Constructive and destructive agency, regional path development and critical junctures: the case of cruise tourism in Nuuk, Greenland

The literature on regional development paths and human agency has focused on a broad distinction between reproductive and change agency, and the actions of a relatively narrow range of stakeholders. This paper introduces a typology of path development that also distinguishes between constructive and destructive agency. Four overall types of path development are identified: continuation, transformation, decline and disappearance (CDTD). The CDTD typology is used to analyse a case of cruise tourism path development, focusing on why different path development goals are pursued by different stakeholders at a potentially critical juncture.