Geography and territorial development

Abstract

This article brings to the debate the ideas that involve the emergence of new spaces in the contemporary world. These constitute alternative territorialities which are in course of the construction of reactions/resistances to the hegemonic process of development. Thus, at first, the study criticizes the dominant conception of development linked to the idea of economic progress and of capitalist logic, in order to highlight the impossibility of developing, in a globalized world, according to this perspective. Furthermore, the article attempts to point out that the ideology of development which, in turn, comes up with the project of modernity, carries with it the idea of freedom and equality, should not simply be abolished from our vocabulary and our practices. In this context, the article underscores the importance of thinking in multiple paths of development – the developments – according to autonomy as a guiding principle. The concept of territory and, associated with it, multiterritoriality, is presented as an instrument that might contribute to the analytical and empiricist construction of these spaces of resistance, since the territory is defined by multidimensional and multiscalar power relations, allowing the understanding of the struggle between domination and resistance, reinforcing the construction of more democratic and free territorialities.