Guidelines for the geographic analysis of vulnerability in deindustrialized spaces

This manuscript proposes a reflection on the deindustrialization process and the geographic analysis of the deindustrialized spaces based on the premise that it is necessary to broaden the conceptual and instrumental spectrum in order to highlight emerging phenomena and processes in the Economic Geography. The main objective is to propose vulnerability indicators that show the multicausal impact of deindustrialization in the territory and the extent of damage at different stages of the crisis. This approach will make it possible to identify diverse and complementary factors for the revitalization of the territories, connect them together and propose coherent public responses with the ramifications of the problem and possible solutions in the new context of sustainable development. Such an approach requires deepening the very concept of deindustrialization and focusing on the available and potential resources of the territory, the most suitable for promoting growth and prosperity, assuming that it is not possible to return to pre-crisis levels. The results allow to redefine the interpretative framework of the spaces affected by the loss of companies and the weight of the industry in its economic and labour structure, providing a powerful analytical tool that can be applied to production systems of different scales.