The future of inner areas: young people and community cooperatives. The case study of the Ligonchio Cooperative

This thesis examines the present and future of Italy’s inner areas through the case study of the San Rocco Community Cooperative in Ligonchio, a small village in the Reggio Emilia Apennines. Building on a relational geographical perspective, the research explores how community cooperatives act as agents of social innovation in marginalised rural contexts affected by depopulation, service withdrawal, and socio-economic fragility. Particular attention is devoted to the role of young people, whose visions, practices, and forms of territorial engagement are crucial for imagining sustainable futures in mountain areas. The study combines theoretical reflections on rurality, inner areas, and alternative territorial narratives with an in-depth qualitative analysis of Ligonchio and its cooperative. Through interviews, territorial observation, and document analysis, the research investigates how the cooperative contributes to reshaping local relationships, strengthening community bonds, and reactivating dormant resources. It highlights the emergence of new imaginaries that challenge both miserabilist and aestheticising representations of inner areas, favouring instead grounded, everyday, and lived interpretations of mountain life. Findings show that young people engage in what can be understood as active staying: a dynamic way of inhabiting the margins that intertwines rootedness with mobility, care for place, and collective responsibility. The San Rocco cooperative functions as a social infrastructure that enables new forms of inhabitation, work, and community participation, positioning Ligonchio as a laboratory of future-making. Ultimately, the thesis argues that youth engagement in community cooperatives holds transformative potential for redefining territorial development, fostering habitability, and generating alternative futures for Italy’s inner areas.