Disputed Notions and Definitions in Rural and Regional Studies

Abstract

Based on the literature Chap. 1 addresses the question of the disputed notions or rural, regional, territorial and development terms. The first issue is about the definition—or the very existence, even—of “the rural”. We isolate two main definitions highlighted the fact that in certain cases “rural” is used to refer to the landscape, while in others it is the population that is of primary interest. We also identify that rural areas have lost their past uniformity and have now become home to a mix of different service activities and agricultural or industrial production; and consist of both remote territories and areas close to cities, of historic and new populations. Then we consider the notion of development, and show that Regional science places considerations of economic and social change in territories at the heart of the debate, together with issues associated with the development process and the distribution of gains and losses resulting from new configurations, as well as the recent integration of well-being in social and economic indexes. Finally we move to the terms “region” and “territories”, and agreed to the idea that regional development refers to the processes that occur within the institutional borders of the region, whereas that of territorial development pertains to a construction of territorialities by local populations.