A report said that, in the light of 'increasingly volatile' demographic trends, the government's household projections should not be used as housebuilding targets, in order to safeguard the countryside from unnecessary development.
Source: Housing the Future: An analysis of the government's household projections and their use in planning for new housing, Campaign to Protect Rural England
Links: Report | CPRE press release
Date: 2009-Dec
A report examined the impacts of the economic recession in rural Wales, in areas such as employment, housing, and welfare services.
Source: The Impacts of the Current Recession in Rural Wales, Wales Rural Observatory
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Dec
An article examined social exclusion and poverty in relation to rural older people. State-provided income programmes were crucial to reducing poverty among older people, and data to indicate progress on addressing any of the more relational aspects of social exclusion were 'largely insufficient'.
Source: Suzanne Moffatt and Nina Glasgow, 'How useful is the concept of social exclusion when applied to rural older people in the United Kingdom and the United States?', Regional Studies, Volume 43 Number 10
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Dec
A report (by an official advisory body) said that investment in the natural environment was critical to long-term economic prosperity. Natural services provided a highly cost-effective solution to growing problems such as flood and coastal defence, carbon emissions, and the preservation of soil, water, and air quality.
Source: No Charge? Valuing the natural environment, Natural England (0845 600 3078)
Links: Report | Natural England press release
Date: 2009-Oct
A report highlighted a number of ways in which children and young people who lived in low-income households in rural Wales were being excluded from services that were available to their contemporaries living in urban areas.
Source: Child Poverty and Social Exclusion in Rural Wales, End Child Poverty Network Cymru
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Oct
A report examined the most pressing challenges facing rural communities, and sought to identify ways in which they might respond.
Source: A Manifesto for Rural Communities: Inspiring community innovation, Carnegie UK Trust (01383 721445)
Links: Report | Carnegie press release
Date: 2009-Oct
A report presented a range of key indicators of poverty and social exclusion in rural England in comparison with the equivalent data for urban areas. Of the 36 comparable indicators used, in 20 cases rural percentages were either somewhat or much better than in urban areas.
Source: Guy Palmer, Indicators of Poverty and Social Exclusion in Rural England: 2009, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency (020 7340 2900)
Links: Report | RSN Online report
Date: 2009-Sep
Researchers compared and contrasted violence against women in rural and urban settings. Rural women were less likely to perceive violence as a problem in their communities, despite rural and urban women reporting equal levels of violence and abuse.
Source: Melanie McCarry and Emma Williamson, Violence Against Women in Rural and Urban Areas, National Federation of Women's Institutes (020 7371 9300)
Links: Report | NFWI press release
Date: 2009-Aug
An article examined the role and impact of migrant labour in rural communities in Scotland. Following European Union enlargement in 2004, rural areas had experienced an influx of labour migrants from central and eastern European countries on an unprecedented scale: although this had provided a major challenge for public service provision and 'social integration', it had also addressed local labour market shortages and created opportunities for regeneration.
Source: Philomena de Lima and Sharon Wright, 'Welcoming migrants? Migrant labour in rural Scotland', Social Policy and Society, Volume 8 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Aug
A new book examined the ways in which ideas of the English countryside and rural nature were reflected in the concept of 'Englishness'.
Source: Sarah Neal, Rural Identities: Ethnicity and community in the contemporary English countryside, Ashgate Publications (01235 827730)
Links: Summary
Date: 2009-Aug
A paper examined evidence on the social exclusion experienced by older people in rural areas, and identified examples of innovative service delivery. Linked reports mapped levels of need by older people in rural areas, and highlighted diseconomies of scale in delivering health and social care services.
Source: Working Together for Older People in Rural Areas, Social Exclusion Task Force/Cabinet Office (020 7276 1234) and Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion, Mapping the Level of Need: Assessing the social exclusion of older people in rural areas, Social Exclusion Task Force/Cabinet Office | Matrix Knowledge Group, Research into Diseconomies of Scale in Delivering Health and Social Care in Rural Areas, Social Exclusion Task Force/Cabinet Office
Links: Report | Mapping report | Health/social care report
Date: 2009-Jul
Campaigners set out a vision for the future of the English countryside in 2026. Successful urban regeneration would have contributed to more green space, affordable housing, vibrant neighbourhoods, and people-friendly transport. Urban populations would have reconnected with the countryside through renewed links to surrounding green belts, and a countryside that provided fresh food, recreation, tranquillity, and beautiful landscapes.
Source: 2026: A Vision for the Countryside, Campaign to Protect Rural England (020 7981 2800)
Links: Report | CPRE press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2009-May
The government published its response to a review of rural communities, and set out a package of measures designed to provide more affordable housing in rural areas and to give local communities greater freedom to tackle the issues facing them.
Source: The Government Response to the Taylor Review of Rural Economy and Affordable Housing, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Response | Hansard | DCLG press release | Taylor review | CRC press release | NHF press release | RTPI press release | Inside Housing report | Telegraph report | New Start report | RSN Online report
Date: 2009-Mar
Researchers examined whether the experience of poverty was distinctive in rural Scotland, and if so how.
Source: EKOS Ltd, The Experience of Rural Poverty in Scotland: Qualitative research with organisations working with people experiencing poverty in rural areas, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Date: 2009-Mar
An article examined the extent of inequalities in health between urban and rural areas, as well as inequalities in health across rural areas, in England. Rural dwellers were significantly less likely than residents of urban areas to report their health as being fair or poor, and to report common mental disorders – independent of their socio-demographic characteristics. However, as for urban settlements, there were significant variations in health across semi-rural areas and across villages, indicating the presence of health inequalities within rural settings.
Source: Mylene Riva, Sarah Curtis, Lise Gauvin and James Fagg, 'Unravelling the extent of inequalities in health across urban and rural areas: evidence from a national sample in England', Social Science & Medicine Volume 68 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Feb
A report said that people in rural areas of England were much more at risk of fuel poverty than those in urban areas.
Source: William Baker, Vicki White and Ian Preston, Quantifying Rural Fuel Poverty, Centre for Sustainable Energy (0117 934 1400)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Feb