Rural development contexts - input in rural attractiveness definition

Abstract

Rural development is associated with a variety of contexts. The attractiveness of the countryside forms a summary view of the factors that allow us to talk about the needs of the rural people to make the countryside attractive and economically viable for both locals and tourists. Within the framework of the PoliRural project, the attractiveness of rural areas is considered as a basis for the development of regional development policy. In the initial stage, the definition of rural attractiveness was based on the literature analysis and survey results. The aim of the study is to make improvements to the definition of rural attractiveness based on the contexts of rural development, regional development and rural typology. The study is based on an analysis of the literature, the needs of the pilot regions and the evaluation of selected policies. As a result, recommendations are made to policy makers. A mixed research method approach combining qualitative and quantitative techniques was used to update the initial definition of rural attractiveness. The study conceptualizes the attractiveness of rural areas as a context-based, politically determined and everyday social construct. There is no single definition of rural attractiveness in this sense due to the diversity of cultural, social, territorial, different scales and economic conditions. However, there is reason to talk about a set of factors and contexts that need to be taken into account when designing rural development policy.