Participative prospective in the Pisa urban area (Italy): Water and food production as issues for territorial development
This paper presents a study based on the territory game, a participatory prospective method based on the use of spatial representations in three main steps: the diagnosis statement, the development of scenarios and the implementation of action steps. The method involved local stakeholders in an integrated approach to territorial development in the urban region of Pisa (Italy). In total, 35 actors (farmers, policy-makers and extension agents) participated in the workshops organized by the researchers. The use and the sharing of spatial representations guided the participants to overcome their usual boundaries for action and to draw prospective scenarios by shifting their focus from the individual to a collective viewpoint. The knowledge hybridization process underpinning the territory game allowed both researchers and local stakeholders to identify the most relevant spatial targets to draw shared management goals for the development of rural and urban areas.