Rural-urban Partnerships Research Articles

Rural-Urban Partnership and Regional Sustainable Development; A Conceptual and Experimental Approach

شهرها و روستاها از طریق مجموعه ای از پیوندهای گسترده با یکدیگر تعامل دارند. این تعاملات جغرافیای مختلفی را شامل می شود که اغلب فراتر از مرزهای اداری محلی و منطقه ای است. دولت های محلی و منطقه ای همیشه به تنهایی قادر به مدیریت این تعاملات برای توسعه پایدار شهری و روستایی نیستند. شراکت روستایی - شهری روشی موثر برای پاسخگویی به ضرورت حکمروایی این تعاملات و رفاه و توسعه اقتصادی است. این مقاله به تحلیل شراکت روستایی – شهری و تاثیر آن در توسعه اقتصادی - اجتماعی و پایداری می پردازد. ابتدا چارچوبی مفهومی برای درک زمینه شراکت روستایی – شهری بررسی کرده و سپس برخی شواهد تجربی درباره پویایی شهری - روستایی را با تاکید بر کشورهای عضو سازمان همکاری و توسعه اقتصادی(OECD) ارائه می نماید. یافته ها نشان می دهد نواحی شهری و روستایی از دارایی های مختلف و غالبا مکمل یکدیگر برخوردارند و یکپارچگی بهتر بین نواحی شهری و روستایی برای کارکرد اقتصادی - اجتماعی و توسعه پایدار آنها مهم است. شراکت موثر روستایی - شهری می تواند در تحقق اهداف توسعه اقتصادی کمک کند. شراکت روستایی - شهری به افزایش تولید کالاهای عمومی مناطق کمک می کند، دستیابی به صرفه جویی ناشی از مقیاس در ارائه خدمات عمومی و تصمیم گیری در زمینه هایی که تأثیرات قلمروی مهم است را هماهنگ کرده و قابلیت شرکا را افزایش می دهد. آن همچنین می تواند به توسعه فرصت های جدید اقتصادی کمک کنند.

Formal and Informal Governance Arrangements to Boost Sustainable and Inclusive Rural-Urban Synergies: An Analysis of the Metropolitan Area of Styria

In the past, the contrasts between rural and urban regions were the primary feature of analysis, while today, spatial dynamics are realized by the interactions between spaces and focus on the dependencies of rural-urban areas. This implies that boundaries are not anymore perceived as fixed but as flexible and fluid. With rising spatial interrelations, the concept of the “city-region” has been increasingly regarded as a meaningful concept for the implementation of development policies. Governance arrangements working at the rural-urban interface are often highly complex. They are characterized by horizontal and vertical coordination of numerous institutional public and private actors. In general, they provide opportunities to reap benefits and try to ameliorate negative outcomes but, due to asymmetric power relations, rural areas are often challenged to make their voice heard within city-region governance structures which can too easily become focused on the needs of the urban areas. This paper addresses these issues of rural-urban partnerships through the case of the Metropolitan Area of Styria. It presents analyses on the core issue of how to recognize the structure and driving challenges for regional co-operation and inter-communal collaboration in this city-region. Data were collected through workshops with regional stakeholders and interviews with mayors. Although the Metropolitan Area of Styria occupies an increased reference in policy discourses, the city-region has not grown to a uniform region and there are still major differences in terms of economic performance, the distribution of decision-making power, accessibility and development opportunities. If there should be established a stronger material and imagined cohesion in the city-region, it requires enhanced assistance for municipalities with less financial and personal resources, and tangible good practices of inter-municipal co-operation. The ability to act at a city-regional level depends highly on the commitment for co-operation in the formal and informal governance arrangement, and on the willingness for political compromises as well as on the formulation of common future goals.

New Concepts for Rural Development in the Strategies and Policies of the European Union

Summary Subject and purpose of work: The subject of the analysis is the concept of rural development in the European Union countries and its connection with the evolution of the common agricultural policy and the transformation of the cohesion policy. The aim of the study is to discover and assess the scale and method of supporting the rural development in the European Union countries through common agricultural policy and to present the underlying theoretical-cognitive and political-practical premises for shaping rural development strategies. Materials and methods: The official documents and subject literature are submitted for critical analysis and evaluation by authors. Results: This paper presents methods of defining and classifying rural areas and rural development through common agricultural policy and cohesion policy. It specifically outlines the concepts of multi-functional and intelligent development linked to the Europe 2020 strategy and the Cork political declarations. The new concept of smart villages and rural-urban partnership is also presented. Conclusion: The processes of rural policy separation and the need for creating national methods of the coordination of community policies and the use of European funds are indicated.

Análisis espacial de la ordenación territorial en áreas rurales de baja densidad demográfica: El caso de Extremadura

<p class="resumen-AGE">La ordenación del territorio en partenariados rurales-urbanos es una de las cuestiones más en boga actualmente para la organización óptima de los recursos y equipamientos en espacios rurales en crisis y en peligro de desaparición por el elevado envejecimiento de su población y el abandono de la población joven hacia espacios más dinámicos y con mejores oportunidades y recursos.</p><p class="resumen-AGE">La región que se analiza en este trabajo, Extremadura, es un espacio predominantemente rural en el que existen desigualdades en sus realidades sociales, económicas y demográficas, agravadas en algunos espacios y que no son resueltas a través las diferentes comarcalizaciones que actualmente actúan sobre su territorio. Así, en este estudio, se revisan las diferentes divisiones comarcales de la región extremeña con el fin de detectar su grado de solapamiento y de localizar, aplicando una metodología basada en el Análisis factorial de Componentes Principales, los núcleos que están ejerciendo en la actualidad como cabecera comarcal y que podrían actuar como centros de una futura y única organización territorial. Para comprobar el nuevo diseño, se aplican modelos de accesibilidad y gravedad a través de Sistemas de Información Geográfica y softwares estadísticos.</p><p> </p>

Urban population looking for rural landscapes: Different appreciation patterns identified in Southern Europe

In the context of the peripheral European rural landscapes, the role of the urban population, generally referred to as the ‘outsiders’, has shown to be influential in the dynamics of rural space. This influence occurs namely through the demand for non-productive functions leading to the emergence of new modes of occupancy. In addition, the emerging policy framework concerning policies and planning in rural landscapes call for an improved understanding of the diversified social demands for these landscapes. We argue that a more profound knowledge on the urban demand for rural landscape is needed to better integrate the urban interests into rural policy and planning. The present paper aims to gain greater insight on this demand by identifying landscape preferences of urban users, framed by the multifunctional transition theory, and using a photo-based survey with contrasting land covers derived from CORINE Land Cover classes. Furthermore, the use of land cover classes as the main landscape component, and thereby relating preferences to specific land covers, offers a sound basis for a territorial approach, able to integrate landscape into rural policy and land use planning practice. A case-study in Southern Portugal was developed at the regional scale and results showed different appreciation patterns for rural landscapes varying from humanised and more naturalised landscapes according to the different functions sought by urban users. Another prominent result is that urban demand for rural landscapes, even if driven by consumption, is strongly influenced by both protection and production values. A deeper knowledge on the interests of urban population can be a step forward for rural communities, land managers, and sectoral policy decision-makers to better define investment strategies in rural-urban partnerships facing the growing urban demand over rural space.

Sustainability Issues in Rural-Urban Partnerships: A Study on Regional and Inter-municipal Collaborations between some Southern Alberta Municipalities

The purpose of this study was to examine impacts of rural-urban and inter-municipal partnerships in finding suitable solution(s) to rural municipalities' environmental problems. The study also evaluated how involvement in collaborative partnerships affect the effectiveness of participating municipal governments in fulfilling their social service responsibilities. Moreover, the study examined necessary conditions for a sustainable and enduring voluntary regional and inter-municipal collaborations. The study was based on qualitative research paradigm. Seven municipalities in Southern Alberta were involved in the study. Overall, the study revealed that municipalities involved in a regional and/or inter-municipal partnerships fared better socio-economically than those that were never involved. It also revealed the need for maintenance of trust and effective management of the cost of involvement. It was discovered that sense of common destiny/identity including identification of potential partnering opportunities is essential for sustainable regional collaboration. It was also discovered that sustainable regional partnership requires an establishment of framework for identifying priorities and for reaching agreement on action to be taken. Provincial/federal policies and incentives that encourage collaboration are also essential for successful voluntary rural-urban communities' partnerships.

Potential accounting of regional biomass resource circulations in Japan: A prospective on regional rural–urban partnerships

In this paper we demonstrated an assessment framework to address biomass resources circulation in the context of rural–urban partnerships in pursuit of sustainability. Specifically, we performed mid- to long-term discrete-event simulations of the possibility of combining the supply of biomass resources from crop, livestock, and forestry operations in rural areas with the organizational design of financial mechanisms based on urban resident participation by looking into nine regions in Japan, and evaluated policy options from the viewpoint of farm income, reduction in emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG), and self-sufficiency rates. We found that food self-sufficiency rate (calorie-based) can be improved relative to the BAU option in every region by adopting the “Rehabilitation of Food Production” option. We argue that the proposed assessment framework allows us to discuss the potentials of rural–urban relationships from the viewpoints of sustainability in a concrete manner, despite various socio-economic factors and uncertainties.

Synergistic rural–urban development: The experience of the Rural–Urban Partnership Programme (RUPP) in Nepal

The discovery and greater understanding of what have come to be known as 'rural–urban linkages' calls for a more radical change in development planning than policies inspired by the sustainable livelihoods approach or by the uncritical desire of 'strengthening' linkages allow. The rebirth of interest in rural development in the late 1990s offers an opportunity to bring to prominence more comprehensive frameworks for such planning. This article starts from the position that rural development needs to be regionalised, and that poverty alleviation is dependent on the retention of the multiplier effect in the local economy, and the redressing of exploitative socio-spatial relations. The overarching model and the experience of the Rural–Urban Partnership Programme in a Nepalese municipality are recounted here, with special focus on the micro-enterprise component. Major lessons include the importance of getting the nuts and bolts of practice right even when the underlying model appears coherent. RUPP experience...

Development—There is Another Way: A Rural–Urban Partnership Development Paradigm

This paper emphasizes the possibility and cost-effectiveness of stemming the tide of migration to larger cities and increased urbanization of rural life by improving income-earning opportunities in rural areas and making them again more attractive in terms of economy and infrastructure. Local resources are the main determinant in bringing this about. Emphasis on increased agricultural productivity, establishment of agro-based industries and the pursuance of policies establishing a rural–urban partnership development is encouraged. Such a partnership would benefit both rural and urban populations and can prevent the nightmarish forecast of a doubling of urbanization in Africa and Asia by the year 2025.