Transit Systems in Mountain Border Areas: A Typological Approach

This paper examines the setup and evolution of transports network systems in mountain border areas. Nepalese Himalaya, Mount Lebanon, French and Italian Alps will be used as examples. The dynamic interactions between networks and territories in mountain border areas are summarized in a matrix that distinguishes four main types of interactions. Including different scales of time (long term, time of seasons, journey time ) and space (great mountain ranges, internal mountain masses, mountain places -touristic stations and sites, natural and national parks...-), the model allows to discuss the dialectic processes of opening/closing.