Definition, delimitation and classification of rural areas

Abstract

The definition and delimitation of rural areas, the process of rural restructuring and rural differentiation have been in the focus of scientific debates for decades. While many believe that there is an exact way for defining and objectively describing rural areas, others doubt that a universal and timeless definition of rural can be developed. After a thorough examination of the different opinions and scientific arguments, the authors also came to the conclusion that there is no general method for defining rural as a spatial category.

The scientific debates not only revolve around the theoretical and methodological issues of defining rural areas; the practical aspects of rural development, such as the basic principles of rural development in the member states of the European Union are also widely discussed. The different perceptions of rural areas heavily influence the specific goals of national rural policies, predetermine the allocation of national and EU funds, and thus affect the future of the rural landscape, settlements and communities. The authors’ opinion is that theoretical arguments and empirical research are equally important for addressing one of the most pressing issues of present-day society: improving the livelihood of rural inhabitants without the destruction of rural values.

In 2012 and 2013, the authors participated in the rural research program titled “Hungarian rural areas in the European space – differentiation and types of rural microregions”, conducted by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Hungarian National Rural Network. The results also underlined that addressing rural problems is imperative. This complex research program provided a great opportunity for a systematic review of the Hungarian and international literature of rural studies. During the review, the authors identified multiple methods for classifying rural areas. With the use of the existing methodology and with the inclusion of some novel aspects, the authors attempted to create a new classification of the Hungarian rural areas.

The recently created micro-regions of Hungary, called járás, were chosen as the units of analysis. First, the authors delimitated the rural administrative units from the urban ones. Every micro-region without a town with more than 10,000 inhabitants, or with a town with more than 10,000 inhabitants, but with a population density lower than the country average was considered rural. In the second step of the analysis, the authors created eight complex rural area types based on the state of the environment, the social capacity, the economic well-being and the agricultural dependency of the rural administrative units so designated. The results suggest that the Hungarian countryside is dominated by negative social and economic processes: the larger part of the rural micro-regions can be described as stagnating-lagging areas with strong agricultural dependency. Hopefully the results of the rural research programme contribute to formulating the rural policy for the 2014–2020 programming period and encourage policymakers to consider spatially differentiated rural development aims and approaches.