Method

The research project will be conducted as a longitudinal study over four years (2023-2027). We consider the "mountain hubs" as new places in the Swiss mountain areas and we analyze them from a multi-scalar perspective. This means that we explore different levels of observation: We collect data on the hub level (e.g. project initiators), on the community level (e.g. community leaders), and on the individual level (e.g. local residents, migrants). We use ethnographic and qualitative methods to investigate changes in centrality functions and urban-rural linkages. Field visits of several weeks allow us to analyze the “mountain hubs” in depth.