Publicación: Rural Spain. Social Landscapes at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century
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2025
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info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
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Taylor and Francis Group, Routledge
Resumen
Spain’s rural environment has a rich historical heritage and a diversity of cultures and natural resources which are the product of a long social and historical evolution. Since the middle of the last century, its populations, habitats, and economies have changed from subsistence peasant communities to an increasingly diverse and hybridized social environment. This chapter will examine that transformation, which is the result of global socioeconomic trends, population movements, and changes related to the increasing interdependence between rural and urban areas, which has had dramatic effects on the social structure of rural Spain. At the outset of the third decade of the 21st century, the overall picture of rural Spain is that of a territory out of balance. Most small villages have experienced a process of severe decline in demographic and social aspects; ageing, masculinization, and the loss of social capital characterize the most recent trends. In recent years, the expression “Empty Spain” has become commonplace and reflects the concerns about this disappearing rural world.
However, this declining rural world paradoxically coexists with dynamic and vibrant rural areas that are being profoundly transformed as the relationship between rural and urban territories and their populations becomes imbricated. The mobility of the population – migrations, seasonal displacements, or daily commuting – has increased considerably. Population flows are broader and more intense than in the past, and they are significantly transforming the demographic potential and the social composition of rural societies, as well as the nature of local economies and labor markets. The traditional urban-rural differentiation is dissolving, whilst the postmodern “cultural turn” redefines the countryside as a good place to live. The resignification of rurality is supporting new activities, attracting new residents, and turning rural Spain into a diversified space. The arrival of foreign labor and immigrants to rural areas, which has intensified since the beginning of this century, has reinforced this trend. Although the 2008 economic recession halted this population entry process, diversity remains one of the most notable characteristics of the new Spanish rurality.
Descripción
This chapter is based on early findings from the project “Focus on Rural Gap: Accessibility, Mobilities and Social Inequalities (RURAL ACCESS)” supported by the Spanish Program of Research, Development and Innovation. Plan Nacional Español (PID2019–111201RB-I00).
This chapter is based on early findings from the project “Focus on Rural Gap: Accessibility, Mobilities and Social Inequalities (RURAL ACCESS)” supported by the Spanish Program of Research, Development and Innovation. Spanish National Plan (PID2019–111201RB-I00).
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Citación
Camarero, L.; Oliva, J.; Sampedro, R. (2025) Rural Spain. Social Landscapes at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century en Ledesma,E.; Delgado, L.E. (eds.) The Routledge Hispanic Studies Companion to Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Spain, Pp 33-48. ISBN: 9780367810207; https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367810207-4
Centro
Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociología
Departamento
Sociología I, Teoría, Metodología y Cambio Social