Every year, supported by the Labex ITTEM, researchers from different disciplines examine and add new perspectives to the environmental and territorial problems specific to mountain areas.
The Mountain and Innovation collection , co-published by the Presses universitaire de Grenoble (PUG) and the University of Grenoble Alpes, promotes the results of their research through the publication of works.
List of published works:
The recreational mountain. A transition along the way.
By Jean Corneloup, PUG editions/ UGA , January 2023.
Since the end of the 19th century, the mountain has been the scene of numerous recreational activities which have contributed to profoundly changing the culture, economy and mountain landscapes. How are these practices being called into question under the effect of global warming, the decline in biodiversity, and the technological boom of the contemporary world? How can they contribute to the societal transition by proposing another mode of development of mountain territories? The author questions the recreational dynamics at work, and observes their developments and evolutions.
The productive Alps. Renew the Alpine industry to rethink the future of the massif.
Under the direction of Roberto Sega and Manfred Perlik, PUG editions/ UGA , November 2022.
The Alps form a mosaic of places and uses forming a complex territory. Tourism, a dominant figure in the representation of economic development, has not been and cannot be the only possible way forward. The work examines the possibilities of emergence and the forms of neo-industrialization, capable of opening new horizons for the territory. The contributions of architects, urban planners, geographers or economists place the analysis in a territorial approach questioning the relationship to globalization, local specificities, the role and potential of infrastructures, the links with metropolitan areas, or even the organization of industrial spaces.
Settle and live in the high Alpine valleys. Life trajectories, attractiveness and capacity for adaptation of territories.
By Anne Barrioz, PUG editions, November 2022.
French rural areas, particularly mountainous ones, have experienced renewed attractiveness in recent decades. Between collective aspirations and individual representations, the author questions the life choices of residents of the high French Alpine valleys. It compares them with public policies carried out in favor of welcoming and maintaining populations as well as territorial development and the recomposition of these spaces under tourist influence. Based on numerous interviews, the work focuses on questions of access to public services, shops, housing, employment, mobility, local life, etc. And the ability of local actors to adapt to revitalize these living spaces all year round.
Mountaineers in globalization. Diasporic networks and social mobilizations in the Atlas (Morocco), the Highlands (Scotland) and the French Alps.
By Mari Oiry Varacca, PUG editions/ UGA , November 2019.
In the context of globalization, mountains are at the heart of a paradox. Presented as “marginal” regions weakened by forced opening, they also reveal themselves as spaces for social innovation. Nourished by concrete and varied examples from the mountains of Africa and Europe, the work deconstructs the idea of an inevitable marginalization of mountains. He is interested in the way in which mountain people, through the promotion of heritage and identities, invent alternatives to the dominant economic and political systems.
Moving mountains. Territorial dynamics and social innovation.
Under the direction of Marie-Christine Fourny, PUG editions/ UGA , October 2018.
This work offers a social and cultural approach to innovation through the prism of the mountain, focusing on local actors. From the tratturi of the Alps to the alternative experiences of Ariège, from the sherpas of Nepal to the collective lands of northern Vietnam, the authors highlight the force of social innovation of mountain territories. We are discovering new solutions to the crisis of the neo-liberal model, particularly on questions of cultural and ecological preservation.
Mountains and liminality. Exploring the period between the 16th and 21st centuries in the Alps
Edited by Marie-Christine Fourny and Stéphane Gal, PUG/UGA, September 2018.
Mysterious, vertical and restrictive, the mountain has always been a place of passage – between wild universe and civilized world, human and divine spheres – requiring adaptation to be crossed. Taking hold of the anthropological concept of liminality, historians and geographers revisit the notions of limits, circulations, conflicts and identities. How does the in-between experience in the mountains generate innovation? With what consequences on a human scale? The Susa valley – from the barricades of 1629 to the anti-TGV fight – occupies a central place in the work.
A mountain of innovations. What dynamics for the outdoor sports sector ?
Under the direction of Bénédicte Vignal, Eric Boutroy and Véronique Reynier, PUG editions, September 2017.
The book describes the processes of innovation in the mountains, the main driver of the growth of the outdoor sports market. The mountain sports sector is no exception: outdoor companies and areas where outdoor sports are practiced are transformed, evaluated, and even rewarded on this criterion. But it is not enough to innovate to succeed. Through the analysis of numerous examples of innovations, the work highlights the collective dimension and the complexity of the innovative processes at stake.
Order, safety and mountain rescue. Police and territory (19th-21st centuries).
Under the direction of Aurélien Lignereux, PUG editions, October 2016.
What is the role of police (both civil or military) in the mountains? Since the 18th century, their missions have shifted from safety (violence, smuggling, etc.) to security (risk prevention and rescue). The mountains, while putting their systems to the test, are a breeding ground for innovation in terms of professionalism and specialisation. Using archives, interviews with specialists in various disciplines as well as in the field, this book retraces history and revisits the concepts of order, safety and rescue in the mountains.
Remembering in the mountains. Guides, stones and places in the Alps.
By Emmanuelle Petit, PUG editions, October 2016.
Erected in the Alps on street corners, in squares or in cemeteries, many mountain-shaped monuments commemorate impressive feats, disasters, or lifetime accomplishments. They make memories visible by testifying to the ties that men and women have forged with the mountains for more than two centuries. For ten years, Emmanuelle Petit conducted a field survey, notably in Chamonix (Haute-Savoie) and Bessans (Haute-Maurienne), to determine the evolution of these commemorative practices.
The ENSA on the quest to conquer the summits. Mountains on the road to excellence.
Edited by Michaël Attali, PUG Editions, June 2015.
The ski instructor and the mountain guide are emblematic characters of the mountain imagination. They make young people dream, and their exploits command admiration. But who knows the particular history of the National Ski and Mountaineering School of Chamonix, where these professionals were trained? Through the history of this institution and the economic, social and cultural issues that have shaped it, the work highlights its role in the development of winter sports from the 1940s to the present day.
Innovation in mountain areas. The challenge of the interdisciplinary approach.
Under the direction of Michaël Attali, Anne Dalmasso and Anne-Marie Granet-Abisset; PUG editions, September 2014.
This work raises the question of innovation in mountain areas, through the views of scientists from different disciplines: history, geography, law, economics, etc. It presents a state of research by discipline, and questions the impact of global change on these particular territories, benefiting from a particular geography, both a source of profits (tourism, etc.) and generator of strong planning constraints.