Heterogeneous Planning Micro-Regions? The Effect of Spatial Dependence and Resource Availability of Settlements on the Rural Development Projects in the Southern Transdanubian Region (Hungary)

Abstract

Applied methods and materials to support regional planning vary; planners update their analytical frameworks based on the newly available data. Development goals, priorities and strategies need to be based on available (local) resources, which are identified as either comparative advantages or uniform development goals at a certain planning level. This paper presents a novel analytical framework for the Rural Development Programme of the South Transdanubian Region (Hungary) for the period of 2021-2027. Descriptive, cross tabulations and indicators of spatial autocorrelation were applied to the number of projects supported under the Rural Development sub-measures in 2014-2020. Large variation was observed in the LEADER development areas, and we confirmed that the pull effect of the regional centres is unclear. The results warn on the location-determined peripheries in the region. Agriculture oriented, even small settlements are better acceptors of rural development funds than other clusters of resource availability.

Local Resource Clusters of Southern Transdanubian Settlements

“…The project absorption capacity of settlements also depends on the availability of local capital (e.g. resources) (Horváthné et al, 2021a). For most local developments, a territorial scale that goes beyond the boundaries of a particular municipality would be ideal for implementation (Mezei & Varjú, 2018).…”