RURAL FUTURES in times of urbanisation

In the wake of urbanisation, some remote and rural areas need to deal with issues such as depopulation and remoteness from key markets. Forecasts indicate that rural areas will face challenges of these kinds also in the future. Depopulation is expected to persist, and dependency ratios will continue to increase. The potential to reverse the urbanization trend is expected to be limited. Against this background, it is vital to elucidate how the future of the rural is framed in different political domains. What are the visions for the countryside, at a time when human and economic resources tend to concentrate to the cities?

Josefina Syssner is associate professor in human geography at the Center for Municipality studies, Linköping University. Main research interests concern local politics, planning and development — primarily in rural areas. She is the author of Världens bästa plats: Platsmarknadsföring, makt och medborgarskap2012, Lund: Nordic Academic Press and What kind of Regionalism? Regionalism and region building in Northern European Peripheries, 2006, Peter Lang Publishers.

This talk is part of the higher seminar series in Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. If you want to get emails about our events, please contact: Klara.Fischer@slu.se or Harry.Fischer@slu.se.