THE CREATION OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IN RURAL AREAS IN THE LUBELSKIE REGION

Abstract

Social capital is one of the pillars of sustainable development of rural areas because the modern village needs educated and enterprising people and communities that can adapt quickly to changes and cooperate. The main aim of this article is to evaluate the different components of social capital and attempt to answer the question whether social capital in the rural areas of the Lubelskie Voivodeship differs from the social capital in the urban areas of the region. First, the study quotes the main definitions of social capital by J. Coleman, R. Putnam and F. Fukuyama, and next, separates its components for analysis. The analysis of such components as trust, friendship, cooperation, engagement in activities for the benefit of local community, participation in organisations, obtaining information and the level of communication, participation in elections and the assessment of democracy made it possible to conclude that, in principle, there are no significant differences between social capital in rural and urban areas of the Lubelskie Region, which can be explained by the fact that rural areas are losing its traditional agricultural character, and the mixing of population – the rural population flows into urban areas and the urban population settles in the countryside. The evaluation was conducted on the basis of questionnaire research commissioned by the Marshal Office in Lublin, and carried out on a sample of 1100 residents of the Lubelskie Voivodeship.