Europa XXI (2027) vol. 52

Navigating mountains: Topography, accessibility, and socioeconomic patterns in the European Alps

Markus Lambracht, Dominik Bertram

Europa XXI (2027) vol. 52, pp. 1 | Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2027.52.1

This paper examines the link between topography, accessibility, and socioeconomic develop ment in the European Alps. Using fine-scale GIS analyses combined with regional statistics on socioec onomic indicators, we performed a correlation analysis. Our findings suggest that while topography af fects accessibility, it does not directly determine socioeconomic development. This holds true for both inner-Alpine and peri-Alpine municipalities. From a spatial development perspective, our findings high light that accessibility alone cannot ensure positive socioeconomic development dynamics. We conclude that in mountainous areas, socioeconomic development must be discussed in the context of broader themes, such as economic path dependencies and other sectoral specificities.

Keywords: spatial development, montology, mountain studies, morphology, demography, economy, employment, multi-indicator analysis

Markus Lambracht [markus.lambracht@fau.de], Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institut für Geographie Wetterkreuz 15, 91058 Erlangen: Germany
Dominik Bertram [dominik.db.bertram@fau.de], Institute of Geography, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Wetterkreuz 15, 91058 Erlangen: Germany

Citation

APA: Lambracht, M., & Bertram, D. (2027). Navigating mountains: Topography, accessibility, and socioeconomic patterns in the European Alps. Europa XXI, 52, 1. https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2027.52.1

MLA: Lambracht, Markus and Bertram, Dominik. "Navigating mountains: Topography, accessibility, and socioeconomic patterns in the European Alps". Europa XXI, vol. 52, 2027, pp. 1. https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2027.52.1

Chicago: Lambracht, Markus and Bertram, Dominik. "Navigating mountains: Topography, accessibility, and socioeconomic patterns in the European Alps". Europa XXI 52 (2027): 1. https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2027.52.1

Harvard: Lambracht, M., & Bertram, D. 2027. "Navigating mountains: Topography, accessibility, and socioeconomic patterns in the European Alps". Europa XXI, vol. 52, pp. 1. https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2027.52.1