Adaptation, interaction and urgency: a complex evolutionary economic geography approach to leisure

Abstract

Local and regional governments in western European peripheral areas aim to spur leisure-led regional development. We explore planning for leisure by applying an evolutionary economic geography (EEG) approach from a complexity perspective. We identify conditions which enable and constrain leisure development and its effects on the region as a whole. This means combining the local level of individual adaptations with the institutional setting and with the regional scale. We examine the Dutch province of Fryslân and explore by means of case study analysis how current leisure development processes can be explained in a complex evolutionary manner. We explore economic novelty as a result of individual adaptations; how such adaptations through interactions create emerging spatial patterns; how these spatial patterns form self-organizing new types of order; and the way this process is dependent on previous paths whilst also creating new pathways. Our findings show that although development is dependent on individual adaptations often stemming from a few actors, for such adaptations to have an effect on the region requires a connectivity between actors and a sense of urgency amongst those actors. Using a complex EEG approach allows us to explain leisure-led regional development as the product of these conditions. This can help planners deal with the complexity and unpredictability of this process, focusing not on a desired end goal as such, but on creating the conditions in which a more autonomous development can take place.

Exploring the nexus between sustainable tourism governance, resilience and complexity research

“…It is in the multiplicity and localised nature of these interactions (between actors, institutions, processes, policy issues) that diversity is found, and it is exactly that diversity and high interconnectivity that foster learning, self-organisation and adaptation in the system (Hartman, 2016). Complexity theory encapsulates the uncertainty and unpredictability emanating from adaptations and their cumulative effects in a complex world (Meekes et al, 2017). Examining and managing a destination as a CAS mandates an experimental, adaptive model of governance where decisions are taken collectively and strategies are evaluated after their implementation, with this new knowledge becoming a new input into the system (Baggio et al, 2010).…”

“…While a strong emphasis in tourism research remains on the second framework, there has been growing research interest in the third direction, integrating evolution, resilience and complexity theory (Dredge, 2019). For example, Meekes et al (2017) used complexity theory in EEG to examine leisure developments in the Frysland region of the Netherlands, together with institutional changes across time and space. This approach helped them understand the role of individual initiatives as a driver of adaptation and emergence in the region, over which planners had little control.…”

“…Emergence, another property of CAS, dictates the synergistic character of interactions between a system's components or between sub-systems or between systems and how the social world interacts with the natural world in unpredictable ways. Although for Meekes et al (2017) self-organisation and the emergence of a new order happens without collective intent or action but, rather, cumulatively, as a result of individual agency and entrepreneurship, governments do have a role to play as they can create bifurcations (e.g. with new infrastructure or other investments, new institutions or new collaborations), leading to new trajectories.…”

“…These views then become not only visible but understood as a resource for sustainability which enables multiple trajectories through self-organisation, emergence, and adaptation. Complexity approaches allow also cross-sectoral and cross-scale understanding of policies, enabling a wide dialogue and the incorporation of a whole-systems perspective (Meekes et al, 2017). Ultimately, they can contribute to the democratisation of governance and its transformation from a neo-liberal reductionist process to a powerful collaborative one.…”

Regional economic development and tourism: A literature review to highlight future directions for regional tourism research

“…Nevertheless, this situation appears to be changing with works from Mellon and Bramwell (2016), Polukhina (2016), Sgro and Hazari (2004), Sinclair and Stabler (1997), Sinclair et al (2009) and Yang et al (2018) and works in Asia (Zhang, 2017). Evolutionary theory is also becoming more widespread (Brouder, 2017; Brouder and Fullerton, 2015; Ma and Hassink, 2014; Meekes et al, 2017; Randelli et al, 2014; Sanz-Ibáñez and Anton Clavé, 2014; Tonts et al, 2014; Yang et al, 2017).…”