1. Rural change and sustainability: key themes - Andrew Gilg, Stephen Essex and Richard Yarwood. 2. Fordism rampant: the model and reality, as applied to production, processing and distribution in the North American agro-food system - Michael Troughton. 3. Feedlot growth in Southern Alberta: a neo-fordist interpretation - Ian MacLachlan. 4. People and hogs: agricultural restructuring and the contested countryside in agro-Manitoba - Douglas Ramsey, John Everitt and Lyndenn Behm. 5. Global markets, local foods: the paradoxes of aquaculture - Joan Marshall. 6. Alternative or conventional? An examination of specialist livestock production systems in the Scottish-English borders - Brian Ilbery and Damian Maye. 7. Agritourism: selling traditions of local food production, family, and rural Americana to maintain family farming heritage - Deborah Che, Gregory Veeck, and Ann Veeck. 8. Re-imaging agriculture: making the case for farming at the agricultural show - Lewis Holloway. 9. Stewardship, 'proper' farming and environmental gain: contrasting experiences of agri-environmental schemes in Canada and the EU - Guy M. Robinson. 10. Stemming the urban tide: policy and attitudinal changes for saving the Canadian countryside - Hugh J Gayler. 11. Vulnerability and sustainability concerns for the U.S. High Plains - Lisa M. Butler Harrington, Kansas State University. 12. Environmental ghost towns - Chris Mayla. 13. Interpreting family farm change and the agricultural importance of rural communities: evidence from Ontario, Canada - John Smithers. 14. Engagement with the land: redemption of the rural residence Ffantasy? - Kirsten Valentine Cadieux. 15. Mammoth Cave National Park and rural economic development - Katie Algeo. 16. Assessing variation in rural America's housing stock: case studies from growing and declining areas - Holly R. Barcus. 17. The geography of housing needs of low income persons in rural Canada - David Bruce. 18. Social change in rural North Carolina - Owen J. Furuseth. 19. Finding the 'region' in rural regional governance - Ann K. Deakin. 20. Corporate-community relations in the tourism sector: a stakeholder perspective - Alison M Gill and Peter W Williams. 21. Resource town transition: debates after closure - Greg Halseth. 22. Narratives of community-based resource management in the American West - Randall K. Wilson. 23. Youth, partnerships and participation - Christine Corcoran. 24. Conclusion - John Smithers and Randall Wilson.

"This book focuses on three multi-faceted aspects of rural sustainability: farms and farming, the remaking of rural communities and rural spaces, and policy and action in rural development. The research is focused on three global regions: North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and Australia."--back cover.

Sustainable Livelihoods and Rural Development looks at the role of social institutions and the politics of policy, as well as issues of identity, gender and generation. The relationships between sustainability and livelihoods are examined, and livelihoods analysis situated within a wider political economy of environmental and agrarian change.

In a neo-liberal era where society in the Developed World is reliant on mass-produced cheap foods, and living standards are based on high consumption of non-renewable energy and materials, this book investigates the growing significance of sustainable systems in rural areas. Drawing on a wide range of topical case studies, primarily in the UK, it provides an in-depth analysis of the progress made towards sustainability within rural systems, focusing specifically upon sustainable agriculture and sustainable rural communities. The authors provide an overview of the various systems of sustainability currently being applied in the Developed World. They highlight key environmental, economic and social issues, including post-productivism, 'alternative' food networks, organic farming, GM foods, conservation, rural development programmes, sustainable tourism, local training schemes and community participation. The various studies provide important lessons in the ongoing search for greater sustainability and suggest positive directions for future policy practice.

This volume applies the science of complexity to study coupled human-environment systems (CHES) and integrates ideas from the social sciences of climate change into a study of rural development amid flooding and urbanization in the Poyang Lake Region (PLR) of China. Author Qing Tian operationalizes the concept of sustainability and provides useful scientific analyses for sustainable development in less developed rural areas that are vulnerable to climatic hazards. The book uses a new sustainability framework that is centered on the concept of well-being to study rural development in PLR. The PLR study includes three major analyses: (1) a regional assessment of human well-being; (2) an empirical analysis of rural livelihoods; and (3) an agent-based computer model used to explore future rural development. These analyses provide a meaningful view of human development in the Poyang Lake Region and illustrate some of the complex local- and macro-level processes that shape the livelihoods of rural households in the dynamic process of urbanization. They generate useful insights about how government policy might effectively improve the well-being of rural households and promote sustainable development amid social, economic, and environmental changes. This case study has broader implications. Rural populations in the developing world are disproportionally affected by extreme climate events and climate change. Furthermore, the livelihoods of rural households in the developing world are increasingly under the influences of macro-level forces amid urbanization and globalization. This case study demonstrates that rural development policies must consider broader development dynamics at the national (and even global) level, as well as specific local social and environmental contexts. By treating climate as one of many factors that affect development in such places, we can provide policy recommendations that synergistically promote development and reduce climatic impacts and therefore facilitate mainstreaming climate adaptation into development.

Though China's economy is projected to become the world's largest within the next twenty years, industrial pollution threatens both the health of the country's citizens and the natural resources on which their economy depends. Capturing the consequences of this reality, Bryan Tilt conducts an in-depth, ethnographic study of Futian Township, a rural community reeling from pollution. The industrial township is located in the populous southwestern province of Sichuan. Three local factories-a zinc smelter, a coking plant, and a coal-washing plant-produce air and water pollution that far exceeds the standards set by the World Health Organization and China's Ministry of Environmental Protection. Interviewing state and company officials, factory workers, farmers, and scientists, Tilt shows how residents cope with this pollution and how they view its effects on health and economic growth. Striking at the heart of the community's environmental values, he explores the intersection between civil society and environmental policy, weighing the tradeoffs between protection and economic growth. Tilt ultimately finds that the residents are quite concerned about pollution, and he investigates the various strategies they use to fight it. His study unravels the complexity of sustainable development within a rapidly changing nation.

First published in 1998, this book provides a broad but in-depth description of the issues, concepts, methods of analysis, and empirical results related to the sustainable development of agriculture and rural communities. Specifically, it examines the relationships between sustainability and individual topics such as technology, information, population, gender, land use, community, and public policy. A unique aspect of this book is that the topics addressed have not previously been explored together in one publication. With sustainability as the common link, data and evidence are presented and then interpreted in light of individual perspective and experience, in the process advancing our knowledge of this important field. The book comprises of 12 chapters written by prominent authors who come from government and non-government organizations as well as from various academic institutions and disciplines. This book is ideal for a seminar course. It is particularly intended for students in production agriculture, rural sociology, economics and public policy, environmental sciences, geography and land use planning, and other social sciences. Its rich insights make it a useful source of information for policy makers. It can also be used as a reference by professional economists and other researchers interested in issues relating to sustainable agricultural and rural development. While the coverage of some topics is, by necessity, more technical, the book is compiled with a general audience in mind. Thus, it should be of interest to anyone concerned with agriculture, natural resources and rural issues, particularly as they relate to the future of agriculture and of rural communities.

Family farms represent important components of food systems and rural areas. The aim of the book is to develop a conceptual framework guiding further research and policy design to enhance food systems' capability to sustainably meet societal expectations, with a valorisation of the role of family farming.

By addressing themes such as social and economic change, government policy and gender relations, this volume tackles the thematic complexities of sustainability. It attempts to understand how small rural communities have survived in the past, what factors shaped them, and how these factors will impact on their future survival.

The Geography of Rural Change provides a thorough examination of the processes and outcomes of rural change as a result of a period of major restructuring in developed market economies. After outlining the main dimensions of rural change, the book progresses from a discussion of theoretical insights into rural restructuring to a consideration of both the extensive use of rural land and the changing nature of rural economy and society. The text places an emphasis on relevant principles, concepts and theories of rural change, and these are supported by extensive case study evidence drawn from different parts of the developed world. The Geography of Rural Change is written for undergraduates taking courses in human geography, agricultural geography, rural geography, rural sociology, planning and agricultural economics.