Vol. 14 No. 4 (2023): (Issue in progress)
Research Article

Territories that refuse to fade away: Insights from the Províncias of Northern Portugal and the Comarcas of Galicia (Spain)

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Inês Gusman
Department of Geography, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and Social Sciences Institute, Uni-versity of Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal
Alejandro Otero-Varela
Department of Geography, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
The presence of the comarcas in Galicia (March 2021)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.48088/ejg.i.gus.14.4.001.012
Categories

Published 2023-10-16

Keywords

  • institutionalization of territories,
  • spatial imaginaries,
  • Northern Portugal,
  • Galicia,
  • territorialities

How to Cite

Gusman, Inês, and Alejandro Otero-Varela. 2023. “Territories That Refuse to Fade Away: Insights from the Províncias of Northern Portugal and the Comarcas of Galicia (Spain)”. European Journal of Geography 14 (4):1-12. https://doi.org/10.48088/ejg.i.gus.14.4.001.012.

Copyright (c) 2023 Inês Gusman, Alejandro Otero-Varela

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Received 2023-07-17
Accepted 2023-10-16
Published 2023-10-16

Abstract

In this article we explore the interaction between the spatialities of the state and the spatial imaginaries by investigating the manifestation of territories beyond institutional practices. We want to understand the relevance of territories that, despite not being integrated into the political-administrative structure of the state, refuse to fade away. We examine deactivated supra-municipal divisions of two neighborhood states: the províncias of the Northern Portugal and the comarcas of Galicia (Spain). Both cases are examined through a combination of geohistorical analysis of the administrative organization of the states, alongside a revision of tangible and intangible practices of local stakeholders in which these territories persist. The exploration of geographical naming is a significant aspect of the analysis. The results indicate that both províncias and comarcas are currently mobilized by stakeholders with many purposes and assumed varied shapes to assert their existence from the bottom up. These are claimed as the suitable divisions of territory and used to contest the spatialities imposed by the state. The inclusion of the imaginaries associated with these territories on formal regional planning practices would lead to a future where the territorial diversity of the countries is acknowledged, and the endogenous characteristics embraced.

Highlights:

  • Social relevance of deactivated territories and the reasons why they remain significant
  • Diverse material and immaterial practices that shape the existence of non-institutionalized territories
  • Acknowledgement of their socio-spatial value for enhancing planning and cooperation in governance
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