Região 2020: Determinantes estratégicos do desenvolvimento local e regional

What are, for Portugal, the strategic determinants of local and regional development? From this starting point, this article aimed to carry out a reflection on the local and regional development opportunities, considering the intrinsic multidimensional aspect of this process, the main legislative instruments, the national and European framing guidelines, and the public policy goals they refer to. Methodologically, a bibliographical and documentary analysis was conducted, complemented by a georeferenced statistical analysis, highlighting the topics of competitiveness, internationalization, territorial governance, skills acquisition, environmental sustainability of territories and efficient use of their resources. Results show that, despite the long road still ahead, social cohesion public policies have, in Portugal, the potential to mitigate the existent profound territorial asymmetries.