The argument of separation between humans and nature has nurtured a rich narrative of theorizations striving to find application in the field of development and spatial change. This paper aims to chart a progressive separation of humans from the sea by adopting a grounded theory approach. In selected seaside towns, urban regeneration and tourism rejuvenation have contributed to crystalizing the separation of humans from the sea therefore calling for the need to revert the point of view over the conception of these measures by ‘reuniting with the sea’. It is therefore concluded that yachting tourism has potentially a strategic role to play in this shift, but further investigation is needed in order to reconsider it within alternative approaches to development through tourism.

Agarwal, S.J. 1997. "The Resort Cycle and Seaside Tourism: an Assessment of Its Applicability and Validity". Tourism Management 18 (2): 65-73.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(96)00102-1

Agarwal, S.J. and G. Shaw. 2007. Managing Coastal Resorts: A Global Perspective. Clevedon: Channel View Publications.

https://doi.org/10.21832/9781845410742

Bellato, L., N. Frantzeskaki and C.A. Nygaard. 2022. "Regenerative Tourism: A Conceptual Framework Leveraging Theory and Practice". Tourism Geographies 1 (21).

https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2022.2044376

Benedict, R. and J. Houghton. 2009. "Solving the Riddle of the Sands: Regenerating England's Seaside Towns". Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal 3 (1): 46-55.

Berti, E., P. Denu and A. Mariotti, eds. 2015. Cultural Routes Management from Theory to Practice: Step by Step Guide to the Council of Europe Cultural Routes. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing.

Christaller, W. 1963. "Some Considerations of Tourism Location in Europe: The Peripheral Regions Underdeveloped Countries Recreation Areas". Regional Science Association Papers 12: 103.

https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01941243

CLG. 2006-2007. Coastal Towns: Second Report of Session 2006-07. Communities and Local Government Committee. House of Commons. London: The Stationery Office Limited.

Cox, K.R. 1993. "The Local and the Global in the New Urban Politics: A Critical View". Environment & Planning D: Society & Space 11 (4): 433-449.

https://doi.org/10.1068/d110433

Ebenezer, H. 1965. Garden Cities of To-morrow. London: Faber and Faber.

Edney, G. 2021. Ocean Spirit. Te Wairua O Te Moananui. [08/06/2021]. https://oceanspirit.org/author/haapaiglenn/.

Figini, P. and L. Vici. 2012. "Off-Season Tourists and the Cultural Offer of a Mass-Tourism Destination: The Case of Rimini". Tourism Management 33 (4): 825-839.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2011.09.005

FIV. 2021. Federazione Italiana Vela and OneOcean Foundation. [09/12/2021]. https://www.federvela.it/news/28-tokyo-2020/news/3140-fiv-e-one-ocean-foundation,-una-partnership-per-la-tutela-del-mare.html.

Fordham, G., J. Hutchinson and P. Foley. 1999. "Strategic Approaches to Local Regeneration: The Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund". Regional Studies 33 (2): 131-141.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00343409950122936

Forte, A. 2009. Seaside Towns in Transition and the Discourse of Tourism in Urban Regeneration: The Case Study of Hastings. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Brighton (UK).

Fothergill, S. 2008. England's Coastal Towns: A Short Review of the Issues, Evidence Base and Research Needs. Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University.

Geddes, P. 1968. Cities in Evolution: An Introduction to the Town Planning Movement and to the Study of Civis. London: E. Benn.

Hoffman, L.M., S.S. Fainstein and D.R. Judd. 2003. Cities and Visitors: Regulating People, Markets and City Space. Oxford: Blackwell.

https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470773673

Hoyle, B.S., D.A. Pinder and S.M. Hussain, ed. 1988. Revitalising the Waterfront: International Dimensions of Dockland Redevelopment. London: Belhaven.

Ioannidis, S.A.K. 2019. "An Overview of Yachting Tourism and Its Role in the Development of Coastal Areas of Croatia". Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Issues 1 (1): 30-43.

Jordan, P. 2001. "Restructuring Croatia's Coastal Resorts: Change, Sustainable Development and the Incorporation of Rural Hinterlands". Journal of Sustainable Tourism 8 (6): 525-539.

https://doi.org/10.1080/09669580008667384

Judd, D.R. and S.S. Fainstein. 1999. The Tourist City. New Haven (CT): Yale University Press.

Kalltorp, O., I. Elander, O. Ericsson and M. Frazen. 1997. Cities in Transformation: Transformation in Cities. Social and Symbolic Change of Urban Space. Hants (UK): Ashgate.

Kennell, J. 2010. "Rediscovering Cultural Tourism: Cultural Regeneration in Seaside Towns". Journal of Town & City Management 1 (4): 364-380.

Knowles, T. and S. Curtis. 1999. "The Market Viability of European Mass Tourist Destinations: A Post-stagnation Life-cycle Analysis". International Journal of Tourism Research 4 (1): 87-96.

https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1522-1970(199903/04)1:2<87::AID-JTR135>3.0.CO;2-6

Lyle, J.T. 1985. Design for Human Ecosystems: Landscape, Land Use, and Natural Resources. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.

Mang, P. and B. Reed. 2017. Update Regenerative Development and Design: Encyclopaedia Sustainability Science & Technology. 2nd ed. New York: Springer.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2493-6_303-3

MIT. 2021. Boating in Figures: Industry Statistics for 2020. Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport with Confindustria Nautica and Fondazione Edison.

Mullins, P. 1991. "Tourism Urbanization". International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 3 (15): 326-342.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2427.1991.tb00642.x

Naess, A. 1989. Ecology, Community and Lifestyle: Outline of an Ecosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511525599

O'Connor, S. 2019. "Britain's Fragile Seaside Towns Lay Bare a Dysfunctional Economy: We Export Problems to the Places Least Able to Cope, then Expect Them to Be Resilient". Financial Times: Opinion UK Inequality. [12/06/2021]. https://www.ft.com/content/b5317c64-59ee-11e9-9dde-7aedca0a081a.

ONS. 2020. Coastal Towns in England and Wales: October 2020. Data and Analysis on Seaside and Other Coastal Towns in England and Wales. Office of National Statistics, Tourism Industry Department (UK).

OOF. 2021. Charta Smeralda. OneOcean Foundation. [09/12/2021]. https://www.1ocean.org/en/charta-smeralda/.

ORS. 2020. The Ocean Race Summits #2 The Hague Report. [08/06/2021]. https://www.theoceanrace.com/en/sustainability/the-ocean-race-summits.html.

Roberts, P., H. Sykes and R. Granger. 2017. Urban Regeneration. 2nd ed. London: Sage.

https://doi.org/10.4135/9781473921788

Rogerson, C.M. and J.M. Rogerson. 2021. Urban Tourism in the Global South: South African Perspectives. Cham: Springer International Imprint.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2

RWP. 2022. Racing with Purpose. The Ocean Race SLU. [09/12/2021]. https://www.theoceanrace.com/en/sustainability/racing-with-purpose.html.

Sharpley, R. 2020. "Tourism, Sustainable Development and the Theoretical Divide: 20 Years On". Journal of Sustainable Tourism 28 (11): 1932-1946.

https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1779732

Smith, M.K. 2004. "Seeing a New Side to Seaside: Culturally Regenerating the English Seaside Town". International Journal of Tourism Research 6: 17-28.

https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.467

Smith, M.K, ed. 2007. Tourism, Culture and Regeneration. Wallingford: CABI.

https://doi.org/10.1079/9781845931308.0000

SNV. 2021. Salone Nautico di Venezia. Riflessioni sui Fronti d'Acqua. [12/06/2021]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMk_lzVBvDc&list=PL5zajFFjh7_XjtfuY9m342d6mu9hp_W&index=6&t=5413s.

Suzuki, D. 2009. The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature. Nanoose Bay: Greystone Books.

Swyngedouw, E., F. Moulaert and A. Rodriguez. 2002. "Neoliberal Urbanization in Europe: Large-Scale Urban Development Projects and the New Urban Policy". Antipode 43 (3): 542-577.

https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8330.00254

Trstenjak, A., S. Žiković and H. Mansour. 2020. "Making Nautical Tourism Greener in the Mediterranean". Sustainability 12 (16): 6693.

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166693

UK Parliament. 2019. Seaside Towns Must Be Inspired to Reinvent Themselves, Says Lords Report. House of Lords. [12/06/2021]. https://www.parliament.uk/external/committees/lords-select/regenerating-seaside-towns/news/2019/seaside-report-published/.

UNDOS. 2021. The Ocean Decade. [08/06/2021]. https://www.oceandecade.org/.

Urry, J. 1997. "Cultural Change and the Seaside Resort". In The Rise and Fall of British Coastal Resorts, edited by Gareth Shaw and Allan Williams, 102-116. London: Cassell.

Walton, J.K. 2000. The British Seaside: Holidays and Resorts in the Twentieth Century. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Wilson, E.O. 1984. Biophilia. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press.

https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674045231