This article investigates the legacy of state socialism and the post-socialist transformation inside the Romanian Carpathians by reviewing sociological literature on new inhabitants of the Alps and anthropological literature on ruralism in Romania. Today, after a period spent adapting to socialist agricultural and industrial policies, several rural communities of the Carpathians are facing growing waves of amenity migrants and urban tourists. In 2015, in order to investigate the potential role of these dynamics relative to the resilience of mountain dwellers, we collected qualitative data by means of in-depth ethnographic interviews with Romanian academics, tourist entrepreneurs, residents of and immigrants to the mountain village of Fundata in Transylvania. We recognise amenity migration and rural tourism as important but also ambivalent and as driving change with respect to the interrelated socio-demographic local change. Whereas the Carpathians have been losing population dramatically since the 1990s, and the remaining population has aged, rural tourism has brought new permanent and temporary inhabitants (often young people) and significant economic resources. Together with accommodation infrastructure, tourism has transformed several mountain villages’ physical and cultural landscape. As cultural brokers and economic resource bearers, amenity migrants and tourists represent both a threat to and an opportunity for post-socialist territories, which are facing long-term socio-economic and demographic crises. As we will discuss in the conclusions of the paper, also with regard to ongoing transformations in the Alpine regions, it seems clear that one cannot ignore the relevance of these urban actors (nor of the renewed urban-rural connection) to the revitalisation of mountain areas.

This introductory chapters presents aims, approach and main contents of the edited volume, framing a practical discussion about sustainable development in Phuthaditjhaba, a southern-african informal town which is facing multilevel social, political and environmental challenges. By employing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) throughout, the Goals serve as a common reference point which unites the written contributions and which can be employed by researchers, policy makers and practitioners alike. The book brings together diverse contributions from scholars and practitioners on Phuthaditjhaba and the area of the former homeland QwaQwa. Each chapter addresses the city from a different disciplinary perspective, with the overall objective of shedding light on the challenges and opportunities presented with regards to sustainable development.

In the conclusive chapter we underline that—in line with UN Agenda 2030—many research funding bodies now require researchers to explicitly address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their research design. Consultations with scientists and practitioners in Phuthaditjhaba during research for this book highlighted that the SDGs still do not currently have a prominent role in the scientific research in the region. Nevertheless, throughout this collective volume they have provided authors with an important reference point which helps frame local research in a global agenda. Mountain communities are often especially challenged by increased exposure and vulnerability to global change including climate change, and there is a need for on-going research to highlight local adaptation and mitigation strategies. These communities need to be recognised as partners in research, policy and decision-making processes. While the UN SDGs can be used as a roadmap towards a more sustainable future, this depends on their application by scientists, practitioners and policymakers at local level. The ongoing European-South African research partnership which produced this publication will continue providing a space for co-learning on data collection and analysis methods, within the theoretical framework jointly defined. Only with close collaboration between scientists from multiple disciplines, policymakers and civil society will a sustainable future for this African mountain city be possible.