The complex mobilities of homeless people in rural England

This paper explores the interconnected issues of mobility, power and meaning in the context of rural homelessness. It explores two common assumptions relating to these interconnections: that rural homeless people move to cities thereby transposing homelessness into an urban problem; and that mobility is deeply implicated in the mapping of moral codes in rural areas. Drawing on a range of interviews with homeless people, and workers with homelessness agencies in the rural areas of Gloucestershire and Somerset, the paper discusses four types of movement: ‘local’ homeless people moving out of rural areas; ‘local’ homeless people moving within rural areas; homeless ‘incomers’ moving to rural areas; and itinerant/transient homeless people moving through rural areas. The complex mobilities of rural homeless people influence common ideas about where homelessness occurs and how it is experienced. These mobilities also affect how homelessness is ‘made known’ in rural areas, as different elements of the mobility of homeless people are discursively scattered amongst identity labels and policy arenas other than homelessness. Finally, homeless mobilities problematise the adequacy and nature of policy responses to homelessness in rural areas.     

惠民县农村宅基地管理中存在的问题及对策

农村宅基地问题是农村工作的焦点。该文结合惠民县农村宅基地的实际情况,阐述了惠民县农村宅基地的使用现状,分析了农村宅基地管理中存在的主要问题,并提出了加强农村宅基地管理的几点对策。     

岩溶山区乡村聚落的格局特征及类型分析——以重庆市巫山县为例

为探索岩溶山区乡村聚落空间格局的特征,以位于重庆东北部岩溶广布的巫山县为研究对象,运用空间分布测度模型、空间规模测度模型和空间形态测度模型,定量分析了巫山乡村聚落的空间格局特征,并进一步划分了地域类型。分析结果表明,总体上,巫山县的乡村聚落有一定的空间集聚特征,但存在明显的区域差异;乡村聚落的规模普遍偏小,具有低值集聚的特征,空间上呈现县城西北、西南大规模农村聚落集中,东北、东南小规模零散分布的“西热东冷”的格局;在空间形态上,巫山县西部区域连接性好,但形状不规则,复杂程度高,东部区域连接性差,复杂程度不及西部区域。整体而言,巫山县的乡村聚落形状规则性差,缺乏规划与引导。通过构建乡村聚落空间测度指标体系,采用系统聚类的方法,将巫山县乡村聚落划分为6种类型:低密度散点型、低密度小团块型、低密度不规则团块状、中密度不规则条带型、高密度宽带型、高密度散点型。未来的县域乡村聚落重构需要根据不同类型的特点加以引导。      

Using small spatial units to refine our perception of rural America

More than half of the US rural population lives inside metro or micropolitan areas and even at more disaggregated scales, such as the census tracts, most spatial units mix rural and urban population. At a national scale, only 30% of the country are inhabited by 100% urban or 100% rural population, implying that more than two third of the US territory are somewhere in between both situations. As the rural/urban dichotomy appears today to be blurred by the emergence of new phenomena like rurbanization or exurbanization, our perception of rural America may be somewhat twisted and the reality of rural areas underplayed. This paper focuses on using finer-grade spatial units such as the census blocks and block groups, in order to provide new elements about the extension, localization and characteristics of rural America as well as about its inner dynamics. To that end, we analyze and process geographical and social data at these two levels of information, and use population density as a main factor of analysis. This allows us not only to propose new measurement of the extent of rural space in the USA but also to propose a new vision of its spatial dynamics by studying how several social indicators such as income, median age or sex ratio reveal regional and micro-regional variations and situations in the rural part of the US.     

区域综合地质调查助力乡村振兴的关键内容、战略路径与未来对策

区域综合地质调查是助力乡村振兴的基础性工作和重要技术支撑。本研究基于地质视角解读乡村振兴,围绕乡村人地安全、产业发展、地质文化、环境保护等方面进行剖析,提出地质灾害调查、工程地质评价、水文地质调查、农业地质调查、旅游地质遗迹调查等区域综合地质调查助力乡村振兴的关键内容;为提高助力效率效果,需做好项目顶层设计、制定乡村地区区域地质调查技术要求等标准、构建服务地方工作机制、开展系统人才培训培养等战略路径。未来乡村发展中,应进一步解决区域统筹部署与重点发展村镇选择、综合地质调查与乡村规划建设空间尺度匹配、综合地质调查和纵向专业性调查配合使用、工程地质评价与乡村地下空间集约利用、地质文化村建设与乡村规划建设衔接等问题,不断提高区域综合地质调查技术方法的服务能力,为乡村可持续振兴提供解决思路和方案。     

Differential productions of rural gentrification: illustrations from North and South Norfolk

This paper focuses attention on the making of space for rural gentrification, both discursively and materially. The paper emphasises the differential constructions of gentrification within urban and rural studies. Connections are drawn between production-side theories of gentrification, notions of the ‘post-productivist countryside’ and studies that have related rural demographic change and gentrification with planning and property relations. Drawing on these three sets of ideas, the paper explores gentrification in rural Norfolk. It is argued that the contemporary geography of rural gentrification may in part reflect historic structures of landownership as well as settlement classifications associated with the land-use planning system. Country and District level analysis is followed up by detailed study of gentrification of two villages in Norfolk, which highlights how gentrified rural spaces may be produced in rather different way and through different agencies, and as a result takes different forms.     

The realm of freedom in new rural governance: Micro-politics of democracy in Sweden

Voluntary associations are at the heart of Swedish rural policy and strategies for governance as partners in bringing about ‘development from below.’ Examining the implications of this new responsibility being placed on the civil society in new modes of multilevel governance, I ask: do these changes presage greater political space for individuals vis à vis the state or is Swedish rural policy premised on ideas about an institutional context that might be disappearing? In comparative research in rural Sweden, I discuss state and civil-society relations at the macro level in light of the gendered micro-politics of associational life on the ground. Through ethnographic research with people involved in development work of different kinds, I examine how ideas about community associations are used to mobilize rural policy. I analyze its’ political implications and argue for the importance of analyzing macro in relation to the micropolitics on the ground for a better theoretical understanding of democracy and power in rural governance, in particular its gendered implications. I argue that past collaborative relations between the civil society and the state’s administrative apparatuses as well as the current focus of rural policy have enabled the state to hand over service functions to the civil society and diluted their ‘voice,’ incongrously endangering the institutional basis of rural policy itself. Further, attention to the gendered micropolitics of associational life makes apparent cleavages within civil society and its underlying relations of gender and power that challenge current conceptualizations on the neoliberalization of rural policy.     

莱芜市钢城区农村建设用地整治工作分析

农村土地整治挖潜是乡镇企业发展解决用地瓶颈的重要举措,是落实科学发展观的具体体现,对于统筹城乡经济社会发展,加速改善农村面貌,实现城乡经济、社会、环境协调发展具意义重要。通过分析莱芜市钢城区农村土地整治挖潜的现状与问题,就今后如何做好农村建设用地整理、复垦提出建议。     

喀斯特地区不同岩性上农村居民点分布特征——以平果市为例

以典型喀斯特地区广西平果市的农村居民点为研究对象,运用GIS空间分析方法、Voronoi图和景观格局指数分析方法,揭示平果市喀斯特地区不同岩性上农村居民点的空间分布特征.结果表明:(1)平果市农村居民点总面积为4825.15 hm2,喀斯特地区与非喀斯特地区的农村居民面积比值约为2.8:1;(2)平果市的农村居民点属于...     

基于耦合关系的干旱绿洲区农村居民点整理分区研究——以张掖市甘州区为例

以张掖市甘州区为例,利用系统科学理论与方法,研究农村居民点整理与农村社会经济之间的动态耦合规律,并以甘州区18个乡镇为研究单元,构建了农村居民点用地整理分区评价指标体系,利用熵值法确定权重,计算农村居民点整理的综合评价值,运用层次筛选法将研究区划分为5个整理区。研究结果：①甘州区农村居民点与农村社会经济的耦合度演化分为3个阶段：1995—1997年,二者不甚协调;1998—2003年,二者都处于持续、稳定、最佳协调发展状态;2004—2007年,二者处于相对稳定协调状态;目前二者处于不甚协调发展阶段。②农村居民点整理分区包括优先整理区、强化整理区、适度整理区、一般整理区和完善整理区。     

美丽乡村建设背景下的农房管理:意义、问题与策略

美丽乡村建设,是中国建设社会主义新农村的重大历史任务。当前东部沿海地区农村经济极大发展,但农户住宅管理相对滞后,影响美丽乡村建设工作的进一步开展。阐述了农房管理对于优化乡村环境、促进土地合理利用、推动农村经济发展的重要意义,分析了农房管理现存问题及主要原因,结合典型示范县的成功实践,提出了强化农房管理的对策措施。     

Rural diversification in the Baltic countryside: a local perspective

Today “rural diversification” is high on the agenda in rural development. This article analyses rural diversification under conditions of post-socialist economic transition using case areas in Latvia and Estonia. The study shows that transition from centrally planned economy to market economy has had an enormous impact in the rural areas. Agricultural production and employment has decreased dramatically and rural unemployment is high. The conditions for rural diversification the first years after independence depended a lot on the local presence of non-farm activities before the split up of collective farming, in both production facilities but also in the skills and relations people had. Since independence, markets for traditional rural services and products have decreased. The extent to which local businesses find markets outside the local area and people have been able to integrate into the new labour market of service and construction jobs often in urban areas are essential for the diversification of the rural economy. Most rural inhabitants only have skills in large-scale agriculture and limited contacts to outside the local area which makes exploiting new opportunities difficult. The local capacity for withholding, developing and inducing new activities is weak. The challenge for rural development policy is to extend the possibilities of the rural inhabitants to exploit new opportunities.     

Making the countryside more like the countryside? Rural planning and metropolitan visions in post-quake Chengdu

In 2008, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck southwest China less than 100 km north of Chengdu, the booming capital of Sichuan Province. The city government undertook a massive reconstruction project in its rural hinterlands that was guided by existing policies to develop rural areas through coordinated urban and rural planning. Planners sought to avoid replicating urban settlements in rural areas by developing recognizably “pastoral” villages, an approach that is being widely echoed in the relatively new discipline of rural spatial planning in China. This paper argues that such design concessions evade the key feature of the new villages: the concentration of rural residents. The Chengdu government, though this symbolic and actual de-peopling of rural landscapes, has recast rural space as an environmental amenity and an abstract stock of arable land. Drawing on interviews, site visits, and policy and media documents, the paper analyzes the metropolitan plans that provided the framework for rural reconstruction in post-quake Chengdu, and connects these to a model village site in Chengdu’s rural periphery. The case illustrates the need to understand site-level village planning in the context of regional political economies of land, and highlights the new role that metropolitan governments are playing in rural development strategies.     

Determinants of utilisation of health services by women in rural and urban areas in Ghana

The paper examines the factors that influence the utilisation of health services by women in the rural and urban areas in Ghana. The systematic sampling procedure was used to draw the sample from women aged 18 and above with diverse backgrounds from Ahafo-Ano South district, representing the rural districts and Kumasi metropolis, representing the urban districts. The research instruments used for data collection were the questionnaire and formal interviews. Multiple regression was the main tool for analysis. The research reveals that the key factors that impact significantly on the utilisation of health services by women in the Ahafo-Ano South district are, distance, income and family size (number of children) while for Kumasi metropolis they are education, distance and marital status. Whereas it is clear that distance is a common problem facing women in both rural and urban areas in Ghana in the utilisation of health services, marital status and number of children have emerged as contrasting factors influencing utilisation of health services by women in rural and urban Ghana. Recommendations to improve utilisation include the location of maternal and child health services within easy reach in the rural areas, intensification of family planning education in the rural areas, the empowerment of women through access to formal education and vocational training for income generation activities and the full implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). A model of utilisation of health services by women in the rural and urban areas has emerged.     

江苏省睢宁县农村居民点整理潜力分析及效益评价

农村居民点整理是一项复杂的系统工程,整理潜力分析和效益评价是农村居民点整理项目投资前期工作的中心环节．是项目决策的依据。该文在分析睢宁县农村居民点整理潜力的基础上,对整理后的效益进行分析．为东部经济父发达地区的农村居民点整理提供了参考。     

高唐县农村饮水工程现状与对策

随着国家对农村饮水安全工程的连续投入,大批农村饮水工程建成使用,在一定程度上解决了农村群众的饮水安全问题。但是伴随着工程的运营使用,出现了诸如水资源利用不合理、水质标准低、工程管理体制不健全等一系列问题。通过具体分析问题原因,从工程建设与工程管理两个方面提出了解决的对策。     

苏南地区城乡聚落空间演化过程及其格局特征

当前,城乡聚落空间正由自然和经济社会条件存在差异的等级体系转变为密切联系的网络化结构,城乡融合已经成为中国城乡聚落空间演化发展的重要方向。以苏南地区为例,对20世纪90年代以来的城乡聚落空间演化过程及其格局特征进行分析,发现2000年以后城镇聚落扩张强度远高于乡村聚落,城乡聚落空间结构可进一步归纳为集中、双心、多核和密集4种基本格局。该研究对乡村振兴背景下的城乡聚落空间优化布局具有一定指导作用。     

农村土地承包经营权流转问题研究--以肥城市为例

家庭联产承包责任制实现了土地所有权和使用权的初步分离,使农民获得了相对独立的承包经营权,极大地调动了农民的生产积极性。然而,随着农村经济社会的发展,人地矛盾日益激化,土地的边际生产力已出现明显的递减趋势,土地小规模家庭经营,农业的比较利益大大下降;同时,农村的剩余劳动力涌向经济较发达的大中城市,城市化进程骤然加剧等,使得土地家庭承包经营这一土地制度逐渐显露出自身的缺陷。在稳定农村土地承包关系的前提下,促进农村土地流转,可以在一定程度上发挥土地的规模效益,促进农村经济社会的健康持续发展。     

Deprivation,resources and planning: Some implications for applied rural geography

Recent concern over social deprivation in rural areas of the U.K. has provided a new focus for applied rural geographers. However, the concept of deprivation may be broadened to include many other aspects of the rural environment, and therefore it offers a framework for more integrated approaches to planning in the countryside. A more dynamic strategy of rural research, involving greater cooperation between academic geographers and practising planners, and focussing upon problems of rural deprivation, is advocated in this paper.     

Placing voluntarism within evolving spaces of care in ageing rural communities

Guided by a theorisation of voluntarism as a critical process shaping local outcomes of changes underway in health care systems and in rural communities, this paper re-analyses qualitative results from previous case studies of rural ageing to deconstruct the multifaceted role of the voluntary sector in facilitating the emergence of homes and communities as ‘new’ spaces of care. The specific focus is on the lived experience of voluntary sector care providers from the perspectives of non-profit organisations, community groups and families as well as elderly residents of rural communities in Canada and New Zealand. The findings confirm the local dynamics of voluntarism as a crucial yet neglected component of sustainable rural services and communities. More importantly, they reveal the voluntary sector as a major source of resistance to both the short-term changes mandated by restructuring and longer-term changes associated with rural ageing and service decline. It is through resistance that voluntary organisations and volunteers are seen to be engaging most intensely with the challenge of ageing in place within evolving spaces of care. A more nuanced understanding of their complex role is a prerequisite for developing informed policy on rural ageing and care provisioning.