Development Processes in European Marginal Areas: An Investigation in the UNESCO Gastronomic Creative City of Östersund in Sweden

Abstract

Gastronomy has received increasing attention in recent years thanks to its ability to create not only economic development but also to protect the values of cultural heritage by directly linking people to traditions and landscapes. This means that local and regional natural and cultural resources can be used in the search for vibrant and sustainable regional development. An alternative to attract investors and enhance the area is to use this products and gastronomy as a resource. UNESCO’s network of creative cities can help in the process of revitalizing places and their products. The purpose of this article is to explore the role of UNESCO in the development of remote and rural areas and to assess, after some time, how this development can influence the inhabitants and society of these places and small businesses working on a small scale. In particular, the inhabitants of a city that is part of UNESCO’s network of creative cities judge how being part of this network for almost 10 years affects the economic and social development of the city, whether it actually reduces the economic gap between less-developed and central regions and whether there are points for improvement in the work of UNESCO in the opinion of the inhabitants of a city. This study is based on semi-structured and face-to-face interviews with people involved in Network related work in the city of Östersund in Sweden, which is part of the UNESCO Network of Creative Cities in the Gastronomy section since 2010. The results indicate that although indirectly, UNESCO has helped during this years in the development of the city but that there are many things that should be improved in the future to make its work more efficient. About the small-scale producers, they too have been indirectly helped by the fact that Östersund is part of the UNESCO Network of Creative Cities.