How Do Territories Evolve? Local Economies and Societies during and after COVID-19: Evidences from a Case Study

Moving from a critique of the understanding of globalization as deterritorialization, the paper argues that the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the profound ambivalences of globalization. By taking into consideration a single case study, the Province of Alessandria (Piedmont, Italy), the paper suggests that COVID-19 has been a glocal event, simultaneously global and local. Furthermore, the authors underline sectoral and territorial dynamics affecting the impact of the global pandemic in the local territory. Finally, the study results show that territorial institutionalization processes play a key role in consolidating a sense of community and belonging, associated to a construction of awareness and mutual resignification