In modern societies, changes in population patterns are often studied based on a rural vs urban duality. This dichotomous simplification overlooks the existence of a broad range of human settlements, ...especially in the rural world. In this work, we quantified and analysed southern Spain’s population and rural settlements from the late eighteenth century to the present, distinguishing three types of settlements: agrotowns, the villages and dispersed settlements. To do this, we drew on a littleused source, Spanish property censuses, published since the mid-nineteenth century, as well as other historical sources. We observed that in southern Spain, characterised by a large number of agrotowns and scattered settlements, the method selected to estimate the rural population largely determined the settlement results obtained. We found that since the mid-twentieth century, the rural population had fallen not only in numbers but also in diversity. Historically, the rural population was heterogeneous, adapting to the territory in a context of organic economy and a reduced amount of trading. Especially notable was the weight of dispersed settlements, which accounted for almost two-thirds of rural population growth until the mid-twentieth century and for almost half the rural population
•We quantified and analysed the evolution of different types of rural habitats in southern Spain between 1787 and 2017•Population living in villages (main rural nuclei) has remained relatively stable during the last 220 years•Dispersed population comprised up to 40 % of rural population and was responsible of ∼60 % rural depopulation between 1960 and 2000•Agrotowns have historically been located the Valley and reached ∼10 % of rural population by mid-20th Century•Geographical factors and legacies from the Reconquista process (initiated in 1212) explain the spatial distribution of settlements.
Contemporary research has measured differences between rural and its urban/suburban counterparts on the backdrop of social, economic, political and health phenomena. However, given the ambiguity of ...its definition, varying meanings and applications of the word ‘rural’ exist. In this paper we explored three different popular uses of the term rural on the backdrop of quantitative data with findings highlighting 1) there do exist statistical differences in data depending upon how rural is defined and 2) the definition of rural provided through the USDA’s Rural-Urban Commuting Areas (RUCA) best aligned with other definitions of rural.
•There are many ways to define rural both quantitatively and qualitatively.•Statistical analysis was performed on different socio-economic-health variables for different applications of rural.•For five of eight variables explored, results highlighted differences based on the way rural is defined.•The definition of rural utilized by the USDA – Economic Research Service agreed best with other definitions of rural used in this research.
Rezső Mészáros was born in Makó, on March 4, 1942. In 1965 he graduated from the institution formerly known as Attila József University as a teacher of Geography and Biology. Then he taught in ...Csanádpalota, until 1974, when he joined the “school of human geography” in Szeged. His candidate dissertation was defended in 1980, and his DSc thesis in 1989. In 1990 he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, later (between 1994 and 2003) served as rector of the university, becoming one of the longest reigning heads of the institution in its history. During his rectorship the integration of the university was carried out. Rezső Mészáros dealt with several research topics such as agricultural geography, regional and settlement development, globalisation, and analysis of cyber and virtual spaces. In recognition of his work he was declared an honorary citizen of Szeged and he was awarded the Hungarian Middle Cross of Merit. From 2007, he has been a full member of The Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Professor Mészáros’ personality and work is inevitable in the Hungarian human geography. This conversation intends to provide insight into the different stages of his life, giving some advice and lessons to the scholars of Hungarian geography.
The population density of rural areas is generally lower than before due to rapid industrialization. Spatial optimized reconstruction of rural settlements is the key to rural sustainable development. ...Analyzing the distribution characteristics of rural settlements and their impact has profound implications for rural reconstruction. Several types of spatial distribution of rural settlements, such as clustered, random, and uniform discrete distribution, were found in China with significant regional differences. Rural settlements were denser in the southeastern regions compared to the northwestern regions. In regions such as plains, the spatial distribution of rural settlements was denser and the spatial distribution modes were mainly random and disperse. In regions such as cold alpine areas and desert fringes, the rural settlements density was low and mainly clustered. In the transition zone between hills and mountains, the density of rural settlements was high and the spatial distribution mode was mainly random. Rural settlements distribution was influenced by traditions and the economy, with economic development becoming increasingly influential. Additional factors that affected rural settlements distribution included average distance to main roadway, agricultural machinery, per capita grain production, per capita arable land, population density, elevation, precipitation, etc. Multiple distribution patterns should be used to reconstruct rural spaces in different geographical areas. Typical patterns included radially balanced, central land distribution mode; radially imbalanced distribution mode; multicore central land distribution mode, and corridor balanced and imbalanced distribution modes.
•We examine the spatial distribution of rural settlements in China at counties and town scale.•Rural settlements were denser in southeastern regions than in northwestern regions in China.•Rural settlements distribution was influenced by tradition and the economy, with economic development becoming increasingly influential.•The typical patterns of village-town system for rural settlements optimizing reconstruction include four modes.
This paper explores the development and work of the Rural Geography Research Group (RGRG) of the Royal Geographical Society over the last fifty years since its inception in 1972. It draws on the ...minutes of the RGRG's Annual General Meetings, content in its biannual newsletters, and reports of conferences. Using the concept of academic communities of practice (CoP), the paper explores the RGRG's contributions to UK and international geography and allied disciplines. It charts the evolution of the RGRG as a CoP through the influence of its members in (re)shaping rural geography. The roles of quadrennial conferences dating to 1991 between rural geographers from the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, and a series of bilateral conferences with Dutch, French, German and Spanish geographers are explored. These conferences produced a series of books which help illustrate the evolution of ideas and research in rural geography. In addition, the paper outlines how the RGRG functions as a space for personal and professional development, and the influence its office holders have had both within and beyond the Research Group. The paper concludes with a consideration of the future of rural geography, including the position of the Research Group within contemporary critical debates and likely themes for future research.
•Fifty years of the Royal Geographical Society's Rural Geography Research Group.•The Group's contributions are studied through the lens of communities of practice.•Conferences and publications influence the evolution of ideas in the discipline.•The Group functions as a space for personal and professional development.•Considers the Group's position in contemporary critical debates, and its future.
Rural Woods, Michael
2011, 20101018, 2010, 2010-10-18, Letnik:
8
eBook
The division of ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ is one of the oldest ideas in Geography and is deeply engrained in our culture. Throughout history, the rural has been attributed with many meanings: as a source ...of food and energy; as a pristine wilderness, or as a bucolic idyll; as a playground, or a place of escape; as a fragile space of nature, in need of protection; and as a primitive place, in need of modernization. But is the idea of the rural still relevant today?
Rural provides an advanced introduction to the study of rural places and processes in Geography and related disciplines. Drawing extensively on the latest research in rural geography, this book explores the diverse meanings that have been attached to the rural, examines how ideas of the rural have been produced and reproduced, and investigates the influence of different ideas in shaping the social and economic structure of rural localities and the everyday lives of people who live, work or play in rural areas.
This authoritative book contains case studies drawn from both the developed and developing world to introduce and illustrate conceptual ideas and approaches, as well as suggested further reading. Written in an engaging and lively style, Rural challenges the reader to think differently about the rural.
1. Approaching the Rural 2. Imagining the Rural 3. Exploiting the Rural 4. Consuming the Rural 5. Developing the Rural 6. Living in the Rural 7. Performing the Rural 8. Regulating the Rural 9. Re-Making the Rural
Michael Woods is Professor of Human Geography in the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University. He specialises in rural geography, political geography and contemporary rural politics and governance.
"Woods' chapters define the imagined, economic, political, and social characteristics of rural societies, using examples from every continent...this book has a very thorough bibliography of the current literature on rural geography." — W. J. Gribb, University of Wyoming, Recommended title, CHOICE
This article applies Massey's (2005) call for a relational understanding of space that can challenge aspatial readings of globalization to the study of globalization in a rural context. Critiquing ...existing rural research for tending towards studies of global commodity chains and overarching processes of globalization, it argues for more place-based studies of globalization as experienced in rural localities. The concept of the `global countryside' is introduced as a hypothetical space that represents the ultimate outcome of globalizing processes, yet it is noted that the characteristics of the `global countryside' find only partial articulation in particular rural spaces. Understanding this differentiated geography of rural globalization, it is argued, requires a closer understanding of how globalization remakes rural places, for which Massey's thesis provides a guide. The article thus examines the reconstitution of rural places under globalization, highlighting the interaction of local and global actors, and of human and non-human actants, to produce new hybrid forms and relations. As such, it is argued, the politics of globalization cannot be reduced to domination or subordination, but are instead a politics of negotiation and configuration.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The typology of rural settlements is an actual issue that has been drawing the attention of Serbian scholars since the early 1900s, and which is slowly finding its place in practice and in creating ...the politics and strategies of rural development. The scientific approach and methods of conducting a typology have been significantly changed since the period when a distinction was made among rural settlements in Serbia for the first time. In this paper, the author chronologically and thematically guides us through this issue by giving an overview of the rural typologies in Serbian scholar literature, placing them in the recent rural studies in Serbia, emphasizing and following the evolution of the typological classification of rural settlements. The author starts with observations where the typology is treated as a method, and then develops an approach to typology as a scientific discipline and, in the end, as a tool for achieving adequate research goal and conclusions. This evolution path and thematic approach of rural typology are in the focus of the paper.
Abstract
Along with global urbanization and the dominant trend toward urban‐based policies, traditional villages are facing imbalanced development and the fate of revitalization or decline. In this ...study, 1,222 Chinese traditional villages in eight provinces the Yellow River flows through have been selected as the typical physical bearers of Chinese civilization of an investigation into the multi‐scale spatial characteristics, and multiple influencing factors and mechanisms for regional patterns and spatial differentiation. Spatial analysis methods, including nearest neighbor index and kernel density, are applied to figure out the great regional differentiation in the overall pattern and specific distribution characteristics in each province. Physical environment factors and socioeconomic influencing factors are analyzed and compared using geographical detectors. The results show that: (a) The overall spatial distribution of the traditional villages shows great regional differentiation and is characterized by “two cores,” “three distribution modes,” and “four types of the absence” of traditional villages; (b) the spatial distribution of traditional villages in the Yellow River Basin is affected both by natural factors and by socioeconomic factors, with natural factors having the greater impact; and (c) there is no inevitable correlation between the level of economic development and the rise and fall of traditional villages. By analyzing and revealing the external forces and internal motivation and influencing factors of renewal and evolution, and the wisdom and culture behind the physical places, this research can deepen the understanding of traditional villages, enable traditional society to better adapt to contemporary society, and provide reference for rural revitalization and regional development of rural areas and the Yellow River Basin.
Follow the Thing: Papaya Cook, Ian
Antipode,
September 2004, Letnik:
36, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In a recent round table about Antipode's radical geographies, contributors argued that the journal needed more papers which stimulated debate, were accessible to academics and non‐academics alike, ...didn’t “preach to the cognoscenti”, were written to fit into radical teaching agendas, and were diverse and eclectic in style (Waterstone 2002:663; Hague 2002). This paper has been written to fit this bill. It outlines the findings of multi‐locale ethnographic research into the globalization of food, focusing on a supply chain stretching from UK supermarket shelves to a Jamaican farm, and concluding in a North London flat. It addresses perspectives and critiques from the growing literature on the geographies of commodities, but presents these academic arguments “between the lines” of a series of overlapping vignettes about people who were (un)knowingly connected to each other through the international trade in fresh papaya, and an entangled range of economic, political, social, cultural, agricultural and other processes also shaping these connections in the early 1990s. The research on which it is based was initially energized by David Harvey's (1990:422) call for radical geographers to “get behind the veil, the fetishism of the market”, to make powerful, important, disturbing connections between Western consumers and the distant strangers whose contributions to their lives were invisible, unnoticed, and largely unappreciated. Harvey argued that radical geographers should attempt to de‐fetishise commodities, re‐connect consumers and producers, tell fuller stories of social reproduction, and thereby provoke moral and ethical questions for participants in this exploitation who might think they’re decent people. This paper has been written to provoke such questions, to provide materials to think through and with, for geography's ongoing debates about the politics of consumption.