It is the result of a process of bringing together different actors. Its durability and coherence stem from its organised and well-thought-out construction.

The key to analysing the attractiveness of a territory lies in understanding the distinction between creating and harnessing wealth.

Two approaches are considered:

• one based on enhancing economic performance, which stresses the importance of making places more attractive to strengthen their economic capacity in a global context by using and consuming territorial assets;
• and one that addresses the social balance and equilibrium between regions, and between different types of residents and visitors within them, for whom preserving territorial aspects and enhancing quality are at stake.

In the I-US context, the focus is on the extent to which the development and exploitation of assets, and the consequent generation of attractiveness, result from relatively unplanned market processes or conscious government interventions. In other words, how the I-US build governance affects the territorial attractiveness.