Rural Change in a Northern and North-Western European Context

Bryden, John (2002). Rural Change in a Northern and North-Western European Context Régions et économie du savoir : Regions in the Knowledge Economy . Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Montréal.

Prévisualisation

PDF Télécharger (202kB) | Prévisualisation

Résumé

The social and political construction of 'rurality' in different times, regions and countries is a topic of never-ending fascination. Exactly why do we have so many different ideas of what is rural in Europe, and especially the sparsely populated countries of Northern Europe? Exactly why have people's ideas of what is rural - or what it is to be rural - changed so radically over time? And why does it matter if there are such differences and changes? What are the specific characteristics and issues in the Nordic countries and Northern Scotland? We must first distinguish between definitions of rurality for statistical purposes, and notions of rurality in the popular discourse. I will deal briefly with the first, and with the second at greater length, and not only because those in the northern periphery have been encouraging the idea of the ‘Northern Dimension’ in rurality and rural policy in recent years.In practice, the definitions used by researchers and by policy have evolved, and there is recognition of the differences between the very sparsely populated and peripheral ‘north’ and those within the reach of agglomerated labour markets around larger cities. However, in Scandinavia, as in Scotland and Ireland, there are politics involved. If rurality means cash, then everyone wants to be a policy rentier! Definitions and boundaries get blurred, and the cash is spread more thinly, sometimes even grabbed by the least-deserving where they can bend these in their own interests. This is where ideas of rurality in the popular (or maybe media) discourse matter!

Type de document:	Rapport
Informations complémentaires:	Institut canadien de recherche sur le développement régional (ICRDR) = The canadian institute for research on regional development (CIRRD)
Mots-clés libres:	agriculture; Europe du Nord; construction agraire; ruralité; politique; stratégies; union européenne (UE); démographie; emploi; relations rurales-urbaines; économie politique
Centre:	Centre Urbanisation Culture Société
Date de dépôt:	12 nov. 2020 20:52
Dernière modification:	12 nov. 2020 20:52
URI:	https://espace.inrs.ca/id/eprint/9527

Gestion Actions (Identification requise)

Modifier la notice