The messy interplay between forces of resistance and forces for change in territorial transitions: A case study of an Alpine ski resort

Abstract

Winter tourism and its associated development has reshaped mountain communities of France and established itself as a major economic engine at a micro and macro scale. However, ski resorts built around this economic model are facing an increasingly uncertain snow future, especially at mid-mountain altitudes. In this paper, we examine the case of a mid-mountain community in the Alps that initiated a collaborative planning effort to decide the fate of their loss-generating ski lift equipment. This case illustrates that climate change adaptation is not a mere question of pecuniary or normative decisions. Rather, to better understand the forces at play, we take a territorial transitions approach to examine the multi-scalar inertial forces in the material, institutional, and ideal dimensions of this community.