Territorial development dynamics between innovation and tradition: the case of the nautical district of Latina

In this work the dynamics of the territorial development of the district systems are analyzed, considering the territorial competition as a biological evolutionism. From this, we suggest a model aimed to explain the points of strength and weakness of the district systems, divided into three different and correlated phases, made up of structural, relational and strategic dimension. Such a model, allowing to appraise the results of desk and field analyses made on a sample of firms of the nautical local system in the Province of Latina, has underlined the existence of a meaningful identification of the district firms with the territory, promoting a “mark of area” of “Made in Latina” products and strengthening the identity of the local productive system through strategies of manufacturing and commercial cooperation among the actors of the locally individualized compartment.