Présentation de travaux de doctorant-es

Le Séminaire Jeune Recherche organise un atelier de recherche dédié à la présentation des travaux de thèse de Francesco Conti et Celeste Mantegna, doctorant.es invité.es à Pacte depuis l’Italie. Francesco réalise sa thèse à l’école d’architecture et de design de l’Università di Camerino et Celeste réalise sa thèse en géographie à l’Università degli Studi del Molise. Nos deux invité.es seront ravi.es d’échanger sur leurs sujets et de recueillir vos avis et conseils ! Vous trouverez ci-essous le résumé de leurs présentations.

Celeste Mantegna. The Digital Divide in the region of Molise.

Lately, the issue of the digital transformation of the Public Administration has taken on an increasingly central role in the Italian political scene. The ongoing digitalization process aims not only to make the Administration system more digital and cutting-edge but also to solve the problem of the so-called Digital Divide. Italy adopted a lot of actions to solve the problem of the Digital Divide (PNRR, Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza, the equivalent of France Relance) but these measures do not always consider the real needs of the territories where this phenomenon has become a real factor of social discrimination (Van Dijk). The theme of my research project is to study the phenomenon of the Digital Divide at the regional scale (region of Molise) using GIS tools and digital technologies. The data about the level of digitalization of the citizens and of the municipalities of the region were collected through the sharing of two questionnaires (one for the citizens and one for the municipalities). We collected 349 answers from the citizens (snowball sampling) and 74 from the municipalities (out of 136 municipalities).

The questionnaires allowed us not only to know the habits of citizens regarding the use of smartphones, computers, etc. but also to know their educational qualifications, age and employment status. For the municipalities we got to know the number of people who work there, if there is someone dealing with digital transition and so on. The sample was divided into four groups of ages (18-24, 25-34, 35-64 and 65+) to identify the segments of the population that are most affected by the Digital Divide. According to the latest ISTAT (Italian Institute of Statistic) report’s “Citizens and ICT” the digital skills decreases with the increasing of the age. Furthermore, the use of GIS technology enables us to immediately identify on paper all those realities belonging to the so-called Inner Areas. In this way, is possible not only to cross-reference the data collected with the questionnaires with the data about Inner Areas but also to present a useful model for the creation of more coherent and effective territorial enhancement proposals.

Francesco Conti. Remote Towns: Inner Areas and New Spaces of Production.

The National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI), a cohesion policy created in 2014, has reinterpreted the concept of "left-behind places" in Italy. It is defined on the basis of a well-defined geographical classification, dependent on the distribution of services in the territory. This approach has led to the formulation of numerous strategies for strengthening services, while the aspect of local development has been addressed less systematically, often pursuing an unfeasible tourism development. This thesis focuses on the development of strategies, related to ecological and digital transition, in one of the 72 pilot Inner Areas, that of Ascoli Piceno, sponsor of the grant.

These strategies are derived from the economic base analysis of the Ascoli Piceno territory, and are applied to spatial and urban planning. The thesis's objective is to provide territories with an integrated and systematic methodology for analyzing local economic structure, an element that is currently lacking in the SNAI framework and can guide local development strategies. The proposed methodology is illustrated through an analysis of potential development of Third Places in the Ascoli Piceno region, a concept that has received limited attention in the context of inland areas. However, the integration of Third Places with services, production, and social aspects is crucial for addressing the deficiencies and regression observed in these regions.