This chapter presents the most important definitions of rural areas developed based on various systems in Poland and in other EU countries. Diversification of rural areas has been presented in relation to the administrative structure of a given country, including the historical background. This part of the book covers deruralization as well as urbanization, migration and multifunctional development in rural areas, as phenomena referred to the contemporary concepts for development of rural and suburban areas, as well as cities and urbanized areas.
1.1 Definition, characteristics, and diversity of rural areas
Rural areas play a crucial role in the food production system while also being of importance to other parts of the economy, social development, and preservation of the natural environment. As a consequence, rural issues are of interest to the representatives of many scientific disciplines, such as economics, sociology, agricultural sciences, anthropology, ethnography, geography, and more. The relevant scientists differ in how they define the subject of their research. Also, rural areas are defined in a variety of ways by rural institutions active at local, regional, national, and international level. The broad scope of activity of rural development institutions and of representatives of different scientific disciplines is the reason why no homogeneous definition of rural areas has yet been proposed despite numerous discussions.
Moreover, no single definition exists for rural areas that would be applicable across European Union member states. This is because rural areas strongly differ between countries in their social, economic, and environmental aspects. At the same time, they undergo rapid processes involved in the transformation of both economic and social structures, and experience the related human migration which often results in administrative changes driven, without limitation, by urbanization, counterurbanization, and suburbanization. Some areas are no longer considered rural, while others adopt a rural status. The above is exacerbated by the fact that the rural category is formed by different territories in each European Union country. Therefore, rural areas covered by research can considerably differ in size or population.
It can be therefore assumed that the definition of rural areas is context-sensitive and depends on the type of analysis, policy or management practice. As a consequence, rural areas have a meaning that varies depending on the delimitation criteria (Czapiewski, 2010). Note also that rural areas are viewed in a dual light; sometimes, they are defined “as a settlement unit (village, rural estate, town) or space (territory, area)” (Wieliczko, 2006; Czarnecki, 2005).
Attempts to define rural areas at an international level include those made by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 1994, they developed a terminology which identified rural areas at a local level depending on population density.
According to the OECD, rural areas have a population density below 150 people per km2 at the basic administrative unit level (NUTS 5). In turn, at regional and sub-regional levels (larger administrative units; district groups, in the Polish context), the OECD determines how rural an area is based on a criterion related to the share of the rural population (Poczta & Wysocki, 2000). This method allows us to identify three types of regions (Rural Developments, 1997):
- predominantly (definitely) rural areas, where the rural population accounts for more than 50%;
- intermediate areas (with a mostly rural character), where the share of the rural population varies in the range of 15% to 50%;
- predominantly (definitely) urban areas, where the rural population accounts for less than 15%.
Moreover, in OECD countries, three categories of rural areas were identified based on how much they are integrated with the national economy (cf., e.g. Kłodziński & Wilkin, 1998):
- economically integrated areas which experience demographic and economic development and are located next to urban centers (they account for ca. 20% of rural areas);
- intermediate rural areas which experience sluggish economic development and demographic stagnation, and are dominated by an agricultural economy (ca. 60%);
- remote rural areas which are sparsely populated and located away from urban centers (they account for up to 20% of rural areas).
Currently, the OECD uses a broader typology of rural areas (as shown in Table 1.1). The delimitation criteria used are the population density at local level, the share of the rural population in the region concerned, and the population of neighboring cities.
Table 1.1 Classification of rural areas as per the original OECD typology
| Delimitation criterion | Regional division |
| Local level, by population density | Rural area | Population density < 150 persons/km2 |
| Urban area | Population density > 150 persons/km2 |
| Regional level: share of the rural population in a territory | Predominantly rural | > 50% of the region’s population live in rural areas |
| Intermediate | 15%–50% of the region’s population live in rural areas |
| Predominantly urban | < 15% of the region’s population live in rural areas |
| Regional level; additional division by city population | A predominantly rural area which becomes an intermediate area | Includes a city with a population over 200,000 which accounts for no less than 25% of the region’s population |
| An intermediate area which becomes a predominantly urban area | Includes a city with a population over 500,000 which accounts for no less than 25% of the region’s population |
In addition to the existing typology of rural areas, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional Polic...
