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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 ...

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 ...

The sense of community can be understood as a sense of belonging to a collectivity, making citizens develop trust and awareness for collective action projects. This study aims to identify the livability dimensions and their relationship with the sense of community. The survey method was applied, and a sample of 392 residents of a Brazilian region was interviewed. The results show that three dimensions – (i) trust and safety; (ii) work and bridging relations; and (iii) housing and city performance - explain livability. Among these dimensions, Trust and Safety, and Housing and city performance have a significant relation to the sense of community, explaining 32.4% of the sense of community. These results point out elements for the elaboration of plans and public policies in the cities and as critical elements for future research.

This study proposes an instrument to evaluate territorial social capital as a collective resource, found in the cooperation, trust and reciprocity relations. The evaluation of the territorial social capital was done in three neighboring areas in southern Brazil. These territories have common cultural aspects, although they have experienced different patterns of development. The results show that the territorial social capital can be analyzed according to four factors in this order: proximity, territorial anchorage, reciprocity and collective memory. The proximity and the territorial anchorage are the most powerful factors to explain social capital in these territories.