Landscape, topophilia/topophobia and entrepreneurship: a proposal for a theoretical model

Paisagem, topofilia/topofobia e empreendedorismo: uma proposta de modelo teórico

Paisaje, topofilia/topofobia y emprendimiento: propuesta de un modelo teórico

The aim of this essay was to create a theoretical-methodological apparatus that supplements the analysis of the symbolisms present in the landscape and how they affect - in a topophilic or topophobic way - the relations of entrepreneurs with place. The proposal is to understand a little more how the socio-spatial context of entrepreneurship can direct the profile of local entrepreneurial cultures using the symbolisms (culturally loaded) printed on the landscape and the way these meanings are apprehended by the entrepreneurial community. For that, we have resort to the theoretical debates developed in Anthropology and Social Sciences about culture, and in the discussions about landscape and subjective relations with place, current in Cultural Geography. The approximation of the concepts of topophilia (and topophobia) is inspired by the recent use (2020) of the term, in a more practical and less theoretical context, as one of the key factors for the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is, therefore, a matter of establishing the potential and validity of using this concept to understand the phenomenon of entrepreneurship; thus, it is useful to outline a theoretical-methodological framework to understand in greater depth such implications.

Keywords:
topophilia; topophobia; landscape; culture; entrepreneurship