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Rural areas account for more than
80% of the territory of the European Union and are home to some 25% of
the population. While urban people often believe rural areas
would be just farms and forests, the reality is quite different. Rural
areas in Europe are characterized by extremely diverse physical
environments, a broad range of economic activities, unique social
networks and century-old cultural traditions.
In rural areas we can find industrial production sites and high-tech
service centers, but also facilities for the energy and water supply
of cities. In some parts of Europe we have unspoiled natural
landscapes, in others monotonous cultivation areas, commercial
forests, and large recreation facilities, such as theme-parks or
ski-slopes. Many parts of rural Europe, however, are still dominated
by a patchwork of private farmland and forests, sprinkled with
villages and small towns in unique landscapes that are part of
Europe's cultural heritage. |
| Images of peaceful villages might
suggest that life in the European countryside is without serious
problems. But this is just a popular cliché. The globalization of
world trade, significant changes in consumer preferences, the expected
enlargement of the European Union, a new Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP), and a serious aging of the population, have all massively
affected the rural areas. Europe's countryside is in a process of deep
structural change that will most likely speed up when the applicant
countries from eastern Europe become fully integrated in the Union. |
In the former ERD project we have
analyze the underlying driving forces of current problems and
opportunities in the rural areas of Europe by conducting GIS-based
Europe-wide analyses, particularly on the demographic trends in rural
areas. We have also undertaken more than a dozen case studies of
innovative rural development initiatives at the grassroots level.
Currently, due to the limitation of resources, we cannot undertake any
new substantial analyses of rural development in Europe. However, we
are preparing proposals for an external funding that might allow us in
the future to continue our work on rural development in Europe. |
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