Volume 8 (2016): Edizione 3 (September 2016)

Drawing on an empirical analysis of Finnish local policy-makers’ views on land use planning aims in rural areas, this paper investigates local responses to the new national planning regulations set out by the Government. According to the new norms, a dense settlement structure should be promoted not only in urban centres but also in rural areas in order to curb climate change and improve the viability of communities. Based on the data obtained from an internet-based survey conducted by a regional newspaper in western Finland before municipal elections in 2008 and 2012, this paper shows that the majority of the local policy-makers challenge the new norms. They do not believe that sustainable development can be promoted by constraining building rights in the rural region characterised by a dispersed settlement structure.

This paper presents results from a study of Czech Local Action Groups (LAGs), focusing on gaining knowledge about their internally perceived legitimacy and their potential role in local adaptation to climate change. Former studies on the role of governance networks in climate change adaptation have suggested that these networks’ legitimacy are crucial for their success. In this article we provide an analytical framework that can be used to address different aspects of local governance networks which are important for their legitimacy and the way they are apt as instruments for climate change adaptation actions. We also present a survey among LAG members that provide empirical data that we discuss in the article. The framework and the data are discussed with reference to existing contributions in the intersection of legitimacy, governance networks and climate change adaptation. A specific aim is to provide research based recommendations for further improving LAGs as an adaptation instrument. In addition, knowledge is generated that will be interesting for further studies of similar local governance initiatives in the climate change adaptation context.

This paper presents a survey approach to measuring the “transaction footprints” of rural small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Combined with a graphical presentation of results, this contributes to the evidence base on the roles of local and global linkages. Findings suggest that the food and drink industry of Scotland is relatively localised in its input and sales interaction pattern, although substantial variations, associated with product specialisms, remoteness/accessibility, input purchasing and marketing strategies, exist. Localised SMEs have weathered the recession slightly better, but more outward-looking in firms tend to have greater optimism about the future. Transaction footprint analysis should be viewed as component of an ongoing process of re-mapping the network infrastructure of the rural economy, alongside analysis of untraded interdependencies, and institutional networks in the realm of governance.

This study aims to analyse the possibilities and the potential for the establishment of beer tourism, one of the most recently valorised tourism products of global gastro tourism, and more importantly the creation and professional criteria of beer routes in Hungary. With a thorough investigation of the theoretical background of beer tourism and beer trails the authors try to collect those spatial perspectives which confirm our idea that Hungary is possessing adequate resources for the initiation of this new tourism product. We experienced that this area of tourism geography has not yet been researched thoroughly in the country, for which we make an attempt in this paper, using geographical and GIS methods, basically relying on the beer routes of Bavaria, Germany as good practices.

The contribution aims at determining the endogenous potential for a proposal for sustainability and potential development of tourist destinations located in the Czech border areas - Liberec region - that lag behind in rural development. Based on the results of the empirical research, according to optimal scaling the ASEB-C analysis is applied suggesting the LAC (Limits of Acceptable Change) planning system will improve sustainability and competitiveness of all LAU 1 (in the Liberec region) and of the specific touristic destinations. The potential of development in the Czech border areas is in the stagnation phase, due to the fear and (dis)embedded identity in some less developed border areas. It should be evident that even in the Czech rural border areas the potential of “growth of endogenous potentials seems feasible” in combination with an endogenous and exogenous model of regional rural development.

Fertő/Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape, as a transboundary World Heritage Site of Hungary and Austria, possesses unique cultural and natural values. The examined areas can be characterised as meeting places of different cultures. We examined the role of small towns in Fertő/Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape, which play an important role in regional development. In the last 25 years, different levels of cooperation started among the Hungarian and Austrian settlements aiming at nature and cultural heritage protection and tourism development. We formulated suggestions to maintain and strengthen the existing co-operation and relations.

In this paper, emphasis is placed on the complexity of rural-urban relations and their reflection on the important socio-geographical processes, from de-agrarian and migration to the creation of new settlements and strengthening nodality individual centres. A clear polarization in urban and rural areas is more difficult due to the lack of adequate statistical indicators or deployment of institutions with different degree of importance, population density and distance from major city, providing sufficiently clear evidence of the degree of urbanity of local communities. This can be best seen in the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) which is sparsely populated country with an average of 74 inhabitants/km². Since there is a clear correlation between this indicator and sustainable development, increasing urbanization rates, which can stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty, is set as the primary social objective. Many developing countries looking for a way better governance of rural-urban relations, as one of the elements of inclusive growth, as a crucial element in the development of any society through innovation (industry) and harmonious territorial relations (urban-rural). Since BiH has a negative historical heritage but also unfavourable indicators of the degree of urbanization (40%), macroeconomic stability (29% of the GDP of the EU average) and the degree of innovation (44% compared to Switzerland) it is clear that should be analyzed and rural-urban relations as one of the signposts along the way of creating a better and healthier society.

The general objective of this paper is to present and discuss the factors that need to be taken into account to ensure that the development and management of religious tourism at rural sites was sustainable from an economic, environmental and socio-cultural point of view. Among other issues, sustainable religious tourism means accessibility to the sanctuaries, protection of cultural and heritage values of the local community, benefits for the local residents and meaningful experience for visitors. Authors were especially interested in the less popular, more remotely located holy sites in Mazovia Region (Poland) and two concerns: readiness to respond the needs of persons with different disabilities and local community opinion on tourists. As was documented by our research outcomes despite the recent numerous improvements, the most popular rural sanctuaries in Mazovia Region, remain only partially accessible for persons with disabilities. As masses of pilgrims have a significant effect on wellbeing and everyday life quality of residents (contributing both to positive and to negative effects), those who accept that tourists are important for economic development, benefit from it, creating ‘smart host area’. These rural communities which are not knowledgeable about positive impacts – see only negative consequences.