18 research outputs found
Contextual effects of community mobilization and communication capacity as a positive factor for self-rated health status: a multi-level analysis
Perceptions of Personal Risk About Smoking and Health Among Bosnian Refugees Living in The United States
Ethnic Minorities in the Mass Media: How Migrants Perceive Their Representation in Swiss Public Television
Is Easy Access Related to Better Life? Walkability and Overlapping of Personal and Communal Identity as Predictors of Quality of Life
From thick to thin regional identities?
Regions and regional identity have
become more important over the last decades. At
the same time regions have become less discernable
as distinct historically rooted spatial entities. Globalisation
and the decline of collective identities
through individualisation transform both this regional
reality and how regions are conceptualised. This
article analyses the shifts in types of regional
identities used by regional administrations in an
increasingly competitive environment. It uses the
contrast between ‘thick’ traditional and historical
rooted well-established regional identities, and ‘thin’
regional identities which are more transitory and
focus more on economic competitiveness. These
concepts are used to analyse the regional identity of
regional administrations in Northwest Germany and
the Netherlands. Hybrid regional identities combining
a locally specific mix of thick and thin elements
of regional identity, and which link up with regional
identities at other relevant scales, appear to be the
most effective regional identities for regional administrations
facing the challenges of both globalisation
and the decline in collective identities