Abstract
Abstract1989 was a turning point in the socio-economic development in the former Eastern bloc, initiating a systemic transformation that affected the society at large. It also contributed to the crystallisation of certain cultural landscapes, hitherto largely illegible due to the inhibition of spatial processes encountered during socialism. In Poland, after a quarter-century of a free market economy, the focus on social problems began to expand to the spatial realm as well. It became apparent that the progressive social polarisation that followed was most prominent in environments striated by a particular landscape type – the former State Agricultural Farm (PGR). Considering PGRs as ‘the epitome of rurality’ subject to ideas informing about the direction of contemporary ‘rural development’ prompts a different way of looking at the problem. In this paper, we investigate the concept of rurality in the discursive tenor of implemented policy and contrast it with contextualised empirical examples. Our findings suggest that an efficient policy should be confronted with the expectations of residents at the local level, and introducing top-down actions usually ends in failure as in the case of post-PGR estates.
Highlights
State Agricultural Farms (PGRs) were established at different scales in all countries in EastCentral Europe after the Second World War as a counterbalance to private farming
Taking into consideration the cultural, social production of rurality based on lay discourses on the one hand, and the local level where this production of rurality should be analysed on the other, Halfacree indicated the characteristics of state policy implemented in rural areas, as there can be no doubts that this policy is neither neutral nor objective
The research regarding post-PGR estates that we have conducted comes within a general image and perception of rural areas
Summary
State Agricultural Farms (PGRs) were established at different scales in all countries in EastCentral Europe after the Second World War as a counterbalance to private farming. Post-PGR estates were located in formally rural areas, which is important in Poland where a settlement is considered urban or rural on the basis of whether or not it holds the socalled town privileges. Taking into consideration the cultural, social production of rurality based on lay discourses (which is key in the postmodern approach) on the one hand, and the local level where this production of rurality should be analysed on the other, Halfacree indicated the characteristics of state policy implemented in rural areas, as there can be no doubts that this policy is neither neutral nor objective. Apart from the lack of social cohesion, the residents must deal with the problem of their otherness and isolation from neighbouring villages They resulted mainly from PGR past of Jackowo which divided the inhabitants of considered estate and other settlements. Which of the following problems occur at Jackowo? (multiple answers possible)
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