Abstract
Taking into account the significant changes and challenges in rural areas and the economic and organizational advantages of towns, it can be expected that towns will become increasingly important for (inter)national policy makers, especially in relation to the decentralization of rural policies. This book aims to answer the following research questions: Can small-and medium-sized towns still be considered as concentration points of economic activities for town and hinterland actors? And should they be the focus point in rural development?
In this book, the multifaceted relationships between town-hinterland and the regional economy will be explored at different spatial levels and for different actors, in particular for households, farms and firms. Furthermore, this book will show an interesting range of analyses, varying from macroeconomic analyses of the local economy in five different countries to the simulation of the total population of one Dutch town at postcode level.
Fresh flowers, cucumbers and strawberries, yesterday picked in Africa, can today be bought in many supermarkets in Europe, swiftly transported by plane. The Internet even allows us to buy these products from the comfort of our own chair, without going outside. The meaning of distance and location is changing very fast. On the other hand, more and more people are searching for authenticity and historical details: traditional costumes, food, and crafts are highly appreciated. In addition, in rural areas, many new developments are taking place. In 1897 Berthelot foresaw that, by the year 2000, the manufacturing of (artificial) food would be independent of the season, rain, drought and frost. To a certain extent he was right, as in many places agriculture has become almost like any other industry; in others this is not (yet) possible or not wanted. The shift from agriculture to industry and services, as well as the urban desire to preserve the idyllic countryside creates a certain tension for local rural actors. The question, however, is: Are they passive victims or active players?
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- 1.
- 2.
However, to urbanites, rural living does not necessarily mean living in a completely rural area; half of them would like to move either to the real countryside or to a residential environment in the urban zone with rural characteristics.
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The 1st pillar concentrates on providing basic income support to farmers, who are free to produce in response to market demand, while the 2nd pillar supports agriculture, as a provider of public goods, in its environmental and rural functions, and rural areas in their development (European Communities 2006).
- 4.
Interestingly, to a certain extent, this approach seems to work. Around 2004, the first initiatives began to take effect and maintain a certain level of facilities in small towns by developing ‘Hart shops’ or ‘Service shops’. In many regions the provincial government subsidizes local initiatives to develop shops in which both commercial and public services are offered at the same location, in order to keep a basic level of facilities (Lieshout 2005). An example is a small town near Deventer called Lettele, where the municipality of Deventer opened a service point in an existing shop, and, recently, the library also started to lend books from this location. Nevertheless, the government is (still) responsible for social care, cultural facilities, and libraries.
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The local economy is defined as that of town and hinterland together.
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Marketowns project funded by the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme for Research and Technology Development, Contract QLRT -2000-01923. The project involves the collaboration of The University of Reading (UK), the University of Plymouth (UK), the Joint Research Unit INRA-ENESAD (France), the Agricultural Economics Research Institute LEI (The Netherlands), Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland) and the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal).
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One small and one medium-sized town.
- 8.
In the Marketowns study, seven zones are distinguished (town, direct hinterland, extended hinterland, rest of the region, rest of the country, rest of Europe and rest of the world. However, in this study the main focus is on the local economy, thus allowing the aggregation of the last four zones into one ‘rest of the world’ zone.
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Acknowledgements
I owe a lot of gratitude to Peter Nijkamp, Piet Rietveld, Teresa de Noronha Vaz and Graham Clarke for their advises and help throughout this research. Furthermore, I would like to thank the Marketowns team for allowing me to use the data collected in the EU-project.
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Appendix A1.1: Names of the 30 selected towns
Appendix A1.1: Names of the 30 selected towns
Country | Towns |
England | Leominster |
Swanage | |
Towcester | |
Tiverton | |
Burnham-on-Sea | |
Saffron Walden | |
France | Brioude |
Prades | |
Magny-en-Vexin | |
Mayenne | |
Douarnenez | |
Ballancourt-sur-Essonne | |
The Netherlands | Dalfsen |
Bolsward | |
Oudewater | |
Schagen | |
Nunspeet | |
Gemert | |
Poland | Glogówek |
Duzniki | |
Oźarów | |
Jędrzejów | |
Ultsroń | |
Lask | |
Portugal | Mirandela |
Tavira | |
Lixa | |
Vila Real | |
Silves | |
Esposende |
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van Leeuwen, E.S. (2010). Introduction. In: Urban-Rural Interactions. Contributions to Economics. Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2407-0_1
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