Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
• new specialised uses of rural spaces (as tourist sites, parks and development zones) have
created new specialised networks of relationships in the areas concerned, many of
which are no longer localised
• people who 'inhabit' a given rural area include a diversity of temporary visitors as well
as residents
• rural spaces increasingly perform functions for non-rural users and in these cases may
be characterised by the fact that they exist independently of the action of rural
populations
(Mormont 1990:31, cited in Cloke 1992)
Consequently, Mormont (1987) conceptualises rural areas as a set of overlapping social
spaces, each with their own logic, institutions and network of actors (e.g. users and
administrators). This reiterates many of the early ideas from behavioural scientists—that
a rural space needs to be defined in terms of how the occupants perceive it, as a social
construct where the occupiers of rural spaces interact and participate in activities such as
recreation and tourism. In this context, developments in social theory imply that the
nature and use of rural areas for activities such as recreation and tourism is best explained
by examining the processes by which their meaning of 'rural' is 'constructed, negotiated
and experienced' (Cloke 1992:55). One approach favoured by Cloke (1992) is the
analysis of the way in which the commodification of the countryside has occurred,
leading to the rise of markets for rural products where:
the countryside…[is] an exclusive place to be lived in; rural communities
[are considered] as a context to be bought and sold; rural lifestyle [is
something] which can be colonized; icons of rural culture [are
commodities which] can be crafted, packed and marketed; rural
landscapes [are imbued] with a new range of potential from 'pay-as-you-
enter' national parks, to sites for the theme park explosion; rural
production [ranges] from newly commodified food to the output of
industrial plants whose potential or actual pollutive externalities have
driven them from more urban localities.
(Cloke 1992:55)
In this respect, rural areas are places to be consumed and where production is based on
establishing new commodities or in re-imaging and rediscovering places for recreation
and tourism. Cloke (1992) cites privatisation in the UK as a major process stimulating
this form of rural production focused on rural recreation and tourism. The new political
economy influencing agriculture in the EU has also facilitated farm diversification into
new forms of tourism accommodation (e.g. farm-stays) and attractions. Yet the critical
processes stimulating the demand for the mass consumption of rural products have been
essential in effecting such changes. Urry (1988) points to changes in taste following the
emergence of a new service class which have led to greater emphasis on consumption in
rural environments. These tastes have also influenced other social groups who have
adopted similar values in the consumption of rural areas including:
• the pursuit of a pastoral idyll
• acceptance of cultural symbols related to the rural idyll
