Florian AHLMEYER, ILS Research gGmbH, Germany
Kati VOLGMANN, ILS Research gGmbH, Germany
Rural areas in Europe were and are still characterised by a process of fundamental change. While the term `rural area´ could be understood as relatively homogeneous until the 1960s, with an agricultural driven economy, a low population density and the dominance of certain rural lifestyles, this image does no longer apply today. Rural areas are becoming more divers, and various factors and trends are decisive for this structural change.
These trends and drivers of rural development in Europe will be the subject of our contribution. Therefore, the research questions are: What are the characteristics and trends of rural areas? Can we identify key aspects for a positive rural future? Which changes are necessary for a more successful `rural Europe´? In analysing the European Trends regarding these central questions, we will contribute to the session "European Ruralization project: Is it Time for Rural Regeneration?" and show the impact of current trends on European level for possible rural futures. In the RURALIZATION project, a trend analysis has been conducted regarding current developments in rural areas and agriculture on different scales (Kuhmonen et al. 2021). The ILS has provided the trend observations on European scale. To this aim, we scanned reports of over 70 EU-founded projects, with reference to rural areas, published between 2010 and 2019.
For this session, we would like to have a closer look on the trend observations we could identify out of European project reports of the last decade that were relevant for rural areas. Apart from the RURALIZATION context, where developments in agriculture play a major role, we would like to scan the trends regarding rural development in general and the term `rurality´, paying less attention on agricultural aspects and more attention on demographical and economical ones. Analysing our trend observations differently is an opportunity to enrich the RURALIZATION discussion.
Mots clés : European projects|rural area|rural development|trend analysis
A104914FA