Local initiative and development: Social answer to neoliberal globalization

This paper presents a synthesis of the local development and adresses the place of the local in the development theory. It is proposed that the territory role is essential in the development of a community. Territory is the ground for sens of belonging-based social arrangements of territorial actors. The paper is divided in four sections: a) the evolution of the "local" concept; b) the rise of local development; c) the approaches of local development; and d) a scheme that shows that local collective action and territory are conjugated through the territorial identity which is the basis for a local system structuration. It is proposed that local development programs should fertilize the territory so that it becomes a launch pad for initiatives, projects and collective actions. For this, multiscale governance, a networking perspective and the interrelation among the local, the national and the world scales are required.