The inhabitant based on territory economics perspective ; La figure de l'habitant sur la perspective de l'économie du territoire ; A figura do habitante sob a perspectiva da economia do território

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between the inhabitant and the territory concepts in three Brazilian territories, according the French approach to the foundations of the territorial economy. We seek to identify the main features of the inhabitant in its respective territories, in order to understand how this "territorialized" social actor articulates work and home life in the territory, and to analyze the impacts of his/her actions in the local territorial development process. The inhabitant concept is based on a six elements theoretical framework from the literature review: territory, proximity, territorial resources, everyday life, reciprocity and mode of dwelling. Then, a categorization of an "ideal type" of inhabitant was constructed used as parameter for the data analysis and interpretations to identify the main features of the inhabitant in each context. As an innovative aspect, the research proposes the concept of "territorial engagement", that reflects the type of relationship between the inhabitant and the territory, which can be instrumental, normative or affective. Therefore, the inhabitant is analyzed on the basis of their relationship with the territory, in other words, mode of dwelling, rather than a social, economic or professional predefined category. This is an exploratory qualitative research which uses the case study (multiple cases) as research strategy, and the inhabitant, as the unit of analysis. The content analysis technique was used for the analysis of the interviews with the local actors. The study points to the complexity of social, economic, political and cultural relationships in each territory and the importance of their socio-historical trajectory for understanding each one. The results show the importance of the inhabitant as a social actor who reinforces local life (game rules) in your mode of dwelling. We also realized the territories porosity face the changes due to human mobility (as the tourists presence, for example) impacting in the inhabitants life. Finally, it ...