Delphine Guex

I joined the IGD in February 2016 as a postdoc. I am particularly involved in the organization of a platform bringing together researchers and practitioners in planning, with Prof. Jean Ruegg.

I presently continue my research after my doctoral thesis, defended in December 2015 at the University of Neuchâtel (Chair ofTerritorial Economy).

My researches deal with regional development. Inspired by mountain territories, I try to consider the stakes of the postindustrial society to suggest a model of regional development. Indeed, mountain territories and the Alps in particular present an emblematic profile of these stakes which currently concerns all regions. Today, regions have to "stage on" in order to arouse the interest of local and external actors. The latter may value the territory, economically speaking, by spending on the spot or to by buying import goods. Staging is both concrete on the territory (infrastructure, environmental quality, landscape…) and symbolic or immaterial (local culture, communication…).

A "sectorial" reading of regional development does no longer bring sufficient answers to the economic, social and environmental stakes which currently arise. The proposed territorial approach allows considering the coordination of various activities within a territory, actors' interactions, contributing all in a complex and interdependent way to the preservation and to the development of the territorial value.