Restructuring and innovation in a one-company town : the case of Ferrol

Abstract

This report analysis the processes of restructuring and innovation in Ferrol, a onecompany town. It is based on fourteen field reports developed by students of the Department of geography at the University of Bergen in spring 2001. The paper starts with a theory discussion focusing on the concepts of regional development, restructuring, and innovation. We analyse the main effects of the industrial restructuring process in the 1980s and 1990s and the potential of present regional development efforts. Ferrol has been characterised as a town in deep crisis. It has experienced many of the negative impacts of restructuring in the past decades. The naval sector has reduced its staff severely, and auxiliary industries have suffered But, summing up our research results, Ferrol turns out to be a dynamic community characterised by people deeply involved in projects that set in motion promising processes of change.