Block 7 (The Rebranding Process + Players In Rural Places) Flashcards
Define a rural area
A natural area (countryside/forest) with a low population density (less than 10,000 people)
- Can be REMOTE (high peripherality)
- Most often NOT REMOTE - HINTERLAND (low peripherality)
Define ‘hinterland’
Rural areas that are economically tied to urban catchment areas
Define peripherality
Distance in time/space from the opportunities provided by urban areas
Define the ‘rural idyll’
The view of rural areas as areas of natural beauty (‘chocolate box villages’) that must be conserved
List some characteristics of the rural idyll
- Local, primary employment (e.g. agriculture)
- Traditional buildings (e.g. thatched roofs)
- Locally born population (e.g. local accent)
- Rural hobbies (e.g. hunting)
Do most rural areas fit the rural idyll?
No - most have faced decline
What are some challenges that may cause a need for rural rebranding?
- Changing demographic (population becomes wealthy, old)
- Changing economy (primary sector becoming services)
- Post-productive countryside shift (focus on sustainability -expensive)
- Loss of affordable housing (gentrification + second homes)
- Loss of rural services (independent butchers, etc, not profitable)
- Physical exclusion (public transport too infrequent, become isolated)
- Digital exclusion (slow WIFI, poor connections to digital world)
Define rebranding
Marketing a place to give it a new identity in the consciousness of the public and businesses
What 2 processes can contribute to rebranding?
- Regeneration
- Re-imaging
Define regeneration
Long-term process involving economic, social and environmental improvement
Define re-imaging
Creating new mental perceptions of a place through advertising
Give an example of a re-imaged place
Yorkshire - advertised as ‘alive with opportunities’
What are some rural rebranding strategies?
- Recreation
- Heritage
- Media
- Events
- Food/produce
- Farm diversification
What is the recreation rebranding strategy and an example?
- Walking/cycling routes etc
- E.g. Isle of White Walking Festival
What is the heritage rebranding strategy and an example?
- Historic buildings/industrial past capitalised
- E.g. Mining museums in Wales
What is the media rebranding strategy and an example?
- Use for TV settings, etc
- E.g. Father Brown, Blockley
What is the events rebranding strategy and an example?
- Events based on crop/food festivals that characterise rural areas
- E.g. Feastival, Cotswolds
What is the food/produce rebranding strategy and an example?
- Advertising specialist foods from the area
- E.g. Devonshire cream
What is the farm diversification rebranding strategy and an example?
- Making farms more profitable by installing activities, etc
- E.g. Freestyle 360 gym, Blockley
What figures are involved in rural rebranding?
- Gov/local authorities - have most power+money, may want to stimulate growth+investment
- Local community groups - want to improve their local area
- Private investors - involved to make profit for their company
What are some positive social effects of rural rebranding?
- Improved community pride
- Improved perception of place from outsiders - more tourism and immigrants
What are some positive economic effects of rural rebranding?
- Businesses grow, as more visitors and locals
- More attractive to TNCs, so investment occurs, providing jobs and regeneration
What are some positive environmental effects of rural rebranding?
- Improved environmental quality - deprivation leads to decline of both physical and built environment upkeep
What are some negative social impacts of rural rebranding?
- Increased traffic congestion on small rural roads
- Community may be lost (out pricing - second homes)
- Locals may reject change - holding onto what used to be the rural idyll and not wanting to diversify - NIMBYism
What are some negative environmental impacts of rural rebranding?
- Increased pollution (air pollution - traffic, litter)
