Sustainable Rural Development Practices and Results: Learnings and Results from Policies and Initiatives—2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

The practice of rural development at macro- and micro-levels shows interesting learnings and reflections that must be framed, analyzed, and systematized to conform to relevant theories to improve the level of knowledge and, at the same time, the implementation of practices, policies and initiatives.

Some elements of rural areas play a crucial role in local development, rural and agricultural landscapes, local heritage, territorial quality marks and food, human and social capital, and traditional and rural assets. The implementation of rural development practices has interesting interpretations when assessing territorial impacts and local governance dynamics.

The analysis of emblematic rural development practices, considering the recent theories of neo-endogenous rural development, highlights some elements of interest: networking, the territorial perspective, integrated and multisectoral actions, local decision-making, economic diversification, bottom-up approaches, social innovation, and public–private partnerships.

Common and specific topics emerging from recent international debates have pointed to the necessity to foster participatory and endogenous local development (Ploeg et al., 2000); the role of community empowerment and the renewal of social capital (Farrel and Thirion, 2005); the support from public–private partnerships in resilient areas; the relevance of social innovation as new forms of civic involvement, participation, democratization, and social life change (Moulaert et al., 2005; Vercher, 2022); the added value of the implementation of neo-endogenous rural development practices in terms of democratization and bottom-up decision-making (Thuessen and Nielsen, 2014); the strategic combinations of external and internal knowledge and actors (Esparcia, 2014); food quality and territorial marks for generating added value  (Enthoven and Van den Broeck, 2021); the role of social innovations and the adoption of a visionary, strategic approach in rural development initiatives (Labianca, 2021); improvements in the human and social capital of rural youth for innovation and local development (García-Arias et al., 2021); and finally, the lack of attention being paid to depopulation problems by the practice of rural development, which are areas that are left with no solution in place (Navarro-Valverde et al., 2021).

Different research methods using qualitative and quantitative analyses and study cases on these themes will help us to understand the effects, impacts, and future scenarios of policies and initiatives aiming to promote rural development.

Multidisciplinary and global perspectives will contribute to an understanding of the proposed themes. Therefore, we encourage researchers to submit their contributions to the following priority areas to this Special Issue of Sustainability:

• Strategies to tackle depopulation of rural areas;
• Social innovation and rural changes;
• Networks of actors and governance in rural development;
• The added value of projects and initiatives;
• Youth and gender perspectives in rural development;
• Neo-endogenous rural development as a tool to enhance agricultural landscapes, quality productions, and agri-foods chains;
• Agricultural landscapes and quality productions in rural areas;
• Tools, digital innovations, and virtual and augmented reality for the study, interpretation, and enhancement of local resources, agricultural landscapes, and future scenarios;
• Learnings from successful and failed initiatives in the practice of rural development;
• Natural and cultural heritage as tools for rural development;
• The impact of the out-migration of young people in rural areas—irregular vs. circular experiences;
• Rural extension and small farmers' ability to innovate and adapt to market and climate change;
• Ageing, loneliness, and rural contexts;
• Links between rural development, food security, and migration intentions in the Central American context.

References:

Farrel, G., & Thirion, S. (2005). Social capital and rural development: from win-lose to win-win with the LEADER initiative. En D. Schmied, (Ed.), Winning and Losing: The Changing Geography of Europe's Rural Area. Ashgate Publishing Ltd: Aldershot, UK, pp. 45-61.

Moulaert, F., Martinelli,F. and Swyngedouw, E. (2005) Social innovation and governance in local communities. Final SINGOCOM report to the EC (FP6). Lille: IFRESI.

Vercher, N. (2022). The Role of Actors in Social Innovation in Rural Areas. Land, 11, 710. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11050710.

Thuessen, Annette Aagaard and Nielsen, Niels Christian. (2014). A Territorial Perspective On Eu´S Leader Approach In Denmark: The Added Value Of Community-Led Local Development Of Rural And Coastal Areas In A Multi-Level Governance Settings, vol.6, no.4, Pages 307-326. https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2014-0017.

Esparcia, J. (2014). Innovation and networks in rural areas. An analysis from European innovative projects. J. Rural Stud., 34 (2014), Pages 1-14, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2013.12.004.

Enthoven, L. & Van den Broeck, G. (2021). Local food systems: Reviewing two decades of research. Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 193(C). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103226.

Labianca, M. (2021). Towards a visionary approach for rural areas. From the key features to planning tue future of LEADER. Perspectives on rural development - Vol. 5 Università del Salento. https://doi.org/10.1285/i26113775n5.

García-Arias, M.A., Tolón-Becerra, A., Lastra-Bravo, X., Torres-Parejo, U. (2021). The out-migration of young people from a region of the “Empty Spain”: Between a constant slump cycle and a pending innovation spiral, Journal of Rural Studies, Volume 87, Pages 314-326, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.09.008.

Navarro-Valverde, F., Cejudo-García, E. and Cañete-Pérez, J.A.(2021). The Lack of Attention Given by Neoendogenous Rural Development Practice to Areas Highly Affected by Depopulation. The Case of Andalusia (Spain) in 2015–2020 Period. European Countryside, vol.13, no.2, Pages 352-367. https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2021-0022.

The first volume of the Special Issue, "Sustainable Rural Development Practices and Results: Learnings and Results from Policies and Initiatives", can be found at:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/sustainable_rural_development_practices_and_results

Prof. Dr. Francisco Navarro Valverde
Prof. Dr. Eugenio Cejudo García
Dr. Marilena Labianca
Guest Editors

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• rural depopulation
• social innovation in rural areas
• territorial quality marks of food
• learnings from the implementation of the LEADER approach
• multifunctionality of rural landscapes
• successful and failed initiatives
• rural governance
• networks of actors in rural development
• youth and gender perspectives
• impacts and added value of rural development initiatives