Identity and regional development: an introductory analysis

Starting from the emergence of the so-called Third Italy, the industrial districts evolution and, more in general, the models of local development the paper elaborates on the concept of identity-based development, which is now an often-mentioned key notion for the development strategy for the regions of the Mediterranean basin. That implies a better understanding of the mechanism of local development and the role played by space and the territory. The paper examines in particular the contradictory tendencies that emerge in the development of industrial districts and local productive networks. This poses new problems to the idea of an alternative strategy of development based on identity and local resources. This issue is then contrasted with the case of Tuscany, a region where the model of local networks and industrial districts is well established, to highlight a pattern of development that possibly contains a broader understanding of the notion of identity-based development and its role in regional analysis.