Comment et pourquoi définir un espace rural

André Piatier and J. Madec

Économie rurale, 1977, vol. 118

Abstract: How can one characterise « country » in comparison with built up areas and why should it be defined ? Research into intercommunal relations and the criteria of rurality » is an attempt to answer these questions. A survey who carried out of each of the 37000 French « communes » with less than 20000 inhabitants close to the main towns, based on a questionnaire of 880 questions. This enabled a « data bank » to be set up which is at the disposal of the planning specialists. This survey challenges the use of the demographic criterion alone as a definition of the country. In France the INSEE considers as urban all the communes with more than 2000 inhabitants round the main towns. It is probable that if such a criterion were applied in Germany or the Netherlands, the « country » in these countries would disappear altogether. The research mentioned is on the contrary based on an analysis with several criteria. The factors taken into account are qualitative rather than quantitative and concern phenomena related not only to the economic activity but also to the various aspects of the life of the people in the area. A typology of the communes and of the degrees of « rurality » is thus arrived at which improve our knowledge of the situation and lead to more rational town and country planning.

Keywords: Community/Rural/Urban; Development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1977
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:ersfer:350997

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.350997

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