Gary W. Luck, Digby Race and Rosemary Black (eds): Demographic change in Australia’s rural landscapes: Implications for society and the environment. Volume 12 of the Landscape Series

Abstract

Demographic change in Australia’s rural landscapes is a valuable and highly informative collection which examines contemporary population dynamics in rural Australia, identifying some of the drivers of demographic change using case studies or international comparisons, and exploring the implications for rural areas, their residents and communities. The volume presents an integrated, interdisciplinary approach with contributions from 24 geographers, sociologists, ecologists, educators, economists, resource and environmental managers, landscape planners, demographers and social scientists. The contributors share their diverse academic, policy and research expertise through interactive and reflective discussions which explore the environmental, land-use, social and economic effects of population growth and decline in rural Australia. Whilst the chapters stand alone as unique contributions, they also address the findings of other authors thus allowing readers to focus on those chapters of most interest, or consume the entire volume without superfluous repetition. It is this interdisciplinary approach and the format of each chapter (each with an introductory photo to set the scene, abstract, key words and numbered subheadings) which is a key strength of the book. The book consists of 16 chapters, with the first and last written by the editors. The first chapter provides an overview of the principal patterns, drivers and implications of demographic change for Australia’s rural communities, landscapes and land management, and introduces the core population dynamics affecting rural Australia: population decline as a result of restricted opportunities; and population growth resulting from counter-urbanization. The chapters that follow explore in more detail some of the variability that occurs within these broad trends.