Towards a Rural Cohesion Policy The EDORA project

Transcription

1 Towards a Rural Cohesion Policy The EDORA project Mark Shucksmith Newcastle University

2 Changes to rural areas are often characterised in terms of zones of accumulation/depletion Depletion Accumulation Remote Rural (PR) Accessible Rural (SR) Urban (PU) Rural-Urban Migration Growth Commuting Counter-urbanisation Demographic ageing Structural problems Families Diversified structure Low activity rates + unemployment Low human capital Higher activity rates + low unemployment High human capital Some truth in accessible/ remote rural distinction But the reality is more complex: many remote rural areas are growing. The EDORA project tried to understand what processes underlie these changes.

3 Drivers and processes of rural change across the EU: The EDORA Project to describe the main processes of change which are resulting in the increasing differentiation of rural areas. to identify development opportunities and constraints for different kinds of rural areas to consider how such knowledge can be translated into guiding principles to support the development of appropriate cohesion policy.

4 The EDORA Project Review of the Literature: - Rural Demography - Rural Employment - Rural Business Development - R-U Relationships Storylines - Cultural Heritage - Access to Services - Institutional Capacity - Farm Structural Change Proposed Indicators Storylines Database Exemplar Regions Storylines, Narratives Meta-Narratives Connexity Globalisation. Agricentric Urban- Rural Variables and Indicators Empirical Examples Narratives Structural Types (Intermediate and Predominantly Rural Areas only): Agrarian..... Consumption Countryside..... Diversified (Strong Secondary Sector) Diversified (Strong Market Services) Country Profiles EDORA Cube D-P Typology: IA, IR, PRA, PRR Typologies Accumulation - Depletion Depleting Below Average Above Average Accumulating Future Perspectives Key Future Drivers (Exogenous) S1 Typologies S3 S2 S4 Scenarios Implications Cohesion Policy Implications and Potential for Territorial Empirical Cooperation Generalisations Conceptual Empirical Policy

5 The Conceptual Phase: Understanding Rural Change Economic processes: Declining relative importance of agriculture; the rise of the New Rural Economy (NRE); and refocusing of agricultural activity Rise of the NRE may favour more accessible countryside? Challenge for those rural areas still dominated by small farms. NMS? Labour market segmentation and human capital. The importance of extra-local networks in growth and innovation. The public sector as a major employer, but under threat. Cuts? The opportunities offered by the consumption countryside. Drivers - Opportunities - Constraints Competition for rural housing in some countries.. PROCESSES OF Environmental RURAL CHANGE Economic Social Political

6 The Conceptual Phase: Understanding Rural Change Social Processes: Migration, counter-urbanisation, out-migration and ageing. Emergence of a New Rurality in some accessible rural areas, which enjoy prosperity but increasingly exhibit urban characteristics. Challenges of service provision, especially in peripheral areas. The contrasting live-work models of the NRE and the NMS. Decline of traditional institutions and rise of individualisation. Drivers - Opportunities - Constraints PROCESSES OF Environmental RURAL CHANGE Economic Social Political

7 The Conceptual Phase: Understanding Rural Change Environmental Processes: Maintenance and commodification of the rural environment Effects of climate change. Effects of anticipation of Climate Change and mitigation efforts eg. Planners viewing/ presenting rural settlements are unsustainable. Drivers - Opportunities - Constraints PROCESSES OF Environmental RURAL CHANGE Economic Social Political

8 The Conceptual Phase: Understanding Rural Change Political Processes: From Government to Governance, and the Project State. Changing welfare state systems, privatisation, fiscal pressures Innovation strategies, emphasis on potential and competitiveness, (rather than compensation or support for weakness). Localism v central control and managerial approaches. Academic concept of Neo-endogenous rural development Drivers - Opportunities - Constraints PROCESSES OF Environmental RURAL CHANGE Economic Social Political

9 The Conceptual Phase: Understanding Rural Change META - NARRATIVES Urban- Rural CONNEXITY Agri- Centric Economic Competit., Global Capital Context of increasing CONNEXITY (connectedness/ interdependence) network society, Drivers relational - Opportunities space, - Constraints multi-level governance. Tension between interdependence and freedom in a networked world. Inter-relatedness of places no longer only in terms of physical distance but in terms of places relational interdependence: Interactions both rural-urban and local-elsewhere PROCESSES OF Environmental RURAL CHANGE Economic Social Political Assets are therefore both proximity and less tangible assets such as institutional capacity, education, entrepreneurialism, networks

10 The Empirical Phase: The EDORA Typology A three-dimensional framework for analysis, rather than a onedimensional classification. The three dimensions are: Urban-Rural (remote/accessible) Accumulation Depletion (performance). Economic structure (diversification). D-P Typology: IA, IR, PRA, PRR Types of Intermediate and Predominantly Rural Areas: Agrarian.. Consumption Countryside.. Diversified (Strong Secondary Sector)... Diversified (Strong Market Services) Accumulation - Depletion

11 Typology of Intermediate and Predominantly Rural Areas EDORA Project September 2009 NUTS 3 TYPES PU Regions Reykjavik Agrarian Canarias Consumption Countryside Diversified (Strong Secondary Sector) Guadeloupe Martinique Réunion Diversified (Strong Private Services Sector) No data available Note: NO and CH results preliminary (missing data) Oslo Stockholm Helsinki Tallinn Riga Guyane Madeira Dublin København Vilnius Minsk Acores London Amsterdam Berlin Warszawa Bruxelles/Brussel Kyiv Paris Luxembourg Praha Bern Vaduz WienBratislava Budapest Kishinev Ljubljana Zagreb Beograd Bucuresti Sarajevo Lisboa Madrid Roma Sofiya Pristina Podgorica Skopje Tirana Ankara Athinai Ar Ribat El-Jazair Tounis Valletta Nicosia

12 Looking ahead to the Policy Phase: Some Key Issues to Consider This analysis shows that agrarian regions tend to be poorer, but that most rural regions are not agrarian. The most prosperous rural regions are those least associated with the primary or secondary sectors, and this is not restricted to those regions close to urban areas. The research shows a diversity of territorial potentials among the rural regions of Europe, with many different pathways. Key issues are the interaction between places and the territorial assets upon which people can draw. If urban-rural interactions are viewed as most important, then the key asset is proximity to urban areas. But if interactions extend globally through relational space, then spatial differentiation reflects many other assets. Each suggests a different policy priority. The former prioritises transport infrastructure. The latter suggests a much broader range of interventions, building institutional capacity, education, digital inclusion, enterprise, etc

13 Conclusion: Policy Implications A fresh approach to policy: European rural policy is out of date and fails to reflect the reality of 21st century Europe. A fresh approach is needed, more attuned to contemporary realities and issues - a Rural Cohesion Policy - which can help rural areas play their part in Europe s emergence from the current economic downturn. The findings support tailored and locally managed place-shaping approaches to stimulate realisation of rural potential, including human and social capital,...but the new research indicates that this will not be enough. The EDORA report s findings show:

14 Conclusion: Policy Implications Rural change varies systematically across Europe, reflecting structural forces which cannot be addressed simply through localised, place-based actions. Local, place-based action needs to be complemented by macroscale diagnosis, strategic planning and intervention. A two-tier approach is required. The findings challenge outdated stereotypes about the origins of economic growth. Policies often assume that growth is an urban phenomenon, and that rural areas benefit mainly through rural-urban linkages. But the EDORA report shows that growth is just as likely to originate in rural areas, even those which are remote or sparsely populated. Moreover, diversified and prosperous rural economies may be sustained by translocal, rather than rural-urban, linkages.

15 Conclusion: Policy Implications While agriculture is important to rural areas, it is rarely associated with rural prosperity. Growth is characteristic of diversified rural economies with a much broader mix of industries. Europe needs growth in the context of the economic downturn. But the potential of rural economies cannot be fully realised by sectoral rural policies, nor by promoting cooperation and linkages with adjacent urban areas. Instead policies should support rural businesses (across all sectors), as they seek to survive and grow in an increasingly interconnected and globalised world. Coordinator: Andrew Copus Report lists other partners.