ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the case study which concerns the development dynamics of a place that has very specific locational attributes situated next to an internal EU frontier. It discusses the importance of territory in the twenty-first century, a century of space-time compression, shortening distance-time and falling costs. Globalization, with the flows that it implies and the horizontal and vertical interdependencies that it fortifies, has become a constant challenge for places and people who must now re-assess their place in the world. Situated on a line of penetration into the country by hostile forces, Elvas assumed an important function very early on as a national defensive and protective barrier in the event of overland incursions from Spain. Located on the main route linking Lisbon and Madrid, Elvas became one of the most important gateways between Spain and Portugal. Elvas is no longer the custodian of one of the most important of the nation's frontiers.
