Constructing the Countryside

This book provides new insights into the trends that will guide rural change in advanced economies into the next century and offers an innovative approach to investigating those trends. Constructing the Countryside will appeal to students and staff in a wide range of social science disciplines, including rural sociology, geography, planning, environmental management, agricultural economics and land economy, as well as to anyone concerned with the future development of rural areas. This book offers a stimulating reinterpretation of rural change, bolstered by new concepts and fresh approaches to assessment. The authors first show the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the combined effects of social, economic, political, and cultural forces for change. Together they have developed a methodology that integrates the broader national and international forces for change with the responses of actors in their particular local contexts, showing as well the significance of rural change in the international restructuring of the economy and polity.The book provides insights into the trends that will guide rural change in advanced economies into the next century and offers an innovative approach to investigating those trends. Constructing the Countryside will appeal to both students and staff in a wide range of social science disciplines, including rural sociology, geography, planning, environmental management, agricultural economics and land economy, as well as to anyone concerned with the future development of rural areas.