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Rural Futures: The Consumption Countryside and its Regulation
Abstract
The paper outlines some of the main features of the ‘political and social economy of rural space’ from a British perspective. It details the trajectory of what is termed the ‘consumption countryside’ that is, the sets of increasingly diverse ruralities which tie rural space and people to the provision of goods and services that can be consumed by those in and beyond their particular boundaries. These trends have significance for the development of European rural social science; and particularly the development of a comparative rural sociology which can analyse the differentiation of rural space. In doing so, the paper suggests the need to forge a critical and interpretative set of new relations with the state (supra, national and, regional and local), and to play a much more engaging part in the differential evolution of new rural governance structures.
... diversification of incomes on many family farms and a general decline in the numbers of so-called main occupation farms (Marsden, 1999;Lobley and Potter, 2004). Various studies have predicted the continued restructuring of the farming sector, with a steady decrease in dependence on traditional agricultural income sources for many farm households due to diversification and pluriactivity. ...
... This has effectively mobilised conservationists to push for a greater conservation of the countryside, and further drive a growing demand for protection and other uses of the countryside; leading Wilson (2007) to speculate about the growing significance of "non-productivist pathways" in the countryside. Consequently, contemporary rural localities have witnessed the developments of "new patterns of diversity and differentiation" (OECD, 1993in Marsden, 1999, with agriculture and socio-demographic trajectories becoming ever more disassociated. The implications of this are likely to mean increasing amounts of land held by individuals and organisations whose primary motivation may not be agricultural. ...
... Firstly, the presence of different landholder/stakeholder types in most case study groups, in various combinations, were crucial as one of the main objectives of this Qmethodology is to understand how collaborations consisting of variety of landholders and stakeholders can be achieved. This is due to the recognition that different parts of England have experienced the transition to multifunctionality at varying rates and precipitated in diverse combination of landholders (Marsden, 1999). Therefore, it is pertinent to understand the different models of collaborations that could exist in England, and what is needed for them to succeed. ...
The English countryside is set to undergo significant changes in the way it will be managed in the coming year. The incoming Environmental Land Management schemes represents a shift in scale and focus of public goods provisioning, with the Landscape Recovery scheme in particular now geared more in favour of a coordinated landscape scale delivery of these public goods. This also comes at a time when the countryside has been experiencing a diversification within the land management community, which are moving towards an increasingly heterogenous mix of values and motivations for occupying and managing land. This will have implication as to how effective these public goods can be delivered on a landscape scale. Further complicating this is that while the idea of landscape scale collaboration to deliver more meaningful outcomes towards conservation has been widely accepted in scientific circles, uncertainty about how to achieve this in practice remains. This prompts a growing need to better understand how willing these increasingly diverse range of landholders are in collaborating together. To address this, this paper explores how collaborations consisting of a heterogenous mix of stakeholders might function, and the drivers and interventions required for such collaboration to be sustained in the long term. Utilising Q-methodology, we establish various models of collaboration based around the range perspectives of different stakeholders. Our findings yield five models of collaboration: the "Traditional Farmer", "Social Farmer", "Hybrid Collaboration", "Modern Collaborators" and "Pragmatic Collaborators". While distinction between the groups are reflected by the aspects of collaboration they placed most importance to, several commonalities in views have emerged as well. This includes the trust required between conservation groups and landholders for effective conservation outcomes, and the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience in collaborations. Ultimately, the models of collaboration suggest a need for future policies to think more directly about how different landholders might be grouped according to their perspective on collaboration and how they can be incentivised. This will facilitate more effective, and sustained, landholder collaborations that fulfils landscape scale ambitions of upcoming policies.
... This stems from prior agri-environmental schemes viewing main occupation farmers as public goods providers of first resort in the countryside (Gorman et al., 2001;Lowe et al., 1993). However, the shifting policy ethos towards public goods delivery, paired with a countryside undergoing significant restructuring over the past decades (Baldock et al., 2001;Cloke & Goodwin, 1992;Kam & Potter, 2024;Marsden, 1999), prompts a re-examination into the strategies required if an increasingly diverse range of landholders and managers are to be effectively recruited into future schemes. ...
... Given the limited success of prior strategies to incentivise the uptake of previous schemes, and a focus on enrolling main occupation farmers, there is a need to consider alternative strategies in order to ensure future agri-environmental schemes are effective in engaging with a countryside that has seen a growing diversification of landholder types, and thus increasing range of land use values and motivation (Baldock et al., 2001;Cloke & Goodwin, 1992;Marsden, 1999;Kam & Potter, 2024). New land managers will require a whole suite of measures to accommodate for their diverse land use aspirations in order to be incentivised to participate. ...
... First, the presence of different landholder/stakeholder types in most of the case study groups selected in various combinations was crucial given that a key objective of this study was to understand how collaborations consisting of a variety of landholders and stakeholders can be achieved. This is due to the recognition that different parts of England have experienced the transition to multifunctionality at varying rates and precipitated in diverse combinations of landholders (Marsden, 1999). Therefore, it is pertinent to understand the different models of collaborations that could exist in England, and what is needed for them to succeed. ...
Agri-environmental policies in England stand on the threshold of significant change, with a new suite of Environmental Land Management schemes set to embody more of the ‘public money for public goods’ principle. In addition, two tranches of these schemes appear heading towards a more collaborative approch towards delivering these public goods—suggesting that landholder collaborations would be a vital key to achieving this goal on such a scale. Running in parallel with this policy change is a countryside that has been undergoing a transition over the past several decades. This has seen a growing diversification in landholder types - prompting a re-examination not only with regards to the range of landholders who should be recruited into public goods delivery but the incentivisation strategies needed to recruit them as well. In this article, we examine the limitations of the behavioural approach utilised by past agri-environmental schemes to incentivise farmer uptake. We then propose the use of a Theories of Practice and Theory of Capital framework that shifts the approach towards a more targeted pattern of incentivisation, one which enables the recruitment of a much broader set of public goods providers into landholder collaboration. To demonstrate how this framework can be applied, we present a case study around a range of collaboration models. Our findings suggest that in order for collaborations to be sustained in the long term, policymakers will need to think more directly with regard to the different aspects of collaboration that different landholders place value in. This would ensure opportunities for various forms of capital to be generated or for the recrafting of practices through intervention points. We conclude that the recrafting of the collaborative conservation practice not only can be accomplished through its constituent elements but by changing its practitioners as well—as exemplified by the different configurations of landholders that make up each of our five models of collaboration.
... A vidékreprezentáció, vidékimázs és -diskurzus vizsgálata két területen jelent meg kezdetben a leghangsúlyosabban. Az egyik szorosan kapcsolódik a vidék fogyasztói funkciójának (consumption countryside) (Marsden 1999) megerősödéséhez és a vidéken fogyasztóként megjelenő társadalmi szereplőkhöz. Ebben a megközelítésben a vidék egy sajátos és erőteljes reprezentációja, a vidékidill áll a vizsgálódások középpontjában, amit leginkább két folyamat, a városból vidékre költözés és a vidéki turizmus indokol. ...
... Az 1990-es években lezajlott a vidékfejlesztési politikában az ún. kulturális fordulat (Marsden 1999, Ray 2006, Horlings 2015, amelynek következtében a korábbi modernizációs, külső erőforrásokon alapuló exogén fejlesztést felváltotta a helyi természeti és társadalmi erőforrásokra építő endogén, a lokális közösségek fejlődését, fejlesztési kapacitását középpontba állító fejlesztéspolitika (van der Ploeg -van Dijk 1995). Ezzel párhuzamosan a diskurzus, az imázs, a reprezentáció és a képzetek a fejlesztéspolitikai tárgyú elemzésekben is egyre központibb fogalmakká váltak. ...
... A kötődésen keresztül kialakuló társadalmi kohézió az elemzések szerint a helyi identitáshoz is hozzájárul (Uzzell et al. 2002, Cramm-Nieboer 2015, Barolsky-Gould 2016. Marsden (1999) szerint egyenesen új identitások és kultúrák jöhetnek létre a vidéki társadalmi átalakulások során. A hely központi fogalomként jelenik meg az OECD által fémjelzett és számos vidékkutató (Ploeg-Marsden 2008) által szorgalmazott Új vidékparadigma (New Rural Paradigm) esetében is, amely egy multiszektorális, helyalapú, a környezeti fenntarthatóságot középpontba helyező és a vidék és város fejlődését kölcsönhatásban tételező (területi) fejlesztését jelenti a vidéknek (Horlings-Marsden 2014). ...
A helyi sajátosságok, értékek megjelenítése a vidékimázs és a helyi identitás megerősítése és fejlesztése egyre fontosabb kérdés a vidéki térségekben élők számára, mivel azok megjelennek a települések és helyi közösségek fejlesztési startégiáiban, de befolyásolják az adott térség idegenforgalomban, migrációs folyamatokban betöltött szerepét is. Napjainkban egyre hangsúlyosabb szerephez jut Magyarországon is vidékiség értelmezések vizsgálata, így ezzel párhuzamosan a vidékszociológiai kutatások egyre jelentősebb témájává is válik a kérdés. A tanulmány célja, hogy egy szisztematikus irodalmi áttekintés alapján feltárja, milyen módszerekkel vizsgálta az elmúlt két évtizedben a nemzetközi tudomány a tágan értelmezett vidékimázst és vidéki identitást. A dolgozat első felében a vidékimázs, vidékidill, vidékreprezentáció és vidéki identitás kifejezések megjelenését és elterjedését mutatjuk be a tudományos diskurzusban, majd pedig átfogó irodalmi áttekintés segítségével vizsgáljuk a fenti témákhoz kapcsolódó különböző módszertanok (kérdőíves, interjús, NLP, részvételi) elterjedtségét, és összevetjük a különböző módszertani megközelítések lehetséges korlátait és előnyeit.
... Rural reconstruction in the Western world has undergone an evolutionary process that was in turn led by economic, social, and comprehensive factors. Correspondingly, rural transformation has undergone various developmental stages of being production-driven, consumption-driven, multifunctional and globalized villages [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Before the 1990s, under the tide of modernization and urbanization, rural areas were placed in the development framework dominated by productivism. ...
... The main factors driving rural reconstruction during this period were economic factors such as capital, land and property rights [20][21][22]. During this period, rural areas changed from a production space to a post-Ford economy-based consumption space [14]. In the 1990s, postmodernism and the urban disease had given rise to "rural unvarnished beauty" of urban society, and resettled groups with economic and cultural capital reproduced the space of rural cultural construction, causing otherness to the identity of rural disadvantaged group and marginalization to their social space, so as to restore the rural cultural landscape and reconstruct rural social relations [23][24][25]. ...
... Its main mechanism was the driving actions of external entities, capital and culture, which was manifested in the "incremental" embeddedness of urban elements. This led to rural reconstruction/transformation, which gave impetus to rural revival [12][13][14][15]. The practical experiences and theoretical cognition of rural reconstruction/transformation in the Western world are neither standard templates nor of universal significance. ...
At the beginning of the 21st century, with the rapid advancement of industrialization and urbanization, production factors such as population, capital, and land between urban and rural areas in China have gradually shifted to non-agricultural fields, the structure and function of rural territorial systems have been reconstructed and transformed therewith. In response to the relatively declining villages, the Chinese government proposed rural revitalization strategy. Taking the human–land relationship as the theoretical basis and functional changes of rural region as the main line, the study analyzes the characteristics of rural reconstruction, interprets the rural transformation mechanism and deconstructs paths of rural revitalization by using the rural reconstruction index, the model of rural transformation measurement and rural spatial transformation effect. The case study shows that: (1) Rural reconstruction in Jianghan Plain is characterized by temporal continuity and spatial imbalance. The periodical changes presents from social-reconstruction-dominated, economic-reconstruction-dominated to spatial reconstruction -dominated. The distribution of high values varied from the U-type to O-type along the main transportation routes, while that of low values alternated between points (hinterlands of the Plain) and lines from spatial viewpoint. (2) The driving mechanism of rural transformation was the coupling effect of the exogenous drivers and endogenous responses. The standardized regression coefficient between the drivers and the changes to rural regional functions is 0.766. The endogenous response is mainly manifested as the negative effect of the rural spatial reconstruction on the territorial agriculture-oriented function. (3) The key path of rural revitalization facilitated the optimization of regional functions through reorganization of the rural elements in Jianghan Plain. It is the strategic choice of rural areas to implement regional function zoning and realize the balance of spatial function. The research results can provide inspiration for theoretical research on rural geography, and provide policy and method support for rural revitalization in case areas.
... A main reason for this is attributed to the potentially significant changes in the rural land market, with more land being held by individuals and organisations whose primary motivation may not always be agricultural. Rural scholars have long observed a steady diversification of land occupancy and ownership over the past several decades (e. g., Cloke and Goodwin, 1992;Marsden, 1999;Baldock et. al, 2001), attributing it to various sets of drivers. ...
... Significantly, research into these deep-set drivers of change and their role in reshaping the pattern of land ownership and management has been scarce over the last two decades. Various scholars and researchers in the past (e.g., Cloke and Goodwin, 1992;Munton et al., 1992;Marsden, 1999;Holmes, 2006) have analysed and predicted how UK rural spaces are likely to change, with discussion typically centred around the growing demand for non-agricultural uses of the countryside and the restructuring of the agriculture industry. Observations about the changing nature of social demographics in the countryside have been noted as far back as the 1990′s, with a new breed of landholders being identified with "differing consumption interests" compared to main-occupation farmers (Munton, Low and Marsden, 1992). ...
... Cultural heritage can play an important social or symbolic role in place-based identification, as stated by Marsden [34] "New rural identities and cultures may emerge as new social formations take shape in various rural localities. Rural areas offer distinctive ways of life in the post-modern world. ...
... In both instances, cultural identity is redefined". Although Marsden [34] acknowledged that such changes can sometimes lead to feelings of dispossession or debasement within local communities, in other cases the images projected of the locality can also help to define a distinctive identity. ...
The paper focuses on three dimensions of Cultural Ecosystem Services—cultural heritage, sense of place and tourism—and examines the relationships between them in a rural landscape context. Sense of place connects to landscapes that foster authentic human attachment, cultural heritage values and elements of local history and culture. This suggests that a sense of place cannot be considered in isolation from cultural heritage. However, cultural heritage has been relatively under-researched in the context of cultural ecosystem services, where it is defined as the tangible and intangible benefits that are derived mostly from landscapes. Researchers in rural development have highlighted the importance of sense of place and cultural heritage in both place-making and tourism development. This study explores these relationships further using three case studies from rural Hungary based on in-depth interviews with local stakeholders. The findings demonstrate that cultural heritage is an inherent part of rural place-making in Hungary and that cultural heritage values strongly shape a sense of place. Social and intangible aspects of cultural heritage are the most important for place-making, especially authentic local traditions. The findings suggest that even though a strong sense of place based on cultural heritage is a pre-requisite for tourism development, initiatives have often been more successful in strengthening social cohesion and cultural identity rather than attracting tourists.
... Thus, a consensus gradually emerges that multifunctional agriculture cannot fully represent multifunctional rural areas. Marsden (1999) argues that rural development changes and integrates traditional agricultural production and management practices as a result of the restructuring of production and consumption functions [17]. On this basis, Wilson (2001) believes that rural multifunctional studies can only truly reveal and summarize the characteristics of rural territorial development and change if they go beyond the specific field of agricultural production [15], and John Holmes proposes a "multifunctional rural transition" [18]. ...
... Thus, a consensus gradually emerges that multifunctional agriculture cannot fully represent multifunctional rural areas. Marsden (1999) argues that rural development changes and integrates traditional agricultural production and management practices as a result of the restructuring of production and consumption functions [17]. On this basis, Wilson (2001) believes that rural multifunctional studies can only truly reveal and summarize the characteristics of rural territorial development and change if they go beyond the specific field of agricultural production [15], and John Holmes proposes a "multifunctional rural transition" [18]. ...
In recent years, in rural geographic studies, the topic of multifunctions of rural areas has been gaining increasing interest, especially in China, which, as an agricultural power, is undergoing new urbanization and rural revitalization. As far as China is concerned, to classify administrative villages from the perspective of their functions will contribute to scientifically guiding the configuration of urban-rural factors in terms of different regions and villages multifunctional types. This paper takes 3042 administrative villages of Tai’an city of Shandong province in eastern China as its basic study units and establishes a mapping system between land use types and rural territorial sub-functions, identifies their multifunctional types via cluster analysis, quantitatively analyzes their influencing factors with multivariate logistic regression, and summarizes their spatial structure characteristics. The results show that: 3042 administrative villages in Tai’an city can be functionally classified into seven types. The village multifunctional types are jointly decided by cities and natural production conditions. The distribution of all types of villages shows a “non-agricultural production to agricultural production” outward expansion structure. Our study can expand the research contents and methods of rural territorial multifunction.
... In India, women are starting to turn to entrepreneurship as a way out of poverty, particularly in rural areas. Additionally, Marsden (1999) discovered that rural have evolved into multipurpose areas used for leisure, entertainment, work and living. Every woman entrepreneur has demographic traits that empower and assist her in carrying out tasks necessary to generate connected goods and services. ...
This study investigates the women’s entrepreneurship landscape in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with particular emphasis on understanding the differences and similarities between the coastal and non-coastal regions. The coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, with their unique economic activities such as fishing and maritime trade, offer different opportunities and challenges to women entrepreneurs than non-coastal regions, which are characterised by different industries and economic structures. In the situation where men are oppressed and rejected in society, many women face different kinds of challenges with their own efforts and intelligence and excel in this field as woman entrepreneurs in this society, also about the challenges faced by the achiever and the recognition. In this study, we will see in detail how the capital required starting the business and the professional and technical knowledge are available, and in the best way they can expand their business in a visionary way and achieve excellence. And we can all know about all kinds of opportunities between women entrepreneurs in coastal districts and women entrepreneurs in non-coastal districts in Tamil Nadu. The study is qualitative in nature; here, data were obtained from a primary and secondary source, and documents were reviewed to discuss the topic under study using the available resources. This study examined whether coastal women entrepreneurs were dominated in the entrepreneurship of non-coastal women entrepreneurs. Based on the findings of the studies, conclusions have been drawn for the main domains of the study. The results of this study are expected to provide valuable insights to policymakers, business support organisations and researchers interested in promoting women’s entrepreneurship in Tamil Nadu. Understanding the nuances of entrepreneurial ecosystems in different geographic contexts will allow us to develop targeted interventions to empower and support women entrepreneurs, ultimately improving state. It can contribute to the economic development of both the coastal and non-coastal regions.
... However, a recent review of climate change adaptation strategies in European mountain regions showed that studies primarily focus on the biophysical and technical aspects of strategy implementation and rarely on critical aspects regarding the human dimension of adaptation (Vij et al., 2021). Two decades ago, Marsden (1999) pointed out that rural areas worldwide were becoming less self-sufficient and more influenced by socioeconomic drivers. General guidelines to prevent maladaptation were developed by Hallegatte (2009), Barnett and O'neill (2010), and Magnan (2016). ...
Maladaptation occurs when actions taken to adapt to global change end up increasing vulnerability, instead of reducing it. This process often occurs when multiple drivers affecting a system's vulnerability are not considered. To prevent maladaptive actions, it is important to consider both these drivers and the potential conflicting interests at different territorial scales. Unfortunately, existing guidelines for assessing the risk of maladaptation are not context specific. To address this, we developed a set of guidelines that can establish a link between drivers, trends of change, adaptation actions, and potential conflicts of interest. The suggested protocol allows for context-specific assessment, making it easier to detect adaptation actions that could become maladaptive by either increasing vulnerability or causing negative externalities. It also helps to identify potential conflicts among mental frameworks at the local territorial scale and between these frameworks and development pathways, normally decided for large territorial scales. As a case study, we applied these guidelines to the Pyrenees mountain range. The results show that some adaptation actions, such as promoting local varieties of crops, would be welcomed by all locals, while others, such as revitalizing the building sector, would displease the majority and turn maladaptive. Our application to the Pyrenees also suggests that "Degrowth" is the development pathway that better fits the locals' interests, and "Business-as-usual" has the worst fit. Our guidelines are flexible and modifiable, making them applicable to any social-ecological system.
... Throughout the 20 th century, mountainous areas had a tendency towards "deagrarianization" and to follow patterns and transformations that were strongly determined by the socioeconomic evolution of metropolitan areas (García Ruiz et al., 1996;Tulla et al., 2003;López-i-Gelats, Milán & Bartolomé, 2011). They became tourist destinations and places where leisure consumers with enough money purchased second homes (Arqué Garcia & Mateu, 1982;Marsden, 1999;Armesto, Gómez & Cors, 2018;Schirpke et al., 2019). Historically, these socioeconomic transformations have shaped the composition and structure of the landscape in a closely related, mutually dependent manner (Marull et al., 2023;Tello, 1999Tello, , 2013Walsh, 2005;Pèlachs et al., 2009;Gassiot & Pèlachs, 2017). ...
Industrialization and the subsequent transition to a tourism-based economy, together with the globalization of the agri-food system, have transformed how natural resources are used, the relationship between the local population and the landscape, and the biodiversity of mountainous areas. This article analyses the agrarian and environmental history of the area surrounding Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park, in the Catalan Pyrenees, from the early twentieth century to the present day, through oral testimonies, old photographs, demographic and socioeconomic data, and a GIS-based map analysis of changes in land use and the location of the resident population. The results show that economic tertiarization and the end of integrated productive land management have given rise to a forest transition towards less landscape diversity. This threatens the entire range of landscape ecosystem services that make the area appealing for a more diversified and sustainable mountain tourism model.
... This is especially important from the perspective of proper management, and especially the adoption of tailored policies for problem, peripheral rural areas. Lack of consideration for the spatial diversification of the areas and their local qualities is thought to be a significant reason for the inefficiency of numerous development projects for rural areas (Marsden, 1999;Ray, 2002). Finally, the "hot-spots" model successfully addresses the challenge of drafting models by providing a systematic approach that could be applied for analyses in other peripheral regions. ...
This article aims to present a comprehensive conceptual model that elucidates the multifaceted transformations occurring in peripheral rural areas. Once subject to depopulation and decline, these regions now exhibit signs of rural revival, as exemplified by the Kłodzko region in the Sudetes. The study employs an interdisciplinary approach, integrating geography and sociology, and utilizes a mixed methods research design. It encompasses both desk research of secondary data and the analysis of primary data, including field surveys, quantitative and qualitative social surveys, and interviews. Drawing upon empirical data and an extensive literature review, this study culminates in the development of a conceptual model that captures the essence of the changes in peripheral rural areas. By exploring the factors that enable depopulated rural regions to embark on a trajectory of development, this paper analyzes influences at various spatial scales: global, national, regional, and local. Consequently, it delineates diverse forms of rural revitalization, encompassing demographic, social, economic/functional, and spatial/landscape aspects. Of particular significance are the pivotal roles played by endogenous factors such as territorial and social capital. These factors have proven instrumental in reshaping the influence of external driving forces, resulting in a high degree of spatial diversity within the revitalization processes. The proposed "hot-spots" model of rural revival holds promise for informing the management of rural areas, aiding the formulation of policies and strategies for rural development that are tailored to local constraints.
... Sustainability refers to the ability of a destination to maintain production over time despite long-term limitations and pressures. It has been pointed out that rural tourism draws in very few visitors, that it does not need a developed infrastructure and suprastructure, and that the tourists are usually genuinely interested in the local culture and tradition [78][79][80]. However, the question is: are all these forms of rural tourism sustainable? ...
Farm tourism is often considered a form of tourism whose main characteristic is sustainability. Nevertheless, the existing literature also provides a partial approach, where the development of farm tourism is analyzed within the context of sustainable development and crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the paper is to analyze environmental, social, and economic factors as vectors for the sustainable development of farm tourism by applying a specially designed SFT model. An empirical study was carried out on a sample of nine farms in the peri-urban area of the city of Novi Sad (the Republic of Serbia). Sustainable development was analyzed using dynamic social, economic, and environmental indicators with the aim of finding a model that could be used to ensure more stable economic income for the population, social equality, and environmental protection. By applying the SFT model, it was determined that the current position of farm tourism is not fully compliant with the aims of sustainable development due to its clearly dominant economic dimension and less developed social and environmental sustainability. The results were further analyzed with the aim of achieving a balanced development of farm tourism, which needs to be based on the continued application of the concept of sustainability. The results could be used by public and private institutions in the tourism sector, as well as creators of legal regulations and strategies in the field of sustainable and rural tourism, with the aim of further developing and improving its sustainability.
... Bell [7] has identified three main types of idyllic landscapes: "farmscape", which includes artisanal elements of agriculture landscape; "wildscape", which involves the ideas of pre-human and precultural wildness; and "adventurescape", which presents the rural as a place for physical activities and adventures. All types reflect the increasing consumption function of the countryside [35,36]. ...
A social constructivist approach has been applied in our case study analysis in order to explore the sense of place and the perception of landscape of local inhabitants. Fieldwork was carried out in three rural Hungarian microregions selected on the basis of a typology developed through statistical analysis. The central question of the study assumes that the way people name the place where they live is an expression of their sense of place and that it is related to their perceptions about narrower locality and also the general attitudes they have towards the rural or urban landscape. To prove this hypothesis, we examined, in three microregions, how people name their own living area, how they relate to the countryside and rural way of life, and how they describe their own locality in their own words (positive and negative aspects). Based on analyses, three different landscape perception types were outlined and were seen to be interconnected with three ways of place naming: (i) a “close-to-nature” perception in relation to geographical place names; (ii) a “cultural-historical” identification in connection with cultural names and (iii) “lifestyle-service” focused landscape perception linked to administrative place naming.
... This approach, known as productivism, aimed to produce ample food at low prices, as the Common Agricultural Policy [CAP] emphasised. However, Marsden (1999) argues that the countryside should not be solely viewed as a site for food production but also as a space for consumption, leisure, and residence. Ilbery and Bowler (1998) propose a post-productivist countryside that involves the diversification of agricultural activities and extensification. ...
Across the European Union, farm modernisation results in vacant farm buildings in agricultural areas. This is an issue at the crossroads of rural development and spatial planning. The debate often revolves around the options of either demolishing these buildings or re-using them for residential purposes. There is less emphasis, however, on re-using vacant farm buildings to create new employment opportunities in rural areas. This article analyses two cases in the Netherlands to explore the commercial re-use of vacant farm buildings in relation to rural development. The analysis specifically focuses on governance issues, the contribution of different types of commercial re-use to rural communities, and how re-use helps in retaining or attracting young people. The findings suggest that commercial re-use of vacant farm buildings can attract new entrepreneurs, jobs, and liveliness to rural areas. This is likelier if local government efforts and local entrepreneurship align. The cases also show limitations of commercial re-use in relation to the potential for wider uptake and the risk of enhancing rural gentrification. This raises the question of whether the current planning systems can deal with the upcoming complex processes of rural transformation.
... Según Scott y Anderson (1992), el espíritu empresarial rural ha sido el resultado de un profundo cambio en el paisaje rural de las regiones que antes se dedicaban por completo a la agricultura. Este cambio se caracteriza por la diversificación económica de las regiones rurales, por lo que la experiencia de la ruralidad se ha convertido, al menos en parte, en un espacio de consumo (Marsden, 1999). En los países industrializados de Europa occidental, como Escocia, la huida de los grandes centros urbanos a las zonas rurales se hizo realidad a finales de los años 70 y 80 (Scott y Anderson, 1992), cuando los empresarios grandes y pequeños encontraron más económico trasladarse a centros más pequeños. ...
¿Qué factores determinan el desempeño de las pequeñas empresas con cinco o menos empleados? Con base en un marco conceptual ya utilizado en Argentina y en investigaciones anteriores, se utilizó una muestra de 174 empresarios mexicanos de dos diferentes estados (Jalisco y Nuevo León) para probar un conjunto de nueve hipótesis. Las variables dependientes de desempeño puestas en prueba fueron una objetiva, las ventas y una subjetiva, la evaluación personal de desempeño (o éxito) de los empresarios. Las variables independientes consideradas incluirán las características personales, sociológicas y organizativas. Los resultados se obtuvieron a partir de dos modelos de regresión lineal sobre dos variables dependientes. En cuanto a las características personales, las variables que se relacionaron positivamente con las ventas incluyeron 3 componentes de Capital Humano (Nivel de estudio, experiencia empresarial y horas semanales trabajadas) en el autoempleo por necesidad económica, y la pertenencia al género masculino. En cuanto a las variables organizativas, los empresarios con mayores ventas habían obtenido préstamos bancarios y habrían impulsado su negocio (por oposición de empezarlo desde cero) y tenían razones de necesidades económicas (extrínsecas) razones para estar en el negocio. Los empresarios que trabajan muchas horas y habían obtenidos ayudas del gobierno eran propensos a estar más satisfechos de su propio rendimiento que los demás.
... The lack of rural elites hampers the quality of talent and decision-making capacity within rural governance, hindering its effectiveness and sustainable development. Scholars have increasingly recognized this issue, and research is now focused on cultivating and attracting rural elites to enhance rural governance [32]. The government has also intensified efforts to nurture and attract rural talents by providing training programs and establishing incentive mechanisms, aiming to create platforms and opportunities for rural elites to contribute to and enhance rural governance capacity. ...
Effective rural governance is the foundation for achieving rural revitalization and promoting the modernization of China’s system and governance capacity in the new era. The elucidation of the influencing factors and driving pathways underlying effective rural governance has significant importance in facilitating the advancement of rural revitalization. Drawing upon the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), this study introduces an analytical framework of “human actor dimension—non-human actor dimension”. The study employs the fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparison Analysis (fsQCA) to explore the effective governance pathways within 20 typical cases of rural governance. The study reveals that a cooperative-based collective economy is a necessary condition for effective governance, while possessing a resource advantage is a core condition. Villager autonomy, local culture, and new technology are marginal conditions for effective governance, while the absence of elite participation fails to promote effective governance. The combination of human variables and resource compacts gives rise to “human actor-resource compacts” and “non-human actor-resource compacts”. The study further elaborates on the efficacious model of rural governance through three multifactor driving pathways: “human actor-non-human actor resource sparse linkage”. The research emphasizes the importance of fortifying rural governance and revitalization through the cultivation of relationships, enhancing government management systems, embracing technological innovation, supporting community economies, and advocating mechanisms that empower rural elites and talent.
... Increasing demands made by society on rural areas as sites for tourism and recreation as well as quality and regional food production have transformed the countryside from a (predominantly) production to a (predominantly) consumption space (Halfacree, 2006;Slee, 2005). As a result, the countryside has become a multifunctional space for leisure, recreation, working and living (EC, 2007;Marsden, 1999). ...
... Increasing demands made by society on rural areas as sites for tourism and recreation as well as quality and regional food production have transformed the countryside from a (predominantly) production to a (predominantly) consumption space (Halfacree, 2006;Slee, 2005). As a result, the countryside has become a multifunctional space for leisure, recreation, working and living (EC, 2007;Marsden, 1999). ...
... In the current era of economic globalization, RLC has become an unavoidable trend in many countries. Rural areas will determine their benefits or losses from this trend based on their Land 2023, 12, 1194 2 of 14 capacity for innovation and adaptation [15]. Therefore, exploring the factors that influence rural commodification is crucial for understanding its spatial complexity and formulating appropriate rural development plans. ...
The rapid spread of capitalism in rural areas has facilitated rural land commodification (RLC). While some scholars have studied RLC, few have analyzed its spatial characteristics. Taking Shijiazhuang city as a study area, this paper applies Moran’s I method and spatial regression models to analyze township-scale RLC patterns and driving factors. The study investigates four common pathways of RLC: production-oriented farmland, tourism-oriented farmland, rural homesteads, and construction land commodification which are predominantly found in urban fringe areas. The distribution of RLC demonstrates positive spatial autocorrelation, characterized by spatial aggregation and polarization. Population, economic level, agriculture, and location conditions are identified as key drivers, and their specific mechanisms vary across development pathways. Future efforts should focus on ensuring balanced and coordinated RLC development in accordance with regional conditions and capacity, while also addressing the implications arising from the coexistence of RLC with rural aging and poverty.
... The nature of rural places is dependent on a range of social processes and material concerns, including the location of a rural place relative to larger metropolitan centres; the local economic structure and activities, including the types of local industries that dominate in a particular rural locale-for example, whether it is a farming, manufacturing, service sector, or tourism town; the nature of the physical environment, inclusive of topography, climate, and other natural conditions or features; human resources or population profile; the type and quality of in-place infrastructure, including those that connect places; and the degree to which a rural place is embedded within broader networks (Isserman, Feser, and Warren 2009;Li, Westlund, and Liu 2019;Marsden 1999; Meijers and Van der Wouw 2019). Thus, the kinds of social and economic opportunities and resources available to residents-in-place vary between different rural places. ...
The phenomenon and implications of stigma have been recognized across many contexts and in relation to many discrete issues or conditions. The notion of spatial stigma has been developed within stigma literature, although the importance and relevance of spatial stigma for rural places and rural people have been largely neglected. This is the case even within fields of inquiry like public and rural health, which are expansively tasked with addressing the socio-structural drivers of health inequalities. In this paper, we argue that developing a better understanding of rural place stigma is critical for addressing contemporary patterns of spatial injustice and health inequalities affecting rural communities globally. Drawing on international literature and examples from the reported experiences of rurally living Australians and news and other media, we present an analysis highlighting the power in rural place stigma. In doing so, we build a case for the relevance and importance of interrogating rural place stigma, especially in the fields of public and rural health, for changing the conditions within-and the broader positioning of-the rural in the public and political landscapes.
... While in a first phase the critique was mainly focused on resistance to globalisation processes (Van der Ploeg, 2012) and to oppose endogenous development to exogenous development through 'distantiation' from technology and markets (Van der Ploeg, 1994), the evolution of these approaches has strived to combine tradition with innovation (Zagata et al., 2020), refusal of the capitalist logic with engagement with markets (Van der Ploeg, 1994), social innovation with technological innovation (Bosworth et al., 2020). Post-productivist approaches (Marsden, 1999;Ward, 1993;Wilson, 2001) have shown how the countryside can generate a multiplicity of goods and services, emphasizing how symbolic and place-sensitive production is necessary for the integration of mountain areas on global markets (Brunori, 2006). This 'neo-endogenous' perspective (Ray, 2006) has inspired several successful initiatives across Europe (Bosworth et al., 2016(Bosworth et al., , 2020Dax, 2020). ...
Mountain areas have been the testbed for sustainable development models focused on balancing their vulnerability and the value of their natural, cultural, and social resources. In these areas, the continuous adaptative interaction between bio-geophysical and socio-cultural processes assembles Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) characterized by a great diversity of ecosystems and land uses, which provide substantial support for the livelihoods of mountain communities and essential ecosystem services for uplands and lowlands. In this paper, we take value chains to be the operative units of analysis to examine human-natural systems interactions in mountain areas. Value chains mobilize resources and connect actors beyond territorial boundaries and economic sectors to generate economic, environmental, and social values. Strategies for local development of these areas should direct attention to value generation activities and require a systemic, integrated and assets-based approach which explores the potential synergies emerging from the coordination of the diversity of local specificities and considers the opportunities and threats emerging from external sub-systems. This paper proposes a novel comparative framework to characterize value chains contribution to resilient and sustainable development of SESs in mountain areas. This framework is meant for researchers and policy analysts to identify the role value chains might accomplish for a better balance between natural resource conservation and sustainable socio-economic development in European (remote) rural areas. Two mountain food value chains are used to illustrate the framework and test its efficacy. The cases depict two value chain configurations which result in different social, economic and environmental outcomes for the sustainable development of the SES.
... Increasing demands made by society on rural areas as sites for tourism and recreation as well as quality and regional food production have transformed the countryside from a (predominantly) production to a (predominantly) consumption space (Halfacree, 2006;Slee, 2005). As a result, the countryside has become a multifunctional space for leisure, recreation, working and living (EC, 2007;Marsden, 1999). ...
For a bakery, just like for any other business, it is important what business model is applied and how efficient it is. The chapter considers different approaches to understanding business models and their typology. Considering the category of efficiency from an economic and managerial approach, the authors outline the features of individual and relative measurement of efficiency. The chapter describes such relative efficiency methods as productivity indices, corrected least squares (COLS), stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), data envelopment analysis (DEA), and free disposal hull (FDH). In summary, the FDH method has been found to be the most preferred approach for analyzing the efficiency of business models and identifying acceptable benchmarks for improving the efficiency of bakeries.The focus of metric techniques is on econometric analysis and identifying the functional shape of the business’s production function (or a function of costs, or profits). This function is built using regression analysis. The key advantages of non-parametric ways to assessing efficiency over parametric methods is that they do not need specifying the form of the production function (costs, etc.).
... Increasing demands made by society on rural areas as sites for tourism and recreation as well as quality and regional food production have transformed the countryside from a (predominantly) production to a (predominantly) consumption space (Halfacree, 2006;Slee, 2005). As a result, the countryside has become a multifunctional space for leisure, recreation, working and living (EC, 2007;Marsden, 1999). ...
This chapter describes a possible methodology for measuring performance of baking business and consider cases of its application to bakeries from opposite ends of the European continent: Portugal and Ukraine. Considering methods from appropriate literature, a 10-stages methodology for measuring and analysing the performance of bakery business was suggested by the author. The work of the proposed methodology was demonstrated on the example of existing one Portuguese and 25 Ukrainian bakeries according to data for recent years, including 2020, the year of the onset and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.KeywordsMeasuring performanceBalanced ScorecardData envelopment analysisEfficiency growth potentialBakery
... Eusébio and colleagues [12] describe cultural festivals as a consumptive way to use the countryside. Marsden [13] explained that the countryside has been transforming from a place for production to a place for consumption and leisure. If cultural festivals in the countryside Sustainability 2023, 15, 6921 2 of 20 mainly attract well-off urban citizens without benefiting local citizens, the countryside may be gentrified against the interests of local citizens [14]. ...
The Oldambt area, in the northeast of the Netherlands, has recently suffered from depopulation and a negative image. However, four high-quality cultural festivals have been developed in or moved towards the area during the last decade. The festivals have different organisational models. This paper assesses how they contribute to rural regeneration through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders around the festivals and local youth. It adds to the existing literature by introducing the concept of rural regeneration, stemming from neo-endogenous rural development, into festival research and by conducting multiple case studies in one area. The paper investigates the festivals’ local legitimacy, rootedness, and ability to create interconnectedness. The findings suggest that the festivals are locally supported, use local resources, and benefit the area, notwithstanding their organisational model. The festivals also help to establish networks within and outside of Oldambt, and there is thus a positive effect on regeneration. The recent more positive developments in Oldambt may be related to the organisation of the festivals.
... Research has repeated seeming truisms about agglomeration and institutional thickness with limited empirical validation (Gibson & Brennan-Horley 2018, Huber & Fitjar 2018, Shearmur 2012. Meanwhile, long associations between rural areas and agriculture, and a 'consumption countryside' (Marsden 1999) based on food and tourism can constrain innovative thinking about more diverse 'lines of flight' (Willett 2021) for rural places, people, and futures. Rural areas are often portrayed as places where there is no innovation or, at best, where the existence of severe constraints limits any innovation process (Gluckler et al. 2022). ...
The European Commission’s long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas identifies several areas of action towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas and communities by 2040. A flagship action on research and innovation aims to help tackle the challenges towards fulfilling rural potential. An annual Startup Village Forum is part of this action. The Forum intends to promote knowledge exchange and cooperation activities and to work as an open and inclusive space where institutions and stakeholders can meet, discuss and shape actions for startup-driven innovation in rural areas. Drawing upon the scientific literature, in this report we develop the Startup Village concept and define it as "A place (or a network of small places) that embraces innovation and ambitious entrepreneurship as a way to unlock development potential and support wellbeing in rural areas". Next, we explore the key enabling factors of Startup Villages- discussing in particular the pivotal role played by the ecosystem in enabling innovation and entrepreneurship - and outline the Startup Village Forum’s facilitating role.eur
... In the last few decades, the action space for agricultural activities is literally being narrowed in the rural areas of the Netherlands. As in other Western European countries, the opportunities for agricultural businesses are being limited by a number of macro developments (Marsden 1999): ...
... Therefore, the need for sustainable food production systems necessitates the rapprochement of agricultural practices, which should holistically incorporate the interaction of environmental, economic, and societal dimensions within agroecosystems . Agriculture production systems need to evolve and change from the conventional, often mono-disciplinary, "productivism-oriented" model (Wilson, 2007) to a "post-productivism" model, which focuses on environmental management and "production of nature" (Marsden, 1999). ...
In this communication, Earth temperature series in air and soil are analysed and features that become convoluted with the known earth cycles of day-night and its orbit around the sun are separated. Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are also considered. Earth weather changes (e.g., cloud, wind, rain and atmospheric pressure) in real time affect daily temperatures in a complex manner. A statistical model that accounts for autocorrelation and linear trend is evaluated together with empirical description of the series. Further graphical analysis is used to enhance remaining features and extreme events. Gaussian bell-shaped curve modelling of each year’s daily profile is described. Further, Gaussian parameter based anomalies are introduced together with soil anomalies at 30 cm depth. Semi-variogram components are shown along with folded percentile or mountain plots for data visualisation. The Chow test is described for detection of any structural changes in data series. For much of the statistical analysis, temperatures observed daily are most appropriate because they carry variation due to earth, sea and sky weather over a single day-night earth rotation cycle. Also, the ever changing earth position along its orbital path captures a varying amount of solar energy, hence the shape of the temperature cycle as one sees it. Human activity and climate changing factors appear to affect temperature cycles within and over years. A double bell-shaped Gaussian curve fit can indicate climate changing effects of Earth life.
... Representing an example of post-productivist consumption countryside (Marsden, 1999;Argent, 2002) that is focused on commercial goods acquired in the market, consumption of second-home owners provides rural communities with income and employment (Green et al., 1996). The questions related to second-home owners' length of stay, the number of visits to the second home over the year and their consumption pattern in the host municipality are central from the perspective of local development (Oliveira et al., 2015). ...
... As such, rural areas are viewed as places that provide food and fresh water, recreational and leisure opportunities, and space to put the waste of modern societies. In rural studies, these two perspectives are combined in the idea that rural areas today are approached by way of consumption (e.g. by tourists), rather than of production (Marsden, 1999). Rønningen (2016) offered a further perspective on opportunities in the countryside, observing that while post-productivist social practices are clearly relevant, there are also continuous or even newly strengthened material practices (not only) in rural areas. ...
Full text link: https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/EDQUE6HHSSUPXSUACYHI/full
This paper introduces and discusses regional opportunity structures as a concept for analysing the interlinkages between structural conditions in space, social inequalities, and people’s agency, with a focus on non-metropolitan areas. The concept adds value in the following ways: (1) it emphasises the regional scale as an important spatial context of access to opportunities; (2) it accounts for the complexity of the regional context, which provides a plethora of opportunities; (3) it recognises the interdependencies of regional effects and other drivers of inequality; and (4) it takes the regional level seriously as a background of the agency of a region's inhabitants.
... Rural versus urban contexts According to Scott and Anderson (1992), rural entrepreneurship has resulted from a profound change in the rural landscape of regions formerly entirely devoted to agriculture. This change is characterized by the economic diversification of rural regions, whereby the experience of rurality has become, at least in part, a consumption space (Marsden, 1999). In industrialized countries of Western Europe such as Scotland, the flight from large urban centres to rural areas became a reality in the late 1970s and 1980s (Scott and Anderson, 1992) when employers large and small found it more economical to move to smaller centres. ...
What determines performance among small businesses with five employees or less in Mexico? Based on a conceptual framework already used in Argentina and on previous research, a sample of 174 Mexican entrepreneurs from two different states (Jalisco and Nuevo León) was used to test a set of nine hypotheses. The dependent performance variables tested were an objective one, sales, and a subjective one, the personal assessment of performance (or success) of entrepreneurs. The independent variables considered included personal, sociological, and organizational characteristics. Results were obtained from two linear regression models on the two dependent variables. In terms of personal characteristics, variables that were positively related to sales included three Human Capital components (Education level, Business experience, and Weekly hours worked), having been pushed into self-employment by economic necessity, and belonging to the male gender. Regarding organizational variables, entrepreneurs with higher sales had obtained bank loans and had purchased their business (by opposition to starting it from scratch) and had economic necessity (extrinsic) reasons to be in business. Respondents who worked long hours and had obtained government support were more likely to be more satisfied of their own performance than others.
... Wilson (2002) discusses the overall applicability of the post-productivism concept across the EU. In fact, many studies have identified similarities between agricultural and rural development in the UK and in other European countries (Hoggart et al., 1995;Buller, 2000), and a similar process of rural diversification is taking place in different parts of Europe (Van der Ploeg, 1997;Marsden, 1999). ...
Influenced by globalization, rural transition in developed Western countries has experienced processes of productivism, post-productivism, and multifunctional development. By contrast, rural transition in most developing countries has been accompanied by rapid urbanization, which has become a core topic in geography research. As the world's largest developing country, China has undergone profound development since the reform and opening-up. Moreover, rural spaces in some eastern coastal areas have entered the stage of reconstruction after decades of industrialization and urbanization. This paper takes Suzhou as the case area and measures the process of rural transition from 1990 to 2015 by constructing an index system. It then analyzes the characteristics of space-time evolution using exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) methods to reveal the influence of economic and social development on rural transition. The results show that rural transition, which generally entails the weakening of rurality and enhancing of urbanity on a macro scale, tends to be heterogeneous across different regions on a micro scale. This paper argues that multifunc-tionality will be the main future trend of rural transition in rapidly urbanizing areas. The experience in Suzhou could provide an example for establishing policies on sustainable development in rural spaces and achieving urban-rural co-governance.
... In his approach, the backwardness of the Third World is not explained by the slowness of modernization, but by the dependency relations created in the process of modernization (CHAYANOV 1986). Regarding the aforementioned processes of transformation in rural settlements, Terry Marsden writes that the self-sufficient village has transitioned into a rural area centered on consumption (MARSDEN 1999). At the same time, it is also worth mentioning Imre Kovách's work summarizing the process of transformation in rural society in the 20th century, in which the author writes that what we call rural areas are those where there are no peasants, only a memory of the peasantry in various forms and institutions (KOVÁCH 2012). ...
The village today is only partially what we used to know of in the past, our previous image rooted in a sinking world, nothing but memories. In the 21st century, even in rural communities, the daily routine, practices and strategies of economic life are determined by the processes of modernization and globalization, in conjunction with information and communication technologies along with the wide-ranging proliferation of digital devices. It can be said that life in the 21st century village also shows a simultaneous constraint of modernization (the constraint of evolution and change) and the presence of masses incapable of changing (even if their number is continuously decreasing). The coexistence and confrontation of these opposing forces and ideologies characterizes the Hungarian/Transylvanian rural space in Romania during the 21st century. All these have led to the degradation of previous community patterns, resulting in the faltering position of tradition as well as a major change in the role it plays in the life of said communities.
... Agrotourism is a type of rural tourism referring to specific activities related to agriculture (Kizos and Losifidas, 2007). Moreover, Marsden (1999) has also earlier argued that agrotourism can also be linked to activities within certain local traditions and landscapes. This paper aims to fill this gap in mainstream gentrification literature through empirically based evidence from a case study of tourism led rural gentrification in the Mediterranean coastal regions. ...
... The local environment features prominently in these changes, as previously agricultural producers are metamorphosing into 'landcarers', tourist hosts, caretakers of cultural heritage and still other forms of life. In short, the rural landscape is now entangled in much more diverse sets of production-consumption linkages than before, involving the marketing of symbolic meaning as well as actual produce, thus making the rural landscape as much a landscape of consumption as of production (Marsden 1999). In short, post-productivism entails "a much more polyvalent rural scene" (Marsden 1998: 107) than the productivist regime which preceded it. ...
For much of the 20th Century, rural Iceland was influenced by productivist (and protectionist) agricultural policy. Internal contradictions and external changes led to a partial review of this policy, with increasing limits put on agricultural production. Regions and sectors have been unevenly impacted by changes in the regulatory regime. Over the past two decades, a change towards a ‘post-productivist’ environment has necessitated a reflexive rethinking, among rural communities, of regional and local identities and coping strategies. The author contends that new forms of rural identity are emerging, and new networks of production and consumption are indeed being successfully created, but that success depends to a large extent on community dynamics and local culture. Some communities and/or some households within communities are refocusing on leisure and tourism; others on ecologically sustainable production; and others still on soil reclamation and reafforestation. Examples of this local re-creation of rural space and its relationship with regional policy are discussed in the paper.
In recent years, Catalonia and Barcelona’s various government levels have actively participated in food planning processes, responding to both a global trend and local debates on food production and agriculture since the late 20th century. The notion of a peri-urban ‘agrarian space’ surfaces in numerous documents and plans, representing a distinct, tangible unit of production and landscape that can be preserved, planned, developed, and managed—a unit with its own socioeconomic, environmental, and territorial qualities. This paper aims to share insights from examining the food planning panorama in Barcelona’s metropolitan area, focusing on specific agrarian spaces. It further hypotheses on the role of these spaces within the socio-ecological transitions and as key elements for strengthening local food systems. Moreover, it suggests their potential for enhancing urban biodiversity by adopting less detrimental agricultural methods, emphasizing an agroecological perspective.
Parco Agricolo Sud is a fringe area shaped by restrictive land use regulations and its proximity to Milan. The result is an accelerated urban-rural transition with high rural spatial qualities that enables the territory to be used and envisioned from different perspectives, often colliding and contested. From that of the citizen, the administration, the farmer, and the entrepreneur. By identifying these interpretations through grounded endeavors, this article attempts to unveil new relations and local narratives shaping this territory that can contribute to reenvisioning its future and pending plan.
https://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/articolo/75099
This article examines landscape stewardship from the perspective of landscape biography and focuses on different outcomes on how individual and collective stewardship connected to local place attachment and historic understandings are leveraged as local knowledge in sustaining locally important landscapes. The analysis is based on semi‐structured interviews with local people and active residents in three neighbouring villages of south‐eastern Estonia. Particular attention is paid to their place attachment and self‐actualisation in landscape materialities, such as housing, village centre, water bodies and village borders. To bring the diverse types of knowledge connected to landscape stewardship to the forefront, the study suggests careful differentiation between neo‐endogenous community governance and place‐based wisdom of local stakeholders. This differentiation indicates that stewardship should be identified as a micro‐policy term that is oriented towards a collective platform of the information exchange for local capacity building. This would lead to multiple and resilient place‐based know‐how related to territories, political networks and associated land use discourses.
Ecologically based weed management emphasizes the use of ecological principles and practices to minimize weed infestations and crop loses or damages while maintaining and/or enhancing ecosystem health. Weed management practices have become closely linked to social and economic rather than biological factors, particularly in conventional agriculture, where economic pressures have led to simplification of cropping systems and the replacement of alternative methods of weed management with synthetic chemical options. As a result, the evolution of agroecosystems and weed management strategies, an important part of the agricultural activities, is not progressing in parallel. Ecologically based weed management system accommodates several key components. First, understanding the ecology of the weeds and the ecosystem in which they are growing (e.g. soil type, moisture levels, plant community structure, and disturbance history). Second, promoting healthy plant communities, minimizing soil disturbance, using plant-based strategies to suppress weed growth, and implementing early detection and rapid response programs to quickly address new weed outbreaks. Third, emphasizing the use of nonchemical and low-impact control methods whenever possible such as cover crops, crop rotations, conservation tillage, and soil amendments with or without herbicides as constituents of a weed management program. Therefore, ecologically based weed management offers provisional, regulatory, cultural, and supportive services for human well-being and healthy environment.
This research endeavored to provide an analysis of the barriers related to the agri-food supply chain in the context of the Indian agro-industry. The methodology used is based on an Interpretive Structural Modeling with a Matrix of Cross Impacts-Multiplication Applied to a Classification (MICMAC) technique. There is a need for specificity in defining Agro-food supply chain barriers before they can be eliminated. Therefore, the goal of this study is to look at the factors which are emerging as constraints to the growth of the agri-food supply chain. The findings show that transparency and traceability, inadequate infrastructure, difficulty in implementing government schemes, and inadequate risk management measures constitute important barriers to agri-food supply chains. This study provides an understanding of supply-chain barriers related to the agro-food industry. Managers/owners of agricultural enterprises can use the findings of this study to more easily identify the prominent barriers which affect agri-food supply chains. Furthermore, this study can be used as a guide to deal with the supply chain problems facing agri-enterprises in the face of high demand for agri-products.
As rural communities experience amenity-driven population growth and globalizing cultures and economic systems, community land-use regimes must react to and implement emerging land-use ideologies. A growing community must balance the interests of the entities that benefit from growth – i.e., the growth machine – and the potentially restructuring community understandings of the purpose of land. This conflict is particularly intense in areas that benefit both economically and culturally from high quality natural amenities – one part of the community might seek to increase development to benefit from those amenities, while another might seek to protect them. This article engages in a theoretical and empirical exploration that seeks to answer a single question: Why, in the face of those competing land-use ideologies, might a community choose to adopt a more resource-protective, or resource-sustaining, land-use regime? This article follows three distinct theoretical pathways to where they converge in two specific communities, and then engages in an empirical assessment of the land-use conditions on the ground in those communities. I ultimately conclude that because a community can only understand the value of a particular choice by experiencing its effects, a legal evolution toward resource-protective, or resource-sustaining, land-use regimes only occurs after the valued resources are harmed – a result we might like to avoid. For that reason, the crux on the path toward sustainability is to accurately imagine – before directly witnessing – the consequences of the alternatives available to us.
Rural women may face several obstacles while attempting to participate in the transformation process. In terms of gender, rural regions are more traditional. Special programmes of assistance (technical and financial) to overcome constraints should be developed and designed to meet the needs of rural women in order to allow them an active entrepreneurial restructuring of their communities, to begin to develop their own ventures, to expand their already existing businesses, or to function as social entrepreneurs, as their number today remains below the potential one. As a result, unique programmes of support (technical and financial) to overcome these obstacles should be devised and geared to fit the requirements of rural women in order for them to play an active role. The aim of this study is to determine the significance of factors of economic grow on female employment and entrepreneurship. As a background a Schumpeterian theory of economic growth was adopted.KeywordsRural womenEntrepreneurshipInnovationJob creationDevelopment
The need for food and feed has created immense pressure on agricultural production systems, with emphasis on conventional agricultural practices, especially these that threaten the sustainability of the entire production system. Current cultivation practices are responsible for adding 2.33–12.4 t ha−1 CO2 to the atmosphere. Burning crop residues also adds air pollutants to the atmosphere and causes a significant loss of soil organic carbon and vital plant nutrients. Furthermore, animal-based activities related to manure storage and its application in crops also add approximately 12% GHGs of the total agricultural GHGs emissions. These practices have necessitated the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices which provide soil cover, enhance soil organic matter, C-sequestering, GHG emissions savings and reduce soil erosion such as these that incorporate crop residues into the soil. Agricultural residues are abundantly available and have great potential; if properly used since they can significantly contribute to C-sequestration, GHG emission savings, resulting in a profitable and environmentally friendly agriculture. On average, the crop's C-sequestering potential is reported at 6343.7 kg C ha−1, of which 4030 kg C ha−1 originate from edible products and 2313.6 kg C ha−1 from crop residues retained in the field. Total GHG emission savings from cattle slurry digestion equals 34 kg CO2 eq. t−1 of slurry. In another study, 7.7 kg CO2 ha−1 yr−1 GHG emissions savings have been reported due to digestate application in a grassland-based production systems.
The present review considers the benefits and significant issues of agriculture residue usage in terms of environmental quality and human health. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of agricultural production systems is also discussed. LCA offers alternatives concerning the suitability of agricultural residues in improving major agronomic and husbandry operations, such as crop nutrition and soil fertility, seed and seed germination, and weed control. They are also indicative regarding the margin in terms of GHG emission savings for improvement of food and agricultural production systems sustainability.
Deconstructing the spatial characteristics of the rural in the new era is the prerequisite for building a rural spatial governance system. The rural spatial characteristics with multi-scale and their relating governance paths would effectively enable the modernization of the national governance system. Based on the comprehensive, regional and flowing paradigmatic thinking of geography, this paper deconstructs the characteristics of multi-scale rural space, by identifing its inherent logics of operationalization, summarizing its governance dilemmas, and constructing a multi-scale rural space governance framework based on the geographic analysis paradigm. It also explores the current feasible governance paths, and constructs a multi-scale rural space governance system that contains the research procedure, namely, “characteristics identification—dilemma analysis—governance framework—governance path”. The findings of this study are as follows: (1) to analyze the logic of multi-scale rural space operationalization based on geographical comprehensive, regional and flowing thinking, it is necessary to decipher the mechanisms of scale comprehensiveness, differentiation and flowing with regard to the characteristics of multi-scale rural space. (2) inadequate integrated urban–rural spatial integration and poor spatial mobility networks, as well as the neglect of the significance of rural spatial heterogeneities, are the key dilemmas in China’s rural spatial governance which need to be resolved. (3) The multi-scale rural spatial governance framework of “comprehensive spatial governance – spatial zoning governance – spatial mobility governance” can effectively solve the problems of urban–rural spatial integration, regional spatial coordination and spatial network blockage. (4) The comprehensive governance of urban–rural space, the regional governance of innovative use control, and the liquidity governance of balanced allocation of development rights are feasible paths for multi-scale rural space governance. In general, clarifying the mult
Rural places throughout the world are frequently sites of amenity-oriented consumption, as much as they are sites of agricultural production, and this is increasingly true for parts of the Global South. The implied assumption, however, has generally been that consumers of rural landscapes are socially or culturally distinct from, and even in conflict with, those living off the land as farmers. This paper, however, presents the phenomena of intra-cultural consumption of an Indonesian rural landscape, whereby place-based cultural identities within a diasporic community are motivating ceremonially-linked remittances and wealth redistribution. This is subsequently supporting a range of non-productivist rural livelihoods. These findings highlight the need to better understand how redistributive practices within spatially dislocated agrarian communities in late-industrializing economies are reshaping processes of contemporary rural change.
This study integrates life-course theory and mobility research to explore livability factors that attract migrants in different age groups between rural and urban counties in the United States. Place livability is measured by economy, housing market, natural amenity, neighborhood, civic and social engagement, and health. Migrants are grouped into young, middle-aged, and older adults. Results of Structural Equation Modeling show that, as people age, the attractiveness of place shifts from a focus on the economy and housing market to the neighborhood and engagement. Rural communities, which rank the highest on engagement, attract working aged and older migrants. Natural amenities and lower housing costs also attract migrants moving to rural counties. This study suggests that the natural environment and social environment could make up for the lack of accessible physical design in rural communities. Affordable housing and an inclusive community are key to retaining and increasing the population in rural communities.
Na base da emergência do que se convencionou chamar por “nova ruralidade” há um deslizamento no conteúdo social e na qualidade da articulação das suas três dimensões definidoras fundamentais: as relações rural–urbano, a proximidade com a natureza e os laços interpessoais. Os significados maiores dessa mudança são, de um lado, a erosão do paradigma agrário que sustentou as visões predominantes sobre o rural ao longo de todo o último século e, de outro, a intensificação de um longo e heterogêneo processo de racionalização da vida rural. Um processo através do qual o rural, em vez de desaparecer, se integra por completo à dinâmica mais ampla dos processos de desenvolvimento, por meio tanto da unificação dos diferentes mercados (de trabalho, de produtos e serviços, e de bens simbólicos) como também por meio da criação de instituições que regulam as formas de uso social desses espaços, agora amalgamando interesses que têm por portadores sociais segmentos originários também de outras esferas. Este artigo discute algumas dessas idéias, que conformam a tese de doutorado do autor, a partir de uma análise da longa evolução das relações rural–urbano, contribuindo assim para se pensar os processos de desenvolvimento rural para além de um viés eminentemente normativo.
A new form of rural governance is emerging in more peripheral parts of the UK. As European Structural Fund monies come to play a greater role in financing development projects, so new ways of making decisions about rural development are being initiated. The rural development component of the Structural Funds (Objective 5b) requires that development objectives be prioritized by means of a ‘programming approach’ which brings together a wide range of actors in new institutional arrangements. This reconfiguration of rural development is examined in this paper using case study material from the Northern Uplands — the largest Objective 5b area in England. The paper concludes by drawing out a set of further research questions the Objective 5b programme raises regarding the tensions between centralization and localization, the role of rural communities in their own governance, and the new techniques and technologies of rural governance.
The report reviews developments in Information and Communications Technology (I and C T) from 1986 to 1995, concentrating particularly on those relating to rural development and education. Four sections concentrate on: the information highway and rural development; the context - changing rural economy and society; education and learning; and rural community and civil society. The overarching review of these issues represents the collective views of and seminar discussion amongst an international group of experts which took place in 1995. A number of initiatives which had occurred since a similar seminar in 1986 are discussed, and reveal both the breadth and diversity, but also the patchiness, of developments. One of the main impacts of I and C T is identified as 'the reduction or elimination of the effects of physical distance'. The editors emphasize that I and C T has an influence on employment, participation and democracy, health care and education. The book's main features are its synthesis of various issues and the call for those taking decisions in urban centres not to 'forget' the needs and aspirations of rural areas and their inhabitants in the new era of I and C T. Particularly noteworthy is the potential role of 'people variously described as 'brokers', 'champions', 'promoters', 'animators'' in fostering the introduction of the information era into rural communities.
This paper maps the distribution of membership for three major environmental groups: amenity societies affiliated to the Civic Trust; Friends of the Earth ami the RSNC Wildlife Trusts Partnership, The resulting patterns reveal sharp regional differences in group membership, providing qualified support for the frequently-made assertion that, in the UK, concern for environmental issues is felt predominantly in southern England, Also highlighted are very low membership densities in the former industrial heartland and ex-metropolitan counties, We conclude with some comments on the significance of the data and possible avenues for further research.
Thirty years have elapsed since Ray Pahl demolished the foundational dichotomy of the rural-urban continuum of rural studies. This moment has been enshrined as the beginnings of a new approach to the field, an approach which has in turn attempted to cure the subdiscipline of its 'aversion to theory.' Since then there has been a great deal of activity in the area. Many researchers and authors have come to the fore, all to some extent or other ready to engage with the issues of theory and empirical application in the field of rural studies. This article assesses the record of this activity and argues that the concern to raise the 'theoretical' profile in the field has been a mixed blessing with some ominous harbingers of degeneration. It argues that the time is ripe for an urgent return to the hard task of analytical documentation of the rural scene in all its material and constructed manifestations, and that in this task we will need to give greater attention to monographs from history and historical sociology - and considerably less to theoretical fads and gurus.
This article considers innovations in public service organization in the light of recent changes in corporate organization. It argues that many criticisms of the traditional state are criticisms of a mechanical model which also characterizes large private firms, and that what is needed is a more organic approach, where there is a shift from centralized planning to participative strategy. This would involve rationalized pyramidal organizations being restructured towards networks with strong horizontal linkages and space for duplication and diversity. Externally, public services need to move towards a closer interaction with users and suppliers. Internally, they need structures which combine operational decentralization with methods for synthesizing disparate units around agreed purposes. This implies that front line producers be given greater responsibility, and that the staff as a whole be organized around tasks rather than roles. This in turn requires a wider range of skills, more diverse career patterns, and new systems of accounting and monitoring. The focus of management would also need to shift to enabling, educating, monitoring and designing and adjusting systems. There have been experiments with such an approach by local authorities in Western Europe, drawing in part on innovations in corporate management, as well as by some of the quasi publics and NGOs operating in developing countries. These experiences have particular relevance for non-routine functions of development administration and for countries facing unstable and heterogeneous conditions.
The reversal of rural-urban traditional migration patterns in the last 20 years and the diffusion of non-agricultural activities in rural areas indicate that recent trends in rural development have not followed expected patterns. The paper retraces these recent changes, using as examples the case of France and Italy, two countries with quite different patterns of economic and social development. It follows the characteristics of the real processes under way on the one hand and the conceptualisations and categories used to understand them on the other. The paper concludes that recent trends require a thorough theoretical revision of the traditional assumptions in the social sciences. It suggests that the rural-urban criteria of spatial differentiation is losing significance while the regional or local economy approach provides a more useful framework, to explore the relevant criteria for differentiating rural development.
Many rural communities are looking for relevant solutions and practicable processes that they can competently manage and successfully implement so as to overcome economic decline and vulnerability. This paper looks at the indigenous capacity for development in local communities. The paper specifically looks at two questions: first, what kinds of actions local communities can take in local economic development, and second, what is the nature of the economic relationships between the local and the larger economy, and how are these relationships likely to affect the local capacity to undertake certain kinds of economic activities. The benefits of a spatial framework in rural development and planning are briefly discussed.
Introducing 10 papers on pluriactivity and agro-rural change in western Europe requires a context-setting paper at the outset. This paper outlines some of the characteristics of applied social science research and the need for more policy-oriented studies with a critical perspective. Influential social changes in Europe in the 1980s (reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, environmentalism) are used to reflect the need to adjust the emphases and methods of social science. The shift from part-time farming to pluriactivity studies in western Europe reflect these changes. The Arkleton Trust research project on Multiple Job Holding Farm Families is described and used to illustrate the shift in research priorities and scope as policy debates and changes continue to occur in western industrial nations. The fallacy of part-time farming is demonstrated, and the preference for the term pluriactivity is supported. Related methodological concerns are discussed in reference to the preliminary results of the 12-nation comparative and longitudinal study. The need to engage in policy research is confirmed.
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