engleski

Rural Regeneration

This chapter aims to provide an introduction to the topic of rural regeneration. It will argue that rural areas all around the world are environmentally, socially, economically and architecturally varied, dynamic and complex, and constitute what, in a European context, has been called a ‘differentiated countryside’ (Marsden et al. 1993). Rather than the bucolic backwaters of popular imagination, defined as ‘timeless’, ‘slow’ and ‘unchanging’ in direct and exclusive opposition to the ‘fast’ and dynamic city, rural areas are integral, productive and ever-changing parts of the modern world that face a complex myriad of demographic, environmental, social and economic challenges. Although unique in their specific manifestations, those challenges are not unlike those faced by urban areas. The chapter will show that, despite a common recognition of the challenges faced by rural areas all around the world, work in the field of rural regeneration has lagged behind that in urban contexts. It will argue that architectural regeneration projects that build on existing local opportunities, take into account place-specific cultural characteristics and use the transformative potential of architecture may nonetheless help to enhance and develop rural economies, places and communities in the same way that their urban counterparts do so in cities. The chapter is based on a literature review that covers several topics of importance to our understanding of rural areas, including the definition and perception of rurality, rural-urban relationships, the transformation of rural space and architecture, and current economic and social trends. It further includes several case studies from a number of European countries (Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and Poland) that present examples of the different contexts in which architectural regeneration can appear.

Rural regeneration, architecture, rurality, rural realities, counter-urbanisation, abandoned rural areas, protected areas, thematic routes

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