Journal of Rural Studies最新文献

{"title":"Emerging paradigm in redressing the imbalanced “state-village” power relationship: How have rural gentrifiers bypassed institutional exclusion to influence rural planning processes?","authors":"Jin Zhu ,&nbsp;Jinwei Hao ,&nbsp;Yiming Han","doi":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103564","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103564","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The imbalanced “state-village” power relationship persists amid modernisation and urbanisation processes, posing a threat to rural sustainable development. Nonetheless, the impact of newly arrived rural elites, such as gentrifiers, on this power dynamic has been largely overlooked. Drawing on a planning modification incident in <em>Cenbu</em> Village, Shanghai, this article examines the gentrifiers' motivations for planning participation, the institutional exclusion they faced, and the informal channels they adopted to circumvent the exclusion, through the lens of “empowerment” and “informal participation”. The findings reveal that the gentrifiers’ informal participation contributed to a partial alteration of the rural plan, directing the village on a path towards sustainable development. The involvement of gentrifiers also effectively redresses the deficiencies of the traditional top-down planning decision-making approach and signifies a shift in the “state-village” power relationship. These insights are crucial for managing complex relationships in rural governance and enhancing village planning participation systems. Furthermore, this article contributes a novel perspective on the multifaceted role of the gentrifiers in rural development, diverging from the negative stereotypes commonly observed in Western contexts. This understanding is instrumental in comprehending power dynamics and ameliorating any imbalances within rural gentrification.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17002,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rural Studies","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 103564"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143132321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Opportunities, challenges, and future directions for the public social participation of older adults living in a rural region in Germany: Results from a mixed-methods study","authors":"Anke Desch ,&nbsp;Christine Holmberg ,&nbsp;Niklas Demmerer ,&nbsp;Sylvia Euler ,&nbsp;Philipp Jaehn ,&nbsp;Andreas Bergholz","doi":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103567","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103567","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Social integration is considered beneficial for people's health. However, research shows mixed results for the older population and often lower social participation and related health-outcomes for rural areas, rendering rural-living seniors a potentially vulnerable group. This article explores current opportunities, challenges, and possible improvements for seniors' public social participation in the structurally weak and fast aging Uckermark county in northeastern Germany. With a mixed-methods approach, we geocoded public data on social clubs, conducted expert interviews, and applied a qualitative content analysis to gain insights into the structural conditions and social mechanisms of seniors' social participation in the Uckermark. Geocoding revealed that over 60% of the settlements have at least one social club and experts deemed the number of social activity offers sufficient. However, they reported challenges relating to declining physical health, poverty, infrastructural deficits, difficulties in outreach, a lack of motivation, conflicting relationships, regional mentality, and a struggle for sustainability. They suggested prioritizing rural seniors' lives in the political agenda, increased networking and sustainable reorganization of regional stakeholders, and providing tailored participation offers. The interviews highlight the interconnectedness of different groups and historically shaped socioeconomic developments in the rural community. Relating these results to international studies and aging theories, we conclude that there are common structural challenges in rural regions that foster seniors' social disengagement. However, dynamic and regionally specific relationships, norms, and preferences seem to play a major role in seniors' selective (dis-)engagement in public social activities and deserve greater attention in the provision and evaluation of participation offers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17002,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rural Studies","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 103567"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143132330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Scaling up mechanisms in citizen farming initiatives: Lessons learned from a citizen-led and collective agroecological farm","authors":"Marie Houdart ,&nbsp;Magali Blot ,&nbsp;Salma Loudiyi ,&nbsp;William Loveluck","doi":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103556","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103556","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Citizen initiatives are gaining prominence as they clearly articulate core social values and contribute to localized agri-food transitions. However, stakeholders within these initiatives may encounter challenges when attempting to engage in rescaling processes. This raises questions regarding the implementation mechanisms: How can citizen-led agricultural and food initiatives successfully scale up, and what mechanisms and prerequisites are necessary to achieve this? To address these questions, we employ a temporal approach that integrates three analytical dimensions: meaning, governance, and space. This approach is applied to a case study of a citizen-led experiment that establishes a collective farm promoting agroecology across approximately 100 ha near Clermont-Ferrand in central France. The methodology relies on primary data obtained through participatory workshops, where participants co-constructed a chronicle of the project. The analysis results are presented as a narrative, highlighting four temporal sequences characterized by different articulations and modalities between meaning, governance, and space. By examining this unique initiative involving citizen participation in agriculture and food, we shed light on the process of collective action and the far-reaching effects of experiments that serve as alternatives to productivist agri-food models while redefining approaches to policymaking and economic practices. Through this lens, we demonstrate the project's deep-rooted connection to a complex environment, addressing the challenges faced in agri-food transition within a specific territory.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17002,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rural Studies","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 103556"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131516","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Residential art centres and their understanding of freedom in rural areas","authors":"Stela Houserová,&nbsp;Pavel Pospěch","doi":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103569","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103569","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This novel study in interpretive rural sociology draws on recent discussions of the role of art in rural areas, and specifically focuses on the case study of rural residential centres for artists. As the numbers and popularity of arts residencies in rural and peripheral locations grow, we examine what artists <em>both</em> seek and acquire from rural residencies. Artists and managers of residencies emphasize freedom as a key value associated with rural residential centres: yet what does “freedom” mean for them? Using approaches based in interpretive research and cultural sociology, we reconstruct the ways through actors in the field use the term “freedom” to make sense of their experience. We identify four key contradictions that relate both to the benefits and to the drawback of the perceived freedom of rural residencies: autonomy vs. disconnection, ideal working environment vs. solitude, authenticity vs. exhaustion and refuge vs. colony. These contradictions are experienced and negotiated by artists and artistic residential centres managers in their everyday lives. The qualitative analysis is based on a set of interviews conducted in rural residential centres in the Czech Republic and on a content analysis of the materials published and produced by the centres themselves.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17002,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rural Studies","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 103569"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“Enough is enough, we like our farms”: The role of landscape ideology in shaping perceptions of solar energy and agrivoltaics in the rural American Southwest","authors":"Tyler Swanson,&nbsp;Carrie Seay-Fleming,&nbsp;Andrea K. Gerlak,&nbsp;Greg A. Barron-Gafford","doi":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103572","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103572","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As efforts to develop solar energy increase across the US, so does local opposition in rural communities where residents view solar energy as incompatible with local landscapes and identities. Recognizing the growing public opposition to solar energy resulting from landscape conflicts, many scholars have recommended the adoption of agrivoltaics. This co-utilization practice allows for agricultural and solar energy production to take place on the same plot of land as a solution to improve public support for solar energy development. This study uses landscape ideologies of the Western United States to examine how solar energy fits into changing Western landscapes and investigates whether agrivoltaics can be used as a tool to better align solar energy development with local landscapes. The study focuses on Pinal County, Arizona, a historically rural agricultural community simultaneously experiencing exurbanization, a decline in agricultural production, and an increase in proposed utility-scale solar energy projects. Using semi-structured interviews with farmers, government officials, and local business interests in combination with participant observation of local meetings about solar energy development, we find that a divergence in landscape ideologies between farmers and government officials in Pinal County significantly shapes opposition to solar energy. Agrivoltaics is perceived positively by government officials as a solution to public opposition toward solar energy development, however, farmers’ insufficient knowledge about agrivoltaics and a lack of current interest by solar developers to engage in agrivoltaic practices present critical barriers to the use of agrivoltaics as a land-use solution in Pinal County. We conclude with recommendations for increasing farmer participation in agrivoltaic policy and project development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17002,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rural Studies","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 103572"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143132323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"(In)visible newcomers: Foreign workers and internal urban-rural migrants in Japan's countryside","authors":"Cornelia Reiher","doi":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103561","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103561","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rural Japan is facing a severe population decline and labor shortage. Japanese central and local governments are trying to revitalize rural areas by attracting new residents to live and work in the countryside. However, support for migrants and their experiences varies greatly depending on their nationality. While a complex support system for internal urban-rural migrants exists, most migrants from Southeast Asia are mostly invisible because they do not have the same resources as internal Japanese migrants. This paper compares two programs that hire people to temporarily work in Japan's countryside to find out why some migrants are more visible than others and what this means for rural communities. The <em>Community</em>-<em>building</em> Support S<em>taff Program</em> aims at attracting people from Japan's urban areas to move to the countryside and work there for three years to revitalize the region. The <em>Technical Intern Training Program</em> is a labor rotation system for temporary workers from East and Southeast Asia. I argue that the hierarchization of different groups of migrants results in the invisibility and the marginalization of foreign workers in rural areas, making them more vulnerable than migrant workers in cities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17002,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rural Studies","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 103561"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143132324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rural innovation and the green transition: The role of further education colleges","authors":"Dylan Henderson,&nbsp;Kevin Morgan","doi":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103565","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103565","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Further Education Colleges (FECs) have been undervalued in discussions of regional innovation, despite their critical role in providing vocational and educational training. This paper argues that FECs in rural areas may be well positioned to lead innovative responses to contemporary challenges, such as those posed by the green transition. The paper focuses on the potential of rural FECs to facilitate transformative innovation. It presents a case study of an FEC in Carmarthenshire, Wales (UK), seeking to identify ways to manage slurry for the benefit of the environment and society. It contributes by illustrating three integrated mechanisms by which rural FECs can develop solutions to the green transition: (i) aligning agendas for innovation and skills development; (ii) orchestrating distributed leadership; and (iii) creating experimental regulatory spaces. The findings highlight the potential of FECs to make a greater impact on the rural economy and contribute towards solutions for grand challenges facing society.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17002,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rural Studies","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 103565"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143132328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Agricultural value chain transformations: A comparative analysis of milling segment upgrading in the rice value chains in Ghana and Ivory Coast","authors":"Rémi Laurent ,&nbsp;Guillaume Soullier ,&nbsp;Jean-François Le Coq ,&nbsp;Carolina Milhorance","doi":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103570","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103570","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the extent of technical and organisational transformations in the milling segment of the rice value chains in Ghana and Ivory Coast, which is discussed against the literature on agricultural value chain transformations. The method is based on rice miller's quantitative data and stakeholders' interviews. The results reveal that both countries are undergoing technical change and a shift of value chain governance towards vertical integration, implemented at larger scale in Ghana. The differences observed are attributed to variations in production systems, demand for local rice, currency conditions, and policy approaches in the respective countries.</div><div><strong>Résumé:</strong> L'article examine l'ampleur des changements techniques et organisationnels en cours dans le segment de la transformation des chaînes de valeur du riz au Ghana et en Côte d’Ivoire, qui est discuté par rapport à la littérature sur les transformations des chaînes de valeur agricoles. La méthode est basée sur des données quantitatives et des entretiens. Les résultats révèlent que les deux pays connaissent un changement technique et un changement de gouvernance de la chaîne de valeur qui tend vers l'intégration verticale, mise en œuvre à plus grande échelle au Ghana. Les différences observées sont attribuées aux variations dans les systèmes de production, la demande pour le riz local, les conditions monétaires et les approches politiques dans les pays respectifs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17002,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rural Studies","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 103570"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mental health, well-being and resilience in agricultural areas: A research agenda for the Global North","authors":"Caroline Nye ,&nbsp;Rebecca Wheeler ,&nbsp;David Rose ,&nbsp;Florence Becot ,&nbsp;Mark Holton ,&nbsp;Duška Knežević Hočevar ,&nbsp;Jorie Knook ,&nbsp;Sarah Kyle ,&nbsp;Maria Partalidou ,&nbsp;Mark Riley ,&nbsp;Artur Steiner ,&nbsp;Hannah Whitley","doi":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103506","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103506","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper offers an overview of research perspectives, gaps, and priorities within the field of mental health and well-being among farming communities in the Global North. Developed by an international working group of scholars with expertise in the mental health and well-being of agricultural and rural communities, it outlines the importance of developing an international research agenda in this subject area by presenting five propositions. Each of the propositions addresses current research gaps and/or highlights potential advancements in investigations into one of the following areas of study: i) who is being researched, ii) what is being researched, iii) geographical gaps in research, iv) informal and formal support systems, and v) methodological approaches and issues. The purpose of this paper is to encourage discussion and present a potential agenda around which new studies might be inspired and developed, as well as to help drive forward more focussed, joined-up research across the Global North to facilitate more effective outcomes for individuals belonging to agricultural communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17002,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rural Studies","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 103506"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143131534","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing the role of rural tourism in fostering cross-border integration within the EU: A case study of the Czech-German-Polish borderland","authors":"Lukáš Novotný","doi":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103529","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103529","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper aims to provide comprehensive insights into enhancing cross-border tourism and integration in rural border regions facing socio-economic and demographic challenges. It focuses on Umgebinde houses as a unique architectural heritage within Central Europe's border areas and examines their role in the development of cross-border rural tourism. The study is grounded in the theoretical framework of cross-border integration, specifically its three dimensions—functional, institutional, and ideational—adapted for social science tourism research. The qualitative research investigates the strengths and weaknesses of institutionalising cross-border cooperation concerning Umgebinde houses, particularly with respect to the development of cross-border tourism and the highly peripheral nature of these regions. It addresses the potential of these houses to promote a sense of shared cross-border unity, explores the connectivity of Umgebinde house landscapes across borders through communication and marketing networks, and identifies existing deficits. The findings highlight the necessity for professionalising tourism institutions and improving fundraising efforts. Crucially, the development of cross-border destinations depends on sustained support from local and regional governments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17002,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rural Studies","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 103529"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143132338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}