Perspectives on Rural Policy and Planning – serie

This book is about the resilience of silvo-pastoral systems now, and in the future. As such, it is about people. The goal is to fill the gap in the knowledge on silvo-pastoral systems and their changing trends, by adding the human dimension, with enough detail to draw inferences about the new governance solutions that are needed to address the multiple challenges faced by silvo-pastoral systems. As such, the book provides knowledge applicable to current and future silvo-pastoral territories in other regions across the world.The volume is divided into three sections: people and institutions, the institutional framework, and governance models. Each section, composed of several chapters, draws on empirical work about the Iberian montado and dehesa as well as from other similar systems in the Mediterranean, both on the northern and on the southern sides, in order to broaden its scope and cover a wider range of situations and examples. Some of the chapters rely more strongly on empirical findings and current experiences, others on a literature review and reflection by the authors over many years working with these systems. The conclusion sums up the most relevant findings from each chapter and discusses how research can progress so that new scientific approaches and evidence can support better adapted governance models of silvopastoral systems to face future challenges.This text will be highly valuable to university and research institute libraries, academics, policy officials, and stakeholder groups, such as NGOs and sectoral organizations, who wish to better understand the relevance of the human factor and use this knowledge to find sustainable solutions. It will be a central reading for postgraduate students enrolled in rural planning, landscape management and governance, agronomy and forestry, as well as geography and socio-ecology programmes, that have a focus on sustainable land use management and supporting mixed farming systems.

This book explores the notion of rurality and how it is used and produced in various contexts, including within populist politics which derives their legitimacy from the rural-urban divide.The gap between the ‘common people’ and the ‘elites’ is widening again as images of rurality are promoted as morally pure, unalienated and opposed to the cultural and economic globalization. This book examines how using certain images and projections of rurality produces ‘rural authenticity’, a concept propagated by various groups of people such as regional food producers, filmmakers, policymakers, and lobbyists. It seeks to answer questions such as: What is the rurality that these groups of people refer to? How is it produced? What are the purposes that it serves? Research in this book addresses these questions from the areas of both politics and policies of the ‘authentic rural’. The ‘politics’ refers to polarizations including politicians, social movements, and political events which accentuate the rural-urban divide and brings it back to the core of the societal conflict, while the ’policies’ focus on rural tourism, heritage industry, popular art and other areas where rurality is constantly produced and consumed.With international case studies from leading scholars in the field of rural studies, the book will appeal to geographers, sociologists, politicians, as well as those interested in the re-emergence of the rural-urban divide in politics and media.Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

This book explores the notion of rurality and how it is used and produced in various contexts, including within populist politics which derives their legitimacy from the rural-urban divide.The gap between the ‘common people’ and the ‘elites’ is widening again as images of rurality are promoted as morally pure, unalienated and opposed to the cultural and economic globalization. This book examines how using certain images and projections of rurality produces ‘rural authenticity’, a concept propagated by various groups of people such as regional food producers, filmmakers, policymakers, and lobbyists. It seeks to answer questions such as: What is the rurality that these groups of people refer to? How is it produced? What are the purposes that it serves? Research in this book addresses these questions from the areas of both politics and policies of the ‘authentic rural’. The ‘politics’ refers to polarizations including politicians, social movements, and political events which accentuate the rural-urban divide and brings it back to the core of the societal conflict, while the ’policies’ focus on rural tourism, heritage industry, popular art and other areas where rurality is constantly produced and consumed.With international case studies from leading scholars in the field of rural studies, the book will appeal to geographers, sociologists, politicians, as well as those interested in the re-emergence of the rural-urban divide in politics and media.Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

The 2016 referendum resulted in a vote for the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union. This has led to frenzied political debate across the whole spectrum of policy, and agriculture is no exception.For the first time in a generation, the future of agriculture is unclear and unfettered by the constraints and incrementalism of the Common Agricultural Policy. This book makes an empirical contribution to the Brexit debate, bringing a social dimension to agri-Brexit and sustainable agriculture discourses. Understanding the social in the context of farmers is vital to developing a way forward on food security and agricultural sustainability. Farmers are the recipients of the market and policy signals that link to global uncertainties and challenges. This book is a commitment to understanding farmers as occupiers and managers of land. Chapters in this book explore farmers’ own aspirations and knowledge about patterns of land use and production, which underpin discussions around the environment and sustainability.There is a deficit in understanding what kind of agricultural industry we now have, following years of restructuring and repositioning. This book is an attempt to address that deficit and will appeal to students and researchers exploring agriculture, food politics and rural sociology.

Access to quality services and community infrastructure are vital parts of supporting sustainable and resilient rural and small town places. Renewing outdated infrastructure and supporting the delivery of services in rural communities present significant challenges from the constrained fiscal and policy realities of the 21st century.Drawing upon contributors from five Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, this book describes innovative service delivery and community infrastructure models that are appropriate to the contemporary rural and resource-dependent regions of developed economies. The examples show that an entrepreneurial approach to service delivery and infrastructure provision by local organizations and governments is needed. Critical economic and community development supports are crucial to assist creative and innovative sets of solutions that work for small communities. Chapters in this book argue that community development foundations for resilient rural and small town communities and regions must be co-constructed and co-delivered in partnership by both local and senior government actors, in terms of both policy and committed resources. This volume will be extremely valuable for students, scholars, and community development practitioners exploring policy-making, government initiatives, and community service provision in rural and small town places.

This book focuses on the transformation of rural places, peoples, and land endemic to the contemporary manifestations of globalization. Migration, global economic restructuring, and climate change are rapidly transforming rural places across the globe. Yet, global attention characteristically focuses on urban social and economic issues, neglecting the continued roles of rural people and places. Organized around the three core themes of demographic change, rural-urban partnerships and innovations, and landscape change, the case studies included in this volume represent both the Global North and Global South and underscore the complexity and multi-scalar nature of these contemporary challenges in rural development, planning, and sustainability.This book would be valuable supplementary reading for both students and professionals in the fields of rural land management and rural planning.

This book focuses on the transformation of rural places, peoples, and land endemic to the contemporary manifestations of globalization. Migration, global economic restructuring, and climate change are rapidly transforming rural places across the globe. Yet, global attention characteristically focuses on urban social and economic issues, neglecting the continued roles of rural people and places. Organized around the three core themes of demographic change, rural-urban partnerships and innovations, and landscape change, the case studies included in this volume represent both the Global North and Global South and underscore the complexity and multi-scalar nature of these contemporary challenges in rural development, planning, and sustainability.This book would be valuable supplementary reading for both students and professionals in the fields of rural land management and rural planning.

This book aims to fill a gap in the current literature by tracing the rural transformation process and the development of rural tourism functions in Poland over the last 30 years. It examines the socioeconomic transformation between 1989 and 2019 that resulted in the formation and development of Polish rural tourism and the various practices associated with it. This timely topic is addressed in a central and eastern European context and sparks interest in further in-depth analysis due the diversity and magnitude of the transformation processes undertaken by the Polish rural areas. Since Polish rural areas constitute as much as 30% of the total rural areas in all new European Union member states, this book adds value through an in-depth statistical analysis of the pace of socioeconomic changes in Polish rural areas. It delves into the creation and consumption of tourism services locally, as well as the impact of global trends on the development of rural tourism in Poland. This book will be of interest to economists, sociologists, political scientists and postgraduate students across eastern and central Europe who deal with rural tourism issues.

This book aims to fill a gap in the current literature by tracing the rural transformation process and the development of rural tourism functions in Poland over the last 30 years. It examines the socioeconomic transformation between 1989 and 2019 that resulted in the formation and development of Polish rural tourism and the various practices associated with it. This timely topic is addressed in a central and eastern European context and sparks interest in further in-depth analysis due the diversity and magnitude of the transformation processes undertaken by the Polish rural areas. Since Polish rural areas constitute as much as 30% of the total rural areas in all new European Union member states, this book adds value through an in-depth statistical analysis of the pace of socioeconomic changes in Polish rural areas. It delves into the creation and consumption of tourism services locally, as well as the impact of global trends on the development of rural tourism in Poland. This book will be of interest to economists, sociologists, political scientists and postgraduate students across eastern and central Europe who deal with rural tourism issues.

This book provides the first foundation of knowledge about the intellectual traditions, contemporary scope and future prospects for the interdisciplinary field of rural gerontology.With a focus on rural regions, small towns and villages, which have the highest rates of population ageing worldwide, Rural Gerontology is aimed at understanding what it means for rural people, communities and institutions to be at the forefront of twenty-first-century demographic change. The book offers important insights from rural ageing studies into today’s most pressing gerontological problems. With chapters from more than 65 established and emerging rural ageing researchers, it is the first synthesis of knowledge about rural gerontology, harnessing a burgeoning interdisciplinary scholarship on the rural dimensions of ageing, old age and older populations. With a view to advancing a critical understanding of rural ageing populations, this book will have an overreaching impact across the social sciences by drawing on advancements in understandings of rural ageing from social, environmental, geographical and critical gerontology to facilitate a comprehensive exploration of the diversity, complexity and implications of the ageing process in rural settings.Bringing together valuable international perspectives, this book makes a timely contribution to gerontology, rural studies and the social sciences, and will appeal to scholars and researchers across USA and Canada, UK and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, China and countries in Africa, South America and South-East Asia.

This book provides the first foundation of knowledge about the intellectual traditions, contemporary scope and future prospects for the interdisciplinary field of rural gerontology.With a focus on rural regions, small towns and villages, which have the highest rates of population ageing worldwide, Rural Gerontology is aimed at understanding what it means for rural people, communities and institutions to be at the forefront of twenty-first-century demographic change. The book offers important insights from rural ageing studies into today’s most pressing gerontological problems. With chapters from more than 65 established and emerging rural ageing researchers, it is the first synthesis of knowledge about rural gerontology, harnessing a burgeoning interdisciplinary scholarship on the rural dimensions of ageing, old age and older populations. With a view to advancing a critical understanding of rural ageing populations, this book will have an overreaching impact across the social sciences by drawing on advancements in understandings of rural ageing from social, environmental, geographical and critical gerontology to facilitate a comprehensive exploration of the diversity, complexity and implications of the ageing process in rural settings.Bringing together valuable international perspectives, this book makes a timely contribution to gerontology, rural studies and the social sciences, and will appeal to scholars and researchers across USA and Canada, UK and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, China and countries in Africa, South America and South-East Asia.

Contemporary processes of economic, social, political and cultural restructuring are having profound impacts on the form and function of rural areas within the countries of the European Union and beyond. Furthermore, rural development policies and programmes at EU and national levels have been critical in shaping the responses of different rural areas across Europe to these wider processes of restructuring. Contrasting empirical studies of ten European countries, this volume provides a comprehensive analysis of the restructuring processes and the various national, regional and local rural development programmes. Adopting a different national perspective in each chapter, it focuses particularly on issues of power and leadership in the evolution and administration of these programmes. Five broad issues are examined in each case: socio-economic changes in rural areas, the administrative context in which rural development and political activities take place, the sociological context, the political control of rural development, and the use of different discourses of rurality in shaping the development process.

Around the fringe of Europe lies a green ring of countries which have followed different pathways into modernity from the industrial core of the continent and have, until recently, been characterized by a strong agrarian presence in their politics, economy and culture. This book brings together case studies from both the post-socialist countries and EU member states which make up the green ring to compare experiences of rural and agricultural groups. It provides a fascinating opportunity to identify similarities and contrasts in the ways in which these countries have managed their rural areas when faced with the challenges set by industrialization, political integration and globalization. The book focuses on agrarian transformation as de- (and sometimes re-) peasantization - referring to the changing economic, social, cultural and political positions of farmers and food production workers. It also problematizes the standard rural models and opens up discussion of the problems these models pose for the farmers of the green ring countries.

Based on a collaborative research project - an exciting fruit of the region's peace process - this book provides an in-depth examination and comparison of women's participation in agricultural production in four Middle-Eastern countries: Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. Each of the country studies is set in context, providing an overview of the status of women in the national economy and society, and in education and law, before proceeding to analyze the status and roles of women in the rural sector. These up-to-date overviews are based on published and unpublished data, much of which is available for the first time in English. But the book can also be read as a fascinating story of the way gender is introduced into a complex political setting where "development work" is done. It offers a reflexive, critical examination of the very process of its own production and some general observations about the links between academic and development-centred discourses.

Rural issues have gained national prominence in Britain in recent years. The future of hunting, the Foot and Mouth outbreak, farm income and agricultural reform and housing development have all claimed political and media attention, promoted by a vocal rural lobby and headline-grabbing protests and demonstrations. Combining detailed empirical research and case studies with theoretically informed critical analysis, this book provides an overview of the contemporary politics of the British countryside. It explores how and why rural issues have suddenly achieved such political prominence, by examining the changing politics and governance of rural Britain from the local to the national scale over the past century. It investigates the social, economic and institutional restructuring of rural communities and argues that we are witnessing not so much a rural politics, but a 'politics of the rural' in which the definition and representation of rurality itself has become the key focus of conflict.

Today the use of the term countryside reflects a dual historical shift due to the decreasing importance of agriculture - both in terms of employment and production - in European economies and the shift toward the environment. An increasing part of rural populations is being drawn into non-agricultural sectors such as tourism, construction, manufacturing, and the conventional and innovative services, thereby granting a more diversified and contemporary role to the countryside. The environmental shift has questioned many of the very fundamental premises governing the relationship between social practices and nature. Agenda 2000 and the ongoing debate concerning the CAP reforms are connected to a large extent with these new realities. This engaging book focuses on the prospects for the development of the Southern European countryside during a transitional period of a major policy paradigm shift. Bringing together case studies from Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece, the book discusses the key issues mentioned above, as well as the restricting factors and prospects of the adjustments required.

Despite an EU-wide commitment to rural development, research has rarely focused on the lives of young people in rural areas, their experiences in education and employment, their perceptions of policies relevant to them, and their possibilities of participation. Based on a two-year European research project on policies and young people in rural development, this edited volume examines these issues and considers young people's experiences of rural life in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Scotland. The volume is organized thematically with each chapter addressing a specific topic in one or more countries. These topics comprise: the attractiveness of rural areas to young people; the impact of programmes under the European Employment Guidelines; rural youth in local community development and partnerships; rural development programmes and their impact on youth integration; the role of social networks; and the transition from education to employment. A number of implications for policy and practice are drawn out in conclusion. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the future of rural areas and with those who live in the European countryside.

The last decade or so has witnessed a flourishing of research in rural geography; in particular, approaches which have developed socio-cultural perspectives on rural issues. This book brings together well-established and newer researchers to examine the position of rural social and cultural geography at the beginning of the 21st century and to suggest new research agendas. It offers critical evaluations of theoretical positions and advances, introduces new conceptual and methodological tools and reports on recent empirical work on a variety of topical issues in a number of countries. With diverse theoretical and empirical content, the book makes a valuable contribution to the development of research into changing social and cultural geographies of rurality in 'developed' or 'Western' countries.

Despite the fact that the rural commuter belts of cities are major loci of population change, economic growth and dynamic social change within city regions, most research tends to ignore this area while focusing on the built-up city core. However, with the current emphasis on the role of rural areas in policy debates, it is vital to recognize the importance of the 'commuter belt'. By comparing four major European cities (in England, France, Germany and Spain), this book offers the first comparative investigation of the dynamism of city rural hinterlands. It assesses whether rural areas will become effectively integrated into quality of life improvements as a result of their inter-dependencies with cities, focusing on the critical arenas of employment change, housing and service provision. In doing so, it investigates how change in these three fields impact on the quality of life and physical environment of rural hinterlands.

By examining a range of experiences from both the north and south of Ireland, this book asks what the ideal of sustainable development might mean to specific rural groups and how sustainable development goals have been pursued across the policy spectrum. It assesses the extent of commitment to a living countryside in Ireland and compares various opportunities and obstacles to the actual achievement of sustainable rural development. How different sectors of rural society will be challenged in terms of future survival provides an overarching theme throughout.

At a time when there is major reorientation of rural economies in Europe, and the emergence of new possibilities both for governance and for conflict, this book brings together a group of leading academics in the fields of geography, sociology and anthropology to examine how such changes are taking place in the west of Europe. It describes, analyses and theorises the role of networks and social capital in rural development in six countries: Finland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland and Sweden, and addresses the tension between studying 'local' rural development and the 'globalized' nature of modern economies and societies. An approach to networks and social capital is used as a way of drawing attention to the non-economic dimensions of rural development and society. The book stresses that the links between society and economics are of key importance.

This book is about the resilience of silvo-pastoral systems now, and in the future. As such, it is about people. The goal is to fill the gap in the knowledge on silvo-pastoral systems and their changing trends, by adding the human dimension, with enough detail to draw inferences about the new governance solutions that are needed to address the multiple challenges faced by silvo-pastoral systems. As such, the book provides knowledge applicable to current and future silvo-pastoral territories in other regions across the world.The volume is divided into three sections: people and institutions, the institutional framework, and governance models. Each section, composed of several chapters, draws on empirical work about the Iberian montado and dehesa as well as from other similar systems in the Mediterranean, both on the northern and on the southern sides, in order to broaden its scope and cover a wider range of situations and examples. Some of the chapters rely more strongly on empirical findings and current experiences, others on a literature review and reflection by the authors over many years working with these systems. The conclusion sums up the most relevant findings from each chapter and discusses how research can progress so that new scientific approaches and evidence can support better adapted governance models of silvopastoral systems to face future challenges.This text will be highly valuable to university and research institute libraries, academics, policy officials, and stakeholder groups, such as NGOs and sectoral organizations, who wish to better understand the relevance of the human factor and use this knowledge to find sustainable solutions. It will be a central reading for postgraduate students enrolled in rural planning, landscape management and governance, agronomy and forestry, as well as geography and socio-ecology programmes, that have a focus on sustainable land use management and supporting mixed farming systems.

Despite an EU-wide commitment to rural development, research has rarely focused on the lives of young people in rural areas, their experiences in education and employment, their perceptions of policies relevant to them, and their possibilities of participation. Based on a two-year European research project on policies and young people in rural development, this edited volume examines these issues and considers young people's experiences of rural life in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Scotland. The volume is organized thematically with each chapter addressing a specific topic in one or more countries. These topics comprise: the attractiveness of rural areas to young people; the impact of programmes under the European Employment Guidelines; rural youth in local community development and partnerships; rural development programmes and their impact on youth integration; the role of social networks; and the transition from education to employment. A number of implications for policy and practice are drawn out in conclusion. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the future of rural areas and with those who live in the European countryside.

Despite the fact that the rural commuter belts of cities are major loci of population change, economic growth and dynamic social change within city regions, most research tends to ignore this area while focusing on the built-up city core. However, with the current emphasis on the role of rural areas in policy debates, it is vital to recognize the importance of the 'commuter belt'. By comparing four major European cities (in England, France, Germany and Spain), this book offers the first comparative investigation of the dynamism of city rural hinterlands. It assesses whether rural areas will become effectively integrated into quality of life improvements as a result of their inter-dependencies with cities, focusing on the critical arenas of employment change, housing and service provision. In doing so, it investigates how change in these three fields impact on the quality of life and physical environment of rural hinterlands.

Contemporary processes of economic, social, political and cultural restructuring are having profound impacts on the form and function of rural areas within the countries of the European Union and beyond. Furthermore, rural development policies and programmes at EU and national levels have been critical in shaping the responses of different rural areas across Europe to these wider processes of restructuring. Contrasting empirical studies of ten European countries, this volume provides a comprehensive analysis of the restructuring processes and the various national, regional and local rural development programmes. Adopting a different national perspective in each chapter, it focuses particularly on issues of power and leadership in the evolution and administration of these programmes. Five broad issues are examined in each case: socio-economic changes in rural areas, the administrative context in which rural development and political activities take place, the sociological context, the political control of rural development, and the use of different discourses of rurality in shaping the development process.

By examining a range of experiences from both the north and south of Ireland, this book asks what the ideal of sustainable development might mean to specific rural groups and how sustainable development goals have been pursued across the policy spectrum. It assesses the extent of commitment to a living countryside in Ireland and compares various opportunities and obstacles to the actual achievement of sustainable rural development. How different sectors of rural society will be challenged in terms of future survival provides an overarching theme throughout.

At a time when there is major reorientation of rural economies in Europe, and the emergence of new possibilities both for governance and for conflict, this book brings together a group of leading academics in the fields of geography, sociology and anthropology to examine how such changes are taking place in the west of Europe. It describes, analyses and theorises the role of networks and social capital in rural development in six countries: Finland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland and Sweden, and addresses the tension between studying 'local' rural development and the 'globalized' nature of modern economies and societies. An approach to networks and social capital is used as a way of drawing attention to the non-economic dimensions of rural development and society. The book stresses that the links between society and economics are of key importance.

The last decade or so has witnessed a flourishing of research in rural geography; in particular, approaches which have developed socio-cultural perspectives on rural issues. This book brings together well-established and newer researchers to examine the position of rural social and cultural geography at the beginning of the 21st century and to suggest new research agendas. It offers critical evaluations of theoretical positions and advances, introduces new conceptual and methodological tools and reports on recent empirical work on a variety of topical issues in a number of countries. With diverse theoretical and empirical content, the book makes a valuable contribution to the development of research into changing social and cultural geographies of rurality in 'developed' or 'Western' countries.

Based on a collaborative research project - an exciting fruit of the region's peace process - this book provides an in-depth examination and comparison of women's participation in agricultural production in four Middle-Eastern countries: Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. Each of the country studies is set in context, providing an overview of the status of women in the national economy and society, and in education and law, before proceeding to analyze the status and roles of women in the rural sector. These up-to-date overviews are based on published and unpublished data, much of which is available for the first time in English. But the book can also be read as a fascinating story of the way gender is introduced into a complex political setting where "development work" is done. It offers a reflexive, critical examination of the very process of its own production and some general observations about the links between academic and development-centred discourses.