Exiting the periphery: Possible pathways towards a socio-economic and institutional de-marginalization of places

What are the economic, social and institutional mechanismsthat make it possible for peripheral areas to regain central-ity? To address this issue, this paper takes stock of the cur-rent scientific debate on peripheries. Our reasoning is basedon a general assumption according to which simple geo-graphic features do not determine per se socio–spatial divi-sions. Peripheral areas are not natural. By contrast, they arethe outcomes of more or less intentional processes thatimply hierarchical and power relationships, unequal alloca-tion of economic resources, and reliance upon relationalpatterns and social norms. Therefore, it is essential toobserve how and whether multidimensional socio-economicchanges occur within peripheral areas, deconstructing theirmarginality. In this regard, this paper highlights four mainendogenous mechanisms upon which a de-marginalizationprocess may rely: (1) transformation in the features of thelocal institutional make-up; (2) emergence of collectiveactions and‘self-governance’processes at the local level;(3) renovation of elite groups; and (4) establishing economicrenewal and innovation