7. Rural management Flashcards
What are the stereotypical perceptions of the ‘rural idyll’?
What contributes to this perception?
TV e.g. Last of the summer wine, postman pat, Downtown.
Advertising – E.g. country living magazine
National culture e.g. Jerusalem song
Art and literature e.g. Constable and Austen
Rural areas have experienced counter urbanisation since 1980s.
Why?
Perceived advantages of rural life “the rural idyll” (less crowded, open space, quieter, more community etc).
Increased access to city from rural areas due to transportation developments,.
People want a better quality of life and they want to be able to live in a clean and quiet area. An area without air and noise pollution from heavy industries, the crime of urban environments and the lack of opportunities found in some parts of cities. They also aspire to having larger houses with more land for cheaper prices compared to the large towns and cities.
reasons for the digital divide?
Physical coverage less, urban areas prioritised as more customers.
Higher proportion of older people in rural areas who do not know how to access technology.
Poverty. Many areas cannot afford access.
Why is digital divide an issue?
Unequal access to services e.g. internet banking and shopping as high streets decline.
Work opportunities often advertised/physically online.
Social exclusion as methods of communication change. E.g. facebook vs. home phones.
Lack of access puts off youth, therefore contributes to ageing populations in rural areas, and diminishes counter-urbanisation.
Often, in-migration can bring positive changes…..
Middle class immigrants – social structure changes -local resentment caused
Improvement in services – e.g. gas mains, cable TV, supports local schools
Supports some local facilities (e.g. pub, builders etc.) – although others may close
Primary schools might flourish (or close) – young population - increase nursery provision
Housing fabric improved, new housing, barn conversions.
Light industry may develop, B&B, small hotels, bistros
Negatives of counter urbanisation
Country villages are becoming increasingly suburbanised, they can therefore grow quickly and lose their original character and charm.
Second homes are often bought in this counterurbanisation process, often in more scenic areas of the countryside such as National Parks. In this case, people buy an additional property for use as a holiday home, but do not move there permanently. This has a negative impact on communities as houses can stand unoccupied for most of the year.
House prices can be pushed up locally as migrants sell expensive city properties and earn higher city wages. The net result of this is that locals and in particular the young can be forced away as they are priced out of their own communities.
Traffic congestion increases as a large percentage of the migrants will be commuting to work traffic congestion increases.
Why is re-branding needed in rural areas?
Because post-productive.
Because rural areas often characterized by either rural idyll OR depopulation and an ageing population (therefore has frequently led to media portrayals of a lack of local shops, civic amenities and services etc). As a consequence, they have increasingly needed to reposition themselves as centres of leisure and amenity rather than of production of agricultural products.
Rural re-branding is therefore often achieved by strengthening the farming economy by diversification.
boyton farm
Weddings/christenings etc. in old thatched barns.
Farm buildings converted to offices.
‘The Ginger Piggery’ a boutique farm shop.
Land rented for alternative purposes (e.g. Yurts in woodland to boutique camping company).
The Four Feathers Shooting School opened.
Was mainly:
Grain production
Rare breed pig, cattle and lamb meat
The problems involved in rural re-branding…
Changes fundamentally the character of an area. This may be highly controversial because the changes involved might result in the importation of financially well off residents, business infrastructures, and cultural and leisure facilities more suited to better off people than to poorer pre-existing inhabitants (who might be driven out by rising property prices and rents).
Completely discarding imagery connected with an agricultural heritage can be negative, as rural landscape and crafts are fundamental local resources, intimately related to the agricultural heritage.
