Peri-urban mountains, the new city garden? The case of the Vercors

Natural mid-mountain areas have been taken over by a new public. In the context of territories in transition, subject to demographic change and in search of new sustainable tourism economy models, the educational workshop Montagne péri-urbaine, nouveau jardin de ville? The case of the Vercors plateau will attempt to shed light on the current territorial dynamics by focusing on these first-time visitors.

Four thematic groups have been defined:

• Political environment
• Tourism services
• Economic development
• Vision of residents and users

Students in the Master Stratégies économiques du sport et du tourisme (SEST) program will conduct a questionnaire survey of local customers from the Grenoble area, to understand their tourist experience and perceptions, and a field survey to analyze how the region is adapting (… or not.). This field survey will be supervised by two professionals in the field of territorial planning and development, Bernard Jean and Christel Genay.

The study area focuses on the administrative territory of the Communauté de communes “Massif du Vercors”, which includes Engins, Saint-Nizier, Corrençon, Autrans-Méaudre, Villard and Lans. This peri-urban, mid-mountain area seems to concentrate a number of issues that bear witness to the evolution of these territories, but also to their first post-confinement(March 2020), and raises questions about the dynamics underway in the area.

As always in these educational workshops, the initial questions may evolve along the way!