figs. 2 and 3).8
As regards the positive territorial identity aspects, according to
the frequencies and concentration of the combined classications
of traditional or recent, resistant or vanishing, and as having optimistic or pessimistic evolution, the territorial identity
features of the Identerra Model are perceived as follows (Table 7,
Fig. 2):

8
The frequencies refer to the number of references made by each participant or
group of participants. The totals vary among the tables since the missing answers
were not recorded as valid. The qualitative content analysis of the references and
subsequent classications sometimes resulted in merging of multiple responses (a
consequence of open-ended answers), which also justies different totals.

808

J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

Table 7
Positive territorial identity featuresretrospective and prospective diagnostics.
Combined classications of territorial identity features

Nature
No.

Society

% Frequency

No.

% Frequency

Economy

Culture

No.

No.

% Frequency

Total

% Frequency

No.

% Frequency

Traditional resistant optimistic

Traditional vanishing optimistic
Recent resistant optimistic
Traditional resistant pessimistic
Traditional vanishing pessimistic
Recent resistant pessimistic

21
4
1
4
1
1

65.6
12.5
3.1
12.5
3.1
3.1

6
1
2
0
4
0

46.2
7.7
15.4
0.0
30.8
0.0

3
0
12
1
3
0

15.8
0.0
63.2
5.3
15.8
0.0

9
1
1
0
0
0

81.8
9.1
9.1
0.0
0.0
0.0

39
6
16
5
8
1

52.0
8.0
21.3
6.7
10.7
1.3

Total

32

100.0

13

100.0

19

100.0

11

100.0

75

100.0

Table 8
Negative territorial identity featuresretrospective and prospective diagnostics.
Combined classications of territorial identity features

Nature
No.

Traditional resistant optimistic

Traditional vanishing optimistic
Recent resistant optimistic
Recent vanishing optimistic
Traditional resistant pessimistic
Traditional vanishing pessimistic
Recent resistant pessimistic
Recent vanishing pessimistic
Total

Society
%

No.

Economy
%

No.

Culture
%

No.

Total
%

No.

0
1
1
2
2
1
3
1

0.0
9.1
9.1
18.2
18.2
9.1
27.3
9.1

3
1
3
0
6
0
5
0

16.7
5.6
16.7
0.0
33.3
0.0
27.8
0.0

5
9
1
3
2
2
12
3

13.5
24.3
2.7
8.1
5.4
5.4
32.4
8.1

4
1
0
1
0
0
1
1

50.0
12.5
0.0
12.5
0.0
0.0
12.5
12.5

12
12
5
6
10
3
21
5

16.2
16.2
6.8
8.1
13.5
4.1
28.4
6.8

11

100.0

18

100.0

37

100.0

100.0

74

100.0

(1) NatureA majority of references (29 out of 32) classied in

this feature emphasise the qualities of natural environment
and landscapes such as ocean cliffs and beaches in the coastal
counties, and rural landscapes and the Montejunto Mountain
in the interior (Cadaval). In general terms, the aspects related to
Nature are mostly classied as traditional and resistant (21 out
of 32), and most participants are optimistic about their future
(26 out of 32). Though much less frequent (only 6), the pessimistic visions about the future are related to the destruction
of the natural environment in counties that have experienced
higher levels of urbanization (Peniche) or in the rural ones,
where the proximity to the Lisbon Metropolitan Area is considered as a threat (Cadaval).
(2) SocietyThe combined classication of the aspects categorized within this territorial identity feature is much more
diversied than those related to Nature, Economy and Culture. Nevertheless, references to the traditional and resistant
aspects predominate (6 out of 13), especially those related

to the quality of social relations that foster high levels of

assistance and solidarity, including the institutional ones. The
optimism about the future evolution of these aspects prevails
(9 out of 13), but there is also some pessimism (4 references)
related to the possible destruction of the traditional rural culture which emanates the praised positive qualities of social
relations.
(3) EconomyMost participants classied the economic aspects
as recent and resistant (13 out of 19), and all expressed optimism about their evolution. A majority of references point
to high levels of infrastructural development, especially the
road network that promotes higher volume of interaction with
main business centres and also enables the growth of the
tourism industry and, corollary to it, the valorisation of local
products (11 out of 19). Very few pessimistic opinions (4 references) about the future evolution of the economy are related
to the fear that infrastructure development can provoke environmental degradation and decrease in the quality of rural
life.
(4) CultureAlthough few (11) aspects were referred to culture,
a large majority of the responses refer to them as traditional
and resistant, and expressed optimism (9 out of 11) about their
future evolution. The cultural heritage, especially the explicit
references to the built heritage, folk fairs and festivities, as well
as the traditional rural atmosphere, are the most cited aspects.
Although the range of territorial identity features that resulted
from the classication of the negative territorial identity aspects is
wider and variances are lower than in the case of the positive ones,
the following ndings emerge (Table 8, Fig. 3):

Fig. 3. Negative identity featuresretrospective and prospective diagnostics.

(1) NatureThe identity features related to the natural environment and landscapes have, like those related to culture, lower
number of negative references (11 out of a total of 74 negative references). No signicant concentration of opinions about
duration, persistence and about the participants visions of the
future of these features was registered. Nevertheless, the most
cited aspects (7 out of a total of 11) have to do with pollution

J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

and other problems involving: water resources (e.g. the Lagoon

of bidos and the Sizandro River); negative externalities of the
functioning of the waste depository (Cadaval); some industries
(e.g.: production of guano and of sh conserves in the Peniche
county). Though less frequent, these issues are so explicitly
referred to that they should be integrated as key-elements in
development interventions.
(2) SocietyThere is a relatively high concentration of references
to the resistant, traditional and recent negative aspects, together
with the participants pessimism about the future evolution
(11 out of 18). The traditional negative aspects are mostly
related to the still high incidence of illiteracy (3 out of 9 references classied as traditional), and the recent ones to the
loss of demographic vitality and depopulation, as well as to the
escalating social exclusion problems typical in more urbanized
areas, such as drug abuse (5 out of 9 classied as recent). It is
also important to stress that the social relations that characterize traditional rural atmosphere, which were earlier praised
as a positive aspect of identity, are now subject to a negative
assessment by some participants (4 out of 18 negative references), especially when associated to low levels of education
and to resilience to modernization.
(3) EconomyThe participants are divided between those who
consider that negative economic aspects are mostly recent and
resistant (12 out of 37), and are pessimistic about their future
evolution on one side, and, on the other, the participants who
are quite optimistic that the traditional negative aspects of economy are actually vanishing (9 out of 37). In the former case,
most references are about the weak dynamics of creation of
new jobs and, consequently, increasing unemployment and low
prospects for new job opportunities (13 out of 37), especially in
the more urbanized counties (Peniche). In the latter case, particularly in the more rural county (Cadaval), the most frequent
references are about the weaknesses of the economic structure and of the valorisation of available local resources (11 out
of 37). These two antagonistic positions (i.e., pessimism about
the evolution of the negative aspects and optimism about their
overcoming) actually point to the need for two classic types of
intervention those aimed at combating the weaknesses and
threats, and those that can promote the identied strengths and
opportunities.
(4) CultureThe lack of cultural offer dominates among the negative aspects (4 out of a total of 8 negative references), and is
classied as traditional and resistant (though with the participants optimism about its future evolution. Although expressed
only two times, it is worth pointing to the opinions regarding
the increasing descaracterizaco of rural areas. In the light of the
earlier recorded strong positive assessment of the rural cultural
heritage, interventions for promoting protection of landscapeand lifestyle-related identities of rural areas should be considered.
Synthesis
On the basis of the KAP Workshop participants responses
when requested to dene and assess priority positive and negative identity features of their counties, together with the ndings
about the most important identity features, the following can be
pointed out:
the responses are more unanimous about positive identity features, while the negative ones are very diverse and hard to dene
in concrete termswhich is a general indication of a high degree
of topophilia shared among the participants;

809

the assessment of the natural environment is predominantly positive, although some threats are differentiated between the more
urbanized counties (e.g.: pollution, car trafc) and the more rural
ones (e.g.: waste depository in the Cadaval county); this should
be paid attention to by future local development policies;
the social issues, frequently referred to as stemming directly
from the activity of local agents, clearly emerge on the
positive side when related to community cooperation and assistance networks, but also on the negative side when related
to the rural settings marked by strong social control (e.g.:
resistance of small communities to some aspects of social
modernisation);
the economy is, no doubt, the identity element subject to strong
individual and collective disagreement; on one side, the weak
bases of local economies emerged as negatively assessed features
from the point of view of both unemployment and low quality
of the entrepreneurial structures; however, on the other side,
the components of economic infrastructure, such as those that
improved accessibilities and potentials for the development of
tourism industry, are positively assessed;
regarding cultural features, such as, rst, the attachment to the
legacy of the rural milieu, intrinsic qualities of local people and
gastronomic tradition, and, second, the elements of built heritage that in every county constitute important spatial xes, the
former ones are assessed rather negatively though with some
hesitance, while the latter ones are eulogized in such a manner that a high level of topophilia mentioned above is actually
reconrmed.
Group responses: results and discussion
Experienced territorial identity and development features:
priorities and responsibilities
In this phase of the KAP Workshop the participants are randomly clustered into groups of 45 persons and asked to discuss
and reach group consensus on the most signicant positive and/or
negative identity features related to the development of their counties. The results of this effort of sharing and synthesizing individual
inputs and prioritizing them into group reports are presented
hereunder.
As shown in Table 9, which contains a synthesis of content
analyses of the consensual group responses, there is a high level
of correspondence between the experimented subjective identity
(topophilia) and the objective identity established on the basis
of the indicators used in the macroscopic analysis. Qualities of
the landscapes and of the culturalhistorical heritage and the
preserved rurality that amalgamates specicities of natural and
cultural landscapes and lifestyle patterns are the most prominent
among the positive territorial identity aspects. Among the negative territorial identity aspects, weaknesses of the development
process, low levels of human capital development, and inadequate accessibility to public services are highlighted. However,
discrimination of the reported territorial identity and development
features among the four counties has shown that (i) the qualities of natural and cultural heritage prevail in the predominantly
rural counties (Cadaval and bidos), while (ii) the deciencies of
local economic base and inadequate human capital development,
are most frequently referred to in the counties with larger urban
centres (Peniche and Torres Vedras).
When requested to identify development agents that are
accountable for the earlier dened positive and negative territorial identity aspects, participants overwhelmingly pointed to public
entities, both the central and local administration, followed by the
local associations and charities. However, rms and entrepreneurs

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J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

Table 9
Group reports on the priority territorial identity and development features.
Classied priority territorial identity and
development features

Group consensus on the most important positive and/or negative identity

features related to the development of their countiesexplicite references made
by the participants

Positive identity features related to the development of their counties

Landscapes and historic heritage
Natural landscapes

Rich and preserved historic and natural heritage.

Healthy natural environment with protected landscape of the Environmentally
Protected Area of the Montejunto Mountain, and with traditional rurality.
Natural landscape framework.
(N.B.: two groups of participants explicitly referred to natural landscape as the
main positive priority issue of their counties).
Quality of life.
(N.B.: this particular group of participants explicitly and exclusively referred
quality of life as the main positive priority issue of their county. Most probably,
what is actually meant are the amenities related to the lack of urban stress, natural
landscapes and the local community values).
Rurality.
(N.B.: this particular group of participants explicitly and exclusively referred
rurality as the main positive priority issue of their county. Most probably, what
is actually meant is the still present traditional bucolic atmosphere).

Quality of life

Rurality

Negative identity features related to the development of their counties

Economic development
Social development
Infrastructure and public services

Rich and preserved historic and natural heritage.

Lacking social care, professional training, information and employment.
Weak road accessibilities.
Low supply of health, education and training services.
Low levels of education and skills of active population, including school dropouts.
Diminished traditional productive activities that could be conducive to concrete
new opportunities for the generation of more innovative and value added
employment.
Inadequacy of institutional response.
Unfavourable socio-economic and cultural conditions for a signicant part of the
population.
Loss of the voluntarism in the civic and professional associations.

Human capital development and traditional

productive activity

Social and economic development

Associativism

Table 10
The impact of development agents on territorial identity (group responses).
Development agents

Impact
Fight against negative
territorial identity aspects

Reinforce negative territorial

identity aspects

Obstruct positive territorial

identity aspects

9
8
6
5
2
1
1
1
0
0
1

10
8
8
4
2
3
0
0
2
1
2

11
3
9
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0

3
1
4
11
5
0
1
1
0
0
0

34

40

27

26

Strengthen positive
territorial identity aspects
Central Administration
Local associations and charities
Local Administration
Firms and entrepreneurs
Individuals
Schools and Training Centres
European Union
Mass media
Business associations
Trade unions
Other
Total references

are mostly pointed as agents that obstruct positive territorial identity aspects (Table 10).
In view of such opinions, the accountability of the central and
local administrations in the spatial organization and development
planning process is clearly emphasised and, at the same time,
warnings are issued about the responsibility of rms as direct contributors to environmental degradation.9

9
Given that the local and regional development agencies and associations, as well
as local government entities predominated in terms of the institutional afliation of
the KAP Workshops participants, it was expectable that their views would be biased
in favour of the role of public agencies. Nonetheless, it should be borne in mind that
this actually corroborates what has been commonly accepted and deeply rooted in
the Portuguese society: a heavy reliance on the state sector and high expectations
from the safer public sphere generally, rather than from private entrepreneurship
and other risky means of livelihood.

In sum, the principal territorial identity aspects of the experimented subjective identity, as reported by the KAP Workshop
participants, can be characterized as follows:
the amount of the perceived positive and negative territorial
identity aspects is balanced, but the positive ones are more
related to the qualities of landscapes, cultural heritage and rurality, while the negative ones have more to do with social problems,
unemployment, human capital development, participation and
citizenship;
among the agents that contribute to the strengthening of positive territorial identity aspects major credit goes to the local
and central administrations and to local associations and charities; local and central administrations are also blamed for
their negative role in strengthening negative territorial identity aspects, but the main responsibility for the obstruction of

192
6

14

15

23
22
20
16
15
2

7
Total no. of references

17

) mainstream terraphilia.
) main actions, and (
) Main priorities, (

22
27

5
9

53

4
15
7
8
5

8
19

12

10

11

12
3

16

7
7

14

21
(

26

Economic development
()
Landscapes and
historic heritage (+)
Social development ()
Natural landscapes (+)
Quality of life (+)
Rurality (+)
Infrastructure and
public services ()
Human capital
development and
traditional
productive activity
()
Social and economic
development ()
Associativism ()

Associations
(management
and organization)
Restoration and
valorisation of
built heritage
Promotion
of tourism
industry
Dissemination
and awareness
creation
Promotion of
collective and
public services
Valorisation
of natural
environment
Infrastructure
and public
facilities
Employment
creation
Proposed actions

Human capital
development

Positive and negative

territorial identity
and development
priorities issues

10
This matrix space may be dened according to different parameters, such as
statistical ones, or related to available investment resources, or to a pure political
option.

Table 11
Proposed actions in favor of territorial identity and development priorities issues (group responses).

The components of the experienced territorial identity features,

reported as consensual priorities by the groups of participants
(Table 9) were object of further group discussions aimed at the
formulation of concrete action proposals for the maximization of
positive and minimisation of negative territorial identity aspects.
Every proposal for action was accompanied by the groups suggestions as to which development agent should be involved. The
responses referring to action proposals and development agents
were classied according to the character of the envisaged action
and the institutional framework, respectively. The results of this
classication are presented synthetically hereunder as follows: in
Table 11, all consensually dened positive and negative territorial
identity and development priority issues are intersected with the
groups proposals for actions; in Table 12, the proposed actions
are intersected by groups suggestions regarding the agents to be
engaged in the concretization of such actions. This entire exercise
(i.e., the KAP Workshop and data processing) enabled to detect the
incidence and nature of terraphilia among the participants.
Considering that the sense of terraphilia increases with the
capacity to formulate proposals to solve the weaknesses and to
maximize the dened strengths, Tables 11 and 12 can have to twofold readings and interpretations. First, reading by the lines enables
assessment of the intensity of terraphilia based on the numbers and
kinds of priority issues and on the typology of suggested actions
for the solution of these issues. Second, reading by the columns
enables delineation of actions considered most pertinent/relevant
for resolving the weaknesses and maximizing strengths, as well
as the identication of agents that should implement these actions
and could, at the same time, become targets of some specic actions
aimed at raising their levels of terraphilia (e.g.: activities of territorial marketing, or at least the sensitization for their involvement
in some actions through pointing to their specic problem solving
capacities).
Also in Tables 9 and 10, the darkest shaded area is on the intersection between lines and columns10 can be interpreted as the
clearest and strongest (mainstream) course of terraphilia, which
could be directly used as a framework for designing a Plan of
Action for the Afrmation of Territorial Identity as a Development
Resource.
As indicated in Table 11, the most problematic (negative) priority issues, for which the groups proposed solutions more readily
than for other issues, are those related to economic and social
development, which can be overcome through the implementation of actions aimed at human capital development, as well as
through the promotion of new employment opportunities. Furthermore, it is also clear that the most important strong (positive)
priority issues, for which the groups also proposed solutions more
easily and which are related to landscapes both alone and
together with historical heritage should be further strengthened through actions that promote the valorisation of the natural
environment, including pollution control, improvements in the
system of waste collection and disposal of residuals, and monitoring and control of the polluting agents. A priority issue classied
by a group of participants as quality of life is too vague and too

Spatial planning
and management

Sought territorial identity and development features: priorities

and responsibilities

Total no. of
references

positive territorial identity aspects is attributed to rms and

entrepreneurs.

811

34

J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

188
5
11
14
16
24

1
2
1
1
1

2
1

2
1
3
2

1
2
1
1
1

2
1
3
1

6
1
1
1
1
5
2
2
2
1
10
7
4

4
1

broad but this is maybe why it is referred to with equal frequency

in three different actions, among which only employment creation is within the intersection area of mainstream terraphilia. It
should also be stressed that, although there is a high frequency of
references about actions to create or improve infrastructure and
public services, they are outside the intersection area of mainstream terraphilia. This is due to an extremely reduced level of
complementarity of this particular priority, i.e., the majority of
actions in this domain refer to the same problem dened in only one
county (Cadaval), which is where the absolutely greatest shortages
are registerednot only according to the participants opinion but
also according to what was clearly established by the macroscopic
analysis.
Conclusions obtained from the frequency analyses of individual responses are reinforced in Table 12. While the typology of
proposed actions from Table 11 is maintained, local and central administrations, local associations and charities, as well as
schools and training centres, emerge as agents that should be
most involved in the implementation of these actions. On one
side, however, central administration, schools and training centres are more frequently referred to in connection with actions
aimed at human capital development and employment creation,
while, on the other side, local administration though with
more complementary relations with other types of actions than
other agents (in a similar, but less intensive way, this also happens with local associations and charities) is more frequently
recognized as responsible for the creation of infrastructure and
public services. Finally, considering only the analytical context that
coincides with the intersection of mainstream terraphilia, local
associations and charities emerge as agents that are particularly
important for the promotion of environmental qualities and for
human capital development, apart from being only logical their
close relation with actions aimed at supporting collective and social
services.11

28
36
45

) mainstream terraphilia.
) main agents, and (

Total no. of references

) Main actions, (
(

1
2
1

5
2
2
6
1
9
6
1
2
2
8
3
9
6
6
3
3
3
2
2

10
7
3
3
1

Conclusions

Human resources development

Employment creation
Infrastructure and public services
Valorisation of natural environment
Dissemination and awareness creation
Promotion of collective and social services
Promotion of tourism industry
Restoration and valorisation of built heritage
Associations (management and organization)
Spatial planning and management

Mass media
Economic
associations
Individuals
Others
Firms and
entrepreneurs
Schools and
training
centres
Central
administration
Local
associations
and charities
Local
administration

Agents
Proposed actions

Table 12
Proposed agents to carry out actions in favor of territorial identity and development priorities (group responses).

51
26
22
21
16
16
14
9
7
6

J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

Total no. of
references

812

The concept of terraphilia brought forward in this paper

is an attempt to enrich Tuans concept of topophilia with
a pro-developmental approach to the subjective (experienced)
dimension of landscape- and lifestyle-related features of territorial identity. It was shown that the conversion of terraphilia from a
normative concept into an analytical (operational) category could
be achieved in the framework of the Identerra Model that enables
empirical delimitation and systematization of the state (spatial
xes) and change (spatial ows) of natural, economic, societal and
cultural features of territorial identity.
Given that it embodies the sought (claimed) facet of the
subjective dimension of territorial identity, the operationalized
concept of terraphilia is the lever between the subjectively experienced (topophilia) and objective (factual) territorial identity
of the Identera Model. Specically, the materialization of ter-

11
Workshops gathered local/regional development activists expected to provide
responses based on their comprehensive knowledge about and/or experienced with
local development issues. In Portugal almost all such activists are integrated in public agencies, that is, within the so-called third sector or in state institutions, so
theres always a risk of obtaining biased responses regarding issues included in
their sphere of activity. However, the results of our study reveal the following: (1)
public sector is not always assessed as having a positive impact; (2) in spite of a
major representation of the third sector, the local and central government agencies, whose signicance for Portuguese society is highlighted in endnote 6, are more
frequently referred to when the participants were asked to suggest the agents that
should carry out priority development actions (as shown in Table 10, out of a total
of 188 references, 73 were for the local and central government agencies while 36
were for local associations and charities, or 39% vs. 19% respectively).

J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

raphilia necessarily results in enhancements (development) of

landscape- and lifestyle-related features of the objective territorial
identity. Furthermore, it was shown that the operationalization of the concept of terraphilia facilitates the recording of
development agents (i) knowledge and assessment of manifestations of territorial identity, (ii) claims towards change, and
(iii) capacity to envisage viable policies and actions that promote afrmation of territorial identity as a local development
resource.
The empirical validation of the concept of terraphilia in the
context of the Identerra Model in the Oeste Region conrmed
methodological advantages, revealed weaknesses and pointed to
the relevance of this kind of research in terms of local development
policy and action, as summarized hereunder.
Weaknesses are related to the scope of the macroscopic analysis
and to the structure of the participatory process (KAP Workshops).
A comprehensive macroscopic analysis suffers from the difculty
in systematizing geographically disaggregated statistical information (i.e., data available at the level of parishes) that, in turn,
hampers the construction of adequate indicators for measuring
fundamental dimensions (i.e., spatial xes and ows) of territorial identity. As to the four KAP Workshops, the major shortcoming
is related to difculties in controlling the levels of cooperation of
some local institutional partners that may have affected the number and structure of the participants. It should also be pointed
here that the participatory method of recording opinions on the
basis of only open-ended personal and group responses enabled
the gathering of a very wide spectrum of information on the
sensitivity to landscape and lifestyle-related territorial identity
features, but the entire process has proven exceedingly complex and time-consuming in terms of the qualitative analyses of
such records, and of their subsequent classication and statistical
processing.
Nevertheless, some of the abovementioned weaknesses are
associated to some virtues of this research. First, it must be borne in
mind that, regarding theme and method, this has been a pioneering, thus only exploratory, research exercise that calls for further
attempts at better focussed and more effective spatially disaggregated and thematically conjugated active or illustrative indicators
of structural elements and factors that constantly (re/de)generate
territorial identity features. Also, the proper preparation and realization of four KAP Workshops is worth qualifying as a positive
strong point of this research not only because of their direct substantial contribution to the raising levels of terraphilia (though
scale is yet to be determined), but also because of the lessonslearned for their improvements and adaptation to other territorial
contexts.
The KAP Workshops were organized in such a way as to
bring together institutional development agents that are explicitly
linked to local realities in every selected county. The participants
were, thus, the representatives of diverse entities such as trade
unions, rms, local administration, civic and professional associations, local development agencies and social services. Although the
total number of participants (47) was not very high, a solid representation of institutional proles of local development agents
was achieved. In other words, in spite of a possible limitation
in terms of statistical signicance of the sample of these participants, it is worth stressing that in this kind of exploratory
survey of opinions the issue of statistical signicance could be
resolved only if it were possible to compare the results obtained
from this sample in relation to the entire universe of opinions whose dimension, however, is unknown (i.e., this is a
classic problem of non-parametric statistics) so that the KAP
Workshop participants opinions would serve as a control of, or
support to, the calibration of other results. Furthermore, the results

813

obtained from this group of participants fullled the exploratory

aims of this research also as regards high level of their internal convergence and coherence (i.e., their homogeneity, which
facilitated response classication procedures), as well as their conformity with the understanding of local reality (i.e., the objective
identity) based on both common knowledge and macroscopic statistical analysis carried out in the framework of the Identerra
Model.
Despite the abovementioned shortcomings, the obtained results
point to some concrete ways for nding solutions to the identied
problems and for maximizing advantages, if not for the entire Oeste
Region, than at least for the four counties that hosted KAP Workshops. These ways were discussed and consensually agreed upon
by groups of people with diverse characteristics but with a strong
common denominatorthe pro-development oriented affective
bonds with a territory, i.e., terraphilia.
The promotion and activation of terraphilia is important in
the process of identication and assessment of strategically relevant elements of local and regional development, such as (i) sense
of belonging to a territory, which reects the levels of satisfaction with the environmental, social, economic, cultural and other
conditions provided by that territory, and (ii) territorial attractiveness, which can be decisive for the xation of new economic
activities and for the introduction of social innovation in that
territory.
Specically, the development strategies aimed at valorising
local and regional identities should rely, inter alia, on the strengthening of the sense of territorial belonging, since it could, for
example, promote environmental and socio-cultural consciousness; encourage protection of the natural and cultural heritage;
improve social relations and community spirit; facilitate efciency
and effectiveness of local institutions; reinforce self-respect and
the feeling of security and satisfaction. The sense of territorial
belonging can be strengthened on the basis of empirically veried knowledge and understanding of how different agents dene
and interpret the space of their residence, work and/or leisure, how
they identify themselves with that space, and how would they like
to change it.
For the identication and assessment of territorial attractiveness local and regional development agents, especially those
responsible for territorial development strategy design, spatial
organization and management could, for example, identify the
magnetism, or charisma of places and regions and promote its sustainability; explore and dene criteria for assessing
quality of life, as well as to dene the levels of peoples
satisfaction; identify elements of territorial attractiveness that
are vanishing, evaluate their relevance, actual and potential, and promote their revalorization; identify potentials for
the introduction of new elements of territorial attractiveness
and stimulate their constitution; provide support to investment policies that are adjusted to territorial dynamics and
specicities.
Finally, it is worth stressing that to explore development agents
knowledge, attitudes and practice in a given territory in the framework of topophilia and terraphilia concepts may be fundamental
for the orientation of every planning process. This is especially
important in Portugal where public participation has been explicitly reinforced in the planning legislation only recently, since 2007.
In this context, the Identerra Model can facilitate the systematization of diverse components that constitute ones affection to
specic territorial settings (topophilia), or ones keenness to promote territorial development (terraphilia). This, in turn, can yield
tangible results that can help more efcient focussing and implementation of development policies, particularly those related to
landscape change.

814

J. Oliveira et al. / Land Use Policy 27 (2010) 801814

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