THEORISING RURAL LAND USE CHANGE

• In order to manage the rural landscape we must acknowledge what exactly is changing it. The rural landscape of Europe today is not just influenced by strictly agricultural activities. In addition to producing food and fiber, management of natural and cultural values along with opportunities for recreation and outdoor activities take on an increasingly important role in goals and strategies of rural development. Acknowledging the range of activities taking place in rural landscapes of today, this paper aims to create a wider theoretical understanding in rural land use change. This could be a fruitful contribution in the discussion of sustainable management of rural landscapes of today. The factors causing land use change are operating on different spatial and temporal scales. The reshaping of local landscapes is defined by international and national processes, local socio-economic conditions, and biophysical prerequisites on site. In the field of landscape research, an increased interest for the concept ‘driving forces’ as an analytical tool for understanding why land use changes has developed since the 1990s. In order to comprehend the complex web of factors causing land use change, it appears to be favorable to connect the driving forces concept to a relational arena perspective, as this accentuates actions and events in the physical landscape. By this connection, and the arena perspective inherent emphasis of spatial proximity, the range of activities taking place in the rural landscape of today can be more carefully considered in the analysis of the reasons why land use changes. I am introducing a categorisation of driving forces of land use changes: categories will include pressures, frictions, attractors and triggers. The categorisation is made from the characteristics of the driving forces in order to emphasise the relational landscape perspective. In this paper I will problematise and discuss the connections between driving forces and the arena perspective, and how these can improve the understanding for rural land use change and landscape management.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Social och ekonomisk geografi -- Kulturgeografi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Social and Economic Geography -- Human Geography (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

land use change; driving forces; arena; landscape; relational

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vet (ämneskategori)

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