ABSTRACT
In the framework of global change, new knowledge, new technologies, and new economic sectors become concentrated in internationally linked agglomerations. The global hunger for raw materials – rare earths and other metals, as well as coal – makes mountains attractive for the mining and wholesale business. The remoteness of mountains to the centres of decision-making makes it difficult to control overuse and pillage. The recent debate about demographic and economic development in mountains shows that there are studies about depopulation on the one hand, and studies about remigration and repopulation on the other. As urban development in most cases has been late in reaching the mountains, there are only rarely national or regional capitals in mountains, which would offer attractive jobs in administration, healthcare, high-performing services, or universities. Public investment requires the consensus of the whole population, which puts the topic of regional policies in a contradictory debate about normative development goals and stakeholder demands for low taxes.
