ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an analysis of the constructing of Grenoble's innovation model, highlighting its characteritic governance features. It present the beginnings of the construction of the model by showing the structuring role of the mountain, with the emphasis placed on technological development and cultural modernity. Academics, who proudly repeat that Grenoble is the largest scientific centre after Paris-Saclay, play a vital role in spreading the ideology of Grenoble as an innovative city. In Grenoble's case, urban imaginaries that strongly integrate natural or non-human components along with the agency of networks are working together in an intricately territorial regime. The Grenoble School of Geography emerged at the instigation of Blanchard and created and spread the image of Grenoble as capital of the French Alps. From 1965 to 1989, the city councillors responsible for cultural affairs belonged to Peuple et Culture.
