Rural youth are increasingly seen as crucial actors in addressing the structural challenges that European agriculture currently faces. This study explores agricultural entrepreneurship among young people aged 15 to 30 living in rural areas as a possible route towards resilience and rural revitalisation. Drawing on harmonised microdata from Flash Eurobarometer 513, we combine a territorial comparison with an ordered logistic regression to analyse both sectoral preferences and the individual drivers of agricultural entrepreneurship. The results reveal that rural youth tend to show stronger entrepreneurial aspirations and a more pronounced interest in the agrarian sector than their peers in urban areas or towns. Gender, employment status, and national context emerge as significant determinants of their involvement in agricultural entrepreneurship. Taken together, these findings underline the importance of inclusive and place-sensitive policies capable of enabling rural youth to shape sustainable futures within their own communities.
In recent years, the European Commission has actively promoted the concept of rural resilience (European Commission, 2025), but there are still many divergent views on the operationalisation of the concept at EU, national and local levels. Drawing from quantitative and qualitative evidence (e-survey, 18 semi-structured interviews and four focus groups), from studies based in Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia and EU-wide perspective, we analysed the practitioners’ understanding of rural resilience; and identified key factors and challenges for implementation in practice. Findings reveal that, while rural resilience is a conceptual construct open to multiple interpretations, a clear distinction can be observed between theoretical and practitioner interpretations. Theoretical perspectives tend to adopt a broader, more systematic view of rural resilience, transformative and “bouncing forward” approaches, whereas practitioner interpretations are typically narrower, focusing on robustness, adaptability, context-specific actions and immediate community needs. Our findings have implications for policy formation, highlighting that resilience is a long-term process rather than a fixed outcome.
In the face of demographic change, increasing mobility, institutional transformations, and escalating interstate tensions and conflicts, local communities are exposed to new forms of risk and uncertainty. In this context, perceived safety becomes an important indicator of local resilience. The article aims to identify the dimensions of perceived safety and examine their links to individual characteristics (social capital, local rootedness, civic agency) and the contextual social potential of residents in rural municipalities located in suburban areas. The study is based on a representative survey of adult residents (N = 607), conducted in 2024 in six rural municipalities in the & Lstrok;& oacute;d & zacute; Metropolitan Area. Factor analysis was used to construct a three-component perceived safety index (social, housing, spatial). Subsequently, two-level Generalised Linear Mixed Models and ordinary least squares regression models were estimated. The analysis shows that the perceived safety is moderate. It is strengthened by trust in municipal authorities, pro-newcomer attitudes, place attachment, readiness for co-decision making, and trust in close ties. Age and trust in entrepreneurs are negatively associated with perceived safety. The inter-municipal variance proves statistically nonsignificant, indicating that individual-level social factors are more important than contextual (municipal) factors for local resilience.
This study uses individual mental mapping to examine the risk environment of Hungarian vine growers. While the focus is on the challenges posed by climate change, it is important to note that grape growers do not respond only to climate change but also to the complex environment that surrounds them. This research focuses on the M & aacute;tra wine region and explores how climate change affects market, institutional, financial, and labour market risks. Through qualitative interviews and collaborative mental mapping exercises, this study reveals that producers are confronted with an intricate and interconnected web of risks. Although short-term adaptation practices to the negative effects of climate change are common, long-term strategic responses remain limited. Institutional inflexibility, particularly regarding regulations on grape varieties and support schemes, further restricts their capacity for adaptation.
Floods, as one of the hydrological disasters, have been recorded as the most common within the natural disaster occurrences since 1990. Floods can be induced by natural forces, by heavy or continuous rain that exceeds the assimilative capacity of the soil or the river flow capacity, but they can also be triggered by human activities, deforestation, constructions on unstable slopes and constructions of embankments, which can result in activation of landslide processes on the slopes. Floods affect agricultural areas, areas with forestry, but also urban areas. This research explores flood resilience strategies through the comparative analysis of selected flood events in Europe, which occurred from 2005 until 2025, with the focus on the recent floods in 2024 that affected the rural areas of the southern part of Switzerland and the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The research is conducted based on documentary evidence about floods, which is compared from an urban planning perspective, including historical data and the recorded floods since the 20th century. The main aim is to explore how planned flood resilience strategies have been applied and the effectiveness of their implementation during the last 20 years of repeated flood impacts, in order to rethink the concept of flood resilience. The research points out the importance of approaching the existing resilience framework from a holistic perspective and understanding that climate adaptation requires flexible and transformative land-use policies in both urban and rural areas, as well as a diversified application of resilience strategies.
In recent years, policies have increasingly emphasized the need to support sustainability transitions. Aligned with this focus, scholars consider the circular economy a valuable strategy for advancing sustainable development. It is widely argued in the literature that overcoming the traditional approach of addressing individual environmental issues with specific policies can be achieved through the adoption of a policy mix. Moreover, a complex problem like sustainability transition, defined by specific characteristics, requires a solution with those same traits. In the literature, a policy mix is often presented as a solution to support sustainability transitions. To this end, the study wants to support evidence-informed policymaking by offering a multistage method based on participatory futuring to identify barriers and key actions for a policy mix formulation towards a circular economy. Specifically, implementing a backcasting approach allows for identifying key actions and actively integrating stakeholders' perspectives involving visions and pathways of system transformation. In particular, the process was divided into different stages: i) formulation of a circular economy scenario, ii) exploration of barriers, and iii) delineation of key actions to implement the scenario. This paper contributes to the literature on policy mix, employing a hybrid approach that combines backcasting and focus group techniques, using rural areas as a case study. This approach supports the idea that identifying future scenarios is a prerequisite for sustainable development and could be a strategic tool for encompassing environmental, social and economic spheres.
This article explores the complexity of land ownership in rural Albania by examining the historical evolution of agrarian reforms and the changes in the rural and agricultural landscape, the current and past legal framework, the challenges farmers face in the absence of formal property titles, and how it can be solved in the context of a candidate country to join the European Union (EU). This study adopts a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on indicators from the social sciences and humanities, political economy, history, and cultural heritage to analyze the trajectory of agrarian reforms and the local perceptions of rural populations. The empirical study carried out in two Albanian villages explores how these reforms have shaped Albania's agriculture and rural landscape. Above all, this study seeks to answer a key question: in Albania, owning land does not necessarily mean being the rightful owner – so what does ownership entail? With this study, the author seeks to clarify “de jure” property rights in Albania using the positive Roman rights of “usus”, “fructus” and “abusus”, and “de facto” how this works in practice, as shown by the example of two rural areas. We use Roman property rights, which are unusual in the literature on land tenure in Albania, given the country's historical past under Ottoman rule and the impact of Muslim property rights, which still influence the de facto use of land today. There are two main reasons for this choice: firstly, formal rights in the country create confusion between being a landowner without having full rights, and secondly, our perspective frames these issues in the context of EU integration and calls for a rethinking of the transition to the European legal system.
SPANDAM is a system dynamics model designed to examine the causes of depopulation in a given area and simulate the effects of policies aimed at addressing or mitigating depopulation dynamics and their consequences. Three scenarios have been simulated for the Vitigudino region: a baseline scenario, a moderate policy scenario, and a more aggressive policy scenario. Other measures are implemented at varying levels of intensity depending on the scenario. The simulation results show that the region's attractiveness significantly increases as a result of the implemented policies and the improved quality of life for residents. However, this improvement is not sufficient to reverse the depopulation dynamics. The increase in net migration, which turns positive in the highest-intervention scenario, does not offset the negative natural population growth. Nevertheless, the depopulation process slows down considerably, and although it is not fully reversed, the improvement in residents' quality of life is, in itself, a result that justifies political intervention in the area.
Scientists and practitioners note a lack of knowledge and clear understanding of strategies and organisational structures designed to provide local, biologically valuable, seasonal food to society. The development of short food supply chains is a farmer-driven decision that depends on the knowledge and expertise of the farmer, the demand for local products, and the potential for customer involvement in value creation. This study aims to identify the preconditions for co-creation and to develop a conceptual model of co-creation in short food supply chains. The research methods included analysis of scientific literature, logical analysis and generalisation, semi-structured interviews with farmers and customers, and case studies. The study identified co-creation conditions and benefits: accessibility; involvement, interest, honesty, openness; meeting expectations and goals; dialogue and communication skills; and interaction between farmers and customers. The ecosystem of the short food supply chain is shaped by the farmers and customers, with additional contributions from other stakeholders, including local government and non-governmental organisations. Customers are also value creators, making it important for farmers to establish conditions for mutual interaction and dialogue.
This article examines the changing role of political parties at the local level in the Czech Republic, focusing on municipalities with fewer than 500 inhabitants. Based on a quantitative analysis of over 3,400 municipalities in the 2010–2022 local elections and interviews with mayors, the study shows that independent candidates dominate local elections and that the number of candidates affiliated with political parties declines with each election. Parties have largely abandoned programmatic roles, limiting their involvement to candidate nominations and links to higher political levels. A seven-type classification captures how parties persist symbolically and pragmatically in rural governance. The limited involvement of political parties reflects the distinctive nature of local governance, where informal networks and non-partisan initiatives often take precedence over party politics.
The increasing number of supermarkets and hypermarkets poses a risk to the survival of small local shops in rural areas. As a result, people living in remote areas might need to travel several kilometers to obtain food, and this can create objective difficulties for those who do not drive or cannot afford the cost of owning a car. This study uses a natural experiment to analyze outshopping practices in Italian remote areas using the database of the multipurpose survey on Italian families carried out by Italian National Institute of Statistics. For this study, we used the COVID-19 lockdown as a state of nature when long-range shopping trips were less frequent, and we compared it with the pre-COVID-19 habits, in order to identify changes in consumption and shopping behavior. Our study is the first to explore outshopping behaviors in remote areas of Italy, offering original insights into food access and healthy eating where research is currently lacking. We performed a difference-in-difference analysis, comparing remote areas with other areas in Italy, to highlight the effect of outshopping in remote areas. Our results show how a considerable share of consumer food expenditure is paid to firms outside the local area, supporting the hypothesis of financial resources shift from the local business to large retailers. Moreover, we found limited food access and diet issues in Italian internal areas when outshopping practices are constrained.
Climate change poses a significant threat to Kosovo’s economy, particularly agriculture, the backbone of the country’s economy, and is developed mainly in rural areas that depend on climate-sensitive resources for their livelihoods. This study aims to thoroughly examine people’s perceptions of climate change on rural development, with a particular emphasis on the socioeconomic aspects in the rural areas of the region of Prishtina. The methodology for investigating the impact of climate change on Kosovo’s rural development involves quantitative methods, including a questionnaire. Our study found that agricultural productivity is affected by climate change in terms of planting seasons, crop yields, and irregular rainfall patterns; yet most respondents have not implemented specific adaptation strategies. The impact of climate change, particularly in rural areas, is seen in rising temperatures, natural disasters, and harsher weather. The primary climate-related hazards are drought, floods, and heat waves, followed by wildfires. Public awareness of climate change, especially in rural areas, is limited. The primary sources of information are social media and television; education and awareness initiatives are needed. Although Kosovo has developed frameworks and plans for addressing climate change, rural areas are receiving insufficient support from the public and private sectors.
This study aimed to examine how stressors experienced by farmers varied depending on demographic and structural factors to identify the most vulnerable farmer groups. Such data are essential for developing agricultural policy proposals aimed at strengthening the psychosocial well-being of farmers. The study was conducted in Lithuania, a region in Central and Eastern Europe with a specific historical, social and economic context. The data were collected in 2024 from 288 farmers using the Farmerś Stressors Inventory and processed employing descriptive statistical methods. Uncertainty about the future, financial worries and pressure from agricultural legislation were found to be the greatest stressors for farmers. Depending on groups, factors causing stress (hereafter referred to as stressors) differed significantly: older farmers were more likely to experience physical isolation, younger farmers were more likely to experience financial pressure, longer farming seniority was associated with greater stress related to legislation, and medium-sized farms distinguished themselves by higher stress related to labor intensity, administrative burden, and social conflicts. The results show how stressors can vary even in the context of one country, depending on the social portraits of farmers, and highlight the need to differentiate psychosocial support strategies. The results can be integrated into comparative international studies and enable the development of empirically-based locally sensitive agricultural policies.
The evaluation of regional disparities is one of the basic geographical topics. The commonly used division of the territory is based on the position of the region in relation to the main development centres and defines the territory into central, semi-central and peripheral regions. Development links to local and micro-regional development factors based on the quality of human resources and on human and social capital; the importance of identity and other soft development factors are not taken into account in similar works. In the proposed typology, where the micro-regional level are monitored, spatial units are divided into 4 or 5 main types according to the degree of their development capacity, both depending on the position of the region, which means based on their external conditions, and on the quality of soft factors, based on their internal conditions in the region. Internal and external conditions were prepared on the basis of a wide set of input data, which describe both the development characteristics in each region and the current situation in the second half of the second decade of the 21st century. The typology of regions in Czechia, both at the level of regions of municipalities with extended powers (206 units) or authorized municipal office (393 units), describes very well the basic regional differences in the Czech Republic. The draft typology serves as one of the bases for the Regional Development Strategy of the Czech Republic and for the Rural Development Strategy and is the basis for further considerations on the differentiation of subsidy support for individual types of regions with regard to the actual level of need for a specific subsidy title.
The research analyzes the distribution of Common Agricultural Policy aids in Extremadura (Spain) between 2000 and 2020, to identify territorial patterns at the municipal level and to assess aid information together with socioeconomic and agricultural variables, and Multivariate Cluster Analysis techniques were applied together with Geographic Information Systems to relate these factors. The results show that, although the reforms have contributed positively to the strengthening of Extremadura’s agricultural sector, the areas affected by depopulation and aging require more effective support. Although these measures have boosted rural development, it is still necessary to strengthen the sector to prevent territorial inequalities from persisting and worsening in the most vulnerable territories.
European rural development policy has increasingly promoted place-based, community-led approaches, epitomised by the LEADER programme. Embedded within these approaches is a belief that bottom-up development is best placed to deliver policies building on local strengths and addressing local needs. However, community-led approaches have also faced criticisms for being too technical and constrained by national and international priorities. To overcome such barriers to advancing place-based rural innovation, this paper explores two distinctive approaches to strengthening participation, representation and accountability with these processes: Northern Ireland’s Community-led Local Development and the Social Value Engine. The first approach seeks to promote local engagement and participation through a bottom-up process while the second is a tool that encourages community consultation. Through the research, we examine how each approach fosters community inclusion, accountability and representation.
This study analyzes a specific case where local government utilized legislative tools to limit excessive tourism and assesses the impact of these measures on the tourism-saturated Pálava region in the Czech Republic. The initial research, conducted in 2021, focused on residents’ perceptions of tourism in the village of Dolní Věstonice, Czech Republic. A follow-up survey was carried out in 2024 to compare and evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented measures. Qualitative research primarily relied on primary data obtained through surveys, supplemented by secondary data from the Czech Statistical Office and the South Moravian Tourism Authority. Surveys revealed that tourism had negatively impacted the quality of life of local residents. The main measure proposed and subsequently implemented was a change in the zoning plan, which designated areas where further expansion of accommodation facilities would no longer be permitted. Additionally, providers of short-term accommodations were required to secure private parking spaces for their guests. Results from the 2024 survey indicate that 75% of respondents perceive an improvement in the situation, attributing this to the implemented measures. Furthermore, a survey among entrepreneurs revealed that these changes had no negative impact on businesses, with systematic improvements in parking arrangements being positively evaluated.
The allotment garden is a type of rural land originally designated for agricultural use, such as vineyards, orchards, gardens, or arable land, typically divided into small plots. These areas are often used as hobby gardens, weekend retreats, or recreational spaces, and in many places today, they also serve as permanent residences. Allotment gardens in Hungary are not only of agricultural or social importance, but play an important role in preserving the natural environment, contributing to the household economy, and promoting sustainable development. The Hungarian government announced tenders for the development of allotment gardens in 2018, 2019, and 2021, for which a total of 540 applicants applied. The research was aimed at assessing the current status of these gardens, to analyse their main characteristics, and to evaluate the results, impacts, and further needs of the Allotment Garden Programme. To accomplish these goals, we developed an online questionnaire, which we administered in 148 settlements. We find that the most important future goal of the applicants is the development of various infrastructures (e.g., roads, ditches) and the creation of public utilities (e.g., electricity, water supply). The future of gardens largely depends on how well their different functions can be integrated. Effective promotion of allotment gardens means ensuring they can produce healthy foods, improve the environment, preserve biodiversity, and integrate traditional gardening practices, while also offering attractive recreation and useful leisure activities.
Faced with different problems and growth opportunities, regions pose challenges for national central governments and even for the European Union as a whole, requiring the development of area-sensitive interventions such as rural proofing. Due to the relative novelty of this method, many questions remain unclear either in terms of the effectiveness of practical application or in terms of exploring deeper scientific connections. One of the aims of the study – with the help of literature and policy sources – was to clarify the foundations of this method in scientific disciplines, while the main objective of the others, relying largely on empirical experience, was to enumerate the conditions for successful application, which could shed new light on the governance and development policy mechanisms that are essential elements of rural proofing. The study points out that rural proofing can be successful not only in rural areas, as this method is based on differentiated interventions tailored to local needs, which can also be effective in non-rural areas. The relevance of the topic, both from a scientific and practical point of view, is not only confirmed by recent commitments at EU level (legislative programme, Long Term Vision for Rural Areas), but also by the fact that more and more countries and more and more research are dealing with the possibility of introducing rural proofing. The findings are not intended to close issues, but to shed new light on this approach, which will contribute to further scientific debates and the development of a much more effective central-territorial intervention mechanism.
Municipal prosperity is central to regional development and well-being, particularly in geographically and socio-economically fragmented settings such as Slovakia. This study introduces a composite Municipal Prosperity Index (MPI), tailored to capture the multidimensional factors influencing prosperity at the local level. Drawing on theoretical frameworks and recent data from the 2021 Population and Housing Census, the research examines why some municipalities achieve sustained growth while others face stagnation or decline. The MPI integrates financial health, work, human capital, infrastructure, civic participation, and growth indicators to provide a holistic assessment. Through grouped analysis, municipalities are categorized by population size and proximity to regional centers, revealing significant disparities between suburban and isolated areas. The study highlights the effects of suburbanization, proximity, and governance on municipal success while addressing the unique challenges of rural areas. The findings offer actionable insights for policy-makers to foster balanced development and mitigate regional inequalities in Slovakia and other fragmented governance systems.
