Search

Internal migration research is paying increasing attention to the role in migration behaviour of having non‐resident family—family living outside of the household—living close by, and also to non‐migration and staying in general. Combining these two themes, this paper investigates the role of non‐resident family ties in rural staying for adults aged 31–64. Using a mixed methods analysis of survey and interview data from the Netherlands, Germany and Northern Ireland (UK), we examine if the presence of non‐resident family nearby relates to future intentions to stay in the rural region, and we explore the meanings of different family relations and how they relate to past and ongoing staying behaviours. Our findings reveal that living near non‐resident children and in‐laws increases the likelihood of the intention to stay in the rural region for the rest of one's lifetime. While the quantitative analyses suggest that the presence of parents in the area does not contribute to future staying intentions, the interviews revealed that parents' residential proximity was integral in the original staying decision. Non‐resident family members provide emotional and instrumental support, offer location‐specific structural opportunities, and provide a sense of security. Partly, family obligations also play a role in staying, yet not in the sense that rural stayers are 'stuck in place' because of family ties, but rather in an implicit way, intertwined with senses of belonging and attachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Rethinking Public Services in Rural Areas?" discusses the topic of public and private services and infrastructure in rural areas in Germany and other European countries. It discusses changes and challenges regarding the availability, quality, and accessibility of these services and facilities. The Territorial Agenda of the European Union emphasizes the need for measures to maintain public services in rural areas. Various approaches and strategies are discussed to achieve improvements in this area and learn from good examples and practices in other European countries. The text describes various approaches to ensure public services in rural areas. It is shown that state interventions and European funding policies are testing new approaches and launching pilot projects. However, many of these projects fail due to difficulties in implementation and the sustainable establishment of new solutions. The research project InDaLE examined 18 practical projects in different countries and developed theses for the permanent safeguarding of innovative solutions in public services. The main focus of the text presents the state of research on innovative approaches to public services in rural areas and addresses topics such as local supply, social logistics, and the energy transition. Various projects and their experiences are presented to develop new approaches. The article examines the institutional change in the field of fire prevention education and the importance of new cooperations and actor alliances. Based on case studies from Austria and Germany, five essential steps for the long-term establishment of innovative public service projects are identified. Another contribution compares good practices and success factors in after-school education in rural regions of Scotland and Sweden. It shows how rural communities can create attractive offers with limited resources. A third contribution argues that the labor market policy importance of fundamentally economic systems should be considered in the debate on public services. It emphasizes that strengthening these systems requires impulses from municipalities and higher authorities. The article contains a list of scientific publications on the topic of public services in rural areas. The publications address various aspects such as access to healthcare services, local supply, renewable energy, and infrastructure in rural areas. It also compares various countries and their strategies for ensuring public services. The publications provide insights into the challenges and solutions for the provision of services in rural areas. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Raumforschung und Raumordnung is the property of Oekom Verlag GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)