The New Rural Europe: Towards Rural Cohesion Policy.
Andrew Copus and Lisa Hörnström (Eds)
A new publication which may be downloaded from Nordregio:
(http://www.nordregio.se/Publications/Publications-2011/The-New-Rural-Europe-Towards-Rural-Cohesion-Policy/)
The authors argue that rural policy has been slow to adjust to the changing reality of rural economy and society of the twenty-first century Europe. The ongoing financial crisis has further underlined the urgent need for a fresh approach, more attuned to contemporary realities and issues, which may be termed “Rural Cohesion Policy”. In many ways the report's arguments ‘chime with’ those of the recent very influential report by Fabrizio Barca, the emphasis being upon tailored and locally managed approaches to stimulate more effective exploitation of local potential, including human and social capital. However the EDORA approach is distinctive in several ways:
• It asserts that there is still clear evidence that some aspects of rural change exhibit large scale systematic variation across the EU space. There is, therefore, still a strong argument for macro-scale diagnosis, strategic planning and intervention. Localised, place-based policy processes will not be sufficient. A two-tier structure is more appropriate.
• The proposed approach has a fundamentally different assumption about the origins of economic growth. Barca assumes that growth is primarily an urban phenomenon, and that rural areas benefit mainly through dependence upon rural-urban linkages. The authors of the EDORA report argue that rural areas, even those which are remote or sparsely populated, may exhibit an endogenous economic dynamic. They believe that diversified and prosperous rural economies may be sustained by “translocal”, rather than rural-urban, linkages.
• It follows that the needs of rural economies cannot be fully met by either sectoral rural development policies, or by interventions designed to enhance cooperation and linkages with adjacent urban areas. Rather they should address the needs of rural businesses (across all sectors), as they seek to survive and grow in an increasingly interconnected and globalised world.
The report may be downloaded from:
http://www.nordregio.se/Publications/Publications-2011/The-New-Rural-Europe-Towards-Rural-Cohesion-Policy/
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A note on the EDORA Project:
This report is based on findings from the EDORA (European Development Opportunities in Rural Areas) project. The overarching aim of EDORA was to examine the process of differentiation in rural areas, in order to better understand how EU, national and regional policy can enable these areas to build upon their specific potentials to achieve (in the words of the EU 2020 strategy) “smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.” EDORA was a project funded under the ESPON 2013 programme. It began in September 2008 and was completed in March 2011. This project was coordinated by the University of the Highlands and Islands, supported by a large consortium representing twelve EU Member States.
The Final Report of the EDORA project is available from: http://www.espon.eu/main/Menu_Projects/Menu_AppliedResearch/edora.html
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REPORT CONTENTS:
Preface
Introduction Andrew Copus
Chapter 1
Meta-Narratives as Heuristic Generalisations of Rural Change
Mark Shucksmith, Hilary Talbot and Richard Lee
Chapter 2
Macro Scale patterns of differentiation (spatial generalisations)
Andrew Copus
Chapter 3
Analysis of the Diversity of European Regions Joan Noguera and Laura Morcillo
Chapter 4
Rural Europe in a Global Context: Using foresight to consider future development trajectories
David Meredith
Chapter 5
Policy Perspective – The evolution of EU Rural Policy
Thomas Dax and Petri Kahila
Chapter 6
Territorial Cohesion as an Emerging Rural Policy Concept
Petri Kahila, Peter Weingarten, Asli Tepecik Dis and Andrew Copus
Chapter 7
A more appropriate rationale for Rural Territorial Cohesion Policy
Andrew Copus and Thomas Dax
A Final Word…
Andrew Copus
For further information contact:
Andrew Copus, Senior Research Fellow, University of the Highlands and Islands and Nordregio.
Email: [log in to unmask] Phone +44 7879 667895
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