Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization: From Social Innovation to Regional Development [1st ed.] 9783030513412, 9783030513429

Table of contents :
Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii
Introduction (Etienne Nel, Stanko Pelc)....Pages 1-8
Front Matter ....Pages 9-9
Social Innovation and Geographical Marginality (Stanko Pelc, Etienne Nel)....Pages 11-21
Community Action Against Marginalization: The Case of a Rural Social Enterprise in the Village of Saint-Camille, Quebec (Mélanie Doyon, Juan-Luis Klein, Pierre-André Tremblay)....Pages 23-44
Front Matter ....Pages 45-45
Rich Country—‘Poor’ Regions: Fighting Regional Disparities in Switzerland (Walter Leimgruber)....Pages 47-64
Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development—Some Narrative Stories from Podkarpackie, Poland (Tomasz Komornicki, Konrad Czapiewski)....Pages 65-83
Nature Parks: Valorising Regional Potential—The Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut Regional Nature Park (Fribourg/Vaud, Switzerland) (Walter Leimgruber)....Pages 85-102
Responding to Marginalization: A Case Study of Small Towns in Western Australia (Teresa Stevenson, Etienne Nel)....Pages 103-120
Front Matter ....Pages 121-121
Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social Marginalization in the Polish-Czech Borderland and Their Current Transformations (Krystian Heffner, Agnieszka Latocha)....Pages 123-142
A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza (Hugo Capell`i Miternique)....Pages 143-163
The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility of Marginal Areas in the West Region of Romania (Raularian Rusu, Titus Man, Ciprian Moldovan)....Pages 165-183

Citation preview

Perspectives on Geographical Marginality

Etienne Nel Stanko Pelc   Editors

Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization From Social Innovation to Regional Development

Perspectives on Geographical Marginality Volume 5

Series Editors Walter Leimgruber, Department of Geosciences, Geography, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland Etienne Nel, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand Stanko Pelc, Department of Geography, Faculty of Humanities, University of Primorska, Koper-Capodistria, Slovenia

This book series Perspectives on Geographical Marginality comprehensively overviews research, on areas and communities impacted by processes of marginalization as a result of globalization, economic, environmental, political and social change. This series seeks to discuss and determine what is geographical marginality by inviting leading international experts to publish theoretical and applied work. It also seeks to rigorously debate the degree to which local areas and communities are responding to these process of change and with what success. The series stems from the International Geographical Union’s (IGU)‚ ‘Commission on Globalization, Marginalization, and Regional and Local Response’ (C12.29). As is suggested by its name, the commission researches the problem of geographical marginality offering a leading forum from which this series will be led. Marginality cannot be defined without putting it into a certain perspective: economic, political and social (including cultural). Marginality has to be clearly distinguished from peripherality. Marginal areas may be a part of periphery or even the centre, but “cannot really be attributed to them”. Proposed themes which will be covered include: • Mountainous regions and globalization • Regional development and policy/or: Globalization and its impact on local and regional development • Theory of marginalization • Transformation of rural areas from the viewpoint of globalization and marginalization • Drivers of marginalization in border and peripheral areas.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15046

Etienne Nel Stanko Pelc •

Editors

Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization From Social Innovation to Regional Development

123

Editors Etienne Nel Department of Geography University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand

Stanko Pelc Faculty of Education University of Primorska Koper, Slovenia

ISSN 2367-0002 ISSN 2367-0010 (electronic) Perspectives on Geographical Marginality ISBN 978-3-030-51341-2 ISBN 978-3-030-51342-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51342-9 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Preface

We often read, and the United Nations and research institutions draw our attention to the fact that rich are ever richer and the majority have ever lower shares of the total wealth. In this time when liberal capitalism seems to be the only option, we face new challenges in order to overcome the old problems: social deprivation, poverty and exclusion. Within this broad context, people following their dreams about attaining a better life are moving toward the centers of consumption in the hope that there is a fair share of consumer goods for them in the place they have chosen to be their new home. Others are just fleeing the places that are too dangerous and life threatening that are the getaway to wherever seems to be the only reasonable solution. Both of these population movements are one of the root causes of marginalization. Geographically, this means that we are facing marginality in many different forms in the areas of outmigration as well as in the areas of concentration. Very often marginalized individuals that are trying to get away from their marginal situation in a remote marginal rural area seek their opportunities in a metropolis where they then have to live in a ghetto with others that are competing with them for the same job. They may become even more marginalized than they were in the place that they have left. And that place because of the drain of the young, active and usually the best educated population becomes ever more marginal. Of course sooner or later the economic situation of immigrants may improve and they often send a share of what they earn, no matter how little that may be, to their relatives and this help them to improve their living conditions. It may seem like a win-win situation, but it is usually not, because people on both sides of this linkage are often living in unfavorable conditions, at the edge of society excluded from much of what is considered to be normal in modern society. Marginality therefore does not seem to be vanishing. It is as present in remote peripheries as it is in urban conurbations in developing countries as well as in those with the highest GDPs per capita. However, there is constant change in everything and so to in the marginality that we can observe in so many regions at all scales. The process of marginalization is advancing in some and retreating in the others. That may be a consequence of certain changes (social, economic, political, cultural, v

vi

Preface

etc.) that occurred for different reasons and not with the intention to reduce or enhance marginality. On the other side, we have actions focused on enhancing the process of demarginalization that take place in intentionally selected region(s). These may be carried out by the state authorities, nongovernmental organizations as well-being local initiatives (individuals and groups with common interests). Frequently, local and regional development is seen as the best way to overcome the marginality and the evaluation of unused potentials seems to be the first step. However, no matter how important the economic development may be, it cannot by itself simultaneously eliminate social exclusion. Social innovation with its social dimension and not just profit oriented aims is therefore a valuable additional tool to make life in marginal areas better with less exclusion and with improved social structure. This book brings some insight into the abovementioned topics presented with different case studies. We are thankful to all the chapter authors and Springer personnel for fruitful cooperation in preparing this book. Dunedin, New Zealand Koper, Slovenia

Etienne Nel Stanko Pelc

Contents

1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Etienne Nel and Stanko Pelc

Part I

Social Innovation as a Tool for Demarginalization

2

Social Innovation and Geographical Marginality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stanko Pelc and Etienne Nel

3

Community Action Against Marginalization: The Case of a Rural Social Enterprise in the Village of Saint-Camille, Quebec . . . . . . . . Mélanie Doyon, Juan-Luis Klein, and Pierre-André Tremblay

Part II 4

5

6

7

1

11

23

Regions, Regional Potentials, Regional Development and Geographical Marginality

Rich Country—‘Poor’ Regions: Fighting Regional Disparities in Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walter Leimgruber Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development—Some Narrative Stories from Podkarpackie, Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tomasz Komornicki and Konrad Czapiewski Nature Parks: Valorising Regional Potential—The Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut Regional Nature Park (Fribourg/Vaud, Switzerland) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walter Leimgruber

47

65

85

Responding to Marginalization: A Case Study of Small Towns in Western Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Teresa Stevenson and Etienne Nel

vii

viii

Contents

Part III

Policies, Actions and Other Responses to Marginality

8

Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social Marginalization in the Polish-Czech Borderland and Their Current Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Krystian Heffner and Agnieszka Latocha

9

A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza . . . 143 Hugo Capellà i Miternique

10 The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility of Marginal Areas in the West Region of Romania . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Raularian Rusu, Titus Man, and Ciprian Moldovan

Contributors

Hugo Capellà i Miternique Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma, Spain; Médiations, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France Konrad Czapiewski Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland Mélanie Doyon Département de géographie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada Krystian Heffner University of Economics in Katowice, Katowice, Poland Juan-Luis Klein Département de géographie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada Tomasz Komornicki Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland Agnieszka Latocha Institute of Geography and Regional Development, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland Walter Leimgruber University of Fribourg/CH, Fribourg, Switzerland Titus Man Centre for Regional Geography, “Babeș-Bolyai” University of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Ciprian Moldovan Centre for Regional Geography, “Babeș-Bolyai” University of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Etienne Nel School of Geography, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand Stanko Pelc Faculty of Education, University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia Raularian Rusu Centre for Regional Geography, “Babeș-Bolyai” University of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

ix

x

Contributors

Teresa Stevenson Independent Researcher, Dunedin, New Zealand Pierre-André Tremblay Département des sciences humaines, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, QC, Canada

List of Figures

Fig. 3.1 Fig. 3.2 Fig. 3.3 Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig.

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6

Fig. 4.7 Fig. 5.1 Fig. 5.2 Fig. 5.3 Fig. 5.4 Fig. 5.5 Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig.

6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 7.1 8.1

Map of Saint-Camille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chronology of La Clé des Champs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The sites of La Clé des Champs and Cultur’Innov in Saint-Camille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Per capita net income in Switzerland (CHF), 2015 . . . . . . . . Per capita GDI in Swiss cantons, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jobs created in 2016 per new enterprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unemployment in Switzerland, 2018 (% of all workplaces) . . Flows in the Fiscal Equalization Scheme, simplified . . . . . . . Fiscal Equalization Scheme, net payers and beneficiaries 2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Governance model for a coherent policy for rural and mountain regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Road potential accessibility (RoAI) in Poland 2015 . . . . . . . . Difference of demographic dynamics of population changes in Podkarpackie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Location of Special Economic Zones, science parks and clusters in Podkarpackie Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Level of funds absorbed by subprovinces in relation to their GDP in the period 2007–2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changes of the potential road accessibility in Poland (2007–2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The economic value of biological diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cultural diversity and economic value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The landscape continuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parks in Switzerland, 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut regional nature park . . . . . . . . . . The wheat belt and hinterland of Perth, Western Australia . . Study area—border region with county (poviat) borders and local names which are mentioned in the text . . . . . . . . . .

.. ..

24 32

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

40 52 53 54 55 59

..

60

.. ..

62 69

..

72

..

76

..

78

. . . . . . .

. . . . . . .

79 86 87 89 93 95 107

..

127

xi

xii

List of Figures

Fig. 8.2 Fig. 8.3

Fig. 8.4 Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig.

9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4

Fig. 9.5 Fig. 10.1 Fig. 10.2 Fig. 10.3 Fig. 10.4 Fig. 10.5 Fig. 10.6 Fig. 10.7 Fig. 10.8 Fig. 10.9

Example of decline in built-up areas in the depopulated villages in the Sudety Mountains (Stołowe Mountains) . . . . . Polish-Czech borderland (Polish part): Dolnośląskie, Opolskie and Śląskie voivodeships. Changes in dispersed buildings in the period 2000–2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disadvantageous ‘closed–cycle’ rural development model for peripheral and marginal regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of Ibiza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nudity from everyday life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The critical integration to diversity in Ibiza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Promotion by Balearic Islands authorities of LGTB tourism in Ibiza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Satire in critical Ibizan integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Location of the West Region, the other development regions and the existing motorways in Romania in 2014 . . . . . . . . . . Landscape units and main towns in the West Region of Romania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The distance-based connectivity index (RD) after the completion of the motorway. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The time-based connectivity index after the completion of the motorway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The motorway impact on the time-based connectivity index (RT) in the West Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Journey times to and from Bucharest after the completion of the motorway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The impact of the motorway on journey times to Timișoara and other main cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The impact of the motorway on attraction areas and journey times to and from secondary (R2) ranked cities . . . . . . . . . . . The impact of the motorway on journey times to and from Timișoara-Arad agglomeration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

..

132

..

134

. . . .

. . . .

136 144 146 151

.. ..

155 158

..

167

..

169

..

171

..

173

..

175

..

176

..

178

..

179

..

181

List of Tables

Table Table Table Table Table Table Table

3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 6.1 8.1

Table 8.2 Table 9.1 Table 9.2 Table 10.1 Table 10.2

The interviewed actors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The traditional entrepreneur and the social entrepreneur . . . State revenue in Switzerland, 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Foreign trade and tourism balance of Switzerland . . . . . . . . Foreign tourists 2013–2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parks in Switzerland 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Population of villages in the border region of Głubczyce poviat between 1999 and 2012 in comparison with the situation in 1939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Population changes in the most depopulated and vanished villages in Kłodzko poviat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Models to approach diversity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gender definition and interrelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ranking of central places considered for the West Region of Romania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distances and times considered for a score of zero in every component of the formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . .

27 28 51 61 61 92

..

130

.. .. ..

131 145 148

..

170

..

171

. . . . . .

xiii

Chapter 1

Introduction Etienne Nel and Stanko Pelc

1.1 Introduction As seen within the context of the 2020 pandemic, globalization, no matter how different authors define it, influences the world as a whole for good or bad. Whether it be disease, culture or economics, globalization has linked places together, but often unequally with its not infrequent negative effects being experienced at the local level. This book is not specifically about globalization, but rather about marginality and marginalization which are often the result of globalization which has promoted the interconnectedness of societies and economies around the planet, but seldom on an equal or mutually beneficially way. The last 400 years have witnessed unprecedented advances in terms of economic change and technology which has helped to bind the peoples and nations of world closer together. Even though the nature, form and benefits of globalization are the subject of considerable debate in academic and policy terms, it is none the less apparent that closer global connections have made us more aware of differences across the world creating both opportunities and constraints and have exposed us to the reality that globalization’s benefits are selective, with the market variously privileging and disadvantaging areas and social groups within them (Knox and Agnew 2014). This reality, as Harvey (2015) cogently explains is a result of capitalism’s ‘spatial fixes’ which variously benefit and constrain different regions and localities in the world, creating what Chisholm (1990) has referred to as ‘regions of recession’ and ‘regions of resurgence’. It is the former which are a particular concern to E. Nel School of Geography, University of Otago, 85 Albany Street, Dunedin 9010, New Zealand e-mail: [email protected] S. Pelc (B) Faculty of Education, University of Primorska, Cankarjeva 5, SI-6000 Koper, Slovenia e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 E. Nel and S. Pelc (eds.), Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization, Perspectives on Geographical Marginality 5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51342-9_1

1

2

E. Nel and S. Pelc

the authors and editors of this edited collection even though we need to emphasize at this point that the attention in this book is paid only to such regions within the so-called western or more developed part of the world. National level discussions on the effects of globalization tend to focus on the positive attributes, running the risk of ignoring what are often the localized costs experienced in places which, as a result of globalization leads to loss of competitive advantage and uniqueness which often exacerbates pre-existing structural weakness. This collection draws attention to the reality of marginalization drawing on cases generally from physically peripheral parts the world’s most developed regions within EU, USA, Australia etc. Lying in a peripheral part of a country e.g. borderlands, semi-arid areas, mountain areas etc. generally exacerbates the potential for social and economic marginalization, which in turn can help catalyse local responses. A key point which we want to make in this collection is that marginalization is not solely a descriptor to be applied to the Global South; rather it also has direct relevance to developed nations where the negative effects of globalization and internal differences and challenges have selectively created marginalized areas which require either or both locally driven or nationally supported responses. Whilst selected parts of the planet and social groups within them have derived benefit from economic changes associated with both global and national/local change, for many others marginalization—in economic, social, political and environmental terms—has been the stark reality (Leimgruber 1994). The world is witnessing a growing economic disparity between nations and growing class inequality between and within societies (Knox and Agnew 2014). In the light of the preceding, this edited collection seeks to explore how various places, marginalized from the mainstream have sought or been assisted to respond to their marginalization, often through the pursuit of creative development alternatives. While not all places in the world will show the degree of innovation witnessed in the places described, the collection does offer inspiration into the potential which is there and the lessons which can be learnt from these experiences. The experience of marginalized places challenges us to question what their future holds and what the best responses to their situation might be. The stark reality is that for many towns and regions which lack the resources and assets to capitalize on new waves of economic activity and which are hindered by reduced reliance on the state in an era of hegemonic neoliberalism, ‘self-reliance and self-organization of these towns’ (de Noronha Vaz et al. 2013, p. 3), and the pursuit of locally driven new economic activity are often the only logical development options. In this context, grassroots movements anchored on local partnerships can be critical in efforts to address economic and social crises (Mayer and Knox 2010). As authors in this volume will argue, while some places can hope for and receive external support in other situation initiatives must often focus on local development of alternative economic spaces and community economic development, drawing on cultural and environmental assets and promoting well-being and cultural identity as appropriate. Clearly there is no uniform response as to how small towns and marginalized regions can respond to the development challenges and opportunities which they face. Rather,

1 Introduction

3

‘each case highlights the importance local actors place on new sensibilities that have emerged’ (Mayer and Knox 2010, p. 1563).

1.2 New Localism, New Regionalism and Place Based Development Responding to marginalization clearly requires direct action, but such action must acknowledge prevailing economic, political and social realities, both positive and negative, the opportunities which exist in the context of the ‘new’ global economy and the important role which local agents can play. Over recent decades the devolution of power, functions and resources from central to local levels has catalyzed what Evans et al. (2013) regard as ‘new localism’ anchored on principles of local control, management, representation and the community. In turn this is related to the argument by Jones and Woods (2013) that we need a ‘new localities’ focus grounded in processes taking place in local space. This approach argues that local resources, labour, political culture and local decision-making capacity help to define the role and place of the ‘local’ in a competitive global economy, in so doing suggesting at the value of local decision-making and drawing on local resilience and social capital (Besser 2013). Clarke (2013, 492) argues that localism is intimately involved with ‘struggles to produce locally scaled action, including projects of local autonomy and self-sufficiency’. Locally-driven foci also have close links with the recent embedding of the concept of place-based development in regional development practice in the EU following the release of the Barca Report with its focus on social inclusion, unique place attributes and efficiency (Barca 2009; Barca et al. 2012). In the case of Europe, the European Commission (2015) Cohesion Policy: 2014– 20, calls for the adoption of a place based approaches anchored on territorial investments and community led development. Key in place based development are: • • • • •

Reviving territorial identity as a basis for place based development Integrated policies extending beyond geographical and sectoral boundaries Open governance Strong leadership Learning by doing.

In the context of this book, such creative and innovative approaches to development are clearly of value in endeavours to creatively respond to marginalization. Rodríguez-Pose and Wilkie (2017), argue in favour of place-based development pointing out the need to capitalize on local strengths, territorially specific economic development approaches, and economic and social advantages. Within in this regard, local actions do require high levels of local leadership capacity and frequent partnership formation. In this regard local leaders and local entrepreneurs often become key change agents (Nel and Stevenson 2014). In this respect the role of ‘place leadership’ in regional development is increasingly recognized (Horlings et al. 2018;

4

E. Nel and S. Pelc

Beer et al. 2019) with Beer and Clower (2014) arguing that the role of leadership in determining the success of development responses places is more critical than ever. While at one level this relates to the leadership role played by local institutions, it also relates to the role played by individuals or local partnerships which ‘play a key role in guiding and facilitating transformation by stimulating imagination … and the development of new agendas’ (Horlings et al. 2018, 250). This has particular value in economically struggling areas where relying on endogenous strengths and social capital and making the most of internal and external links, can be critical in achieving local innovation and development. As Collinge et al. (2010, 367) argue ‘effective leadership is one of the critical factors that explains how and why some localities are able to adapt and exploit opportunities’. In addition, to the preceding, to achieve locally driven development, themes of needing high levels of social capital to support and encourage development are well recognized (Trigilia 2001) as is the need to appreciate that resilience plays a key role in responses to rapidly changing conditions (Martin et al. 2015). This re-found interest in ‘new localism’ overlaps with a reinvigoration of the concept of ‘new regionalism’ which though sharing similarities with new localism and place-based leadership, tends to operate at a ‘higher level’, connecting territories and multiple places, all of which might share similar characteristics of marginalization. In its earlier form before 2000, new regionalism focused on regional development as a counter-point to national development and it was criticized for its focus on internal processes only, narrowly looking at local institutions, industries and businesses (Bristow 2018). In recent years, the concept has attracted new found interest, particularly in Canada (Markey 2011; Zirul et al. 2015). In its new form it focuses on an understanding of regions which is fluid and not static, it recognises that places and regions have extended levels of external links and contacts, often at different scales, and that with multi-level governance how a region operates needs to be rethought. This is with particular regard to issues of governance, social capital, socially embedded processes, smart growth, sustainability, relational assets, integration and learning (Zirul et al. 2015; Vodden et al. 2019). In this regard, ‘New regionalism highlights approaches for creating more regionally resilient futures supported by informed development policy that is, among other things flexible, adaptive and context-appropriate’ (Vodden et al. 2019, 3). This approaches recognize the fluidity of borders and that the region ‘represents a contingent “coming togetherness” or assemblage of proximate and distant social, economic and political relationships’ (Jonas 2012, p. 263). Having overviewed the conceptual underpinnings on which this book is grounded, the next section of this Introduction will detail the content and structure of the book, which draws on place based and other locality based responses to counter the effects of marginalization. The various case studies selected illustrate the dynamic and varied approaches which have either been pursued or which have emerged spontaneously in response to prevailing challenges. The majority of the following chapters do not provide detailed definitions of marginality (or of globalization) in their case study areas. That would lead to widely different approaches and definitions of marginality influenced by local context and unique cases. Rather, marginality presents itself in widely differing formats and this book serves to net some of this diversity and to

1 Introduction

5

illustrate the different and usually locally unique responses to marginalization and to the often negative effects of globalization. Often the cases presented may not be marginal places and areas but rather peripheral places and regions. These are always faced with forces pushing them from partnerships with the center (either reciprocal or dominant-subordinate) to relative isolation from it and consequentially towards extreme marginality in social, economic, cultural etc. sense. It is therefore of great importance that these areas and regions search for responses and activate local potentials no matter how many marginal characteristic may already be observed in the peripheral area of interest. Avoiding marginality before it becomes a reality is better and easier than finding the solutions for getting out of it when it is already there.

1.3 Chapter Overview The chapters which follow challenge us to rethink what marginalization is and how best to respond to its existence. The book is divided into three sections. The first section focusses on the role of social innovation as a tool for de-marginalization. The second section examines regions, their potential, and the role of regional development in the context of marginalization. The third section focuses on policies, actions and responses to marginality. In the first chapter in Section One, Pelc and Nel provide a conceptual argument about the need to rethink how we approach the development of places and regions, particularly those which have been marginalized. It argues that adopting a lense of ‘social innovation’ is a valuable approach to understand actual and potential responses to marginalization. As the authors argue, based on Taylor (in Portales 2019) this involves new ways of doing things which focus on the needs to society, social transformation and new modes of decision-making which allow places and regions to respond to the challenges of marginalization. Links to the aforementioned notions of new localism and new regionalism are apparent. Social innovation, particularly if based on creative ways of working with endogenous potential can encourage empowerment, and innovative responses to marginalization, which are illustrated by subsequent chapters in this volume. The third chapter, by Doyon (et al.) illustrates the themes of social innovation and new localism with reference to the rural settlement of Saint Camille in Canada where support for social enterprise and reterritorialization of agriculture facilitated the transformation of a vegetable co-operative into a viable social enterprise able to meet local employment needs and satisfy local demands for fresh produce. This chapter vividly illustrates the capacity of local leadership, new localism and place based development to effect change. Marginalization is naturally a relative concept, but none the less describes a situation in which, relative to the ‘mainstream’ social groups or geographical areas occupy spaces ‘marginal’ to the mainstream. In the fourth chapter, which starts Section Two, Leimgruber explores these issues relative to Switzerland, which experiences significant disparities despite its high levels of overall aggregate wealth. In response Swiss

6

E. Nel and S. Pelc

regional policy, since 2008, has encouraged a focus on innovation and bottom-up development and the federal government has promoted a policy of fiscal equalization in an effort to reduce social and economic disparities. The chapter illustrates the value of innovation as a response to marginalization. In the fifth chapter, Komornicki and Czapiewski explore the manifestation of marginalization as it affects what they term the ‘lagging region’ of Podkarpackie in Poland. This study explores both the challenges which the region faces but also the endogenous potential for positive change which exists. Despite many deepseated challenges rooted in historic and contemporary population movements and the region’s position as a borderland, potential for change does exist from efforts to enhance local human capital, to provide support for innovation, shown primarily in skilled manufacturing ventures and other efforts to build on local capacity. Themes of new regionalism and innovation are clearly evident to the responses observed. In the sixth chapter Leimgruber examines the case of valorising regional potential with respect to regional parks in Switzerland. The chapter emphasises the value of connecting with nature for humans and how areas which normally would be regarded as marginal physically and economically are now recognised as having value, not only in terms of nature conservation, but also in terms of preserving culture and traditions. In line with other chapters in the collection it brings out the key role which local community can play in the bottom-up development of parks and park activity as a very real form of place-based development and new regionalism. In chapter seven by Nel and Stevenson, themes of place-based development and leadership and often quite surprising levels of local innovation come through strongly in the case-studies of small town development responses to marginalization in Western Australia. The cases illustrate that, despite population loss and limited external support, communities and their leaders are able to embark on what are often quite remarkable development endeavours to either improve community well-being or promote new economic endeavours. Responding to their marginalization through endogenous action is clearly catalysed by the severity of the local situation, coupled with local vision and place based leadership as conceptualised through the concept of ‘new localism’. Chapter eight by Heffner and Latocha, which is the first chapter in Section Three, examines depopulation in the Polish-Czech borderlands. Despite the long-term and on-going nature of population loss; second homes, commuting and tourism are providing selective opportunities for some parts of the region, illustrating the degree to which innovation can, potentially, provide new avenues to address regional challenges and marginalization. Capella in Chapter Nine, presents the case of Ibiza in the Mediterranean as the story of an island which though once marginalized, through the spontaneous development and support for alternative tourism opportunities was able to embark of a new development trajectory. While not necessarily a planned response, it was certainly an innovative one creating what Capella refers to as a ‘disrupting merge’ with respect to gender and offering to the world an alternative tourism destination.

1 Introduction

7

In the final chapter in the collection, Raul et al., detail the expected effect which motorway development will have in helping to de-marginalise parts of Romania. The chapter provides key insight into how improved accessibility can help, selectively, to improve access to once marginalised places, but, by contrast other places can have their sense of relative isolation enhanced if they are by-passed by new developments.

1.4 Concluding Thoughts As this chapter and this book will argue marginalization need not be a situation locked in time and space. As our case studies show, a range of innovations can make what is often a very significant difference to the nature and reality of marginalization. This might take and form of enhanced transport accessibility or offering the global market a niche tourism opportunity. Alternatively, it might be more about placebased development and local efforts to improve well-being, such as happened in Australia. In most, but not all cases, responses to marginalization are anchored in local leadership, capacity and place-based development, variously drawing on the networks and links implicit in concepts such as new localism and new regionalism. In turn, such local responsiveness requires appropriate tools and responses and in this regard, as Chapter Two will argue, social innovation has a key role to play in terms of addressing and satisfying human needs.

References Barca, F. (2009) An agenda for a reformed cohesion policy: A place-based approach to meeting european union challenges and expectations (Report for the European Commissioner for Regional Policy). Brussels: European Commission. Barca, F., McCann, P., & Rodgriguez-Pose, A. (2012). The case for regional development intervention: Place-based versus place-neutral approaches. Journal of Regional Science, 52(1), 135–152. Beer, A., Ayres, S., Clower, T., Faller, F., Sancino, A., & Sotarauta, M. (2019). Place leadership and regional economic development. Regional Studies, 53(2), 171–182. Beer, A., & Clower, T. (2014). Mobolizing leadership in cities and regions. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 1(1), 5–20. Besser, T. (2013). Resilient small rural towns and community shocks. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 8(1), 117–134. Bristow, G. (2018). New Regionalism. In A. Passi & J. Harrison (Eds.), Handbook on the geographies of regions and territories (pp. 67–78). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Chisholm, M. (1990). Regions in recession and resurgence. London: Routledge. Collinge, C., Gibney, J., & Mabey, C. (2010). Leadership and place. Policy Studies, 31(4), 367–378. Clarke, N. (2013). Locality and localism. Policy Studies, 34(5–6), 492–507. de Noronha Vaz, T., van Leeuwen, E., & Nijkamp, P. (2013). Towns in a rural world. Farnham: Ashgate. Commission, European. (2015). Territorial agenda 2020 put into practice. Paris: Centre for Industrial Studies.

8

E. Nel and S. Pelc

Evans, M., Marsh, D., & Stoker, G. (2013). Understanding localism. Policy Studies, 34(4), 401–407. Harvey, D. (2015). Seventeen contradictions and the end of capitalism. London: Profile. Horlings, L. G., Rope, D., & Wellbrock, W. (2018). The role of leadership in place development and building institutional arrangements. Local Economy, 33(3), 245–268. Jonas, A. E. G. (2012) Region and place: Regionalism in question, Progress in Human Geography, 36(2), 263–272. Jones, M., & Woods, M. (2013). New localities. Regional Studies, 47(1), 29–42. Knox, J., & Agnew, P. (2014). World space economy. London: Routledge. Leimgruber, W. (1994). Marginality and marginal regions: Problems of definition. Marginality and development issues in marginal regions. In Proceedings of the IGU Study Group ‘Development Issues in Marginal Regions (pp. 1–18). Taipei: National Taiwan University. Markey, S. (2011). A primer on new regionalism. Ottawa: Canadian Regional Development. Martin, R., Sunley, P., & Tyler, P. (2015). Local growth evolutions: recession, resilience and recovery. Cambridge Journal of Regions. Economy and Society, 8, 141–148. Mayer, H., & Knox, P. (2010). Small-town sustainability: Prospects in the second modernity. European Planning Studies, 18(10), 1545–1565. Nel, E., & Stevenson, T. (2014). The catalysts of small town economic development in a free market economy: A case study of New Zealand. Local Economy, 29(4–5), 486–502. Portales, L. (2019). Social innovation: Origins, definitions, and main elements. In Social innovation and social entrepreneurship. Palgrave Macmillan: Cham. Rodríguez-Pose, A., & Wilkie, C. (2017). Revamping local and regional development through place-based strategies. Cityscape, 10(1), 151–170. Trigilia, C. (2001). Social capital and local development. European Journal of Social Theory, 4(11), 427–442. Vodden, K., Douglas, D., Markey, S., Minnes, S., & Reimer, B. (2019). The theory, Practice and potential of regional development. London: Routledge. Zirul, C., Halseth, G., Markey, S., & Ryser, L. (2015). Struggling with new regionalism. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 10(2), 136–165.

Part I

Social Innovation as a Tool for Demarginalization

Chapter 2

Social Innovation and Geographical Marginality Stanko Pelc and Etienne Nel

2.1 Introduction Geographical marginality as a topic in contemporary geography can be considered as the scientific research about marginality within the framework of geography as a scientific discipline. That means that the spatial dimensions of a phenomena are the starting point of our scientific investigations. However, geographical space is a very complex system in which numerous interrelated processes and phenomena occur. Therefore, when geographers investigate marginality the spatial starting point is to find out where marginality is present and how the factors of location influence its emergence and potential extinction. Of course, it is almost impossible to do that without considering other important factors of marginalization. Marginality is basically a social phenomenon, but the term marginal also has an important use in economy. Economic factors are also very important in the process of the marginalization of certain individuals and social groups not to mention the marginalization of certain spatial units (areas, regions). When Leimgruber (1994) first tried to define geographical marginality, he exposed four possible approaches to it. At least three of them could also be its dimensions: • geometrical, • economic, • social.

S. Pelc (B) Faculty of Education, University of Primorska, Cankarjeva 5, SI-6000 Koper, Slovenia e-mail: [email protected] E. Nel School of Geography, University of Otago, 85 Albany Street, Dunedin 9010, New Zealand e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 E. Nel and S. Pelc (eds.), Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization, Perspectives on Geographical Marginality 5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51342-9_2

11

12

S. Pelc and E. Nel

(the fourth approach is ecologic). Geometrical or spatial dimension of marginality is about the locational characteristics of marginality. It often emerges for places at the edge of a larger spatial unit—i.e. at the margin, where the ‘normality’ of that unit becomes vague. Crossing into a situation of marginality means that we cannot expect to encounter certain phenomena or processes that are more or less frequent on the other side of the line that represents the margin. The parallel in economic terms would mean that certain economic activities in normal conditions bring some profit, but these conditions can also be such that the activity does not bring in enough income to cover the costs, meaning that it is on the other side of the margin of profitability. In physical space this can be agricultural land that cannot provide enough agricultural output to cover the costs of production and it therefore can no longer be viably used for agriculture. However, it can be used for subsistence farming, barely providing for the basic needs of the farmer without providing surpluses for marketing. Such situation may be found at the margin of human settlement in high mountains, high latitudes or semi-desert areas—in all cases at the margin of settled areas. These subsistent farmers are obviously geometrically and economically located at the edge—in a marginal position and are as such also pushed to the edge of society—and hence are marginalized spatially, economically and socially. However, the location at the edge of a larger area or spatial unit such as country, does not necessary mean that people living at this edge will experience marginality. Some areas along national borders that are, by definition, on the edge of the country may even profit from their location on the border in cases where the border is ‘open’ and it generates contact between the two sides and business opportunities for the local population. On the other side, location in the centre of a country—in its capital for example, does not guarantee that there will be no social and economic marginality among the population living there. The socio-economic status of low paid immigrant workers clearly shows this. Such marginalized groups may live in central parts of the country but they are often pushed into ghettos to the edge of society and face poverty, unemployment and all kind of social inequities. Similar can be observed in the case of ethnic minority groups. Their location may well not be at the edge of the country, but their location and the characteristics of places that they occupy also express their position at the edge of society and at the bottom of the ladder of economic prosperity. In the search for the actions that could ignite the process of demarginalization economic measures of different kinds are most often the focus of regional developers and different policy-makers. Social measures that should also play an important role are often missing especially because there is less and less governmental will and resources to support them. Social innovations that are coming from the people and are meant to be for people are therefore something that we should pay attention to, as they might be a useful tool in demarginalization processes. This challenges us to study what are the characteristics of social innovations that can make them a successful tool for overcoming different causes of marginalization. In this chapter we first present some definitions of social innovation, then we continue with an examination of examples from the literature that present the role of social innovation in combating marginalization and enhancing the regional development in marginal regions.

2 Social Innovation and Geographical Marginality

13

2.2 Social Innovation Innovation is the foundation stone of human development and a strong influencing factor of societal changes. Nevertheless, it has primarily been investigated almost exclusively from economic perspective. Innovation generates certain economic effects such as the growth of production and profit, meeting the needs of customers, improving the effectiveness of products etc. All that affect the life of people and bring about changes the structure of society. However, as long as the innovation is introduced with strictly economic goals to be fulfilled we cannot consider it as social innovation even though it may have deep social consequences. Portales (2019, p. 4) quoting different authors describes the development of the concept of social innovation since 1970s. He starts with Taylor and the “new way of doing things with the specific interest of attending to the needs of society, such as poverty or crime”, continuing with “the concept of social innovation” that includes “social transformation as one of the expected results, by the creation of new social structures, new social relations, and new modes of decision making” to finally come to the Young Foundation definition of social innovations (The Young Foundation 2012, p. 18 in Portales 2019): Social innovations are new solutions (products, services, models, markets, processes, etc.) that, simultaneously, satisfy a social need (more effectively than existing solutions), create new or better capabilities and relationships, and make better use of assets and resources. In other words, social innovations are good for society and improve society’s capacity to act.

Portales (2019, p. 5) detected four key elements of the concept of social innovation: • • • •

“satisfaction of a need, innovation of the solution, change of social structures and relationships, and the increase of society’s capacity to act”.

To satisfy unsatisfied needs or not adequately satisfied needs is the basic reason for innovation that will deliver the solution to provide for the adequate satisfaction of those needs. Of course the solution in order to be an innovative has to differ from traditional way of satisfying the needs—therefore something new has to be created or at least new features or components have to be included into the way of satisfying the needs. As a consequence, a change in social structure and social relations appears. This is one of the aims of social innovation—to generate a transformation in society and to activate new actors. From the perspective of marginality it is of special significance that the aim must be to also engage the actors that are excluded from society: “social innovation must promote the empowerment of different types of actors, especially those excluded from society” (ibid. p. 5). Social innovations can also be defined as (Westley et al. 2006 in McGowan and Westley 2015, p. 52): … new products, processes, procedures, policies and designs that seek profoundly to change authority and resource flows and eventually tip entire systems towards greater resilience and sustainability.

14

S. Pelc and E. Nel

This definition uses a systems approach and also focusses on sustainability as an important issue in terms of modern social and economic changes. Mcgowan and Westley (2015) also consider social innovation as a relatively new construct in research, even though it has as such long been experienced by mankind. Agnés Hubert also states in the foreword to a book “Challenge Social Innovation” (Franz et al. 2012) that there is a new passion for social innovation that we are facing especially since the 2008 economic crisis. However, more important than to know when social innovation really appeared and how important it has been in certain periods in the past is “what social innovation means and can achieve and how it can help address, now and in the future, the challenges we are facing”. From our point of view this might be the starting point for the connection between geographical marginality and social innovation. Széll (2012) clearly observes the necessity of marginalized societies and regions to rely on their own strengths and potential in order to have a chance to survive (ibid., p. 191): Those societies and regions, which have been marginalized and exploited by modern capitalism, do not have any other chance of survival than to base their future on the development of their own forces. Only a self-centred development gives this chance. A certain deglobalisation – as it has started with the World Social Forum (2012) and attack – is therefore necessary, but neither in a naïve nor ideological manner, as in the 1960s and 1970s. The slogan of this movement – with many local, regional, national and continental initiatives – is socially very innovative and inspires innovation: Another world is possible!

The possibility of another world is not to be doubted, but it is not necessarily a better world with less poverty and with better living conditions for all. The world is constantly changing. The social structure and societies worldwide are in a constant state of change. However, what we want to achieve with social innovations are changes that improve lives of those that are underprivileged and marginalised especially where this is the case for the majority of population of the region (country) and numerous social groups. We can observe marginality from many different perspectives, but we must never forget that scale also matters. Social innovation may have its roots in small local communities, but if it is to be effective it can spread globally especially now in the era of globalisation and where there is the highest possible general interconnectedness.

2.3 Social Innovation and Demarginalization Marginal regions with marginalized populations (i.e. with large shares of marginalized individuals, social groups) or just areas with concentration of marginalized individuals (ghettos) within developed central urban agglomerations are in desperate need for a change in the social status of their population living on societal edge being deprivileged, having no political influence and often not enough resources for a decent living. The social policy of the state does often not provide enough financial support to successfully deal with the problem, so somebody else has to step in and start undertaking different initiatives to make the necessary changes. This might be

2 Social Innovation and Geographical Marginality

15

nongovernmental organizations or people themselves. And this is where social innovation steps on the scene. However, the question is: “Can social innovation be a tool for demarginalization?”. The answer can be a simple and short: “Yes”, unfortunately normally followed with compulsory “but …”!. Namely, it is much more difficult to find out how can that be achieved, what kind of social innovations are adequate for that purpose and what are the factors influencing the outcomes of the social innovation that is supposed to pave the way out of marginalization. Furthermore, social innovation certainly cannot be the sole tool in combating marginalization. From a wide range of texts dealing with social innovations (this is obviously a very fashionable topic recently) we present the text about how social innovation can tackle marginalization (von Jacobi et al. 2017) and another one about rural marginalization and social innovation (Bock 2016). Within the studied literature we found these two as the closest to the field of geographical marginality.

2.3.1 Can Social Innovation Tackle Marginalization According to our knowledge there is no published research dealing specifically with social innovation in the context of geographical marginality. However, there is an interesting research article presenting how social innovation can tackle marginalisation (von Jacobi et al. 2017). This research investigation used a capability approach and examined marginality mainly from a social perspective in the context of a social grid. Instead of observing just one dimension of social structure the research concentrated on the interrelation of three social structures: • relational patterns and socio-structural linkages, • policies, rules and laws manifested in institutions, • cultural, interpretive and cognitive structures, that “point to the institutional, cultural and social embeddedness of individual action and macro-structural dynamics” (ibid., p. 6). Individual members of society fall into disadvantageous (marginalized) positions or vice versa because of the dynamics structured by these social forces. Certain personal, social or environmental traits may be an actual or potential factor of disadvantage for an individual. In order to find out if it really is the institutions, cognitive frames, and actor-networks that constitute the potential disadvantage need to be studied. In a way that means that the capability approach “(re-)inserts the role of individual agency and collective action into analyses of social innovation and marginalization” (ibid., p, 6). The problem that cited authors believe needs to be considered is human diversity and the plurality of life goals that need to be pursued by public policy as an outcome. This may be demanding or it may lead to pursuit of only selected goals and the exclusion of others. That may affect certain marginalized individuals that may therefore not have the ability to alter social agents that structure their disadvantage. Therefore public policies dealing with social innovation with the intention of reducing marginalization need to take that into account.

16

S. Pelc and E. Nel

Von Jacobi et al. (2017) also analysed the EU strategies in the field of social innovation aiming at reducing marginalization. They detected that the European Commission constantly emphasizes that social innovation is a key strategy for achieving an inclusive and a sustainable social market economy. By analysing the European Commission’s definition of social innovation the cited authors state that it “has the capacity to more effectively tackle marginalization in three important respects” (ibid., p. 8): • the advanced social innovation definition recognises socio-structural processes and interactions causing or tackling marginalization, which makes identification and addressing of some of the causal mechanisms of marginalization possible, • the dynamic conception of marginalization where “social innovation is both a means to meeting social needs and an end (i.e. it is an approach to addressing societal challenges)”, this therefore makes it “an iterative exercise” rather than examining a static condition—individual agency and collective action therefore become significant in understanding “how capabilities are secured and functioning are achieved”, • active participation of vulnerable groups in particular and their empowerment are considered “as an essential means and end of social innovation”—which may be very important in transformation of the socio-structural dynamics that are causing marginalization. At this point we need to constate that in different EU documents marginalization is frequently substituted with similar terms such as “‘disadvantage’, ‘inequality’, ‘social exclusion’, ‘worklessness’ and ‘poverty’”. For the cited authors this shows that “marginalization, in its various manifestations is a complex and multi-dimensional phenomenon” (ibid., p. 8). Social innovation on the other side is well defined and integrated into EU’s policies. The European Social Fund for example conditions the funding of member states projects by identifying the fields of social innovation corresponding to their specific needs either undertaken during the development of operational programmes or at a later stage. Tackling marginalization, however, is “principally understood as an activity focused on the employment (reemployment) and activation of marginalised groups” (European Commission 2013 in von Jacobi et al. 2017, p. 11). In practice therefore EU actions are limited in terms of social innovation as the EU treats social innovation as a tool for fighting marginalization through work integration which is, according to von Jacobi et al. (2017, p. 16), rather problematic. Work integration by itself cannot be “the most effective strategy for tackling marginalization”. Labour market integration is not equal to social inclusion and this neglects the socio-structural dynamics, societal challenges and social needs necessary give political and cultural aspects a secondary status which then reduces the capacity of citizens to reshape the economy in terms of their political and cultural ideals (Ferrero and Zepeda 2014 in von Jacobi et al. 2017).

2 Social Innovation and Geographical Marginality

17

2.3.2 Social Innovation and Marginalized Rural Areas Another example of social innovation research that we can connect with marginalization explores its role in rural development (Bock 2016). Marginalized rural areas are often a subject of geographical marginality research and the question how to pave the way for the development of such areas is frequently in the focus of researchers’ attention. In the cited article the attention is devoted to the EU and its developmental measures for rural areas. The introductory statement in the article claims that differences between rural areas among and within the countries are increasing (partly also because of the financial crisis and at that time the austerity measures which prevailed). This results in “societal segmentation between countries, regions and social groups” (ibid. p. 552). Bock (2016) also notes that social innovation plays the role of some kind of the panacea for the realisation of development and growth as well as simultaneously improving the situation in the field of social inclusion and social inequality. Because of this it deserves to be approached scientifically and we will shortly present the main outcomes of the Bock’s (2016) research. The first question to deal with is why are some rural areas marginalized. It is apparent that the main reason for rural marginalization now is lack of connectivity, not so much remoteness as it was in the past. In today’s world, position closer to the centre does not necessarily mean less marginalization neither do remote border positions necessarily mean more marginalization. Geographical location and the characteristics of the region may still be very demanding from the developmental perspective, but it is the problem of connectivity rather than location itself that causes marginalization. Bock (2016) also describes several marginalizing factors tied with population decline in rural areas (even in a developed country such as Netherlands): • loss of specific population groups such as the young, highly educated or economically active, • consequential loss of social and cultural capital, • reduction of community’s capacity to act and regenerate, • loss of socioeconomic and political power, • deterioration of public services (centralisation), • decrease in profitability of private business. • etc. The interconnectedness of all these factors creates a vicious cycle causing even more outmigration as living conditions are worsening and marginalized places are perceived as places for losers while on the other side there are places of plenty of opportunities that are gaining population (usually central and urban areas). Among the main factors of rural marginalization Bock (2016) exposes globalization, growing mobility, urbanization and global financial crises. Globalization has dual effects on rural areas depending on their location, social and geographical characteristics. It can therefore bring new development or on the other side weaken the potential of certain rural areas that are not able to grab the opportunities that come

18

S. Pelc and E. Nel

with globalization such as market liberalization, network extension and intensification, international mobility, growth of global consciousness and the acceleration of information flows. Mobility enables people, capital and products to travel ever faster, further and cheaper is an important factor that causes especially young people to explore the world outside of their home region and eventually decide to move to regions where they have better prospects. Rural areas of outmigration are therefore marginalized while in the rural areas that are receiving immigrants the situation improves (immigrants from rural eastern parts of EU migrating to rural areas of northern, southern and western part of EU). The majority of immigrants from rural areas however, end up in urban areas and therefore cause the growth of urbanization. Prosperous cities may be a magnet for rural youth that seek to live a more decent life than the one they can expect in their rural home region, but often the high flow of immigrants causes problems in the cities and instead of living their dreams, immigrants are faced with social exclusion and urban marginalization. The last of the exposed factors—financial crisis—has pushed up the rural outmigration with the growth of unemployment and the loss of business, lower incomes for residents and municipalities etc. (ibid.). The potential for social innovation in depopulated rural areas or at least in the areas with unstable populations may be questioned. The loss of the young, active and educated part of population critically decreases the ability of the remaining population to act in a socially innovative way for the improvement of their living conditions. Bock (2016) presents three examples of social innovations in marginal rural areas that were investigated to answer the question: “Is social innovation, … nothing other than the withdrawal of the state and shifting of responsibilities to the individual and the market?” (ibid., p. 559). The first example is from Germany (a model of proximity based all-around service provision). It has been elaborated by a private firm that patented it and also offers consultation and supervision. It is carried out by civil initiatives in the form of village shops with several additional services that are needed in rural areas with changed demographic structures. These are postal, banking, laundry, repair services etc. that serve the local population while also helping the business to have enough income to cover their expenses. These kinds of shops are also places where people meet, can use ICT for different purposes or just to have a cup of coffee. The basic idea is to follow the following five principles (Bock 2016): • a selective offering of goods and services bundled in one facility, with local suppliers to strengthen the local economy, • warranting quality through personal service, • proximity, • freshness and flexibility, • using the internet and social media. The other two examples are cooperatives. They may be seen as traditional form of social innovation. In the field of the social economy the cooperatives are vanguard institutions, although with different success and ideologies (European Commission

2 Social Innovation and Geographical Marginality

19

2012 in Széll 2012). The first presented cooperative is the Dutch broadband cooperative. In many Dutch communities such cooperatives have been established to overcome the problem of broadband connectivity (expensive fiber network, lack of user interests, lack of governmental support etc.) by opening an open access network under their own management (ibid.). The second presented is a care cooperative. These kinds of cooperatives are also numerous in Netherland. They are aiming to maintain local care facilities in order to enable the residents that are not able to take care for themselves on their own to remain in their villages. There are professionals and volunteers involved in realization of the tasks also collaborating with professional care facilities. The members are paying symbolic yearly fees and thus have the right to vote at the biannual assembly. “Care cooperatives are successful and highly respected among Dutch policymakers who promote them as flagships of the so-called participation society” (Bock 2016, p. 561). The success of these kinds of social innovation would never be possible without creative, highly qualified and determined individuals taking a leading part in them. To find such individuals in marginalized rural areas which have experienced longterm outmigration is often impossible and this makes social innovation a tool that may further widen the gap between rural areas with favorable and unfavorable living conditions. Bock (2016, p. 567) asks a doubtful question about the importance of social innovation for the development of marginalized rural areas: “Should we forget about social innovation?” and then answers: “Not necessarily: social innovation still has potential if understood as a call for change at a higher level of development politics and not just as a matter for local communities.” Social innovation is therefore not an excuse for the governmental retreat leaving marginalized rural communities to themselves and their own creativity and initiative. It has to remain (become) their partner that seeks how to enable them to become creative, innovative and pro-active. Only then can marginalized rural communities create and engage in proper social innovation that will improve their living conditions and make the place they live in worth living in.

2.4 Conclusion Social innovation research at its core aims to ‘change the world’. The usual form in which it is carried out is though action research, involving cooperation and shared intervention or collective action. Further important questions regarding its implementation are ‘whose and which world’ needs to be changed (Moulaert and van Dyck 2013). In the case of marginal areas and regions the social structure that constrains living conditions for people and pushes them to different kind of exclusions needs to be changed and solely economic measures are usually not enough to achieve that. The principle of social innovation therefore comes to the front, because it “links satisfaction of human needs to innovation in the social relationships of governance” (Moulaert 2009, p. 12). The role of socio-political capacity in the satisfying of human needs must not be neglected as well as the access to the resources that enable the

20

S. Pelc and E. Nel

satisfaction of those needs. Studying that to understand how social innovation affects and changes society can make it more valuable and more widely used as a tool for overcoming all kinds of social inequality and deprivation. In this chapter we have presented only a few selected views on social innovation with special regard to their links with marginalization and development. Social innovation has gained a lot of attention in recent decades and there are numerous articles and book chapters dealing with this topic. However, in the field of geographical marginality we still do not have specific theoretical texts that deal with this topic. In this chapter we have presented some approaches to social innovation in relation to marginality and development that can be a starting point for further theorizing the role of social innovation in demarginalization processes. The following chapter presents the example of the village of Saint-Camille that is at the forefront of a social innovation-oriented mode of rural development in the province of Quebec. It is about a vegetable farm that eventually became a type of a social enterprise that benefits the local community and which can, as such, be considered as one small stone in a mosaic of demarginalization of the presented locality.

References Bock, B. B. (2016). Rural marginalisation and the role of social innovation; A turn towards nexogenous development and rural reconnection. Sociologia Ruralis, 56(4), 552–573. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/soru.12119. European Commission/DG Enterprise and Industry. (2011). Social innovation Europe http://ec.eur opa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/social-innovation/index_en.htm. Retrieved January 7, 2012. European Commission. (2013). The European social fund at work: More jobs, less marginalisation. Brussels: European Commission. Ferrero, G., & Zepeda, C. (2014). Rethinking development management methodology: Towards a “Process freedoms approach”. In A. Frediani, A. Boni, & D. Gasper, (Eds.), Approaching development projects from a human development and capability perspective (Journal of Human Development and Capabilities Special Issue, 15(1), 28–46). Franz, H.-W., Hochgerner, J., & Howaldt, J. (Eds.). (2012). Challenge social innovation: Potentials for business, social entrepreneurship, welfare and civil society. Heidelberg, New York, Dordrecht, London: Springer. Leimgruber, W. (1994). Marginality and marginal regions: Problems of definition. Marginality and development issues in marginal regions. In Proceedings of the IGU Study Group ‘Development Issues in Marginal Regions (pp. 1–18). Taipei: National Taiwan University. McGowan, K., & Westley, F. (2015). At the root of change: The history of social innovation. In A. Nicholls, et al. (Eds.), New frontiers in social innovation research (pp. 52–68). New York, Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. Moulaert, F. (2009). Social innovation: Institutionally embedded, territorially (Re)produced. In D. MacCallum, F. Moulaert, J. Hillier, & S. Vicari Haddock (Eds.), Social innovation and territorial development (pp. 11–24). Surrey, Burlington: Ashgate. Moulaert, F., & van Dyck, B. (2013). Framing social innovation research: A Sociology of knowledge (SoK) perspective. In F. Moulaert, D. MacCallum, A. Mehmood, & A. Hamdouch (Eds.), International handbook on social innovation (pp. 466–480). Cheltenham, Northampton: Edward Elgar.

2 Social Innovation and Geographical Marginality

21

Portales, L. (2019). Social innovation and social entrepreneurship: Fundamentals, concepts, and tools. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Széll, G. (2012). Social innovation, social entrepreneurship and development. In H.-W. Franz, J. Hochgerner, & J. Howaldt (Eds.), Challenge social innovation (pp. 183–195). Heidelberg, New York, Dordrecht, London: Springer. The Young Foundation. (2012). In J. Caulier-Grice, A. Davies, R. Patrick, & W. Norman, (Eds.), Social innovation overview: A deliverable of the project: “The theoretical, empirical and policy foundations for building social innovation in Europe”. Brussels: European Commission. Von Jacobi, N., Edmiston, D., & Ziegler, R. (2017). Tackling marginalisation through social innovation? Examining the EU social innovation policy agenda from a capabilities perspective. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 18(2), 148–162. Accessed at: https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/301525679_Tackling_Marginalisation_through_Social_Inn ovation_Examining_the_EU_Social_Innovation_Policy_Agenda_from_a_Capabilities_Perspe ctive; (pp. 1–20), November 2019. Westley, F., Zimmerman, B., & Quinn Patton, M. (2006). Getting to maybe: How the world is changed. Toronto: Random House.

Chapter 3

Community Action Against Marginalization: The Case of a Rural Social Enterprise in the Village of Saint-Camille, Quebec Mélanie Doyon, Juan-Luis Klein, and Pierre-André Tremblay

3.1 Introduction Saint-Camille is a small village of 530 inhabitants (Statistics Canada 2017) located in the Estrie region (Fig. 3.1) of the province of Quebec. For more than thirty years, it has been at the forefront of rural development efforts in Quebec. It is known for its imagination, creativity and the persistence of its leaders in pushing for a villagebased model of development that is in tune with the most innovative trends within Quebec society.1 Various initiatives have been launched to combat demographic decline, population ageing and the loss of local services, among other issues. This chapter focuses on one of these initiatives, La Clé des Champs de Saint-Camille,

1 In the context of what is known as “the Quebec Model,” what stands out in terms of social innovation is the fact that social movements have engaged in proactive actions at the economic level. Participative governance, co-building and co-production of services, co-construction of public policies, and the hybrid character of the economy (involving private business, social economy and public institutions) are important dimensions of the province of Quebec (Klein et al. 2013).

M. Doyon (B) · J.-L. Klein Département de géographie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Case postale 8888, succursale centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada e-mail: [email protected] J.-L. Klein e-mail: [email protected] P.-A. Tremblay Département des sciences humaines, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 555 boulevard de l’Université, Chicoutimi, QC G7H 2B1, Canada e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 E. Nel and S. Pelc (eds.), Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization, Perspectives on Geographical Marginality 5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51342-9_3

23

24

Fig. 3.1 Map of Saint-Camille

M. Doyon et al.

3 Community Action Against Marginalization …

25

which was implemented in 2003.2 It is a vegetable farm, created initially as a cooperative and later changed to a private undertaking grounded on social enterprise. We seek to demonstrate that a private initiative can embrace the collective values, ideals, objectives and aspirations developed by a rural community based on participatory governance, whereby it qualifies as a social enterprise. We also aim to show the interrelations between the various components of what might be called “integrated rural development,” (Neumeier 2012) and that the latter can take diverse forms. Finally, we try to show that the La Clé des Champs initiative is part of a process of reterritorialization of agriculture, in other words, a reintegration of agriculture into the territory. The (de)territorialization of agriculture in industrialized countries began in the 1950s, following the advent of the productivist paradigm that had engendered the specialization and intensification of agricultural practices and the opening of borders3 (Praly 2007; Rieutort 2009; Brand and Bonnefoy 2011). The factors allowing enterprises to become embedded in the territories have decreased, accompanied by a gradually widening gap between the areas of production and consumption (Brand and Bonnefoy 2011). Despite these developments, in recent years, we have witnessed a (re)territorialization of agriculture with its return to a regional, even local scale (Auricoste et al. 2011; Doucet 2011; Barthe et al. 2012; Germain et al. 2013). Indeed, researchers are increasingly noting the “phenomena of articulation between scales, discourses and cooperation practices of actors around agricultural activity”4 (Barthe et al. 2012: 6), understood as a field that had ceased to be perceived as producing and shaping territories. This reterritorialization is achieved by forging relationships based on “new production standards, new objectives and a new connection to the territory” (Rieutort 2009, p. 39) and hence does not look to the past (Darly 2012). In particular, it focuses on the assertion of a space-based sense of belonging that 2 For

more information on the village, see (Béïque 2011; Champagne 2008; Dufresne 2014; Klein et al. 2015, 2016; Llena 2011; Tremblay 2016). 3 In our understanding, globalization is the result of two kinds of processes. On the one hand, there is a complex and multiscalar historical process that is the result of various kinds of paths and trajectories and evolves throughout progress and setbacks. It creates bridges as well as it provokes conflicts between the various communities and nations of our planet. This process has been set up throughout the different networks and flows of communication, capital, goods, technologies, services, cultural activities, and people that make national barriers permeable and weakens the importance of the boundaries between national economies. This evolution is coherent with the essence of capitalism, which, from its early stages, promoted internationalization. On the other hand, there is a projective and normative process, by which, since the 80 s, certain countries and certain political and financial powers have set the conditions that allow the world to be managed in a unified way. Such a global management of the world takes place following the creation of an international system whose rules, values and objectives are unified by financial markets and institutions. It imposes new regulatory arrangements that function at the world scale, the main features of which is the primacy of financial capital and commodity markets and the reduction of the capacity of the nation states to protect the rights of their citizens. International institutions have managed to impose the pre-eminence of the global market over national and local economies. The result of globalization is the domination of the capitalist economic system at the planet scale and, therefore, the global spread of its moral and cultural values, despite the geographical diversity and fractures that characterize the world space. 4 All citations in the text are our translations from the French.

26

M. Doyon et al.

fosters relationships of sociability and solidarity (Desrosiers-Côté and Doyon 2018) and aims to counter marginalization. Various authors contend that a visible manifestation of this process of (re)territorialization is the establishment of short food supply chain and direct sales (Praly 2007; Prévost 2014; Brand and Bonnefoy 2011). Agricultural initiatives with social objectives—food security, better access to fresh fruit and vegetables, social reintegration—have been the subject of research (Doyon 2019; Arsenault-Hétu and Doyon 2019) and are also of interest to some local communities, including Quebec’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec, MAPAQ) with its recent call for proposals for community gardens (MAPAQ 2019). In our opinion, this type of initiative is a response to the marginality of certain rural areas. Our objective is to see if La Clé des Champs, by switching from a cooperative organization to a private company, has remained rooted in the development model identified by the Saint-Camille community, a model that is part of an alternative approach to the neoliberal development model (Fontan et al. 2017). Our hypothesis is that the initiative in the Saint-Camille community retains the same institutional format and social objectives on which La Clé des Champs depends (in the sense of path-dependency), notwithstanding its transformation into a private enterprise. La Clé des Champs thus moved from a social economy enterprise to a social enterprise, in the sense of being based on social entrepreneurship (Roy et al. 2016), and on this basis it maintains its strong territorial roots. In other words, the new owners adopted an organizational governance specific to private enterprise while the company’s institutional governance remains inspired by and committed to the values and regulations of the development model implemented by the community (Klein et al. 2015). The study of the enterprise reveals the importance of local territory as a structuring framework for initiatives aimed at enhancing the community as part of a living environment, including its culture, social, economic and environmental dimensions. In other words, enhancement focuses more on the use value of the territory than on its exchange value, which explains why the Saint-Camille community refused the offers made to it for the exploitation of mineral resources in its subsoil (Francoeur 2011). This has consequences on the collective, even communal, dimension of the governance of the different components of the community. What is most important in the Saint-Camille community’s connection to its territory is what it represents, for its residents: an environment in which to live. Hence, what is valued is the use of the territory as a living environment. In this respect, it can be likened to the seminal theory on the commons developed by Ostrom (2008). The commons are built through the development and implementation of codes and cognitive frameworks based on use value, understood as the value they represent for users at different levels. According to Ostrom, the commons concerns resources for public use, which can be socially constructed, provided that the institutional framework of the territory gives priority to its use value over its exchange value. To this extent, economic projects developed in our case are anchored in collective institutional governance. The text is organized as follows. The first section presents the methodology. The second section addresses the concept of social enterprise on which this reflection is based. The third section presents the socio-territorial context of the village of

3 Community Action Against Marginalization …

27

Table 3.1 The interviewed actors Cooperative of La Clé des Champs Entrepreneur Agricultural Political Groupe Community producer actor du actor Founding Agroforest Gardening coina member aspect aspect x

x

x

x

x x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x x x

x

x

x

x

x

x a See

Sect. 3.3

Saint-Camille. The fourth section examines key details about the La Clé des Champs initiative. It presents the context and circumstances that led to the emergence of the initiative; the beginnings of the cooperative itself and its establishment; the beginning of the crisis which led to major staff changes; and the break-up of the cooperative and its shift to the private sector. Finally, the fifth part discusses the consequences of the transition of the enterprise to the private sector as well as its embeddedness in the local territory.

3.2 Methodology The text is sourced from two types of data. On the one hand, the historical and social context of Saint-Camille was studied as part of a two-year collaborative research project (2012–2014). This research, which involved interviews with the mayor, the head of the Corporation de développement socioéconomique de Saint-Camille, representatives of several socio-economic and cultural organizations, as well as some residents, identified the stages of the village’s development and the challenges faced by its community.5 We examined La Clé des Champs on the basis of information collected about it as part of the more general research described above. On the other hand, nine semi-directed interviews were held with stakeholders who played an important role, at one stage or another, in the establishment and operation of La Clé des champs. These actors play different roles and perform different functions, as shown in Table 3.1. The interviews took place between July 13 and 20, 2017. They were transcribed in their entirety, with key excerpts presented in the text which follows. They were analyzed using a thematic grid, which made it possible to identify the 5 For

details on the study, see Klein et al. (2015).

28

M. Doyon et al.

main phases of the enterprise’s development, from ideation to transition. Further, internal and external factors that have positively or negatively influenced the implementation, operation and transformation of La Clé des Champs (cooperative and private company) have also been identified.

3.3 Social Enterprise: An Operational Perspective The concept of a ‘social enterprise’, like those of social entrepreneurship and the social entrepreneur, are part of the field of the social economy (Defourny and Nyssens 2017). Nevertheless, their inclusion in this field and their definition are the subject of debate (Roy et al. 2016). The focus of this debate is that the social enterprise, while inspired by a social mission, remain a private firm and, therefore, pursue objectives of financial profitability. Thus, although they seek to contribute in many ways to social progress, thereby distinguishing them from the traditional private entrepreneur whose objective is foremost to make capital profitable (Table 3.2), it also does not align with the classic definition of the ‘social economy’, which includes cooperatives, mutual societies and, more broadly speaking, non-profit organizations, in which all profits are reinvested in the company (Lévesque and Mendell 2012; Bouchard 2013; Bouchard and Lévesque 2017). According to the European Commission (2011, p. 2), the notions of social enterprise and social business are equivalent. Nevertheless, one of the distinctive features of a social enterprise is what is known as corporate social responsibility (CSR) (Gendron 2002), understood as the integration of social and ecological concerns into the business activities of the entrepreneur. An important aspect of CSR concerns the company’s relations with its stakeholders, including its home community, which promotes the consideration of its impacts on society (Roy et al. 2016). In some cases, such as the one of La Clé des Champs, the interrelationship between the company and its social and physical environment takes the form of a kind of tacit contract (Turcotte 2002) that is rooted in a set of rules, values and knowledge that guide its objectives and its choices. Table 3.2 The traditional entrepreneur and the social entrepreneur Themes

Classic private entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship

Social mission

Peripheral

Central

Value creation

Central Maximization of profits

Parallel to the achievement of the mission; aims for financial autonomy

Site of innovation Innovates to increase profitability and profit Motivation

Innovates to ensure profitability and meet social needs

Exploits the business opportunity in Exploits the opportunity for social a market progress

Source The authors inspired by Roy et al. (2016)

3 Community Action Against Marginalization …

29

In this case, private entrepreneurs launch initiatives that, while being socially and environmentally “responsible”, lead to the creation of economic value and, consequently, are likely to improve the quality of life and work in their environment. Here, the social entrepreneur is an agent of social innovation and can be defined as follows: The social entrepreneur plays a role as an agent of change in the social sector by pursuing a mission of creating social value and exploiting new opportunities to support this mission. He is part of a continuous process of innovation, adaptation and learning, acting boldly without being limited, a priori, by the resources available and demonstrating a strong sense of commitment to his mission and social impacts. (Dees 1998, cited by Defourny and Nyssens 2017, p. 225)

Thus, in summary, “a social enterprise is an enterprise that sells a product or service, uses management methods developed in the private capitalist sector, and has a social purpose” (Roy et al. 2016, p. 16). Thus, from a very broad perspective, any private enterprise, including large enterprises and transnational firms, provided that it explicitly pursues the objectives of improving the situation of a social stratum or community and is inspired by a commitment to social responsibility, can be considered as a social enterprise. This is the basis of what has been called social business, or the bottom-of-the-pyramid strategy. Yet it is not this dimension that interests us in this text. What we postulate with respect to the case we are analyzing is that, at the regional and local community level, socio-economic actors use combined approaches aimed at, on the one hand, the development of social economy (or non-profit) enterprises as such and, on the other hand, private entrepreneurship, in order to generate collaborative dynamics that can create wealth and reverse certain trends that lead to the marginalization of local communities (Porter and Kramer 2006; Prahalad 2010). For communities, what is important is the creation of situations that promote winwin relationships for them and for companies (Klein and Raufflet 2014) as well as the interrelationships between all initiatives and forms of enterprise on the basis of proximity and territorial belonging (Klein et al. 2009).

3.4 The Socio-territorial Context: Saint-Camille The territory of the municipality of Saint-Camille extends over nearly 83 km2 (MRC des Sources 2014) in the Appalachian physiographic region. Its hilly landscape is valued by residents and tourists alike and contributes to the beauty of the area. Land use is fairly typical of rural areas in the south of the province of Quebec; 92% of the municipal territory is part of the agricultural zone created by the Act respecting the preservation of agricultural land and agricultural activities (Dufresne 2014). However, the soil is of a very poor quality6 and 60% of the agricultural zone is under 6 In fact, according to the Canada Land Inventory, the municipality’s best agricultural is class 4, which

means that it has “serious limitations that restrict the range of crops or require special conservation practices,” while about half of the municipal agricultural land is class 7, meaning that it offers “no capacity for arable culture or permanent pasture” (MRC des Sources, 2014, p. 28).

30

M. Doyon et al.

forest cover (Municipalité de Saint-Camille 2019). In addition to soil limitations, agricultural policies in the 1950s and 1960s aimed to phase out unprofitable farms and maintain only the most productive ones. The latter has contributed significantly to economic marginalization and to the abandonment of less efficient farms, as a result of which entire sub-regions are now left with little productive agriculture. So, some land was abandoned while the remaining farms became larger and larger, supporting fewer families. This neglect of agricultural activity was accompanied by a decline in satellite activities such as the selling of farm inputs and equipment as well as processing activities at the local level. Furthermore, agricultural processing activities have been relocated to other regions, allowing investors to benefit from larger economies of scale. In this way, like many rural municipalities on the periphery of big cities, SaintCamille experienced a significant population decline during the twentieth century with the associated loss of local services. During the 1970s, several civil society organizations were created to combat the cutting of services by governments and to set up various initiatives, such as services, infrastructure and community engagement facilitation. The cluster of initiatives that characterized the 1970s and early 1980s in Saint-Camille took on a second life in the mid-1980s with the creation of the Groupe du coin, a group of local private investors who set up a private venture capital corporation.7 The group was founded in response to the closure and sale of the Saint-Camille general store in 1986. Together, they bought the building in 1988, in turn allowing for the creation of the Le P’tit bonheur,8 a non-for-profit organization that became the flagship project of the revitalization of Saint-Camille. Over the course of the 1990s, Saint-Camille saw the emergence of initiatives such as the Corporation de développement socioéconomique de Saint-Camille9 in 1995, the Centre d’interprétation du milieu rural10 in 1996, the Salon agroalimentaire11 in 1998 and the Salon régional d’animation sur la diversification agricole12 in 1999. These initiatives aimed to empower the community by supporting job creation, economic diversification, attracting new residents, and maintaining and improving the living environment. In the second half of the 2000s, to combat population decline, the municipality adopted a proactive strategy to attract new residents and increase the population. Thus, the municipality of Saint-Camille and the Corporation de développement

7A

private venture capital corporation is a private corporation whose activities consist mainly in acquiring shares of the capital stock of corporations, and of granting them unsecured loans, and the majority of whose investments are made with non-listed corporations, which provide them with management support (National Assembly of Quebec 1988, p. 67). 8 The name pays homage to Félix Leclerc, a Quebec singer-songwriter, one of whose most famous songs is entitled “Le P’tit bonheur.” 9 Socioeconomic development corporation of Saint-Camille. 10 Rural life interpretation centre. 11 Agrofood fair. 12 Regional fair to promote agricultural diversification.

3 Community Action Against Marginalization …

31

socioéconomique de Saint-Camille launched the Rang 1313 project. The aim was to offer land to families likely to reside there to further revitalize the village, which had already begun to take place in previous years. It took several years to implement the project and the 25 families who settled in Rang 13 participated in all stages of the project. In parallel with the implementation of the Rang 13 residential project, another project, a local market gardening production cooperative—La Clé des Champs—was being set up. It is this project that holds our particular attention in the sections that follow.

3.5 La Clé des Champs The La Clé des Champs project emerged from two activities (see Fig. 3.2). The first was the Salon régional d’animation sur la diversification agricole, held every year since 1999 with the mission to stimulate collective reflection on a more diversified agriculture in the locality and region. The second activity consisted of a training course in applied ethics, organized by the community in collaboration with the Université de Sherbrooke. As part of this course, “people discussed the issues which they wanted to, and the instructor helped them work through that issue to find solutions together” (Interview #7). It was during this training that participants realized that, or to what extent, they were dependent on outside sources for their supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. They then wished to “have a local gardener’s market […] to serve the local community” (Interview #7) and, moving from talk to action, eventually began farming potatoes on agricultural land leased by a village resident. During this stage of the project, the local population were involved and were enthusiastic about and heavily involved in the project. The success of this “potato season” led to the creation, in 2003, of the solidarity cooperative La Clé des Champs de Saint-Camille. The aim was to broaden the agricultural spectrum by setting up local agriculture to feed the local population. Thus, a coordinator was hired whose primary role was to find the means, particularly the financial means, to meet the overall mission of the co-operative, broken down into four main objectives. According to one of the founders, the first objective was to implement “organic vegetable production in the heart of the village to demonstrate that it was possible to initiate other types of crops in the Les Sources Regional County Municipality [to which Saint-Camille belongs] than monoculture or dairy production” (Interview #9). The second objective was to diversify agroforestry through the cultivation of non-timber forest products. The third objective, which was never achieved, was to diversify the options for slaughtering animals. The fourth objective was to adopt the cooperative model, and more specifically to implement a solidarity cooperative. A solidarity cooperative is characterized by the diversity of its members 13 In Quebec and Ontario, the word rang refers to any agricultural land that extends in parallel bands and is perpendicular to a river or a road as well as roads servicing farms on that land (Dictionnaire Le Robert 2019).

32

M. Doyon et al.

Fig. 3.2 Chronology of La Clé des Champs. Source The authors

and its openness to partnership. It “includes at least two categories of members among the following: (1) user members, either persons or companies who use the services offered by the cooperative; (2) worker members or individuals working within the cooperative; (3) support members, or any other person or company who has an economic, social or cultural interest in contributing to the cooperative’s mission” (MDEIE 2007, p. 8). This differs from a standard cooperative that has only one type of member and that corresponds to either user or worker cooperatives. The solidarity cooperative thus allows individuals with common interests and diversified needs to come together in the same cooperative. The solidarity cooperative “targets all activities supported by the community, including those of the social economy sector as a priority” (MDEIE 2007, p. 8). In the case of La Clé des Champs, the aim was therefore to create jobs for worker members and provide user members with a local market gardening production service and short circuit sales.

3 Community Action Against Marginalization …

33

The main actors involved in setting up the cooperative were the Corporation de développement socioéconomique de Saint-Camille, the Université de Sherbrooke (through its ethics courses) and citizens involved in the development of the municipality. The collaboration of the local municipal government was essential, since it authorized certain zoning derogations (Interview #2). The idea was also very well received by the population, as evidenced by the large number of people who took part in the destoning and harvesting chores during calls to all. Part of the cooperative’s funding came from the CAD$250 membership shares that the population was encouraged to purchase in order to become members.

3.5.1 Starting the Cooperative The first coordinator, with a strong knowledge of market gardening cooperative management, as well as an entrepreneurial spirit, invested in equipment and infrastructure to launch the productive enterprise. In the second year, a tractor was acquired, and a greenhouse and a shed were constructed on a small plot of land purchased by the cooperative. These constructions have made it possible to better manage the various stages of production (sowing, storage, etc.). During the first few years, some members of the Board, themselves agricultural producers, also lent their farm machinery. There was therefore a strong personal investment on the part of the founding members, particularly because of their genuine desire to offer a local agricultural service to the village. In general, market gardening products were marketed by way of vegetable baskets through the Community Supported Agriculture14 network. La Clé des Champs delivered between 60 and 75 baskets per week, depending on the year, which wasn’t much considering—according to CSA representatives—that 150 baskets are needed for the profitability of such a company. It also sold vegetables directly through the SaintCamille market as well as to some local businesses. Finally, La Clé des Champs was an important partner in the development of the market the Marché de la Gare in Sherbrooke, the main city in the region (see Map 1). Nevertheless, since this market was still in its infancy, sales were lower than expected. These and other various factors limited the company’s potential profitability. Moreover, managing the workers of La Clé des Champs came with its own set of challenges, namely a very high staff turnover. Some employees were worker members of the cooperative, and therefore had a vested interest in the decisionmaking and strategic development in the market gardening and agroforestry sector. Among these were the coordinators as well as those responsible for the market gardening and the successive agroforestry components. By contrast, seasonal and 14 Community

Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between agricultural producers and their community. The latter undertakes to buy its share of the harvest in advance, thus guaranteeing a regular income for their family farmer while also putting a face on the one who feeds the community. In exchange, the producer undertakes to provide the community with fresh food.

34

M. Doyon et al.

casual employees, who would stay only one season, were not necessarily worker members of the cooperative and hence their sense of belonging to the company was more fragile. As a result, members’ involvement was uneven across the board. It has been difficult for La Clé des Champs to effectively combat this employee turnover. Market gardening production requires intense, physical and constant work for many weeks, with working days that can exceed eight hours. Since they were employees, all hours worked had to be paid for. Moreover, as is the case for all market gardeners, most financial investments had to be made at the beginning of the season. However, it is only when the products are sold, in the second part of the season, that the company receives revenue. Although the CSA had partially compensated for the lack of funds at the beginning of the season by having members pay for baskets in advance, this was not enough to cover the required advance payments. Ultimately, La Clé des Champs never reached a level of productivity that would allow it to cover its production costs. In a private model, owners often make a choice to work many hours without pay in order to run their business. Yet in the case of a cooperative, it becomes difficult to ask non-member employees to work as volunteers given that this will not bring them any economic benefit. For this reason, many of those who had worked at La Clé des Champs left the cooperative to set up their own market gardening business. Similarly, it was also difficult to mobilize support members to help the cooperative run smoothly, as this involved tasks that were physically demanding and required some agricultural knowledge. Thus, in general, it was difficult to involve members beyond the general meetings. Another element to consider when seeking to understand the difficulties experienced by La Clé des Champs is the fact that the cooperative operated on a project-by-project basis. This meant that it did not have a fixed income to cover its operating expenses. Thus, with unprofitable, if not loss-making, market gardening production, it became difficult for the cooperative to pay employees for the number of hours required to ensure efficient production. The cooperative was therefore caught in a vicious circle: it could not produce enough to provide an income to pay enough employees to increase production. In parallel with market gardening development and in line with its second objective, the cooperative developed an agroforestry component. Over the years, it developed consulting expertise in the production of non-timber forest products and also made certain forest yields. This component allowed the cooperative to obtain new subsidies from the ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ) for the implementation of these processes, in addition to receiving subsidies for vegetable production, making it possible to increase the cooperative’s cash inflows and thus consolidate the company. Fixed operating and coordination costs should have been covered by both sectors, but since the agroforestry sector proved to be much more profitable than the market gardening sector, it covered most of these fixed costs. This imbalance was also evident within the Board. Some user members were involved mainly because of their interest in agroforestry, which resulted in a mutual lack of understanding between the two sectors, making it difficult to manage the two components jointly.

3 Community Action Against Marginalization …

35

Despite these many operational difficulties, the first phase of development of La Clé des Champs had a considerable impact on the development of the community. According to one of its leaders, the establishment of the cooperative “was an additional element of solidarity” (Interview #2) in the community. It helped promote the village of Saint-Camille, while creating a symbol of pride among the population. As the same leader said, “it was a symbol that demonstrated the possibility of growing vegetables in an environment like this one. Because we don’t have good soil. That resonated (with) a lot with people. This is one of the elements that forged solidarity in Saint-Camille” (Interview #2). The image that La Clé des Champs conveyed was therefore one of a community that knows how to work together and take charge of itself.

3.5.2 The Beginning of the Crisis In 2008, a new coordinator was hired, which had an impact on the management of the cooperative. At the same time, the cooperative underwent a complete renewal of its staff (with 3–4 new employees not coming from the village) in addition to the changed annual turnover described earlier. However, market gardening requires good knowledge of the land being cultivated, and the change of personnel made the task even more difficult. In addition, the Board had become accustomed to giving its full trust to the former coordinator. The board’s hands-off approach meant that the day-to-day management was left to the work team. Some questionable management decisions were not detected until very late. According to some Board members, the co-op’s management proved less effective following the change of coordinator. The former coordinator’s skills were strong in management, while the new coordinator had a lot less experience in that regard (Interview #7). The transition was therefore not an easy one. At the same time, the agroforestry component had evolved, rendering the joint management of the two components more difficult. Administrators and user members had difficulty in agreeing on the various aspects related to the joint development of these two components. In addition, the fact that both components were part of the same company presented problems in terms of financing. Complicating matters, subsidies were available for forest producers who purchased from a company other than the one that advised them on the products to buy (Interview #5). In 2008, the person in charge of the non-timber forest products component obtained significant grants related to agroforestry, which allowed La Clé des Champs to continue its activities. At the same time, the cooperative was no longer eligible for subsidies pertaining to the vegetable sector. According to some key actors, the agroforestry component was therefore the “cash cow” of the cooperative. However, the new grants only financed specific projects, mainly agroforestry projects, which did not provide long-term funding for either component. These problems, in addition to certain financing elements, led the directors and members of the cooperative to

36

M. Doyon et al.

create, in 2009, a new solidarity cooperative, Cultur’Innov, focusing on the agroforestry component. The separation of activities was made by mutual agreement between the Board and those responsible for the two components. The creation of Cultur’Innov, which essentially removed the agroforestry component from the cooperative, had a considerable impact on the market gardening project. Much more profitable than the market gardening component, the agroforestry component had largely financed the cooperative, allowing La Clé des Champs to continue producing vegetables. Thus, the creation of Cultur’Innov decreased the financial resources of the market gardening component of La Clé des Champs, which already had to make do with very little means. Cultur’Innov nevertheless agreed to assume nearly half of the debt of La Clé des Champs and, in addition, to transfer an amount to the cooperative each month. In this way, La Clé des Champs was guaranteed a certain income for a time. When La Clé des Champs then found itself in particularly difficult financial straits, Cultur’Innov15 agreed to repay all of the debt it owed to the market gardening cooperative, which nevertheless did not suffice to replenish the cooperative’s coffers and maintain its activities (Interview #5).

3.5.3 Dissolution and Turning Point At the end of 2009, the second coordinator left, and in 2010 a new coordinator was hired—a decisive moment for La Clé des Champs. This new coordinator turned out to be lack the required skills. The Board terminated his contract but the damage was done and the cooperative had accumulated a deficit of more than CAD$80,000, including deficits from previous years. This rendered the cooperative unsustainable to the point where it had to cease its activities altogether. As we have seen, other aspects were problematic, such as the fact that the solidarity cooperative formula was not necessarily suitable for the situation, and that the board of directors kept clear of production problems and staff management. According to some board members, this lack of engagement made it difficult for the board to understand and take charge of the various key elements that could have contributed to the company’s development. But above all, according to the first coordinator, the cooperative did not respond to a need in terms of food provision. He said: The one thing I observed was that user members did not have a strong enough connection to the cooperative. They did not have enough of an investment to ensure the success of the cooperative. Because that’s really what can ensure the success of a cooperative. […] But it seems that at La Clé des Champs it was always a little bit the other way around. We tried to create a need. I’m talking about the tangible, economic need and not the communitarian, collective need that results from a vision. (Interview #9).

15 At

the time of writing, Cultur’Innov was still in business.

3 Community Action Against Marginalization …

37

The following year, the board of directors hired a couple on a contract basis16 in an attempt to maintain the company. Right from the first season, the couple succeeded in increasing production and reducing the accumulated deficit albeit without repaying all of La Clé des Champs debts. During the hiring process, the board members mentioned their intention to sell the company and thus dissolve the cooperative. The two contractors agreed to try to restore production, which they managed to do in part within a single season. Their success, in terms of economics and production, earned them the trust not only of the board of directors but also of the population of Saint-Camille, for whom La Clé des Champs remained a symbol of development. The market gardening couple, for their part, were looking to take over a farm and eventually become owners. When board members explained to them the different values associated with La Clé des Champs, such as the extent to which it identified with the community, the couple was delighted. As they themselves stated: The three mandates [of La Clé des Champs] were to 1) diversify agriculture, 2) provide local organic food to the community, and 3) encourage a new takeover […]. We were motivated to take over and create a new farm while maintaining the same principles. (Interview #3)

As a result, the cooperative liquidated its assets and transferred the inventory and clientele to the couple. The latter then created a company which they named La Clé des Champs de Saint-Camille. This transition allowed the village to maintain local market gardening production while transferring its core values to the company, even if it was no longer a cooperative. This transition was a relief for several founding members, who saw the new company as a continuation of what they had set out to do. Finally, with a view towards local development, maintaining this type of local service was important to ensure the quality of life of citizens. The transformation of the cooperative thus led to the creation of a constantly evolving market gardening business located in the very heart of the village. The new owners took over the cooperative’s facilities, machinery and clientele, allowing them to start their business on solid ground and with the clear support of the community and local development stakeholders. As one of them said: “The cooperative component, the cooperative tool, is what made it possible to implement the basic infrastructure allowing for local agriculture” (Interview #6). Significant investments had already been made prior to the acquisition of the company, notably in the construction of a greenhouse and a shed. The couple decided to start their business in terms of a private enterprise model rather than a cooperative model, since this form of business ensured a return on their investment in the event of a resale. One of the facilitators of Saint-Camille indicated that “during the transition, and even beyond, for at least two years, I say two years … but easily two years after it became private, for the rest of us La Clé des Champs was still La Clé des Champs. It was still the same thing. Private or not private, it was still that” (Interview #2). The company therefore maintained close ties with local residents and businesses, continuing to supply them with fresh fruit and vegetables. It also developed projects such as a gardening project run by 16 A contract in which a fixed price is stipulated in advance, in particular for the execution of certain

works or the provision of certain services.

38

M. Doyon et al.

elementary school students with a view to learning and raising market gardening awareness. The market gardeners were also involved in the two-year collaborative research project (2012–2014) (see Methodology). These activities were part of the company’s corporate social responsibility program, and testify to its commitment to the community and helped to define, at least in part, its mission. It is in this capacity that we can consider La Clé des Champs to be a social enterprise.

3.6 Discussion: Is Transitioning to a Private Enterprise Model a Step Backward? La Clé des Champs, while having become a private company, remains motivated by the aspirations that led to the creation of the cooperative, including its “permeability to community life” (Interview #1), according to one of the people we met. The owners are very open to the community and actively participate in the village activities. Over the years, they have had access to various types of funding to develop their business, including several grants from the local and regional communities. However, it was difficult to obtain significant financing from other institutions due to the financial history of the cooperative. The owners did not obtain financing from the Financière agricole du Québec17 until the fourth year (2015). To obtain it, they had to demonstrate the company’s profitability. In the three years, from 2012 to 2015, they nearly tripled production by working on soil improvement. They also had to sign a 10-year lease on agricultural land owned by a Saint-Camille resident in order to secure medium-term financing. Today, La Clé des Champs occupies seven hectares, of which 4.5 ha are under cultivation. The lease agreement is similar to the one the co-op had with the landowner.18 The owners of La Clé des Champs received strong support from the local community. In their own words: “Networking … within one month, we knew everyone we had to know in Saint-Camille” (Interview #4). As for the way in which the products are brought to market, the owners closely followed the cooperative’s established practices. These consist of distributing baskets in Sherbrooke as part of the CSA and of keeping a booth at the Marché de la Gare in Sherbrooke. During the summer months, La Clé des Champs goes to market in Saint-Camille once a week, where it sells its products and distributes a portion of its weekly baskets. Other producers from the region also join the village market. Starting in the fall, La Clé des Champs also

17 “The mission of the Financière agricole du Québec is to support and promote, from a sustainable development perspective, the development of the agriculture and agri-food sector. It provides companies with income protection, insurance and agricultural financing products and services adapted to managing the risks inherent in this sector of activity” (FAQ 2016). 18 It pays CAD$100 per hectare for rent each year, or CAD$700 according to information collected in 2017.

3 Community Action Against Marginalization …

39

participates, while supplies last, in the winter basket network. In addition, it cooperates with the community organization Le P’tit bonheur, participating in its winter market and providing for its food services as well as selling to the local grocery store. The company therefore clearly contributes to local development and several respondents stressed its importance to the community. In addition to increasing the local food supply in the village, the company provides, with its weekly markets, a meeting point for citizens. These occasions are an opportunity to raise awareness of the benefits of having access to fresh, local food products while promoting the company’s products. As the farmers themselves say: People don’t just come to buy a product, they come to buy a service. They come to “buy a farmer” who will present his varieties of colorful tomatoes that he has grown with passion. I don’t know how the other markets worked back in the days, but all I can say is that I’m the one who sows my peas. I’m the one who cultivates them, who harvests them, who puts them in the fridge half an hour later, and who puts them on the shelf. I know how fresh they are, how good they are, how sweet they are, and that it’s worth buying them. (Interview #3)

This passion on the part of both owners is motivated by a community and living environment that encourages them to continue. They sense that the population likes the products and services they offer. They chose Saint-Camille for its community dynamics. In addition, the population and community leaders recognize the two owners as hardworking people who produce top-quality food. They are also known for their team decision-making with their employees. In addition, they are involved in various projects, including one with the village elementary school. Finally, La Clé des Champs is working with Cultur’Innov to set up an experimental orchard (see Fig. 3.3). On the other hand, La Clé des Champs is facing serious challenges. First, some people do not want to or cannot afford to pay more for locally produced organic vegetables. Further, the owners and some community leaders noted that many residents of Saint-Camille, and rural areas in general, now have their own vegetable gardens, which reduces the demand for fresh vegetables. Finally, the involvement of the population in the company’s tasks is less than what it was under the cooperative model. Friends or acquaintances sometimes help in the fields, but nothing more. The owners explain that chores where the population is invited to pitch in take up a lot of time and energy to organize and ultimately manage to mobilize only a very small part of the community. Thus, most often the owners resort to asking a few friends and to working with their employees to ensure that the work gets done on time and correctly.

3.7 Conclusion The study of the evolution of La Clé des Champs shows that the current company retains many important aspects of the cooperative despite the change in legal status and personnel. What are these aspects? A key element concerns the market gardening

40

M. Doyon et al.

Fig. 3.3 The sites of La Clé des Champs and Cultur’Innov in Saint-Camille/Photo taken by Sylvain Laroche on May 7, 2013, at an altitude of 506 m, east-north-east orientation. The foreground shows the Madeleine River, a branch of the Nicolet River. The background shows the village of Saint-Camille, at the intersection of routes 216 (rue Miquelon) and 255 (rue Desrivières). In the background, on the right, we see the double “rang” (lots) 9 and 10.

aspect of the company. Camilloise agriculture is mainly focused on dairy production and hay cultivation; the market gardening dimension is therefore important for a community that insists on its sustainable development. Another element is the territorial root of the enterprise. The new owners have maintained the former cooperative’s strong territorial roots as well as the values, in step with the evolution of the various initiatives that have marked the Saint-Camille experience. These include the sale of baskets to residents of the municipality, the supply of products to local businesses and local and regional public markets, and their partnership with the elementary school and participation in a collaborative research project between the municipality and a research center. In this chapter we presented how a vegetable production company had to transform itself in order to survive while maintaining the values and social objectives that had oriented its founding. Indeed, the company’s history is marked by the desire to contribute to the development of a community and not simply to take over a market and reap the financial rewards. This can be called the social embeddedness of economic activity, in accordance with Polanyi’s argument (in Laville 2008). La Clé des Champs thus illustrates one of the facets of social enterprise (see Sect. 3.3), that of the embeddedness of a firm within the community where it operates, which

3 Community Action Against Marginalization …

41

comprises the collective values and objectives that guide the governance of the enterprise (Bouchard and Lévesque 2017; Travaglini et al. 2010). This example also illustrates that a company can change its legal status while continuing to carry out the same project. There therefore does not seem to be a necessary link between the form of property of an enterprise and the social mission to which it subscribes. These changes in form happen as a result of “internal” difficulties, which have led to “external” difficulties, in other words, an inability to cope with the profitability requirements inherent in the firm’s market environment. A company should be seen as a meeting point for various stakeholders, including consumers. Stakeholder relationships are embedded in an institutional framework that includes historically constructed rules, values and knowledge. This explains why the trajectory of La Clé des Champs is path-dependent. By examining how a company is embedded in its environment, we invariably engage in the more specific debate on local agriculture, which emerged at the very origin of the initiative. Generally, a company can demonstrate its embeddedness most readily, or obviously, by meeting the food needs of the local population. However, an agricultural enterprise can also establish itself in the territory without meeting local food needs; designations of origin and without reference to terroir for example (Glon and Pecqueur 2016; Perrin 2011). In the case of La Clé des Champs, this embeddedness is twofold. On the one hand, it meets the aspirations of a part of the population of Saint-Camille with regard to the source of the food it consumes. On the other hand, there is an affirmation of identity thanks to the building of solidarity and new spaces of sociability (especially through local markets), which the transition from the cooperative form to private (social) enterprise has hardly affected. It represents an expression (a scale) of the embedding of the economy in society advocated by Polanyi (in Klein et al. 2014). In the case of Saint-Camille, this scale is delimited by the common use of the territory in order to make it an environment where people can engage with the social and physical environment. The case study thus points to new models of intervention and new actors able to provide innovative responses for devitalized communities, which can promote empowerment of these communities and increase their collective capacities to reverse trends that engender marginality.

References Arsenault-Hétu, C., & Doyon, M. (2019). La sécurisation alimentaire à travers l’innovation socioagricole locale: le cas du Projet d’agriculture communautaire d’Argenteuil. In M. Doyon, & J.-L. Klein (Eds.), Pour la sécurisation alimentaire au Québec; perspective territoriale (pp. 61–76). Québec, Presses de l’Université du Québec. Auricoste, C., Albaladejo, C., Barthe, L., Couix, N., Duvernoy, I., Girard, N., et al. (2011). Accompagner l’activité agricole dans les territoires: au carrefour entre le développement sectoriel et le développement territorial. Cahiers Agricultures, 20(5), 395–399. Barthe, L., Duvernoy, I., Eychenne, C., & Milian, J. (2012). Agriculture et développement territorial. Sud-Ouest européen, 34, 5–8. Béïque, J. (2011). Saint-Camille, le pari de la convivialité. Montréal: Écosociété.

42

M. Doyon et al.

Bouchard, M. (Ed.) (2013). Innovation and the social economy: The Québec experience. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Bouchard, M. J., & Lévesque, B. (2017). Les innovations sociales et l’économie sociale: nouveaux enjeux de transformation sociale. In J. Defourny, & M. Nyssens (Eds.), Économie sociale et solidaire. Socio-économie du 3e secteur (pp. 397–442). Paris et Bruxelles, De Boeck. Brand, C., & Bonnefoy, S. (2011). “L’alimentation des sociétés urbaines: une cure de jouvence pour l’agriculture des territoires métropolitains? VertigO—la revue électronique en sciences de l’environnement, 8(2), 1–15. Champagne, C. (2008). Développement écovillageois et renouvellement de l’habiter rural: le cas de Saint-Camille au Québec (Master’s thesis). Department of geography, UQAM, Montréal. Darly, S. (2012). La reterritorialisation de l’agriculture, effet collatéral des conflits d’usage. Le cas francilien. Économie rurale, (332), 31–46. Defourny, J., & Nyssens, M. (Eds.). (2017). Économie sociale et solidaire. Louvain-la-Neuve: De Boeck Supérieur. Desrosiers-Côté, M., & Doyon, M. (2018). L’incidence des plans de développement de la zone agricole (PDZA) sur la sociabilité et les représentations agricoles: les cas des MRC d’AntoineLabelle et des Sources. Les cahiers de géographie du Québec, 62(176), 1–19. Dictionnaire Le Robert. (2019). “Rang,” Le Petit Robert de la langue française, online. Doucet, C. (2011). Revue de littérature scientifique québécoise sur l’agriculture et le développement territorial Cahier de l’Alliance de recherche université-communauté en Innovation sociale et développement des communautés (ARUC-ISDC), Série Recherches, 43, 48 p. Doyon, M. (2019). Comment redistribuer les surplus de l’agriculture marchande vers l’aide alimentaire ? L’expérience de l’organisme Jardins solidaires. In M. Doyon, & J.-L. Klein (Eds.), Pour la sécurisation alimentaire au Québec; perspective territoriale (pp. 89–100), Québec, Presses de l’Université du Québec. Dufresne, C. (2014). Une communauté apprenante, innovante et solidaire: le cas de SaintCamille comme modèle porteur de développement rural (Master’s thesis). Département d’études régionales, UQAC, Chicoutimi. European Commission. (2011). Initiative pour l’entrepreneuriat social: Construire un écosystème pour promouvoir les entreprises sociales au coeur de l’économie et de l’innovation sociale. Communication de la Commission au Parlement européen, au conseil, au Comité économique et social européen et au Comité des régions, Bruxelles, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex UriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0682:FIN:fr:PDF Financière agricole du Québec (FAQ). (2016). À propos de nous—Mission, https://www.fadq.qc. ca/a-propos-de-nous/mission/. Fontan, J.-M., Klein, J.-L., Caillouette, J., Doyon, M., Lévesque, B., Tremblay, D.-G., Tremblay, P.-A., & Trudelle, C. (2017) [dated 2014]. Vers des nouveaux modèles d’action en développement territorial: l’expérimentation à petite échelle d’une transition contre hégémonique vers le « buen vivir ». Économie et solidarité, 44(1–2), 84–102. Francoeur, L.-G. (2011, February 10). Mine d’or à Saint-Camille—Les citoyens repoussent Bowmore. Le Devoir. http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/villes-et-regions/316495/mine-d-or-asaint-camille-les-citoyens-repoussent-bowmore. Gendron, C. (2002). Envisager la responsabilité sociale dans le cadre des régulations portées par les nouveaux mouvements sociaux économiques. Working document no 1 of the Chaire en Économie et Humanisme, UQAM, 28 p. Germain, P., Le Guen, R., & Thareau, B. (2013). La re-territorialisation du développement agricole: le cas de l’agriculture périurbaine d’Angers. Revues d’Économie Régionale & Urbaine, 3, 373– 392. Glon, E., & Pecqueur, B. (Eds.). (2016). Au coeur des territoires créatifs: proximités et ressources territoriales. Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes. Klein, J.-L., Fontan, J.-M., Harrisson, D., & Lévesque, B. (2013). The Quebec model: A social innovation system founded on cooperation and consensus building. In F. Moulaert, D. MacCallum, A. Mehmood, & A. Hamdouch, (Eds.), International handbook of social innovation: Collective

3 Community Action Against Marginalization …

43

action, social learning and transdisciplinary research (pp. 371–383). Cheltenham (UK): Edward Elgar. Klein, J.-L., Bussières, D., Caillouette, J. Doyon, M., Fontan, J.-M., Tremblay, D.-G., & Tremblay, P.-A. (2015). Saint-Camille: Récit d’une expérience de co-construction de la connaissance. Montréal: Université du Québec à Montréal, Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales, Cahier no. ES1505. Klein, J.-L., Caillouette, J., Doyon, M., Fontan, J.-M., Tremblay, D.-G., Tremblay, P.-A., et al. (2016). Saint-Camille: des mobilisations croisées pour la relance territoriale. In J.-L. Klein, B. Pecqueur, K. Koop, & S. A. Soussi (Eds.), L’innovation locale à l’épreuve du global. Un défi pour les acteurs (pp. 141–154). Québec: Presses de l’Université du Québec. Klein, J.-L., Laville, J.-L., & Moulaert, F. (2014). L’innovation sociale. Toulouse: Érès. Klein, J.-L., Fontan, J.-M., & Tremblay, D.-G. (2009). Social entrepreneurs, local initiatives and social economy: Foundations for a socially innovative strategy to fight against poverty and exclusion. Canadian Journal of Regional Research/Revue canadienne de science régionale, 32(1), 23–42. Klein, J.-L., & Raufflet, E. (2014). Innovation sociale et lutte contre la pauvreté: modèles de gouvernance et de développement territorial. Revue Interventions économiques, 50, http://intervention seconomiques.revues.org/2407. Laville, J.-L. (2008). Encastrement et nouvelle sociologie économique: de Granovetter à Polanyi et Mauss. Revue Interventions économiques, 38, http://interventionseconomiques.revues.org/245. Lévesque, B., & Mendell, M. (2012). L’économie sociale: diversité des définitions et des constructions théoriques. Revue Interventions économiques, 32, http://interventionseconomiques.revues. org/852. Llena, C. (2011). L’expérience de Saint-Camille au Québec ou comment dynamiser un territoire par la force de la convivialité et de la réciprocité ? VertigO – la revue électronique en sciences de l’environnement, https://doi.org/10.4000/vertigo.11290. Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ). (2019). Programme Jardins de solidarité. https://www.mapaq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/Productions/md/programme sliste/productionhorticole/Pages/Programme-Jardins-de-solidarite.aspx. Ministère du Développement économique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation (MDEIE). (2007). Coopérative de solidarité, gouvernement du Québec, https://www.economie.gouv.qc.ca/filead min/contenu/publications/outils_aide/gestion_cooperative/outils_coop_solidarite_2007.pdf. Municipalité canton de Saint-Camille. (2019). Saint-Camille; vivre et agir ensemble, http://www. saint-camille.ca/. Municipalité régionale de comté (MRC) des Sources. (2014). Plan de développement de la zone agricole, http://www.mrcdessources.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/12/PDZA-DOC UMENT-FINAL-JUIN2014.pdf. National Assembly of Quebec. (1988). Proceedings, May 12, 30(27) annexe A: 67. Bibliothèque de l’Assemblée nationale, Digital repository. www.bibliotheque.assnat.qc.ca/DepotNumerique/ index.aspx. Neumeier, S. (2012). Why do social innovations in rural development matter and should they be considered more seriously in rural development research? Proposal for a stronger focus on social innovations in rural development research. Sociologia Ruralis, 52(1), 48–69. Ostrom, E. (2008). The challenge of common-pool resources. Environment, 50(4), 8–21. Perrin, C. (2011). La territorialisation de l’agriculture périurbaine du Chianti: entre terroir et proximité urbaine. Norois, 221, 97–109. Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2006). The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 78–92. Prahalad, C. K. (2010). The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid: Eradicating poverty through profits. Philadelphia: Pearson Education Inc. Praly, C. (2007). Le processus de reterritorialisation en question: l’exemple de l’arboriculture de la moyenne vallée du Rhône. Méditerranée, 109, 41–46.

44

M. Doyon et al.

Prévost, B. (2014). Des circuits courts à la reterritorialisation de l’agriculture et de l’alimentation. Revue internationale de l’économie sociale: Recma, 33, 30–44. Rieutort, L. (2009). Dynamiques rurales françaises et re-territorialisation de l’agriculture. L’information géographique, 73, 30–48. Roy, M., Bouchard, M., Fortin, E., Gruet, E., Huot, G., & Vézina, M. (2016). L’entrepreneuriat social et l’entreprise sociale. Montréal: TIESS, Synthèse de connaissances, http://www.tiess.ca/ wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2016_TIESS_Synthese_Entrepreneuriat-social_oct-2016.pdf. Statistics Canada. (2017). Saint-Camille CT [Census subdivision], Quebec and Quebec [Province] (Table). Census Profile, 2016 Census, Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001 in the Statistics Canada catalogue. Ottawa. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/ index.cfm?Lang=E Travaglini, C., Bandini, F., & Mancinone, K. (2010). Social enterprise in Europe: Governance models. Bologna, AICCON, Working Paper 75, https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6327412.pdf. Tremblay, P.-A. (2016). Innovation sociale en milieu rural: l’exemple de Saint-Camille (Québec). Géoregards. Revue neuchâteloise de géographie, 9, 11–25. Turcotte, M.-F. (2002). De la responsabilité sociale et environnementale des entreprises aux défis des nouveaux mouvements sociaux économiques. Les cahiers de la Chaire—collection recherche No 02-2002.

Part II

Regions, Regional Potentials, Regional Development and Geographical Marginality

Chapter 4

Rich Country—‘Poor’ Regions: Fighting Regional Disparities in Switzerland Walter Leimgruber

4.1 Introduction: Inequality and Geographical Difference Diversity and difference are the essence of our discipline, they are the salt of human and physical geography and drive all processes on earth. Diversity, biological as well as cultural, is highly desirable as it prevents us from simplistic ways of thinking, from “monocultures of the mind” (Shiva 1993). People differ from each other, live in diverse environments, and have found numerous answers to the challenges of life. Their needs and wishes vary, and so do their possibilities. Regional disparities are therefore common across the world. However, there are desirable and undesirable ones. Cultural, social, economic etc. diversity is a challenge, but also a stimulus to a society and, “a positive quality” (Leimgruber 2004, p. 278). “The political corollary is to recognize that unevenness (difference) must not lead to discrimination.” (Leimgruber 2018, p. 137). Income gaps or inequalities of (economic and social) opportunities, on the other hand, are negative because they lead to the fragmentation of societies and the marginalization of certain sections, and they can even be a source of conflict and unrest. Disparities and marginality are usually approached simply from the economic side with income and wealth being used as quantitative indicators, but there is also a qualitative side to it. Opportunities such as access to education, the job market, health services, information, technology and others which are even more important for people’s lives. Social inequality is to a large degree related to economic disparity: less money equals less consumption, lower educational possibilities, loss of social status and eventually poverty. The widening gap between the very rich and the rest of the population across the globe will have long-term negative consequences on the economy (Rugaber and Boak 2014). “Evidence suggests that when rising inequality W. Leimgruber (B) University of Fribourg/CH, Fribourg, Switzerland e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 E. Nel and S. Pelc (eds.), Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization, Perspectives on Geographical Marginality 5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51342-9_4

47

48

W. Leimgruber

perpetuates exclusion, it leads to poorer economic performance. Recent OECD research estimates that rising inequality has knocked as much as 7 percentage points off cumulative GDP growth in the US since 1990.” (Gurría 2015, original emphasis). Jackson (2009, p. 23) concludes that “[w]hen wealth is already unequally distributed, this tendency leads directly to higher income inequality.” On the global scale, income inequality has been on the rise since 1980 (WID. World 2018). In Europe, 37% of the national income in 2016 went to only 10% of the population, a percentage that had remained relatively constant since 1980 (32%) (p. 42). In the Middle East, by contrast, it was 61%, slightly down from 1990 (67%; p. 43). Europe has in fact the lowest income inequality and a very stable development. The comparison inside Western Europe shows that the bottom 50% received 24% of the national income in 1980 and 22% in 2016, whereas the top 1% increased their share from 10% (1980) to 12% (2016; p. 70). When talking about forgotten and backward spaces, one would not normally think of Switzerland. Yet, regional disparities are a reality. There are regions in Switzerland that look like forgotten spaces and whose conditions should be improved. They are ‘poor’ only in relation to other parts of the country, but show that regional policy is an imperative in wealthy countries as well. In this Chapter I focus on the specific regional policy instrument of fiscal equalization which Switzerland has developed to tackle the challenge of the drifting apart of the society. Alternative instruments have been discussed earlier (Leimgruber 1985, 1986, 2004, pp. 237–243, 2008; Leimgruber and Hammer 2002; Leimgruber and Imhof 1998). Such considerations can be made in every country, because rich and poor regions exist everywhere. But wealth and poverty are not the only criteria in regional policy decision-making. The political system and the possibility of the citizens to manifest their problems, and the respect for minorities of all kind are equally important elements.

4.2 Inequality and Diversity in Switzerland Switzerland is one of the richest countries of the world. Her per capita GNI (Gross National Income) of over $50,000 placed her on rank 10 in 2013 (UNDP 2018, p. 22). Liechtenstein (rank 2), Norway (rank 6), Luxemburg (rank 8) and Switzerland were the only European countries exceeding 50,000 US$. However, such national averages are of little informative value for the countries themselves as they even out regional differences and tell nothing about people’s incomes. As a better indicator the Gini coefficient of 0.296 in 2017 shows that regional income disparities exist, particularly if compared to neighbouring Austria (0.284), France (0.291) and Germany (0.293; OECD 2019). Compared to 2013 (Cingano 2014, p. 36), we have retracted from rank 15–17 among the OECD countries. But such measures are too crude for the regional situation in my small country, and they are not the only indicators of inequality. We have to look at two factors: the natural setting our society lives in, which offers the resource base for our activities, and

4 Rich Country—‘Poor’ Regions: Fighting Regional …

49

the organization of society, i.e. the political system which furnishes its legal and infrastructural framework. One element here is the fiscal regime with its incentives to economy and people. The diversity inside these two factors can explain a lot.

4.2.1 The Natural Setting Switzerland has a highly varied topography: most of the country is mountains and hills; there are few really flat areas. The Alps occupy about 60% of the total surface (41,000 km2 ), the Jura 10%, and the Plateau (mainly low mountains and hills) the remaining 30%. Besides there are various horizontal and vertical climate zones which causes unequal opportunities for agriculture. Apart from water, salt, stones, gravel and sand, there are no natural resources of any value under current economic circumstances.1 Hydropower has been used in the past and in large-scale projects since the early twentieth century. Forests cover 31% of the country, the result of a deliberate policy to protect them from excessive felling. The forest law of 1902 had blocked the wooded surface at the value of the time (25% of the country’s surface), a rule adopted in its revision in 1991. Felling is subject to a permit and has to be compensated for by forestation.

4.2.2 The Political System Since its foundation as a modern State in 1848, Switzerland has been a Confederation of 26 regional sovereign States (cantons with their own elected governments and parliaments, a cantonal judiciary, and fiscal autonomy). Cantons levy taxes and establish their own budget. They are also responsible for education, security (police), health, and regional planning. The communes (municipalities) also enjoy substantial autonomy with their own tax revenue and budget and local planning authority. The Confederation (the central state), on the other hand, has only limited competences and takes care of all matters that concern Switzerland as a whole. This includes foreign policy, but even here the cantons have a certain freedom of action. The Confederation levies a small income tax (Direct Federal Tax), collected by the cantons. Its other sources of income are indirect taxes (VAT and others), custom duties, and various fees and licences (see The Swiss Confederation 2019). The Confederation supervises and coordinates the cantonal planning measures, but the cantons develop their own plans and coordinate them with the communes’ local plans. The latter are essentially devoted to the zoning of their territory into

1 Minerals

(iron, copper, gold etc.) were mined in the past, but the reserves are not commercially viable. The search for oil and natural gas has not yielded spectacular results, either, and has been abandoned.

50

W. Leimgruber

building, agricultural and protected zones. Specific federal planning (e.g. defence or the transportation network) has to be coordinated with cantons and communes. In this truly bottom-up system, the citizens can suggest and decide upon changes in the Constitution and approve or reject laws through referenda, making rapid decisions almost impossible. This ensures that policies at all levels (federal, cantonal, communal) are anchored in and supported by the population. This is reinforced through the militia system; the deputies in all Parliaments are not professional politicians but so-called ordinary citizens. In this way most politicians are all a little bit like amateurs with good contacts to the people. The entire population contributes to the functioning of the system (the State), sometimes it is legitimizing, sometimes correcting the politicians. To this description of a highly decentralized political system I must add the contrast between urban and rural areas, and the cultural background, particularly the different linguistic, religious and cultural communities. They all play an important role in regional disparities. Within this range of factors, the economic actors possess certain leeway to locate their businesses, and so do the people in choosing their residence, everybody using the differentiated tax systems of the individual cantons in seeking advantages.

4.2.3 Fiscal Regime Public finances are not generally on the agenda of financial geography, which concentrates on finances as part of the broader economy (Aalbers 2015; Lai 2016). In Switzerland, public finances mirror the complexity of the political system and can therefore be of interest for our discipline (Leimgruber 1995). As has been said above, the fiscal system includes the three levels of local, regional and central state, with a particular emphasis on the middle level, the cantons. Municipalities and cantons, and to a small extent also the Confederation, levy income tax (a direct tax), cantons and municipalities also tax the estate (houses, land, savings etc.). All citizens hand in a tax declaration to the canton, and on this basis federal and municipal taxes are calculated. Municipalities and cantons prepare their own budget, managing both revenue and expenses. As a consequence, tax rates vary among municipalities as well as between cantons and this is an important (sometimes decisive) factor in the location decision of a firm and the choice of residence. Municipalities and cantons vie to attract good taxpayers. This decentralized fiscal system ensures that local and regional needs can be addressed much more rapidly and where they occur, than if money had to be requested from a central state budget. The Confederation draws its revenue mainly from indirect taxes, whereas cantons and municipalities rely heavily on direct taxes (Table 4.1). Other sources are mainly fees (water supply and sewage, waste disposal, ticket taxes etc.). Direct taxes are paid by every citizen on income and estate, and by companies on profits and capital; everybody contributes according to his and her financial potential to public expenses. Taxes are progressive, increasing with growing income, but

4 Rich Country—‘Poor’ Regions: Fighting Regional …

51

Table 4.1 State revenue in Switzerland, 2016 (Indirect taxes include customs revenue) Direct taxes (%)

Indirect taxes (%)

Other sources (%)

Total amount (1,000 CHF)

Confederation

42.7

55.4

1.9

64,426,478

Cantons

95.0

–

5.0

455,594,808

Municipalities

99.6

–

0.4

28,438,600

Source EFV 2018, pp. 38, 54, 64

varying over time and across space: the tax burden differs between the cantons and the communes. The household situation is an important element in fixing the tax rate. Unmarried individuals, married couples without children or with children etc. are taxed differently. The direct federal tax, paid to the Confederation via the cantons is negligible compared to the combined cantonal and municipal taxes. Its origin is a ‘war tax’ first levied in 1915 during World War I as a temporary measure, but subsequently extended under different names (crisis tax, defence tax) before being called as what it really is: a direct tax levied by the Confederation to cover its expenses. According to the Constitution it continues to be a temporary tax2 (Stockar 2004). Such temporary taxes tend to become definitive—who would renounce an income once it has been obtained? Indirect taxes (e.g. VAT) and fees, custom duties etc., on the other hand, are flat rates and concern everybody. As citizens we can to some degree influence the amount of indirect taxes through our consumer behaviour, but we cannot avoid them completely.

4.3 Regional Disparities in Switzerland In this section I shall try to demonstrate regional disparities through a few indicators to illustrate their diversity. The choice is personal and not objective. It will show that marginal regions cannot be defined on the basis of one criterion alone but is a more complex issue.

2 The principle is fixed in Article 128, the temporary nature (until 2020) in transitional provision 13

(in force since 2007).

52

W. Leimgruber

Fig. 4.1 Per capita net income in Switzerland (CHF), 2015 Source Swiss Statistical Atlas

4.3.1 Income Switzerland is a high-salary country, but also with high costs of living.3 The average per capita income in Switzerland in 2015 amounted to CHF 36,682.4 Eight cantons (of 26) lay above this figure. The mean value demonstrates an extremely skewed income distribution (Fig. 4.1) and corresponding inequality. The chief reasons lie with differences in cantonal taxation and health costs. The two most marginal cantons according to this indicator are Uri and Jura, the former with 63% and the latter 76% of the national mean.

4.3.2 Gross Domestic Income (GDI) The economic performance by canton is measured through the GDI, expressed in Swiss francs. In 2015 the per capita GDI amounted to CHF 78,994 for the country as a whole (about the same as in USD). Of the 26 cantons, only seven were above the mean (Fig. 4.2), demonstrating another, more manifest skewed distribution, but 3 On

a global ranking Switzerland ranks 3rd on the list with a cost-of-living index of 159.7 in 2018 (Germany being 100.0). Our neighbouring countries fare better: Austria 105.9, Italy 98.5, France 106.9 (https://www.laenderdaten.info/lebenshaltungskosten.php; Accessed 21.02.2019). No wonder that many Swiss prefer to do their daily shopping abroad, particularly in Germany. 4 In September 2019 the Swiss Franc (CHF) equaled 1.01 USD and 0.92 EUR.

4 Rich Country—‘Poor’ Regions: Fighting Regional …

53

Fig. 4.2 Per capita GDI in Swiss cantons, 2015 Source Federal Statistical Office, Statistical Atlas

different from the income. Again, Uri is the most marginal canton (67% of the national mean), below Valais (68%), whereas Jura (Leimgruber 2013) occupies rank 18, 80% of the national average. In this case it is the presence of industry that impacts: pharmaceuticals in Basle, mining companies in Zug, and luxury watches in Geneva. This example shows that using one or even two income-related criteria does not suffice to define marginality. Additional indicators may even confuse the picture and expose the difficulty to precisely seize what marginality means. I add two more criteria: job creation and unemployment.

4.3.3 The Dynamics of Businesses and Jobs The vitality of a region can also be illustrated by the creation of new businesses and jobs. This is not the attribute of a region but rather of the people, their innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, the regulatory framework (taxes, bureaucracy), and land availability and prices. Businesses and jobs are not static but appear and disappear across time and space. In 2016 (latest data available), for example, 53,031 new jobs in 39,125 new enterprises in industry and services were created across the country, the majority in highly urbanised regions, whereas rural areas and particularly remote valleys fell behind. With an average of 1.36 new jobs per new enterprise it is obvious that most new creations are small businesses (the extremes are 1.19 and 1.47 jobs per enterprise; Fig. 4.3). More than half of these new companies and new jobs concentrate in the five cantons of Zurich, Vaud, Berne, Ticino and Geneva. The statistics must be read

54

W. Leimgruber

Fig. 4.3 Jobs created in 2016 per new enterprise Source Statistical Atlas of Switzerland

with caution, however, because comparing cantons is a delicate matter. Basle is very small with only three communes and little space for development, Berne is the second largest canton with ample space. The hinterland of Basle also covers parts of France and Germany which lie outside Switzerland’s national statistics. The Lake Geneva region, which is very dynamic, covers the two cantons of Geneva and (part of) Vaud and does not appear as such in the statistics. What emerges, on the other hand, is the traditionally very dispersed nature of the Swiss economy: new firms with jobs emerge everywhere, even in the rural space and in remote valleys. Since the nineteenth century, industry has been decentralized, mainly because the textile sector was largely a home-based industry (cloth and ribbons were produced in peoples’ homes and delivered to the company in the city). An important railway producer, for example, has its production units in various localities in eastern Switzerland but delivers its railways across the globe. While this looks an interesting indicator for marginality and disparities, it is in fact unsuitable for our specific economic tradition. Locational decisions are not always purely rational but often combine various factors: tradition, family ties, available land (and land prices) and human resources, local planning regulations and tax rates, and others.

4 Rich Country—‘Poor’ Regions: Fighting Regional …

55

4.3.4 Unemployment Unemployment is a mirror of the economic strength of a country as well as of a region. People can become unemployed for a variety of reasons, such as company closure or relocation, rationalization, unsatisfactory behaviour at their workplace, or others. Age is often a hidden reason for making workers redundant, the pretext being that they cannot keep up with modern techniques or that they are too slow. Because such reasons are clearly illegal they are not openly declared but concealed behind rationally sounding arguments. The unemployed can find new jobs or can participate in further education programmes, but some will remain jobless in the long run or even permanently. Switzerland has a relatively low level of unemployment (2.6% in 2018, the same as in 2008), compared to the EU (6.6% in 2018) or the OECD (5.3% in 2018). For the past few years it has been oscillating between 2.6 and 3.0%. Regionally speaking, however, there are (and always have been) substantial differences between cantons (Fig. 4.4). This indicator provides us with a totally different picture of disparities. If Uri had the lowest per capita GDP and looked utterly marginalized, it is now one of the cantons with least unemployment, whereas Geneva, a large centre and international city (UN headquarters) has the highest. The French speaking part of the country is particularly vulnerable with relatively high unemployment (by current Swiss standards). We

Fig. 4.4 Unemployment in Switzerland, 2018 (% of all workplaces) Source Federal Statistical Office, Statistical Atlas

56

W. Leimgruber

must bear in mind, however, that unemployment figures vary along with the general economic situation as well as seasonally—2018 is a momentary picture. The aim of this section has been to present a few selected indicators of regional disparities and show that to define marginal regions requires a wide range of criteria and depends on the (subjective) choice of indicators. A region can be marginal from one perspective but not from another. Every definition can therefore be challenged because other criteria have not been taken into consideration.

4.4 Regional Policy in Switzerland: Evolution and Instruments 4.4.1 Background The mechanisms of regional policy must be seen in the context of both the natural setting and the political organization of the country. Mountain regions are economically disadvantaged, and the decentralized political system offers the citizens substantial participation in the political process (e.g. decisions over taxes and expenses). These factors give rise to considerable disparities. Rich and ‘poor’ must be seen from this perspective, from revenue as well as expenditure for basic needs. Major differences occur between lowland and mountain cantons, and between urban and rural areas. Cultural diversity (having four national languages), is highly valued and worthy of preservation, but social and economic disparities are undesirable and should be eliminated or reduced (Brugger and Frey 1985; Leimgruber 2004, p. 242 ff.). During the past fifty years regional policy attempted to reduce such inequalities by developing and implementing various measures (Leimgruber 2008, 2014, p. 620). The focus was on economic aspects, but social and perceptual components were also included (Müller 1980; Walter-Busch 1980). It has been recognized that disparities are not confined to the economic world but are also rooted in culture and traditions. Swiss regional policy has evolved from a sectoral to an integrative approach, from top-down state intervention to including bottom-up initiatives. Several federal laws since the late nineteenth century had prepared the ground for regional policy: the forest laws of 1876 and 1902, the law on agriculture of 1893, and in 1930 support in favour of mountain regions to stop or reduce outmigration and improve the population’s conditions of living are key examples (Rudaz and Debarbieux 2014, p. 30).

4 Rich Country—‘Poor’ Regions: Fighting Regional …

57

4.4.2 Evolution Regional policy, properly speaking, started in 1948 with systematic assistance for farmers in mountain regions (Chiffelle 1982; Leimgruber 1985, 1986). As a topdown distributive model it offered various types of financial contributions to mountain farmers (e.g. compensation for difficult topography, slope exposition, distance to marketing points, marketing subsidies etc.). A law on infrastructure investment in mountain regions was implemented in 1974 and included bottom-up elements. Municipalities created development regions and drew up infrastructure projects (old people’s homes, roads, sports facilities etc.), financed with private and state grants. The aim was to reduce the exodus of young people. However, the sole focus on infrastructure neglected the entrepreneurial side of the economy (Frey 2011, p. 157): and the scheme did not generate enough jobs to be economically viable in the long run, and there was no stimulus to develop the productive sector. A separate instrument had been created in 1959 (revised in 2008). The financial equalization scheme intended to reduce the gap between rich and poor cantons (ibid. p. 154) by evoking the principle of solidarity. The Confederation calculates the financial strength of the cantons and determines the respective flows of money. It is a top-down approach and not very popular with the net payers who managed to obtain lower charges in a minor revision of 2018. A further regional policy instrument of 1978 enables all structurally weak regions (not only mountain areas) to benefit from federal assistance (Lendi and Elsasser 1985, p. 133). However, the top-down philosophy remained the same, and hardly any regional initiative (apart from the call for help) was requested. The fundamental revision of regional policy of 2008 included both regional policy in its proper sense, and the financial equalization scheme. The first case saw a shift from top-down to bottom-up policy, the second case revised the redistribution among the cantons (payers and beneficiaries). This reform ended the one-sided top-down regional policy approach, but retained it in the renewed equalization scheme. The New Regional Policy of 2008 “aims at (economic) growth, demands efficiency and competitiveness, and incites the actors to be innovative.” (Leimgruber 2014, p. 620), It has been heavily inspired by neoliberal thinking (‘growth’, ‘efficiency’, ‘competitiveness’, ‘innovation’; Leimgruber 2008), but also reflects the bottom-up philosophy: regions shall be enabled to develop themselves (self-reliance and selfhelp). It covers the rural areas across the entire country and includes the border regions in the context of transborder cooperation.5 The five conurbations of Basle, Berne, Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich are excluded, and so to are the urban cantons of Zurich, Zug, Solothurn, Basle (city and countryside), Aargau and Geneva. The New Regional Policy has three major objectives: to increase the economic strength of the regions, to improve the coordination of regional policies with federal agencies, and to develop expertise in regional policy and for the people involved in it. It provides a framework within which the various actors can operate according to their specific needs: top-down and bottom-up measures meet. 5 Switzerland

participates in the Interreg programmes promoted by the European Union.

58

W. Leimgruber

The second instrument, the financial equalization scheme, is a delicate tool because it involves the transfer of money from rich to less well off or poor regions (cantons as fiscal entities), appealing to regional (intercantonal) solidarity. In Switzerland this means a transfer between rich and ‘poor’ cantons. I shall discuss this in the next section.

4.4.3 The Fiscal Equalization Scheme Inequalities among the cantons result from different factors, such as their natural endowment, accessibility, economic and financial capacities. Each canton must develop its own policy to deal with its specific situation. The public sector has to fulfil a wide range of duties, and these concern various spatial and social levels. The Confederation and the cantons have different tasks6 : motorways are the sole responsibility of the Confederation, regional roads, flood protection etc. are shared among Confederation and cantons. The financing of the cantonal universities requires intercantonal cooperation, primary schools are the sole responsibility of the cantons. The idea of fiscal equalization follows the subsidiarity principle, according to which “a higher regional authority in a federal state should assume a task only if it is demonstrably able to do so more effectively than a lower government level, i.e. at lower cost and/or higher quality level”.(FFA n.d., p. 7). The subsidiarity principle has always been part of Swiss political culture. Following these considerations, the Fiscal Equalization Scheme aims at reducing the pecuniary inequalities between the 26 cantons by appealing to the community spirit and the creation of three different funds: rich cantons contribute to two funds (Cohesion Fund and Resource Equalization Fund) from which ‘poor’ cantons will obtain money, depending on the degree of their financial capacities. The Confederation, which manages these funds, contributes its own share with the Federal Cost Compensation Fund (Fig. 4.5). As a result, there is a substantial flow of money around the country, and there are cantons that are both payers and receivers (Fig. 4.6). The system is complex with three different domains (Fig. 4.5) and various beneficiaries. The fundamental distinction is between financially strong and weak cantons, based on their economic situation and tax income. Certain cantons, particularly in mountain regions, facing excessive costs (infrastructure, road maintenance, schooling) will be relieved in this way. One instrument is the Cohesion Fund, a sort of temporary buffer, alleviating “the repercussions of the introduction of the new [Fiscal Equalization] system during a transition period, and prevents financially weak cantons from being worse off because of the switchover.” (FFA n.d., p. 15). It will gradually be phased out and should come to an end in 2036. The three funds (Fig. 4.5) have different functions, and the financing system is complicated, particularly because transfer payments occur vertically from the 6 This

approach differs from mountain policy. Mountain regions are not political entities and face different challenges from lowland areas.

4 Rich Country—‘Poor’ Regions: Fighting Regional …

59

Fig. 4.5 Flows in the Fiscal Equalization Scheme, simplified Source FFA n.d., p. 17

Confederation to the cantons and horizontally between cantons. The Cost Compensation fund receives money from the central treasury and redistributes it to cantons facing excessive costs. These include both financially weak and strong ones: the special tasks of large centres are compensated for by the Confederation, and so are extra cost because of an ageing population or social integration of immigrants. Together with the Confederation the financially strong cantons contribute to the Resource Equalization and the Cohesion Funds. The former is destined for financially weak cantons, the latter for a group of cantons judged to face particular financial difficulties and possibly suffering unduly as a consequence of New Regional Policy. The complicated Fiscal Equalization Scheme is a typical Swiss compromise solution to the thorny issue of inequalities. Compensation payments, finally, are made for both topographic-geographic and sociodemographic reasons (topography, distances to centres and age-structure respectively).

60

W. Leimgruber

Fig. 4.6 Fiscal Equalization Scheme, net payers and beneficiaries 2018. Source Der Bundesrat 2018

4.5 Regional Policy in a Globalized Environment Regional policy is a national, hence an internal affair. However, no country can shut itself off from the outside world, and international influences must be considered. As an export-oriented country and global tourist destination, Switzerland is linked to global economic and political processes. As a consequence, the global economic and political situations impact the economy at all spatial levels. Imports and exports fluctuate over time, and so does tourism (Table 4.2). Foreign visitors to Switzerland still arrive, but the Swiss increasingly travel abroad and profit of favourable exchange rates. This macroeconomic situation touches the country as a whole but also has effects on the regional and local scales. Export-oriented firms are found across the country and are often important local economic players, and so are tourism destinations. We have seen that the communal level is politically very important, hence the well-being of localities and cantons depends on political and economic decisions on the global level. Regional policy development, a slow process in the country, cannot anticipate the whims of politicians or investors somewhere in the world; revisions will usually appear late.

4 Rich Country—‘Poor’ Regions: Fighting Regional … Table 4.2 Foreign trade and tourism balance of Switzerland (Million Swiss Francs, 1990–2017)

61

Year

Foreign trade balance (mill. CHF)

Tourism balance (mill. CHF)

1990

−8354

1966

1995

1783

2289

2000

−3387

2057

2005

5447

1501

2010

20,048

3712

2015

35,383

78

2017

29,322

−122

Source Federal Statistical Office: Foreign trade statistics 1980– 2017, Tourism balance statistics 1975–2017

We can only speculate on the future. Can tourism survive at the level it has reached before? What will be the consequences for populations living in less prosperous regions? Has industrial production a future in a country that is becoming increasingly expensive? What about the public sector that depends on tax revenue? Can the financial equalization scheme survive, which depends on the economic and financial strength of the different cantons? Switzerland as a workplace is threatened by the relocation of jobs to other countries with lower wage-levels. Certain firms have moved labour intensive production abroad but retain their R&D sectors in Switzerland, or built production units abroad to serve a specific market. Tourism is a significant element in our economy but limited to attractive places, mainly in the Alps. In the mountains it has been declining or remained stable over the past few years, whereas tourism in urban areas has grown (Table 4.3). Reasons for this shift are difficult to find. Decisions on holidays are personal and subject to fashion, perceptions and preferences. The tourist industry is highly volatile and very much depends on the general economic situation; an economic downturn can be catastrophic. However, many people are not prepared to renounce their annual holiday, and they chose the destination according to their financial means, the political situation, and the weather. Winter Table 4.3 Foreign tourists 2013–2017 (million nights spent)

2013

2017

Grisons, Valais, Berne

6.7

6.6

Zürich

3.7

4.2

Geneva

2.3

2.5

Basel

0.9

1.1

19.7

20.5

Switzerland Source FSO (2019, p. 55)

62

W. Leimgruber

tourists want snow for skiing; in its absence they will stay away. The challenge of global warming is met by new offers in the resorts (indoor skating, swimming pools, spas etc.).

4.6 Conclusion Disparities can result in exclusion and marginalization, and despite being a rich country Switzerland is no exception. Certain regions are disadvantaged compared to others. Regional policy is an instrument to reduce inequalities. A clear distinction is between desirable diversity and undesirable disparities. The Swiss value cultural diversity, and minorities receive more than proportional attention, as the fourth national language, Romansh, demonstrates. The roughly 60,000 people (all bilingual) have their own TV and radio studio, schoolbooks, newspapers, but the community is fractioned into five different dialect regions. It is one of the three official languages of the canton of Grisons (besides German and Italian), and there are two university chairs for Romansh (Fribourg, Zürich). Romansh is recognized as a national language in the Constitution (Art. 4) and as an official language in the relations between Confederation and Romansh speakers (Art. 701 ). This community is part of Swiss culture and although a minority it is in not marginalized. Regional policy is well embedded in Swiss policy, thanks to our decentralized system and direct democracy. The governance model (Fig. 4.7) combines top-down and bottom-up elements, and the civil society is included during the entire process. The two lower levels (cantons and municipalities/civil society) play a decisive role in formulating long-term regional strategies and action-spaces concerned, based

Fig. 4.7 Governance model for a coherent policy for rural and mountain regions Source Schweizerischer Bundesrat 2015, p. 9; simplified

4 Rich Country—‘Poor’ Regions: Fighting Regional …

63

on the overall space concept of Switzerland developed by the Confederation. It is a precise mirror of the Swiss political system. To sum up, the New Regional Policy has so far delivered a certain number of projects that could be realized. They can be found on the databank of the Regional Policy Programme (https://regiosuisse.ch/projects-nrp) which is constantly updated. It lists, for example, the support of the building of a small village of second homes in the Grisons (Aclas on the Heinzenberg) that are managed (rented out) by the regional tourist office, the creation of a digital platform to popularize Lake Sempach (in the Plateau region of the canton of Lucerne) as a local/regional tourism destination, or the support for the creation of regional networks and regional consumption of agricultural, industrial and service products in the trinational Basle metropolitan region (although the project covers the Swiss part only). Whether the respective regions will eventually be less marginal, however, remains to be seen as such programmes will become effective in the long run only. Disparities exist in Switzerland and have to be addressed, but they are discussed on a high level of equality. The country enjoys long-term political and economic stability and is a long way from countries where instability and economic weakness have been passed on from one generation to the next, thereby creating far greater discrepancies that we have experienced during the past more than hundred years. To what extent poorer countries with less people participation in the political process can/will afford the same ‘luxury’ of regional policy remains an open question.

References Aalbers, M. B. (2015). Financial geography: introduction to the virtual issue. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 40(2), 300–305. Brugger, E., & Frey, R. L. (1985). Regionalpolitik der Schweiz. Ziele, Probleme, Erfahrungen, Reformen. Paul Haupt: Bern. Chiffelle, F. (1982). Swiss agricultural policy in mountainous areas. Nordia, 17(1), 27–31. Cingano, F. (2014). Trends in income inequality and its impact on economic growth, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 163, OECD Publishing. Der Bundesrat (2018), Wirksamkeitsbericht 2016–2019 des Finanzausgleichs zwischen Bund und Kantonen, [Bern]. EFV (Eidgenössische Finanzverwaltung). (2018). Finanzstatistik der Schweiz 2016. Jahresbericht. Neuchâtel: OFS. FFA (Federal Finance Administration) (n.d.), National fiscal equalization: strengthening federalism, Berne. Retrieved on Google, February 21, 2019. Frey, R. L. (2011). Strukturwandel, neuer Finanzausgleich und neue Regionalpolitik. In SchneiderSliwa, R. (Ed.), Schweiz. Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. FSO. (2019). Schweizer Tourismusstatistik 2019. Neuchâtel: Federal Statistical Office. Gurría, A. (2015). Addressing growing inequality through inclusive growth: Insights for the US and Beyond. http://www.oecd.org/social/addressing-growing-inequality-through-inclusivegrowth-insights-for-the-us-and-beyond.htm. Accessed February 13, 2019. Jackson T. (2009). Prosperity without growth? The transition to a sustainable economy. Sustainable Development Commission.

64

W. Leimgruber

Lai, K. P. Y. (2016). Financial advisors, financial ecologies and the variegated financialisation of everyday investors. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 41(1), 27–40. Leimgruber, W. (1985). What is a mountain region? Innsbrucker Geographische Studien, 13, 99– 107. Leimgruber, W. (1986). From plain to mountain: zoning in Switzerland. Nordia, 20(1), 49–56. Leimgruber, W. (1995). L’espace des finances publiques. Les aspects fiscaux en géographie politique: le cas de la Suisse. Geographica Helvetica, 50(1), 12–20. Leimgruber, W. (2004). Between global and local. Marginality and marginal regkions in the context of globalization and deregulation. Aldershot: Ashgate. Leimgruber, W. (2008). Regional policy and the future of the countryside in Switzerland. Questiones Geographicae, Series B Human Geography and Spatial Management, 27B(1), 43–52. Leimgruber, W. (2013). The Swiss Jura. Reflections on Marginality. Croatian Geographical Bulletin, 75(1). Leimgruber, W. (2014). The scramble for land—saving the remains of rural space in Switzerland. Journal of Earth Science and Engineering, 4, 612–626. Leimgruber, W. (2018). Minorities—an expression of diversity and an exercise in tolerance. In S. Pelc & M. Koderman (Eds.), Nature, tourism and ethnicity as drivers of (De)Marginalization. Insights to marginality from perspective of sustainability and development (pp. 131–144). Cham: Springer. Leimgruber, W., & Hammer, T. (2002). Biosphere reserves: sustainable development of marginal regions? In H. Jussila, R. Majoral & B. Cullen (Eds.), Sustainable Development and Geographical Space. Issues of population, environment, globalization and education in marginal regions (pp. 129–144). Aldershot: Ashgate. Leimgruber, W., & Imhof, G. (1998). Remote alpine valleys and the problem of sustainability. In L Andersson & T Blom (Eds.), Sustainability and development. On the future of small society in a dynamic economy, pp. 385–396. Sweden: Univ. of Karlstad. Lendi, M., & Elsasser, H. (1985). Raumplanung in der Schweiz. Eine Einführung. Zürich: Verlag der Fachvereine. Müller, K. (1980). Der Ansatz der sozialen Indikatoren für die Messung regionaler Ungleichgewichte. In Programmleitung … (Ed.), pp. 129–151. OECD. (2019). Income inequality (indicator). https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality. htm. February 13, 2019. Programmleitung des Nationalen Forschungsprogrammes “Regionalprobleme in der Schweiz” (ed. 1980), Regionale Disparitäten—Disparités régionales”, Bern, NFP Regionalprobleme. Rudaz, G., Debarbieux, B. (2014). Die schweizerischen Berggebiete in der Politik, Zürich, vdf Hochschulverlag. Rugaber, C. S., & Boak, J. B. (2014). Wealth gap: A guide to what it is, why it matters. http://apn ews.excite.com/article/20140127/DABJ40P00.html. Accessed February 13, 2019. Schweizerischer Bundesrat. (2015). Politik des Bundes für die ländlichen Gebiete und Berggebiete. Bericht in Erfüllung der Motion 11.3927 Maissen vom 29. September 2011, Bericht vom 18. Februar 2015, Bern. Shiva, V. (1993). Monocultures of the mind: Perspectives on biodiversity and biotechnology. London, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. (Zed Books, Penang, Third World Network). Statistical Atlas of Switzerland. (online). Available Under https://www.atlas.bfs.admin.ch/. Stockar, C. (2004). Direkte bundessteuer. In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (vol. 3, pp. 745 f.), Basel: Schwabe. The Swiss Confederation. (2019). A brief guide Annual Publication, Available on Internet. https:// www.bk.admin.ch/bk/en/home/dokumentation/the-swiss-confederation–a-brief-guide.html. UNDP. (2018). Human development. Indices and indicators. Statistical update. New York: United Nations Development Programme. Walter-Busch E. (1980), Regionale Präferenzen im Spiegel der schweizerischen Rekrutenbefragung 1978, in: Programmleitung … (ed.), pp. 153–172. WID.world (2018), World Iinequality report 2018, World Inequality Lab.

Chapter 5

Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development—Some Narrative Stories from Podkarpackie, Poland Tomasz Komornicki and Konrad Czapiewski

5.1 Introduction The European Commission report on Competitiveness in low-income and lowgrowth regions (2017) distinguishes two kinds of lagging regions (i.e. those featuring low levels and low dynamics of their GDP). The two basic indicators mentioned are also frequently used as the foundation for the assessment of the direction of economic changes in space (territorial convergence or polarization). Against this background, of particular interest are the analyses, concerning regions, characterized by significant dynamics of changes. This is still valid for analyses, dealing with Central and Eastern European regions. Numerous studies have been undertaken in this region, concerning, for instance, the spatial consequences of the systemic transformation and then of the accession to the European Union, as well as the use of the funds made available through the Framework of the EU cohesion policy (see, e.g., Hepenciuc et al. 2013). There were also many analyses, related to the choice of objectives in regional policy, including the choice between the support for peripheral and marginalized areas (lagging regions; equitable, equilibrated, socially solidary development, etc.) and of metropolises (the “locomotives” of growth) (see Gorzelak and Jałowiecki 2000; Gorzelak 2009; or Churski 2011). Some work has been devoted, to the effectiveness of the investment projects (especially the infrastructural ones) in the context of their effect in terms of convergence processes. In the past few decades, in Europe, these kind of studies often focussed on what have been achieved in Spain, as the infrastructural program of Spain was exceptionally ambitious (Holl 2011). Along T. Komornicki · K. Czapiewski (B) Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00–818 Warsaw, Poland e-mail: [email protected] T. Komornicki e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 E. Nel and S. Pelc (eds.), Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization, Perspectives on Geographical Marginality 5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51342-9_5

65

66

T. Komornicki and K. Czapiewski

with the enlargement of the European Union the centre of gravity of investment into transport, and thus also focus of studies has also moved towards Central-Eastern Europe (see Komornicki and Stepniak 2015; Rosik et al. 2015; Rokicki and Stepniak 2018; Skorobogatova and Kuzmina-Merlino 2017). Peripherality and marginality in geography can be definitely be considered as terms referring to spatial polarization. However, while some authors (e.g. Jussila 1998; Leimgruber 1994) consider them as synonyms, others (e.g. Andreoli 1994; Pelc 2007; Máliková and Spišiak 2013) emphasize their different meanings. In this chapter, the term “lagging” is incorporated, which can be understood as marginalization in economic terms. One of the key examples of a lagging region in the European Union is the Polish province of Podkarpackie. It conforms to the basic typology, adopted in the DG Regio ‘lagging regions initiative’ (Competitiveness in low-income and low-growth regions 2017). This region qualifies to belong to this category due to its low level of development (GDP; low income region). On the other hand, the results quoted by Farole et al. (2018) indicate that against the background of the more broadly conceived development conditions (the Economic Potential Index—EPI) this province which should be economically strong remains surprisingly economically weak (the level of GDP is lower than implied by the model applied). This makes Podkarpackie an interesting example of a region with relatively a good development base and quite fast economic growth, which, at the same time, remains in the group of the least developed NUTS2 units in the entire European Union. The reasons for this situation can be sought in the specific socio-economic features of the area and in the internal differentiation of the province. This region (province) is among the five provinces in Poland with the lowest GDP per capita value. As such, it was included in the so called Eastern Poland Macroregion, to which a separate EU operational program is dedicated (2007–2013 and 2014–2020). This particular group of provinces constitutes, under the circumstances mentioned, a good reference point for the assessment of the rate of growth in the region and for the evaluation of the support mechanisms applied. The situation of these five Eastern Polish provinces is similar (there GDP per capita stands at about 70% of the national average in 2017) and is still distinctly different from that in the poorest of the remaining 11 provinces. On the other hand, against the background of this group, Podkarpackie featured, in relative terms the fastest improvement in its economic situation. The further, expected increases in the economic indicators were also most pronounced for this province. Hence, it can be proposed that the mix of undertakings of public and private stakeholders and the region’s endogenous resources have been used with particular effect in this area. In 2017, a new strategic document entitled the Responsible Development Strategy was released. It defines areas which are threatened by permanent marginalization, and makes provision for special interventions by central and local authorities. Such areas include the east and part of the south of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. The basis for their separation was the designation of communes characterized by social and economic marginalization. In the studied regions, 17 communes were included

5 Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development …

67

in the categories at risk of social marginalization, and as many as 60 units at risk of economic marginalization (Ba´nski et al. 2018). The objectives of the present chapter are: • to attempt a comprehensive explanation of the reasons for the economic lag and marginalization of the region, • to indicate the endogenous factors, which potentially positively influence and improve the situation in the region, • to determine the main reasons, why the improvement of the economic situation of the region during the recent years was faster than in the other provinces of Eastern Poland, paying particular consideration of the assessment of activity of the regional and local stakeholders, • to assess how general development influenced the internal socio-economic differentiations and marginalization processes inside the region. In the following sections of this chapter we first detail the level of development of the region, paying special attention to location-and-transport factors (spatial accessibility) and economic and social factors. Then, against this background, the endogenous undertakings are considered and assessed, which could improve the existing situation and reverse marginalization. In the summary, reference is made to the above objectives, and effectiveness of public sector interventions are evaluated. The chapter makes use of the results from Komornicki and Czapiewski (2016), Komornicki et al. (2018), as well as Ba´nski et al. (2013). In the part, concerning the development of infrastructure and the spatial accessibility, use was made of the potential accessibility indicator (the respective methodology having been described more broadly in, e.g., Komornicki and Czapiewski 2016, and in Rosik et al. 2015).

5.2 Marginalization Factors The region has a unique history and culture. After the partition of Poland (at the end of the eighteenth century), till 1918 the area of the present Podkarpackie Voivodeship was under the rule of the Habsburg Monarchy. As part of their empire, it constituted a peripheral area separated by the Carpathians from its core, and further away from the largest centers of the so-called Galicia (Cracow and Lviv). In the period 1918– 1939 it was located in southern Poland. Due to the distance from both the German and Soviet borders, it was considered safe for industrial investments (especially in defense). Until World War II, there was a complex ethnic and religious structure here. The urban areas were inhabited by Poles and Jews. In the countryside, especially in the southern and eastern parts, a large percentage of residents were Ukrainians or a highlander Orthodox population (Lemka). After 1945, the Ukrainian and Lemka populations was forcibly displaced to the Soviet Union and the land was taken over from Germany in western and northern Poland, with the Polish population remaining. The inhabitants of Podkarpacie are also characterized by strong connections with the

68

T. Komornicki and K. Czapiewski

Catholic church (which has the highest rates of participation in religious rites in the country). A key feature of the region is the internal diversity of its natural environment. The lowland area in the north is characterized by weak soils and large forest complexes. The foothill strip is the most intensively populated and developed. The southern part of the region includes the Carpathians Mountains, where as a result of the displacement of Ukrainians, the population density is among the lowest in the country. In many valleys, landscape renaturalization has taken place there. There are two national parks and a large reservoir and hydroelectric power plant on the San. A significant distinguishing factor (from other Polish regions) of this province is also the specific character of the rural settlement system, with very small farms in the foothills and on the other hand with farming dispersal and low population density in the Carpathians. The result is the weak farming economy, featuring high degrees of atomisation, low commercial orientation and employment of too many people. At the same time, rural areas lack an alternative to food production. Agriculture has very low economic significance in the region, but one should remember its continued role associated with the building of identity and culture, and ensuring subsistence at some basic level, as well as being a kind of social security. The province of Podkarpackie is characterised, at the same time, by one of the highest, on the national scale, potentials associated with natural and also cultural conditions. This is connected both with the high share of protected areas (including two national parks) and a high share of forest areas.

5.2.1 Geographical Location and Transport Accessibility A positive characteristic of the province of Podkarpackie is the radially-concentric setting of the main urban centres, being the growth poles. This aspect ought to be conducive to the polycentric development of the region and to the transfer of innovations to the rural areas. The polycentric structure of the settlement network and the labour market (allowing for a high intensity of commuter flows) is associated with the relatively even distribution of the growth poles, facilitating innovation transfer. On the other hand, the development of the region is slowed down by its peripheral location with respect to the national growth poles and poorly permeable eastern border with Western Ukraine, and, in particular, the agglomeration of Lvov which under other circumstances could be a sales market for the products and services offered by the province of Podkarpackie. Further negative impacts on regional development are caused by low level of incomes of the population and low competitiveness of the economy in comparison with the strongest regions of the country. At the level of the European analyses the province of Podkarpackie is located peripherally, and its accessibility is low (Banski et al. 2013). The indicators of the potential accessibility are lower than in the regions of southern Europe, situated at similar distances from the economic core of the European Union. The transport system of Podkarpackie must also service the transit flows, first of all to the

5 Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development …

69

Ukraine. However, the geopolitical changes, which took place in 2014, brought about a decrease in the heavy loads traffic across the Polish-Ukrainian border, while, at the same time, the passenger traffic has still been increasing. In the case of freight traffic, this is the result of a weakening of economic relations between Poland (and also all of Europe) and the eastern oblast’s of Ukraine affected by the war. The increase in the passenger traffic can be associated in part with refugees from war-torn areas, and in part with the generally increasing international mobility of Ukrainians after an unstable internal situation. At present, the main transport axis of the province is constituted by the East-West corridor, with the A4 motorway and the E-30 railway. New road and railway projects have improved the accessibility of the central part of the region. At the same time, the southern part of the region remained clearly separated from the transport system of the country (Fig. 5.1). There is an international airport in Rzeszów, servicing some 770,000 passengers per year (2018). The basis for its functioning is constituted by

Fig. 5.1 Road potential accessibility (RoAI) in Poland 2015. The study area is outlined in red. Cartography by S. Goliszek

70

T. Komornicki and K. Czapiewski

the connections to Warsaw (given the still poor road and railway accessibility to the capital of the country), and the low-cost of airline flights. The most important barrier to development is constituted by the transport separation from central Poland, in particular from Warsaw (despite the investment projects undertaken (see Komornicki et al. 2015). Another important barrier is the poor links between some areas in the voivodship to the new road and rail infrastructure crossing the region on the east-west line. This constrains the positive economic influence exerted by the relatively rapidly developing centres of the middle and western parts of the region (Rzeszów, D˛ebica, Mielec) on the less dynamic areas with lower levels of human capital. Low accessibility is conducive to the migration outflow, which could be partly replaced by the longer job commuting trips, or by the establishment of appropriately located new jobs. Of importance is also the poor spatial accessibility of the southern part of the region (despite the transport-related projects, implemented in its centre).

5.2.2 Economic Situation The most fundamental economic measure which is used in the analyses of the economic situation of countries and regions, is that of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Podkarpackie has developed at a rate similar to that observed for the neighbouring Lubelskie province, yet, the strong dynamics (of both GDP per capita and labour productivity) is highly concentrated in the subregion of Rzeszów. Distinctly lower dynamics, even though higher than the Polish average, has been observed in the subregion of Krosno, while the gap, with regard to the national average increased in the period considered for the subregions of Tarnobrzeg and Przemy´sl. Yet, in the case of these subregions the low values of these indicators do not fully reflect the economic situation. They should be perceived against the background of a specific demographic structure (the relatively higher number of children compared with other areas of the country) and of the probably high share of the grey economy, as well as the ´ existence of capital, accumulated through private international transfers (Sleszy´ nski et al. 2016). The position of Podkarpackie in the ranking of Polish regions, according to the GDP per capita measure, has been undergoing a distinct improvement. It is expected that this tendency will persist over the next decade. An especially significant development potential for Podkarpackie province is linked to the location of the aircraft industries (whose roots date back to the 1930s, when this area was far from all national borders) and the existence of the associated specialised technical scientific and managerial personnel in the province. There is a high degree of involvement of the enterprise sector in the financing of research and an increasing significance of technical and engineering foci in academic education. The number of students attending both general and technical universities in the region is higher than the average in the country, and the system of higher education is strongly concentrated in Rzeszów. An additional asset of the region is constituted by its diversified industrial production branches, ranging from food processing

5 Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development …

71

to high-tech industries. New investment is spatially selective nature (focussing on the areas which were previously industrialised, which have adequate human capital resources); which contrasts with the difficulties which exist in terms of trying to generate development within the peripheral areas. The location of new investment remained path dependent. The economic situation of the regions remains under the influence of its location close to the outer boundary of the European Union. The consequence is the strong dependence of the economy in the eastern part of the region upon the ties with Ukraine, which is based in part upon near-the-border unofficial trade exchange. This dependence may constrain the modernisation processes in the production sector and limit the search for the alternative sales markets. Consequently, this would mean strong exposure to the macroeconomic and geopolitical threats.

5.2.3 The Demographic Situation The demographic potential ought to be considered as one of the main assets for the development of Podkarpackie province. The demographic structure, with high share of relatively young persons is an advantageous feature of the region. In addition, the regional society is economically mobile, as witnessed by the daily job commuting. A disadvantageous phenomenon is constituted by the outflow of young and well educated persons out of the region (mainly migrating to Warsaw and Cracow, as well as on a temporary basis to other countries). In Podkarpackie, natural growth partially compensates for the outmigration (Fig. 5.2), and it is expected that the region will continue trend of a gradual population decline in the foreseeable future, having total population at 88% of current level in 2050 (Population projection 2014–2050, 2014). In this province, the spatial pattern of demographic changes is in accordance with a polycentric urban system: the highest population growth is seen in suburban areas, and the highest decline, driven by outmigration, is typical for the peripheral and rural parts of the region. The province analysed features a negative migration balance. Part of the population continues to migrate to other places in Poland and abroad (as it is typical for all Eastern Polish regions), since the region generates relatively few well-paid new jobs, while the wages offered are among the lowest in the country. Podkarpackie has been, for more than 100 years now, experiencing high emigration of its inhabitants, both abroad and within the country. This has been due to the high natural increase, small farm acreages, and very limited development of industry in some parts of the region. Migration inflow to the Functional Urban Area of Rzeszów originates primarily from the neighbouring eastern areas of Podkarpackie province. The western part of the province remains under the strong influence of the Cracow centre, which receives some of the out-migrants. One can also observe the local migration catchments of the subregional centres, namely Przemy´sl, Krosno and Mielec. The migration catchment area of Rzeszów generally does not exceed the territory of the province.

72

T. Komornicki and K. Czapiewski

Fig. 5.2 Difference of demographic dynamics of population changes in Podkarpackie. Source Own elaboration based on data from Central Statistical Office

To sum up, an important fact to note to the degree to which the outmigration is balanced by the relatively (in relation to the national average) high natural increase. There is a constant migration outflow, including the outflow of the better educated population (the brain drain) to the domestic metropolises and abroad. This causes weakening of the human capital. Even though the current demographic structure of the province is still advantageous when compared to the rest of the country, the first symptoms of the worsening of the situation have already appeared. First of all, an increased migration drain in the direction of Warsaw and Cracow, as well as abroad, must be noted. On the other hand, due to foreign emigration, the monetary transfers from abroad, amplify the demand for goods and individual investments.

5.3 Development Potential Conforming with the assumptions, of the ESPON ATTREG project (Espon Attreg Final Report 2013), the development potential of the region depends largely upon its attractiveness in social and economic terms, which can be treated as a precondition for development or as an essential dimension of competitiveness for different stakeholders. The possibility of improving the socio-economic situation in lagging regions

5 Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development …

73

depends upon the actions, undertaken, on the one hand, by the international institutions (i.e. the EU), and the national central and local government administration, and, on the other hand—on the decisions of investors, residents and the potential migrants, as well as visitors, coming to the region. All these actions and decisions may amount to overcoming of the lagging nature of the region and may lead to regional development. Various authors, including, in particular, Gorzelak and Jałowiecki (2000), ´ Sobala-Gwosdz (2005), and Slusarz (2005), assess the development of Podkarpackie from the perspective of endogenous development strategy.

5.3.1 Regional Administration, and the Development of Human Capital and R&D The membership of Poland in the European Union and the access to funds in the framework of the cohesion policy was a significant factor in streamlining development policy in the Polish regions. Side by side with the inflow of resources there were also important institutional factors, expressed, in particular, in the necessity of longerhorizon planning, through the obligation to develop a number of strategic documents, and in the requirement of an adequate evaluation of the projects undertaken. One of the objectives of the reform of the administrative division of Poland, introduced in 1999, was to establish the units, which could be the effective recipients of the EU structural funds. The very first support from the European Union reached the Podkarpackie province before 2004 in the form of the pre-accession programs (PHARE, and thereafter also ISPA). In contrast to other countries of the EU, Poland has been, and still is, distributing an important part of the funds through the intermediary of the Regional Operational Programs. This has empowered the provincial self-governmental authorities, turning these agencies into strong actors shaping the provincial space. Concerning this case, there was also the Operational Programme: Development of Eastern Poland (which is centrally supervised). Within the border areas of Podkarpackie, a supplementary role was fulfilled by the projects from the program of the European Territorial Cooperation (Poland-Ukraine and Poland-Slovakia). The Strategy of Development of the Province—Podkarpackie 2020 is the most important document in the region and is based on the preceding strategies of development of the province and on other strategic documents, as well as expert opinions, which have been developed over time. According to the Strategy, the province shall in the coming years become “the area of sustainable and intelligent economic development, making use of internal potentials and the transboundary location, ensuring high life quality for its inhabitants” (Strategia Rozwoju Województwa— Podkarpackie 2020, 2013). This vision was constructed following the analysis of the needs of the region, considering the experiences to date, and the possibilities for using the potential of the region. The Strategy concentrates on four strategic domains, whose support will contribute to the strengthening of the regional potential and to its

74

T. Komornicki and K. Czapiewski

development. The domains were identified in the analysis, conducted in the course of preparation of the auxiliary documents and the very Strategy: 1. Deploying the advantages of the region on the basis of creative specialisations, as an expression of building of the national and international competitiveness. 2. Development of human and social capitals as the factors of innovativeness and the improvement of the living standards of the inhabitants. 3. Improvement of accessibility and of the functional-spatial cohesion as the element of building the development potential of the region. 4. Rational and effective use of resources, with care for the natural environment, as the way for securing the safety and good living conditions of the inhabitants and the economic development of the province. To establish the significant competitive advantages in the regions, adequate personnel is necessary. The institutional potential results directly from the human capital educated in the region. There are 14 university level schools in the province of Podkarpackie. The biggest of them are located in the capital of the region—namely the University of Rzeszów and the University of Technology of Rzeszów, along with some non-public higher education establishments. Location of large higher schools in Rzeszów causes that the region is characterised by the highly monocentric structure of university education—three out of four students study in Rzeszów. The graduates of such fields of studies as exact sciences and engineering-and-technology constitute only one sixth of the respective total, while these fields are the most desired from the point of view of the labour market. The innovation potential of the provinces is determined, as well, side by side with the numbers and specialisations of the graduates, by the employment in the research-and-development sector, and by the patent applications. There are over 300 units involved in R + D activities, functioning in Podkarpackie, while ten years ago there were only 50 such entities. There has been a significant increase in the number of respective units over the last two decades, along with the increase in the number of persons, employed in them. A positive feature of this sector is constituted by the advantageous structure of expenditure into these activities, since more than half of funds comes from the business sector, while only a minor part comes from the state budget (this being a notable exception in Poland). During the last more than ten years the province of Podkarpackie distinctly changed its orientation in terms of regional development towards the promotion of innovation, research and development and advanced technologies. The respective initiatives can be perceived both in the strategic objectives of development and in the statistical indicators. Yet, the region is highly monocentric (centralistic) in terms of concentration of various kinds of educational and research and development institutions (primarily in Rzeszów), and so, various kinds of indicators, expressed per capita for the region, place the region favourably compared to the national scale, however this masks internal regional differences.

5 Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development …

75

5.3.2 Special Economic Zones and Foreign Investors The development of industry in the province of Podkarpackie is strongly associated with the traditions of the Central Industrial District (whose development started just before the World War II) and of the Carpathian Oil Basin, as well as with the dynamic industrialization of the region in the period of socialism. The area has a highly differentiated branch structure of industry, with marked dominance of aircraft, machine, chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. There has also been an increase in number of computer companies developing in the vicinity of industrial towns, and also being based in Rzeszów around the functioning academic institutions, and the recently established clusters of aircraft industries. Since transformation joining the European Union, the inflow of foreign direct investments increased rapidly in Poland. This has been widely experienced, partly due, to the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Special Economic Zones were created on the basis of a special law of 1994. The lower tax rates on business entities (CIT, property tax) operating in these zones was reduced after accession to the EU. At the same time, EU regulations have limited the possibility of creating new Zones. For this reason, with time, the SEZs could form sub-zones— oftentimes in other provinces. After accession to the EU, new zones could not be formally proclaimed. There are two special economic zones in Podkarpackie: the one of Euro-Park-Mielec (with 22 sub-zones) and the one of Tarnobrzeg (with altogether 15 sub-zones), as well as three sub-zones of the special economic zone of Cracow (Fig. 5.3). Numerous smaller foreign investment projects are located in these zones. The spatial distribution of the foreign direct investments, and also the distribution of foreign trade, correlates with the distribution of the special economic zones. Zones can be considered to constitute successful examples of institutional undertakings, oriented to develop the region of Podkarpackie. The zones are based on earlier existing human capital and industrial traditions. The scale of success, though, depends upon historical factors and the branch structure (path dependency). The spatial distribution of the sub-zones is a key feature. They are concentrated in the earlier industrialised western part of the province and in towns situated outside of the province. This confirms the proposition that the instrument of development, constituted by the Special Economic Zones, turned out to be useful in re-industrialisation and overcoming of the post-transformation crisis. It did not bring, though, the expected effects with respect to the stimulation of development in the peripheral areas. Among the provinces of the macroregion of Eastern Poland it was Podkarpackie that was the unquestioned leader in acquiring foreign investments. Inside the province, the unquestioned leader is the county of Mielec, with the Special Economic Zone of Mielec and the investments into the aircraft industries (Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation—investment in the Polish Aircraft Enterprises of Mielec). Important foreign investments concentrate also in Rzeszów (e.g. Dolina Lotnicza—Polish Aircraft Enterprises of Rzeszów), in Jasło, D˛ebica (tyre production—Goodyear), as

76

T. Komornicki and K. Czapiewski

Fig. 5.3 Location of Special Economic Zones, science parks and clusters in Podkarpackie Region. Cartography by M. Mazur

well as in Przeworsk (food industry). The eastern part of Podkarpackie is practically devoid of foreign investments. The effects of attracting external investors, undertaken in the province of Podkarpackie, ought to be assessed as a positive outcome. The basis for these activities was constituted, though, mainly by the pre-existing resources. A part of the investments had a brownfield character and was the consequence of the process of the privatisation of the former state enterprises. Other ones arose on the basis of the special economic zones. Simultaneously, though, the inflow of capital into the areas that had been most economically lagging and not industrialised before, was

5 Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development …

77

insignificant. Hence, Podkarpackie represents an instance of a region, which effectively used external capital, for purposes of re-industrialisation. Yet, the inflow of capital brought the deepening of the differentiation inside the region. This inflow in terms of development dynamics was however territorially selective (took place only in some cities and in the surrounding areas).

5.3.3 European Funds and Transport Accessibility Improvement The influence of the funds from the European Union on the development of Podkarpackie ought to be assessed positively. Their long-term impact cannot yet at present time be quantified. It is possible, though, to assess their significance for the establishment of the potential conditions for development. The undertakings, carried out in the framework of the particular operational programmes, were to an extent complementary, although one can find examples to the contrary. In some cases an excess dissipation of founds might have also taken place. The scale of the intervention, co-financed from the European funds, appears in the analyses mainly through its value per capita. This perspective appears to be intuitively justified, yet, it should be remembered that the same value in financial terms has different significance for the different economic regions. The regions of Eastern Poland (including Podkarpackie) are, at the same time, the (five) provinces, featuring the lowest GDP per capita in Poland. That is why the significance of the intervention in the framework of the cohesion policy (in particular—of its demand component) is for the macroregion in question much higher than in the other provinces. This observation is confirmed by the detailed analyses of: the level of support from the EU in the region of Podkarpackie, measured over the period of seven years, attained 3–5% growth of GDP for this area. In many regions of Western Poland the value did not exceed 2% (Fig. 5.4). In the period 2007–2013 the biggest investment projects, supported by the European Union (ERDF and Cohesion Fund) were realized through the framework of the centrally managed Operational Program Infrastructure and Environment. Also, the changes in the accessibility have been taking place primarily as an effect of investment projects, co-financed by the European Union. This concerns, first of all, the entire northern and central parts of Podkarpackie (the A4 motorway). It is characteristic that the EU-supported projects had a distinctly lesser importance in the area of the Carpathians and within their immediate foothills (Fig. 5.5). It should be remembered that the changes in accessibility within these areas were generally quite limited. One obtains a much more spatially diversified image when assessing the improvement of accessibility from the effects of projects, undertaken in the framework of the above mentioned regional program and the program of Development of Eastern Poland. The effectiveness of the particular projects undertaken was highly differentiated. The significance of the modernisation projects, carried out in the framework

78

T. Komornicki and K. Czapiewski

Fig. 5.4 Level of funds absorbed by subprovinces in relation to their GDP in the period 2007–2013. Cartography by S. Goliszek

of Regional Operational Programme, was limited and spatially constrained within particular municipalities.

5.3.4 Tourism Development Podkarpackie has never been among the main tourist areas of Poland. Its respective potential is based on the thinly populated mountain areas (Eastern Carpathians, from where the Ukrainian population was resettled after the World War II) and a couple of historical towns. After 1989, tourist traffic increased, owing to the opening of the eastern boundary, which resulted in the inflow of the citizens of Ukraine, dealing with petty trade. Transit traffic increased, as well. Both these categories of traffic,

5 Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development …

79

Fig. 5.5 Changes of the potential road accessibility in Poland (2007–2015). Cartography by S. Goliszek

though, did not generate demand for the more modern tourist infrastructure. Changes with this respect took place after 2000, along with the increase of wealth of the Polish society and the accession to the EU, associated with the inflow of a higher number of foreign tourists. Development of tourism became one of the objectives of policies of the provincial authorities. Within the Regional Operational Program of the province of Podkarpackie a priority axis was, identified, “Increase of quality of social infrastructure and investments into cultural heritage, tourism and sports”. On the other hand, one of the priority axes of the Operational Program Development of Eastern Poland in the years 2007–2013 was “Sustainable tourism based on natural assets”. In its framework, in particular, the bicycle path was constructed, crossing the entire Eastern Poland (“GreenVelo”). The main centre of the international tourist traffic is constituted by Rzeszów. The traffic, which is registered in the capital of Podkarpackie, as well as in Mielec, is of business character. The locations, where higher numbers

80

T. Komornicki and K. Czapiewski

of stays of leisure and sightseeing character are observed, are situated in Bieszczady Mountains. The domestic traffic is also concentrated in the Carpathians, in Rzeszów, and in several health resorts. In the years 2005–2018 the number of overnight stays of domestic tourists in Podkarpackie increased from 1.5 million to 2.8 million, and the number of overnight stays of foreign tourists increased from 130,000 to 213,000. The rates of increase observed were somewhat higher than on the average in the country, which might be considered as indicating a moderate success of the policy implemented.

5.4 Conclusions Regional development is the process of positively oriented changes in all elements of a given spatial system, that is—in the economic potential and structure, the natural environment, the infrastructural equipment, the living levels of the inhabitants, as well as the spatial order and organisation. Hence, the fundamental development factor consists in the activation of the internal potential of the region, determined by the initially available resources. Resources are perceived as having a certain value, which a given place disposes of, and which corresponds to the attractiveness of the area, and, in addition, can be effectively made use of. In brief, we can refer to these resources as to the potential of a given area. It should be noted that a definite object (whether material or non-material), can be treated as a resource, provided it is perceived as this “something” that can be used to produce goods or services. The value of a given resource, therefore, is not only contained in its “objective value”, but also in the way, in which it is perceived and evaluated in a given situation, hence—by the manner, in which it is “valued” by the others (inhabitants, authorities, migrants, tourists, investors). With this respect it is not only important to base development on endogenous resources, but also on the full use of the available external initiatives (in the form of flow of means, ideas, investments, or people). The development-oriented activities, conducted at the regional level, were in agreement with these prerequisites. When assessing the general scope of interventions with regard to overcoming marginalization of the Podkarpackie region, at different administrative levels, it needs to be recognised that this intervention: • was significant, taking into account the mix of programs of the European Union and of Poland’s own instruments, in particular—the development of the Special Economic Zones; • was based on the earlier recognised and used resources (human capital, natural resources, those resulting from the location—the near-the-border location in particular), but which to only to a limited degree made use of the new foundations for the endogenous development; • was object-wise concentrated (more so than in other provinces) and clearly supported the development of innovations and of the R + D sector;

5 Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development …

81

• in the spatial setting it repeated to a certain degree the earlier differentiations inside the region, and hence was not effective as regards the evening out of the territorial differences (in spite of the relatively pronounced role, which is played in the regional economy by the eastern part of the province); • regarding the infrastructural projects it increased the internal polarisation as to the levels of accessibility (preference for the central part of the region); • overestimated the significance of some of the sectors of economy (tourism); • in some cases it was too short-term (limited perspective of the consecutive selfgovernmental elections), e.g. oriented at the resolution of the unemploymentrelated problems, while in the long run the bigger problem is constituted (especially in the productive sector) by the shortage of main d’oeuvre, may not be addressed. The activities, undertaken by the central authorities, as well as by the regional and local ones, were not always sufficiently complementary. This concerns, for instance, the road investments (connecting the local routes with the new motorway). The reflection of the lack of complementarity can also be seen in the interregional dimension (neighbouring provinces). Summing up, though, it should be admitted that the scale and structure of the activities undertaken was constructive in terms of development of the province. Its assessment cannot, therefore, explain the relative lagging of Podkarpackie, analysed in the present report. This can be seen, in particular, in the improvement of the position of the region in the group of provinces of eastern Poland. Hence, a proposition could be forwarded that in case of lack of intervention in the period after accession, the region would have now been in a much weaker position. The development-oriented activities were, therefore, sufficient for stopping of the negative processes, taking place in the region. At present, their effect is reflected in the high dynamics of development (higher than in some regions of western Poland), but cannot yet bring the effect in the form of the persistent high level of the GDP. At the same time, the policies implemented have not been evening out in a stable and significant manner the internal differences in levels of accessibility, enterprise development and living standards. This is an argument for the continuation of the interventions undertaken, in particular—in the domain of the development of transport infrastructure. It should be emphasised that there is a strong internal (inside the region) differentiation with respect socio-economic development measures, and retarded development, especially in the eastern and to a certain degree also in the southern parts of the region; in effect, the overall values of the development indices balance out at the level of the entire province. It also seems necessary to attempt to support the emerging strong industrial pole, based on the network of several medium-sized towns in the western part of the region (chemical, pharmaceutical, agricultural and food, and metallurgical industries, and the concentration of the educational facilities which their focus on the economic specialisations of the region) and on the network of strong internal connections between companies. More debatable remains the effectiveness of the activities, aiming at the development of human capital, which was definitely lowered by the outflow of the educated

82

T. Komornicki and K. Czapiewski

and more enterprising inhabitants. It is true that the authorities undertook activities meant to stop the migration outflow of the better educated population (e.g. through doctoral scholarships, with conditions of 5 years of work in the region after having been promoted). The efficiency of these undertakings, though, was quite moderate. There were a lack of initiatives, aiming at the strengthening of the networks of social interconnections, and poor support for grassroots initiatives, and the development of the civil society. On the other hand, it was becoming increasingly important to gain unskilled workers from beyond the border. This concerned, first of all, the neighbouring Ukraine. In this case, lack of a well thought out immigration policy can be clearly seen on both the local and the regional levels. Natural qualities, high level of social capital of the inhabitants, rich traditions and culture, and high degree of regional identity—ought to be used and promoted in the attempts of improving the competitive position of the region. The additional assets of the region are constituted by the high level of population density (especially in the central-western part), systematically improving technical infrastructure, high demand for labour, relatively high demand in terms of internal consumption, high number of potential employees living not far from the main development centres of the region, as well as the potential advantages accruing from the location at the border with Ukraine. The province of Podkarpackie will certainly not become in the near future the most competitive region in Poland, but appropriately directed undertakings may lead to the appearance and development of the enterprises, for which exactly the factors, mentioned above, will be essential, rather than the very high share of the well educated people or the good spatial accessibility to the global markets. Acknowledgements This paper is based on the reports, prepared by the authors for the World Bank in the framework of the project entitled “Polish Lagging Regions”.

References Andreoli M. (1994). Development and marginalization in Liguria Region. In D. C. Chang-Yi et al. (Eds.), Marginality and development issues in marginal regions. Proceedidngs of IGU Study Group (pp. 41–61). Taipei: National Taiwan University and IGU. Ba´nski, J., Czapiewski, K., Ferenc, B., Mazur, M., Konopski, M., & Solon, B. (2013). Badanie potencjałów i specjalizacji województwa podkarpackiego. IGiPZ PAN, Warszawa-Rzeszów: UMWM. ´ Ba´nski, J., Degórski, M., Komornicki, T., & Sleszy´ nski, P. (2018). The delimitation of areas of strategic intervention in Poland: A methodological trial and its results. Moravian Geographical Reports, 26(2), 84-94. Churski P. (2011). Obszary wzrostu i obszary stagnacji gospodarczej w Polsce—kontekst teoretyczny. [w:] P. Churski P. (red.), Zró˙znicowania regionalne w Polsce (Vol. 248, pp. 9–43). Warszawa: Biuletyn KPZK PAN. Competitiveness in low-income and low-growth regions. (2017). The lagging regions report. Brussels: European Commission. ESPON ATTREG. (2013). The Attractiveness of European regions and cities for residents and visitors. Luxembourg: ESPON.

5 Economically Lagging Regions and Regional Development …

83

Farole, T., Goga, S., & Ionescu-Heroiu, M. (2018). Rethinking lagging regions. Using cohesion policy to deliver on the potential of Europe’s regions. Washington, D.C: World Bank. Gorzelak G. (2009). Fakty i mity rozwoju regionalnego, Studia Regionalne i Lokalne 2(36)/2009, 5–27. Gorzelak G., Jałowiecki B. (2000). Konkurencyjno´sc´ regionów. Studia Regionalne i Lokalne, 1(1)/2000, 7–24. Hepenciuc, C. V., Morosan, A. A., & Arionesei, G. (2013). Absorpcion of structural funds— International comparisons and correlations. Procedia Economics and Finance, 6(2013), 259–272. Holl, A. (2011). Factors influencing the location of new motorways: large scale motorway building in Spain. Journal of Transport Geography, 19(2011), 1282–1293. Jussila, H. (1998). Marginality in regional policy research: A view from the Nordic countries. In H. Jussila, W. Leimgruber & R. Majoral (Eds.), Perception of marginality: Theoretical issues and regional perceptions of marginality (217–235). Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing. ´ etokrzyskie and Podkarpackie Komornicki, T., & Czapiewski, K. (2016) Regional development in Swi˛ Regions. Background analysis for the project “Polish Lagging Regions”. Warsaw: World Bank. Komornicki, T., Rosik, P., Szejgiec-Kolenda, B., Goliszek, S., & Duma, P. (2018). Analiza potencjałów i kierunków wykorzystania lotnisk i l˛adowisk zlokalizowanych na obszarze województwa podkarpackiego. IGiPZ PAN, Warszawa-Rzeszów: UMWM. Komornicki, T., & St˛epniak, M. (2015). New investment projects in the road corridors and the improvement of the potential accessibility in Poland. EUROPA XXI, 28, 30–51. Komornicki, T., Zaucha, J., Szejgiec, B., & Wi´sniewski, R. (2015). Powi˛azania eksportowe gospodarki lokalnej w warunkach zmiennej koniunktury—analiza przestrzenna (Export linkages of local economy in the changing economic situation—spatial analysis), Prace Geograficzne (Vol. 250). Warszawa: IGiPZ PAN. Leimgruber W. (1994). Marginality and marginal regions: Problems of definition. In D. C Chang-Yi et al. (Eds.), Marginality and development issues in marginal regions. Proceedidngs of IGU Study Group (pp. 1–18). Taipei: National Taiwan University and IGU. Máliková, L., & Spišiak, P. (2013). Vybrané problémy marginality a periférnosti vidieckych regiónov na Slovensku. Acta Geographica Universitatis Comenianae, 57, 51–70. Oszacowanie warto´sci WMDT i wska´zników gał˛eziowych 2007–2013 na potrzeby ewaluacji ex post NSRO 2007-2013, 2015, IGiPZ PAN, Warszawa. Pelc, S. (2007). Geographical marginality as a research topic in Slovenian geography. Geografski vestnik, 84, 209–217. Population projection 2014–2050. (2014). Central Statistical Office, Warsaw. Rokicki, B., & St˛epniak, M. (2018). Major transport infrastructure investment and regional economic development—An accessibility-based approach. Journal of Transport Geography, 72, 36–49. Rosik, P., St˛epniak, M., & Komornicki, T. (2015). The decade of the big push to roads in Poland: impact on improvement in accessibility and territorial cohesion from a policy perspective. Transport Policy, 37, 134–146. Skorobogatova, O., & Kuzmina-Merlino, I. (2017). Transport infrastructure development performance. Procedia Engineering, 178(2017), 319–329. Sobala-Gwosdz, A. (2005). O´srodki wzrostu i obszary stagnacji w województwie podkarpackim. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiello´nski. Strategia Rozwoju Województwa—Podkarpackie 2020. (2013). Samorz˛ad Województwa Podkarpackiego, Rzeszów. ´ Sleszy´ nski, P., Ba´nski, J., Degórski, M., Komornicki, T. (2016). Delimitacja obszarów strategicznej interwencji pa´nstwa: obszarów wzrostu i obszarów problemowych, report for the Ministry of Development, Warszawa. ´ Slusarz, G. (2005). Studium społeczno-ekonomicznych uwarunkowa´n rozwoju obszarów wiejskich w s´wietle zagro˙zenia marginalizacj˛a na przykładzie województwa podkarpackiego. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. Wpływ funduszy europejskich perspektywy finansowej 2007–2013 na rozwój społeczno-gospodarczy gospodarczy Polski Wschodniej. (2015). imapp, pc ++, Warszawa.

Chapter 6

Nature Parks: Valorising Regional Potential—The Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut Regional Nature Park (Fribourg/Vaud, Switzerland) Walter Leimgruber

6.1 Nature Conservation: A Mosaic Stone in Improving Human-Nature Relations Human–nature relationships have varied throughout history. After the industrial revolution they have been characterized by the increasingly strong dominance of humans. This has resulted in a steady deterioration of the environment to the extent that the future of mankind is in jeopardy. “In several ways we are unintentionally at war with Gaia, and to survive with our civilization intact we urgently need to make a just peace with Gaia while we are strong enough to negotiate and not a defeated, broken rabble on the way to extinction” (Lovelock 2006, p. 153). This requires a need to work with nature, not against it, in order to develop an interplay (co-evolution) between natural and human forces (Sahtouris 1993, p. 117). In order to achieve this aim, we must accept biological and cultural diversity, which is indispensable for the survival of the ecosystem (including humans). This insight is the motivation behind reflections on conservation issues. Conservation is a social concept, based on the perception of species or landscape and our heritage deserving to be protected. Many reasons can be offered for nature conservation. Settlement expansion gnaws at the limited resources land and nature, and technological progress threatens our cultural heritage. However, humans need nature and culture for survival; nature satisfies most of our basic needs (Max-Neef 1991, p. 32), providing for subsistence (food supply), protection (hiding places), affection (evoking emotions), understanding (finding one’s place in the world), idleness (leisure activities), identity (feeling at ease) and freedom (the spontaneity of nature and its processes).

W. Leimgruber (B) University of Fribourg/CH, Fribourg, Switzerland e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 E. Nel and S. Pelc (eds.), Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization, Perspectives on Geographical Marginality 5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51342-9_6

85

86

W. Leimgruber

Fig. 6.1 The economic value of biological diversity. Source Edwards and Abivardi (1998, p. 241)

In our epoch of materialistic thinking, the usefulness of everything must be proved, nature and culture included. The biologists Edwards and Abivardi (1998, p. 241) have outlined the economic value of biodiversity (Fig. 6.1), thereby demonstrating that this value can—at least partially—be calculated in monetary terms. The mere service of flood control and soil fertility maintenance (which are very costly) can justify the protection of forests and of agroecological practices, to say nothing of their incalculable emotional, educational and recreational value (ibid., p. 242). This perspective can also be applied to cultural diversity because of the varied creative potential of all human actors (Leimgruber 2004b, p. 31). This variety helps humankind to survive: each situation demands different strategies to arrive at a solution, and cultural diversity (Fig. 6.2) is an essential building block, containing also use and non-use values. Since the Neolithic Revolution, humans have subdued nature to satisfy their material demands. Although large areas were cleared for agriculture, most early interventions were in relative harmony with nature, because human technology used tools directly derived from it, and the waste returned back into the natural resource cycle. Even later technologies had limited impacts; rather it was urbanization that led to widespread destructions of the environment. A documented example is classical Greece, where in one of Plato’s dialogues, Critias complains of the massive deforestation in the surrounding hills of Athens, which left the mountains almost completely bare and allowed free runoff of rainwater (Plato 360 BCE). In large parts of Europe deforestation in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries decimated the

6 Nature Parks: Valorising Regional Potential—The Gruyère …

87

Fig. 6.2 Cultural diversity and economic value. Source Leimgruber (2004b)

forests and resulted in massive floods and destruction (Marti 2017; Weingartner et al. 2017). Since the Industrial Revolution we are using increasingly sophisticated tools with far-reaching encroachments on nature and disastrous consequences. We also produce waste that is resistant to natural degradation. These are the consequences of technological progress. Landscapes that hitherto had been characterized by spontaneous processes and moderate human interventions, were rapidly transformed into ‘technological’ landscapes. Obstacles to ‘rational’ farming (hedges, small streams etc.) were eliminated to make space for farm machinery. Agriculture became a technical business based on the productivist model (Leimgruber 2001) with a massive input of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The result has been a deterioration of soil quality and the disappearance of biodiversity. Carson (1962) had denounced the degradation of our environment and the consequences on nature and humans but was ridiculed at the time. More or less the same happened to the first report of the Club of Rome (Meadows et al. 1972) and to Lovelock’s (1979) Gaia thesis. The reactions showed that the time was not ripe yet for an understanding of the System Earth. A turnaround seemed to have occurred during the Rio Conference on sustainable development in 1992, but even in 2019 politicians and the industry continue to cultivate sectoral approaches, as the discussions around pesticides (e.g. glyphosate) and the debate on global warming show. It is the young generation (pupils and students) who in 2018 and 2019 have started to demonstrate in favour of tougher measures to save our planet. Preconceived ideas take a lot of time to change. While nature and landscape conservation had existed since the late nineteenth century (Leimgruber 2012), they

88

W. Leimgruber

occupied a sort of niche position in human thinking, and to some extent are still subordinate to economic thinking and monetary greed. When in 2000, the Council of Europe (COE) implemented the European Landscape Convention, it aimed at promoting “the protection, management and planning of European landscapes” and organizing “European co-operation on landscape issues” (COE 2017). The Council sees landscape as part of our identity, reflecting diversity and belonging to our “natural and cultural heritage” (ibid.). It states that landscape is not only nature but that humans play their role as well: “The landscape is part of the land, as perceived by local people or visitors, which evolves through time as a result of being acted upon by natural forces and human beings.” (ibid.). Landscape mirrors the interplay between humans and nature, a separation between the two is arbitrary. After all, we are part of nature, have our natural needs and behaviours. This raises important questions with regard to our attitude towards nature and our value system (Leimgruber 2004a, p. 70). Humans arrived late in earth history, and yet they claim everything. Can we really own what has been put at our disposal freely, particularly land? Can we defend land titles, which allow us to buy and sell land just as any other commodity? Who has a right to own land? Has land a price, and if it has, how can we calculate it? From an ecological perspective, humans belong to the land, not vice versa. A representative of an Ecuadorian indigenous community, Bolivar Beltrán, once formulated it as follows: “Can we put a price on the ground? No, but it has a very important spiritual value” (UNEP 1999, p. 141). Hence, we should rather pay nature for being allowed to use it. Beltrán extends this statement with reference to biodiversity: “Biodiversity has values as our own lives have a value to us” (ibid.). This is very clear: we do not rate human lives in terms of money,1 hence land and biodiversity cannot be valued economically.2 Beltrán’s statement is significant because it refers to the immaterial side of land and landscape. Apart from the purely utilitarian there is also the emotional perspective, which receives increasing attention. While we continue to promote technological progress, we have also begun to realize that we are losing our soul and want to get it back—like a pendulum that is swinging back. Trying to find our roots is not a return to the Middle Ages or the time before the Industrial Revolution but simply look back a few generations and try to come to grips with a difficult situation created by an erroneous perception of nature.

1 Apart

from the insurance industry. is much more behind this problem, but it cannot be discussed in the present context. Land can be seen as commons, but as Hardin (1968) suggested, individual interests often prevail. Land is all too often considered as “free-for-all” (UNEP 1999, p. 516), and this is a disastrous mentality. It is nowadays considered a commodity (made by human labour), although “land is only another name for nature, which is not produced by man” (Polanyi 1944, p. 75).

2 There

6 Nature Parks: Valorising Regional Potential—The Gruyère …

89

6.2 The Role of Parks in the Conservation of Nature and Regional Culture and Traditions One element in this swinging back of the pendulum is nature conservation. It has evolved throughout history, from hunting reserves for the nobility to the present-day ecosystems approach (Leimgruber 2012, p. 224). Conservation is both sectoral and holistic: the protection of birds, animals, plant species, water etc. serve to promote the preservation of nature, biodiversity, landscapes. There is competition for attention, influence, power, and for funds, but there is a real concern about the future of our planet. On a regional scale, holistic means that the entire ecosystem of a particular space is at stake, including the interplay between nature (geology, biology, hydrology, climate) and human activities, perceptions, and traditions. The goal is to reach a balance between the bio-physical and the cultural world, and to arrive at a cultural landscape where nature and culture exist in harmony (see Swiss Parks Network n.d.). We cannot ignore the progress and the dominance of technology, but we must take care to harness it in favour of nature. Taking non-degradable waste home instead of leaving it on meadows and in forests is but one simple step. Landscape is the result of natural (spontaneous) and cultural (intentional) processes and evolves over time. Human activities have resulted in a gradual change from spontaneous natural to planned cultural and even technical landscapes. Every place on earth can be located somewhere on the continuum (Fig. 6.3) between natural and artificial landscape. Given the global reach of human activities, truly natural landscapes no longer exist. The discovery of microplastics in the oceans (even as far as the Antarctic waters) is visible proof (Thompson 2015) that even the areas which are

Fig. 6.3 The landscape continuum (after Leimgruber and Hammer 2002, p. 131)

90

W. Leimgruber

furthest away from human settlements and activities are no longer natural. Whenever we visit a region that looks natural it is in fact rather a landscape close to nature (according to the terminology by Ewald 1978). It was only in the late nineteenth century that the first parks were created that protected nature as a goal in itself. The majority of existing parks were set aside during the twentieth century, and they also cater for the recreational needs of urban populations. Parks are artificial creations and represent a sort of refuge for nature, but are at the mercy of humans. The degree of protection varies; wilderness areas contrast with urban parks and gardens, such as the formal French and Japanese gardens. Even the spontaneous looking English garden is the result of landscape planning. Artificial are also all sorts of ‘cultural’ parks, i.e. the various kinds of open-air museums (sometimes called eco-museums). Their role is to remind the present and future generations of the historical depth of their culture. They testify for the diversity of human adaptation strategies to the challenges of survival. They not only exhibit objects but see themselves as dynamic and interactive creations, employing craftsmen to demonstrate long-lost techniques and offering courses in certain crafts. But is conservation not an indicator of the bad conscience of the industrial society that has lost its balance with nature and cut itself off from traditions?

6.3 Swiss Park Policy 6.3.1 Background This bad conscience (to use this term) manifested itself in Switzerland first in the 1870s in the Forest Law of 1876 on the protection of forests in mountain areas, stopping deforestation and offering government assistance for reforestation. Revised in 1902, its application was extended to the entire country. It blocked the forest surface at the level of the time (25% of the country). This figure has since risen to above 30% as a consequence of farmers abandoning marginal lands in mountains and alpine pastures.

6.3.2 The Creation of Parks In Switzerland, about 90% of the land surface is used for human activities. In the lowlands (the Plateau), there are hardly any (quasi-)natural spaces (apart from locally protected isolated wetlands); what can to some extent be called natural landscapes are located in mountain regions (Jura and Alps), but even there, nature is under heavy pressure from human activities (hydroelectric power stations, roads (mountain) railways, ski lifts and tracks, settlements). Given these spatial constraints, park policy

6 Nature Parks: Valorising Regional Potential—The Gruyère …

91

equals balancing on a knife’s edge, to demonstrate the long-term benefits of shortterm measures. Although concerns about nature go back to the late nineteenth century (the first Forest Act was implemented in 1876; see Chap. 4), the first park, the Swiss National Park in the Grisons, was created in 1914 only, following requests from the scientific community (Leimgruber 2012, p. 228). As a unique institution, it received a special regulation, which is still in place today. Nothing more happened in the following decades, mainly because of the two world wars and the economic crisis in the 1930s, but also because of Swiss direct democracy, a slow political system because of extensive people participation. Only private associations in favour of nature protection remained active. However, protected areas were created on local and regional (cantonal) levels, but the constitutional basis for nature conservation on the national (federal) level was only laid in 1962; when the Law on Nature and Heritage Protection was enacted in 1967. The revision of 2005 (implemented in 2008) proposed the three currently existing park categories (ibid., p. 229): • National parks • Regional nature parks • Periurban nature parks.

6.3.3 Parks in Switzerland Currently (2020) there are 19 parks, including the Swiss National Park of 1914 (with its own regulation, and it is treated as a separate category). One regional nature park is in the nascent stage, and so is one periurban nature park (marked as candidates in Table 6.1). They are fairly evenly distributed across the country but with a clear emphasis on the mountain regions (Jura, Pre-Alps and Alps; Fig. 6.4). Classed as being of national interest, they receive financial contributions from the Confederation. Both national and periurban nature parks are subdivided into zones with varying protection. In core zones nature must be left to evolve freely, whereas (sustainable) human activities are permitted in buffer zones. Regional nature parks, on the other hand, comprise the entire territory of the communes (for exceptions see below) that have to preserve traditional cultural landscapes with sustainable land use. All parks also have an educational purpose and should enhance people’s awareness for nature. Park policy struggles with an additional problem. The cohabitation of humans and nature is marked by diverging interests. Ways have to be found to strike a balance between total protection and free access. While many people have already changed their attitudes towards nature, when it comes to finance projects and accept restrictions, they are often hesitant or even opposed. Two national park projects (in the Grisons and in Ticino) had been completed and were submitted to the citizens for approval, but both were rejected in referenda: in the Grisons in 2016, 8 of the 17 municipalities involved refused to participate, and in Ticino in 2018, 6 of 8 municipalities voted against. Many people feared potential land use restrictions, limitations concerning hydropower potential, hunting and tourism, and the cost involved. Local

92

W. Leimgruber

Table 6.1 Parks in Switzerland 2020 (candidates are in italic) Nr.

Name

Canton (s)

Surface (km2 )

Created in

GR

170

1914

GR

198

2011

National parks 1

Schweizerischer Nationalpark

Regional nature parks 2

Biosfera Val Müstair

3

Parc Ela

GR

550

2012

4

Naturpark Beverin

GR

412

2013

5

Parco Val Calanca

GR

120

Candidate

6

Landschaftspark Binntal

VS

181

2012

7

Naturpark Pfyn-Finges

VS

238

2013

8

Naturpark Diemtigtal

BE

135

2012

9

Parc naturel régional Gruyère Pays d’Enhaut

VD/FR

534

2012

10

Naturpark Gantrisch

BE/FR

400

2012

11

UNESCO Biosphäre Entlebuch

LU

394

2008

12

Parc Jura vaudois

VD

530

2013

13

Parc régional Chasseral

BE/NE

387

2012

14

Parc du Doubs

JU/NE/BE

300

2013

15

Naturpark Thal

SO

139

2010

16

Jurapark Aargau

AG/SO

241

2012

17

Naturpark Schaffhausen

SH

186

2018

Periurban nature parks 18

Wildnispark Zürich Sihlwald

ZH

12

2010

19

Parc naturel périurbain du Jorat

VD

22

Candidate

Source The Swiss Parks (2020)

autonomy is important in Switzerland and often dominates over regional thinking and collaboration. Two chances for regional economic development were lost. However, the population of a valley in the Italian speaking part of the Grisons created an association in 2019 to promote the entire valley (with three municipalities) as a candidate for a regional nature park (Associazione Parco Val Calanca n.d.). Despite this failure, nature protection enjoys great popularity. The private association Pro Natura manages to mobilize enough support for its activities. With more than 133,000 members and 27,000 sponsors, the organization is an important partner in political discussions on nature conservations, emphasizing its four main objectives: to enhance biodiversity, save landscape identities, safeguard natural resources, and increase people’s awareness for nature (Pro Natura n.d.). Pro Natura is certified as of public interests, and members and sponsors can deduct their contributions on the income tax form. We can see this as an indirect public contribution to nature protection.

6 Nature Parks: Valorising Regional Potential—The Gruyère …

93

Fig. 6.4 Parks in Switzerland, 2020. Source The Swiss Parks (2020)

6.4 The Gruyère-Pays d’Enhaut Regional Nature Park In the following section I try to explore the possibilities that nature parks can offer to prevent the marginalization of the respective region. The example is the Parc naturel régional Gruyère Pays d’Enhaut (Park 9 on Fig. 6.4) in the western Prealps.

6.4.1 Presentation The park area is shared by two Cantons, Fribourg and Vaud, with different cultural traditions: Fribourg has always been a sovereign canton and is Catholic, whereas Vaud was a Bernese colony from 1536 until 1798 and embraced the Reformation and become Protestant. However, both are French speaking,3 the natural basis is the same, and people in the park area have mainly lived on farming (chiefly cattle rearing) and forestry. This political situation is relevant for the communal organization and the fiscal competences of cantons and communes, but is no obstacle to cooperation. The Gruyère-Pays d’Enhaut Regional Nature Park was created in 2011 and obtained its federal licence in 2012, valid until 2021 (renewable). In 2006, four communes in this region (two in each canton) founded an association with the goal to collaborate in order to reconcile economic development with nature conservation. 3 One

part of Fribourg is German speaking, but it lies outside the park area.

94

W. Leimgruber

The commune of Montreux, an important tourist centre on Lake Geneva, joined the group soon afterwards. Eventually, when the park perimeter was delineated, 13 communes (14 before a merger) in four different regions participated.4 Situated in the western limestone Pre-alps, it covers 503 km2 with 13 municipalities and has just under 50,000 inhabitants (Fig. 6.5). The region is characterized by a flourishing alpine economy, landscapes of outstanding natural beauty, and largely unspoilt nature with a rich diversity of endemic plants and animals. It is known best for its cheese products, of which the Gruyère cheese is the best known. It is very popular both nationally internationally. The park area extends over mountainous terrain from the northern edge of the Alps (the Upper Plateau in the canton of Fribourg, 698 m a.s.l.) across the Fribourg and Vaud Pre-Alps (2458 m) to Lake Geneva (371 m), barely reaching its shore (Fig. 6.5). The medieval Chillon castle, built on a rocky island close to the shore, is an outlier of the park, mainly because it is a very popular tourist destination. The region is characterized by high natural diversity, guaranteed by its vertical extension. 40% of its area is forested. To the natural attributes we can add the cultural particularities, that root in the history of the two cantons and their economic base. The local economy in the park area is largely based on alpine agriculture and forest. Tourism (summer and winter) plays an important role on Lake Geneva (Montreux) and in certain regions both in the park and just outside its area. The well-known resort of Gstaad with an annual world-class tennis tournament and the Yehudi Menuhin music festival (every summer since 1957) lies outside the park.5 From the perspective of regional policy, the park lies in a mountain region that is still eligible for various kinds of public support (subsidies, price guarantees etc.). In the new regional policy of 2008, the entire region is eligible to assistance for self-help (development out of its own strength). This includes enterprises in the rural centre of Château-d’Oex that profit from tax relief granted to centres in general, encouragement for cooperation across cantonal boundaries, and the promotion of as all sorts of crafts and tourism.

6.4.2 Park Organization and Activities The park is run by an association that comprises representatives of the 13 member communes (in future 17) as well as more than 640 individual members (persons and enterprises). The management team consists of 13 persons occupying 8 full-time posts. The activities are discussed in commissions, and project groups (18 in 2016, 14 in 2017) are responsible for the various fields of activities. While all collaborators are salaried, special projects such as fighting invasive species, mapping the narcissus

4 Four

additional communes were accepted as future park members in December 2018. With part of a commune in Berne the park will comprise three cantons. 5 The popular castle and village of Gruyères joined the park in 2018.

6 Nature Parks: Valorising Regional Potential—The Gruyère …

95

Fig. 6.5 The Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut regional nature park: 1 Vallée de la Jogne, 2 Intyamon, 3 Pays d’Enhaut, 4 Massif du Rochers de Naye. Source Park administration; modified, base map: Swisstopo

96

W. Leimgruber

fields (Parc Naturel Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut 2018b), erecting barriers along roads to protect batrachians etc. are done on a voluntary basis. The Swiss Confederation contributes 50% to the park’s budget, the two cantons, the member communes and the individual members bear the other half. Sponsors for individual projects can be sought, but according to the chief coordinator, the park is still not well enough known and not marginal enough to attract important sponsors (interview 09.04.18). In a densely settled country like Switzerland it is not possible to separate nature totally from people. Parks require the cohabitation of humans and nature, which gives their administration two important management tasks: to watch over the protection and to organize activities that fit into this concept. They attract mainly day-visitors from nearby urban areas; long-stay tourists usually arrive during the holiday seasons (especially school holidays). Parks offer ‘soft’ tourism, compatible with the goal of nature conservation (hiking, snowshoe walking; visits to regional museums). A major task is to protect the fauna from visitors who wander off footpaths and marked skiing tracks. The activities are manifold and cover a wide range of domains, liable to attract a wide range of visitors. Information is provided on the park website and through a monthly electronic newsletter. The former lists general activities that are selforganized (proposals for different walking tours, information about places to visit) and events organized by external organizers in or close to the park. The latter informs on general and special events that take place in the coming month. Examples were the creation of a cooperative that saves a regional slaughterhouse from closure (with the goal to promote local meat production and support local cattle farmers), the sale of seeds, cutlings, and indigenous tree species, the sale of nesting boxes for bird, etc. Information disseminated in the same way concerns for example the use of alternative (complementary) medicine (homeopathy) in cattle rearing, the offer of guided thematic walking tours, etc. An important element among the activities is the information destined to the public, particularly to schoolchildren. The park offers tailored visits to schools in order to increase children’s (and teachers’) awareness for nature as well as culture. Awareness is a dominant keyword in general—it is the main goal of all parks. The 2016 annual report, e.g., describes the first thematic meeting: The first topic chosen for this meeting was bread, and it was a great success. It was a federating and very relevant topic, allowing to address a large public. The bakers of the region associated themselves with it, there were several workshops, and information was provided on old strands of cereals. (author’s translation)

The activities are manifold and do not necessarily follow a stereotypical programme. In 2017, for example, schoolchildren could participate in the theme of living traditions, which included, among others, a visit to a maker of wood shingles, a lesson in preparing apple butter (in the region called vin cuit: apple and pear juice cooked into a bread spread), or fighting invasive plant species. Another project consisted in erecting temporary protective barriers along two major roads to prevent

6 Nature Parks: Valorising Regional Potential—The Gruyère …

97

crossing amphibians from being run over and killed by cars. As a result, almost 5000 frogs and toads could be saved (Parc Naturel Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut 2018a). Given the nature of parks, it is not possible to know how many people really profit from the undertaking. Certain visitors may plan their car trip route through the park rather than on the motorway, others may decide spontaneously to visit an area in the park on a weekend, others again may be seduced by a special event or the weather, or the season. All the park administration can do is to advertise the seasonal possibilities and their own programme. However, from the number of registered participants to guided tours, visits and workshops we get an approximate number of visitors. In 2012, 314 persons (of which 28 were children) participated in six different events (Parc Naturel GruyèrePays-d’Enhaut 2013). In 2016, the administration registered 7071 visitors (of which 2505 were children) in 16 events plus an estimated 2850 additional participants (Parc Naturel Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut 2017). In 2017, 7305 visitors (among them 3384 were children) were registered in 14 events. Including activities for which no registration is possible (e.g. the Grand Tour—a ten-day hiking trail), the number of park users was estimated at 12,825 (Parc Naturel Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut 2018a). The increase of participating children (from 35% in 2016 to 46% in 2017) indicates the growing educational role regional nature parks can play. It is an investment into the future and a sign of increased awareness of the importance of nature. This is much more significant than the economic returns of nature protection, which are difficult to quantify.

6.4.3 The Economic Side Nature conservation is not primarily an economic but a social project. Creating awareness, education, recreation, safeguarding and enhancing the natural ecosystem and ensuring the respect of humans towards nature are its goals, as well as enhancing the quality of life for humans. By combining various experiences and competences, it can stimulate regional development. In the Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut park, the geographical variety (four distinct sub-regions, each with its own natural and cultural fabric; Fig. 6.5) favours collaboration among the various actors particularly in nature and landscape protection (Parc Naturel Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut 2011, p. 8). The value of a park is less a use and more a non-use value; to transform it into money terms is problematic (see Robertson and Wainwright 2013). The economy, however, cannot be excluded, although it must be viewed from a different perspective from that of ‘normal’ life. The visibility of every park is given by its park label, which indicates the origin of the respective products and guarantees their quality according to the sustainability standards set in the park charter. Regional labels have been common practice for years (Leimgruber and Hammer 2002 for the Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve). As marketing instruments, they help to promote the regional economy. Although they may not generate massive sales, they support the producers and preserve the products from being forgotten. Even a revival of lost or

98

W. Leimgruber

uneconomic activities is possible. An example is the creation of the slaughterhouse cooperative (see above), a first step to an additional label product of the Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut Regional Nature Park. In a more general sense, the economy works both for regional, national and international markets. In the present case, the park label uses the slogan Au Rythme de la Nature (Following the rhythm of nature), exemplifying the park’s sustainability approach. However, it is a very general motto and could be used by most parks around the world. However, it is still specific as the name of the park figures on the label as well. The region is little known in Switzerland, particularly in the German and Italian speaking parts; most labelled products (such as milk and meat products, syrups) are therefore only found in the shops of the park area and maybe a short distance beyond. There is one exception, however: the regional cheese variety, the Gruyère cheese, is marketed locally, nationally, and internationally. The total production registered by the Interprofession Gruyère association in 2016, for example, amounted to 29,137 tons, of which more than half (51.1%) was consumed in Switzerland. 25.9% were exported to the European Union (almost half of which to Germany), 10.4% to the USA, and 5.2% to other destinations (L’Oiseau 2017, p. 4).6 The Gruyère cheese can use the park label if it is produced inside its perimeter. In 2016, this was 846 tons or 2.9% of the total Gruyère production—not a lot but significant for the park. To denote the geographical origin, it uses the AOP label (Appellation d’origine protégée). The other major cheese produced in the park is from L’Etivaz (the name of the village where it is produced), made from non-pasteurized milk during the summer when the cows graze on the alpine pastures. It also benefits from the AOP label. Another regional resource is wood, used as timber for constructions (new and renovating existing buildings, including roof and wall shingles) and as firewood (wood pellets) for central heating systems (an oil substitute). This is part of a wider energy project that aims at eliminating electric heating, improve the insulation of buildings, valorize organic waste (biogas) and create local networks for electricity supply (mainly through solar panels). While the above products are directly linked to the regional economy, other projects have mainly an indirect impact but are important from a cultural point of view. In a period of extreme rationalization also in agriculture and horticulture, it is important to continue to plant tall fruit trees (apples, pears, plums, cherries). Because they must be harvested manually, they may not be commercially viable, but are of aesthetic and emotional value and a sign of the diversity in the park. The specialists have identified more than 100 species that can be used for reproduction. This initiative will contribute to the fight against the monotony of current limited fruit species in the shops. The promotion of agriculture can also be achieved by encouraging farmers to network and cooperate in ecological projects and by supporting them to solve major problems such as excess quantities of animal effluents (urine from pig rearing) and 6 The

remaining quantity was transformed into molten cheese (4.1%) and stocked locally (3.3%).

6 Nature Parks: Valorising Regional Potential—The Gruyère …

99

whey (from cheese production). Ecological measures to be taken by the farmer in the promotion of biodiversity are the creation of microstructures for small animals (hedges, stone piles, heaps of leaves and branches) and late first cutting of the meadows to allow the flowering of the plants and natural distribution of the seeds. This is possible because most farms are family farms of a moderate size (on average between 22 and 29 ha per enterprise). The second pillar of the regional economy, tourism, benefits of a beautiful prealpine landscape, suitable for hiking in summer (sometimes also climbing), skiing and snowshoe walking in winter. Tourists interested in local culture can visit villages and sites that have been protected on the federal level, such as Estavannes and Lessoc in Fribourg, Rossinière, Rougemont and L’Étivaz in Vaud, cultural heritage sites such as the medieval Chillon castle on Lake Geneva and the Carthusian monastery of La Valsainte in the Canton of Fribourg (the only functioning Carthusian monastery in Switzerland), or participate in the various activities proposed by the park. The park’s economic impact is difficult to quantify because apart from direct there are many indirect effects. The direct effects comprise the salaried jobs and the various federal subsidies to the farmers (environmentally friendly farming, harsh working conditions). The indirect effects are more difficult to detect. From the frequency of visits to the park website and the information sought on specific offers, the administration estimates that between 3000 and 5000 persons visited the park without using any of the specific offers (e.g. guided tours). It is also unknown how many of these visitors simply came to the region, how many stayed overnight, consumed in restaurants and shopped for local products. One can safely say that the park is certainly an incentive for the locals to continue their activities, be it farming or transforming the local resources for sale inside and outside the park (Parc Naturel Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut 2017, 2018a). Lastly, the park plays a significant role in information about living and working in mountain areas, about plants and their cultivation, and animals, information that is diffused far beyond its limits and can influence people’s attitudes and behaviour towards nature. This cannot be quantified but is also an indirect economic effect. The park administration produces leaflets, uses its internet site (also available in English, http://www.pnr-gp.ch/index.php/en/, but the main site is in French), and an electronic newsletter. The regional media (radio, TV, printed press) also serves to publicize the park and its activities.

6.5 Conclusion: Marginality, Nature Parks and (Swiss) Society To conclude, let me return to the idea of nature protection as a social project. It has also become a political issue which has broad acceptance in the population. Bottom-up approaches are part of our political culture and favour collaboration. The State furnishes the legal frame to create parks, and it offers financial support as

100

W. Leimgruber

well as legal services. This is in stark contrast to centralized park policies where the State decides everything and the people have to accept a new situation. In his research in Southeast Asia, Steve Déry has made this point on several occasions (Déry 2010; Déry and Tremblay 2009; Déry et al. 2019). The main reason behind this top-down approach is that the countries concerned were building their identity, and nature protection served a political rather than an ecological purpose. The road to cohabitation between humans-nature is still long. The change of attitude towards and the understanding of nature require great mental efforts and strong political will, and Switzerland was as much confronted with this challenge as other countries around the globe. Despite praising the merits of bottom-up processes in Switzerland, the chapter has shown that support for parks is not always guaranteed. While many people have realized that they are the custodians of the environment and that our future depends on a sound ecosystem, they also have their own interests, which sometimes clash with global issues. They may join campaigns such as anti-globalization, anti-pesticide, and anti-GMO protests, efforts to minimize waste, concerns about microplastic in the oceans and in our soils etc.,7 but once concrete restrictions have to be accepted, once they have to renounce a pleasure or a habit, they may be less enthusiastic. Education from early childhood onwards (in the family as well as in schools) can help to promote the new attitude whose ultimate goal is awareness for sustainability (see Engdahl 2015), but everyone has to act according to his and her own conscience. What can nature parks contribute to reduce marginality? There are in fact various arguments in favour of nature protection to favour demarginalization: 1. Parks contribute to teaching humans to develop a better and more respectful relationship with nature, particularly if they are used not only for recreational but also of educational purposes. 2. They enable local people to continue their traditional professional activities with a new focus: as role models of caring for the land and landscape and thus using their skills and experiences for the educational purposes. 3. By offering new ways and job opportunities, they contribute to stop or slow down the rural exodus. 4. They help to create regional identity. Nature parks should preserve nature and protect it from excessive human encroachment, but allow human activities as long as they are compatible with their goals, an argument made in 1980 already (IUCN 1980) and still valid. Protecting nature means to conserve essential ecological processes and life support systems as well as the vital genetic diversity. This serves a sustainable use of the ecosystem where humans not only look at their own needs but also at those of the non-human world. Acknowledgements I thank Mr. François Margot, manager of the park, for his valuable input, and Mr. Thierry Bize of Interprofession Gruyère for the data on regional cheese production.

7 The

2019 climate protests by pupils are but the latest in this chain.

6 Nature Parks: Valorising Regional Potential—The Gruyère …

101

References Associazione Parco Val Calanca. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2020 from https://www.parcovalcala nca.swiss/it/associazione-progetti/associazione/associazione-parco-val-calanca. Carson, R. (1962). Silent spring. London: Penguin (Repr. 2000). COE. (2017). European landscape convention. Retrieved March 12, 2017 from http://www.coe.int/ en/web/landscape/home. Déry, S. (2010). Studying marginality through a multiscalar grid: A case study from protected areas in Vietnam. In W. Leimgruber, et al. (Eds.), Geographical marginality as a global issue: Papers presented during the Meetings of the Commission on Marginalization, Globalization and Local and Regional Response, 2004–2007. CD-Rom, Vol. 1, International Geographical Union, Commission C08-47. Dunedin: Department of Geography, University of Otago. Déry, S., & Tremblay, M. (2009). L’implantation des aires protégées au Vietnam: quels impacts pour les populations locales? Une étude de cas dans la province de Lâm Dông. VertigO, VIII(3), 1–17. https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/vertigo/2008-v8-n3-vertigo3702/039588ar.pdf. Déry, S., Dubé, L., & Chanthavong, B. (2019). Protected areas and the integration process of mountainous areas in mainland Southeast Asia: The case of Luang Nam Tha, Lao PDR. In W. Leimgruber & D.-Y. Chang (Eds.), Rural areas between regional needs and global challenges. Transformations in rural space (pp. 277–306). Springer. Edwards, P. J., & Abivardi, C. (1998). The value of biodiversity: Where ecology and economy blend. Biological Conservation, 83(3), 239–246. Engdahl, I. (2015). Early childhood education for sustainability: The OMEP world project. International Journal of Early Childhodd, 47, 347–366. Ewald, K. C. (1978). Der Landschaftwandel. Zur Veränderung schweizerischer Kulturlandschaften im 20. Jahrhundert (Berichte EAFV Nr. 191). Birmensdorf. Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the commons. Science, 162, 1243–1244. IUCN. (1980). World conservation strategy. IUCN, UNEP, WWF. L’Oiseau. (2017, March). Situation Générale, situation du marché (Nr. 41, pp. 4 ff.). Publication of Interprofession Gruyère. Retrieved April 15, 2018 from https://issuu.com/gruyere_aop/docs/ l_oiseau_41. Leimgruber, W. (2001). In harmony with nature—The importance of the productivist cycle for rural areas. In S. Pelc (Ed.), Developmental problems in marginal rural areas: Local initiative versus national and international regulation. Proceedings of the Marginal Areas Research Initiative Meeting, Ljubljana/Preddvor, 25–29 June 2000 (pp. 15–26). Ljubljana: Faculty of Education. Leimgruber, W. (2004a). Between global and local. Marginality and marginal regions in the context of globalization and deregulation. Aldershot: Ashgate. Leimgruber, W. (2004b). The right to diversity: Human rights from a geographical point of view. In A. Bohnet & M. Höher (Eds.), The role of minorities in the development process. Schriften zur Internationalen Entwicklungs- und Umweltforschung (Vol. 6, pp. 21–36). Frankfurt/M. Leimgruber, W. (2012). National parks and protected areas—Policies and strategies in Switzerland. In W. Leimgruber, W. Zscilincsar, & E. Nel (Eds.), Mountain regions in transformation (pp. 223– 238). Aachen: Shaker Verlag. Leimgruber, W., & Hammer, T. (2002). Biosphere reserves: Sustainable development of marginal regions? (With T. Hammer). In H. Jussila, R. Majoral, & B. Cullen (Eds.), Sustainable development and geographical space. Issues of population, environment, globalization and education in marginal regions (pp. 129–144). Aldershot: Ashgate. Lovelock, J. (1979). Gaia: A new look on life on earth. Oxford University Press. Lovelock, J. (2006). The revenge of Gaia. Why the earth is fighting back—And how we can still save humanity. London: Allen Lane. Marti, W. (2017). Der Wald im Emmental. Von kahlgeschlagenen Hängen zu natürlich verjüngten, standortgerechten, gemischten Waldbeständen. Jahrbuch Geographische Gesellschaft Bern, 65, 65–84.

102

W. Leimgruber

Max-Neef, M. (1991). Human scale development. Conception, application and further reflections. New York: Apex Press. Meadows, D., Meadows, D., Zahn, E., & Milling, P. (1972). The limits to growth. New York: Universe Books. Parc Naturel Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut. (2011). Charte du Parc Naturel Régional Gruyère Paysd’Enhaut. Château-d’Oex. Parc Naturel Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut. (2013). Rapport d’activités 2012. Château-d’Oex. Parc Naturel Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut. (2017). Rapport d’activités 2016. Château-d’Oex. Parc Naturel Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut. (2018a). Rapport d’activités 2017. Château-d’Oex. Parc Naturel Gruyère-Pays-d’Enhaut. (2018b). Rapport final Inventaire des prairies à Narcisses 2016–2017. Château-d’Oex. Plato. (360 BCE). Critias. Retrieved July 13, 2017 from http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html. Polanyi, K. (1944). The great transformation. The political and economic origins of our time. New York: Farrar & Rinehart (quoted after the 1957/2001 edition by Beacon Press, Boston). Pro Natura. (n.d.). Pro Natura—Switzerland. Retrieved September 22, 2019 from https://www.pro natura.ch/en/our-goals. Robertson, M. M., & Wainwright, J. D. (2013). The value of nature to the state. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 104(4), 890–905. Sahtouris, E. (1993). Gaia—Vergangenheit und Zukunft der Erde. Frankfurt/M & Leipzig: Insel (original: Gaia. The human journey from chaos to cosmos. New York: Pocket Books, 1989). Swiss Parks. (2020). Small wonders of the world in 19 Swiss parks. Retrieved June 30, 2020 from https://www.parks.swiss/ressourcen/pdf_dokumente/05_ueber_das_netzwerk/publik ationen/en/2020_Swiss_Parks_Small_wonders_of_the_world.pdf. Thompson, R. C. (2015). Microplastics in the marine environment: Sources, consequences and solutions. In M. Bergmann, L. Gutow, & M. Klages (Eds.), Marine anthropogenic litter (pp. 185– 200). Springer. UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). (1999). Cultural and spiritual values of biodiversity. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme. Weingartner, R., Hofer, P., Zbinden, E., & Reist, T. (2017). Und immer wieder herrschte Wassernot. Geschichte der Hochwasser im Emmental seit 1275. Jahrbuch Geographische Gesellschaft Bern, 65, 87–109.

Chapter 7

Responding to Marginalization: A Case Study of Small Towns in Western Australia Teresa Stevenson and Etienne Nel

7.1 Introduction Across most of the OECD many small towns are experiencing challenging times as a result of their increasing economic, social and physical marginalization and demographic change a situation often aggravated by their frequently peripheral location physically within nations, but also at a global level, with globalization processes often bypassing such local places or failing to integrate them, to the same degree as larger centres (Wolff and Wiechmann 2017; Atkinson 2019). There are many reasons for this situation, but usually it is a combination of post-industrial restructuring of rural and agricultural economies, environmental challenges, political processes, and the centralization of people and services in larger centres, impacting on isolated places and frequently resulting in population decline (Atkinson 2019). While the diverse aspects of the concepts a peripheralization and marginalization are often associated with the Global South, the reality is that places and regions in developed countries can also experience relative marginalization, requiring localised or nationally supported responses. In developed countries with extensive, semi-arid hinterlands, such as Australia, which have experienced both environmental challenges and changes to former economic or employment mainstays, the impact of such changes on small towns can be dramatic. At a broader level, Leimgruber (2004) clarifies the degree to which the systemic marginalization of remoter rural spaces, and by implication their small towns, is an inherent aspect of the evolution of geographic space. He does however also point out that marginalization need not be a permanent situation T. Stevenson (B) Independent Researcher, Dunedin, New Zealand e-mail: [email protected] E. Nel School of Geography, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9010, New Zealand e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 E. Nel and S. Pelc (eds.), Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization, Perspectives on Geographical Marginality 5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51342-9_7

103

104

T. Stevenson and E. Nel

of ‘lock-in’, but rather is one which can catalyse efforts to de-marginalise geographical space, often through bottom-up or grassroots actions. This feature of grassroots action in response to marginalization is the focus of this chapter, which discusses the mechanics of how selected small towns in Western Australia have responded to change. In the context of Australia, these changes and challenges have been significant and there has been little or no population growth in inland places of less than 10,000 people since the 1950s, except in the mining towns. Extreme marginalization in social, economic and spatial terms, combined with demographic changes means that some places may loose the reason for their existence becoming ‘shrinking towns’ (Wolff and Wiechmann 2017), but as Eversole (2016, p. 19) notes, in many cases the scale of the crisis can catalyse local action as small towns face the stark choice of ‘change quickly, or die’. In this context, as Kenyon (2001, p. 1) argues, ‘despite the widespread economic and demographic decline of many small towns, other small communities have shown remarkable economic persistence … and have opted not to merely cope with a declining quality of life, but to adapt, embrace change … (and) build resilient characteristics’. Local action can make a difference, but such responses need to be grounded on local capacity and strengths and undertaken in a manner that has long-term sustainability (Rogers and Collins 2001) and which effectively responds to marginalization. After reviewing contextual literature about small towns in general and in Australia specifically, the chapter, examines how selected small towns in the hinterland of the state capital of Perth in Western Australia have responded to changed economic fortunes. The selected cases, which are discussed, show that a range of local actors have positively impacted on the fortunes of their towns: business, community, local government—acting independently or in combination and often, but not always being able to access state funds. The catalysts for change, the resources they utilized and the impact of the projects undertaken are also detailed. It needs to be remembered that each situation emerges naturally from a unique environment and population and there is no right nor wrong or best technique, yet despite this variety, knowledge of what can work may inspire others to appreciate the resources and opportunities around them.

7.2 Small Towns Small towns are generally regarded as places with less than 10,000 people, and despite their key historic roles as points of interface between rural and urban systems, they have often been neglected by research (Atkinson 2019). In spite of this, most continue to play a key role as service centres for their hinterlands, and they are often destinations for retirees and participants in counter-urbanization. A dominant research theme in Europe in recent years has been the issue of ‘shrinking towns’, which is a reality for over 30% of towns in Eastern Europe and 10% globally (Wolff and Wiechmann 2017). That said, not all places face this predicament and a selected

7 Responding to Marginalization: A Case Study of Small …

105

number of small towns are in fact growing. These growing towns often lie within easy reach of a metropolitan area and often have attractive natural environments, new economic activities and high amenity values attractive for counter-urbanization, retirement and tourism (de Noronha Vaz et al. 2013). For many, more distant places, not able to capitalize on new economic waves, loss of a key activity such as a mine or mill, or changes in agriculture can have a devastating effect on local well-being. This situation has been aggravated by neoliberal reforms in countries such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia which has diminished the prospects for state assistance in times of crisis (Jackson et al. 2016). In these cases, the pursuit of locally driven economic activity through ‘self-reliance and self-organization’ (de Noronha Vaz et al. 2013, p. 3) by local agents may be crucial. In such places, the role of ‘place leadership’ in local development is critical in terms of galvanizing and championing local responses to crises (Horlings et al. 2018; Beer et al. 2019). Leadership in this context can relate to the role played by local institutions, but also to the part played by individuals or local partnerships (Horlings et al. 2018). The case studies in this chapter will highlight the importance of key individuals, whether they be local authority staff or business people or individuals driven by their commitment to their community. In many instances small town business leaders can also play a role in terms of supporting their home community materially and proactively, known as ‘social entrepreneurship’ (Peredo and McLean 2006). The success of local action also depends on the strength of local levels of resilience and social capital, which can often prove critical in ensuring that communities work together towards a common purpose (Besser 2013; Eversole 2016). As some of the case studies will later show, there is another aspect, that of the encouragement of a ‘sense of fun’ with the intention to inspire and empower other individuals to act independently, while also building social capital and adding to the socio-economic diversity in the town. In terms of gauging the success of small town renewal strategies, as several authors now argue, a town which is losing people is not necessarily a failing town. Rather, given the inevitability of broader demographic change, in the context of ‘smart decline’ or ‘right-sizing’, a town loosing people can also be economically successful and/or have high levels of social capital and well-being (Rink et al. 2012; Hummel 2015).

7.3 Small Town Geographies in Australia Australia is not immune to the shrinking town phenomenon, which is occurring in all of the states, and has been catalysed by mine closure, drought, changes in farming, and movement to the large coastal cities. Of the 256 Australian urban centres analysed by Martinez-Fernandez et al. (2016), 140 had experienced some degree of shrinkage between 1960 and 2008. In terms of farming, post-industrial and neoliberal changes have seen the loss of state support, and deregulation of commodity production, which coupled with climate stress and capital concentration saw the

106

T. Stevenson and E. Nel

number of farms fall from 250,000 in 1970 to 70,000 in 2000 (Hastings et al. 2016). This has had direct implications for the service centres in peripheral areas which traditionally have supported the farming hinterland (Hastings et al. 2016) leading to social and economic marginalization, a situation aggravated by globalization related changes in demand for local products and enhanced productive efficiencies reducing needs for local labour and support. Over time the consolidation of services in larger regional centres has been a defining trait of the business and service economy of regional Australia, which has been driven by improved transport accessibility (Rodgers and Collins 2001; Commonwealth of Australia 2014). A net result has been a reduction in the number of people living in the smaller regional towns which impacts not just on economic activity but also on social life and the viability of community and volunteer-based services (Commonwealth of Australia 2017). Places not able to respond to these changes or those locked into less productive activities have witnessed significant loss of services and of population and marginalization (Beer 2012; Tonts 2012). In terms of the stance of the Federal government towards small town decline, the following statement clarifies that communities cannot expect significant state support as “governments cannot and should not shield people in regional communities from all possible adverse events of ongoing pressure for change. There will always be some people who are disproportionally affected by change” (Commonwealth of Australia 2017, p. 28). In parallel, the capacity of local government to respond to change and to pursue endogenous local economic development is constrained by their diminishing local autonomy and capacity to respond (Jones 2008). This situation is aggravated by the reality that, to a significant degree, local governments in Australia have to generate the majority of their own revenue, often from a declining local rates base (Jackson et al. 2016). Despite this, many small town communities have not been passive about their situation and since 2000 it has been noted that an increasing number of small towns in Australia are adopting self-help approaches, drawing on their local social capital, creativity, innovation, social entrepreneurship (Onyx and Leonard 2010) and place based leadership (Beer et al. 2019). The preparedness to respond locally is in part driven by the declining availability of external support, but also, according to Eversole (2016), there is a strong tradition of local self-help and self-provisioning of services.

7.3.1 Western Australia The neoliberal restructuring of the economy, as noted by Beer (2012), has directly impacted the towns of Western Australia’s Wheat Belt which make up Perth’s hinterland (see Fig. 7.1), some of which are the focus of the rest of this Chapter. In terms of farming, loss of state support, and deregulation of commodity production weakened traditional economic mainstays and levels of social capital (Hastings et al. 2016). At a broader level, towns across the state have been affected by the ‘boom and bust’ cycles of mining which have variously privileged or negatively affected

7 Responding to Marginalization: A Case Study of Small …

107

Fig. 7.1 The wheat belt and hinterland of Perth, Western Australia

such towns (Tonts 2012). Western Australia is unique in that, till recently, the State government applied the Royalties for Region programme which used 25% of the State’s mining royalties to invest in non-metropolitan areas (Government of Western Australia 2019). 3 billion AUD1 was spent between 2008 and 2017 on a range of settlements but with a particular focus on nine ‘Supertowns’, including Katanning, which is discussed below, which were larger centres deemed to have the capacity to maximize the spinoffs of investment (Paul and Haslam McKenzie 2015; Plummer et al. 2018). It should however be noted that not all places benefitted from this support. 1 AUD

rates.

(Australian dollar) is about 0.61 EUR or 0.68 USD according to September 2019 exchange

108

T. Stevenson and E. Nel

7.4 Introducing the Western Australian Case Studies Selected towns in the south west of Western Australia (WA) lying in the remote hinterland of Perth and partially within the region known as the Wheat Belt were chosen as case studies (see Fig. 7.1). This was because of the reported array of innovative economic activities, occurring outside of the economic mainstream, in these towns which were adopted in response to their marginalization (Kenyon 2001). The selected towns were mostly isolated centres distant from key economic hubs and the coastal tourism routes, which both enhanced their marginality and increased the imperative for an endogenous response. Population and employment data mentioned in the following sections is from the 2011 and 2016 census (A.B.S. 2011, 2016). Six towns were selected for study: Kulin, Hyden, Nyabing, Balingup, Bridgetown and Katanning. The summaries below provide details of their population, income and employment and outline the locally driven development projects each town initiated in response to economic and demographic change. This is followed by an analysis of what motivated each town and what their general approach to development has been.

7.4.1 The Six Case Study Towns Hyden is a remote farming and mining town which had a population of only 520 in 2011, shrinking to 377 in 2016, a dramatic 27.5% decrease. The 2011 census shows of the top five industries mining accounted for 27% of employment (but was not listed at all in the top five in 2016), farming at 24% in 2011 increasing to 27.9% in 2016 and accommodation workers rising from 3.7% in 2011, to 9.2% in 2016. Unemployment was only 1.8%, dropping to 1.4% in 2016 with most (70%) working full time compared to the WA’s average of 57%. Yet the median weekly household income rose from a modest $974 AUD or 31.17% less than the WA median in 2011, to $1353 AUD or 17.5% less than the WA median in 2016, this was the highest increase in income in all of the study towns. The new initiatives in Hyden were initially driven by perceived opportunities to develop tourism products, but later expanded to respond to needs in the community. The key actors were a few farming families located in or near Hyden who saw potential for tourism in their town, having re-discovered through a 1963 National Geographic photograph, a previously under-celebrated rock formation near the town. The local individuals personally funded and drove a wide array of over 18 projects (Farm Weekly 1999) including: • • • •

A camp ground with 6 cabins and a pool (the local authority donated the land); A 58 room hotel and restaurant; 14 resort cottages; a salt water lake/pool; An amphitheater;

7 Responding to Marginalization: A Case Study of Small …

109

• The Camm River redevelopment and walkway (funded by Royalties for Regions fund); • A small zoo; • A visitor centre; • A local museum augmented by the purchase of lace and miniature solider collections; • A replica pioneer heritage town; • The new bush shopping village which houses seven retail businesses (Wave Rock Hotel 2019); • A small regional airport (part-funded by the Regional Airport Development scheme); • An airport caretaker’s house; • Five single person housing units (of which the state Housing Commission funded three); • A respite house and associated caretakers house; • A shed built to attract a needed metal fabricator; • A fuel station; • Land purchased for new subdivision and used for community cropping in the interim; and • Four houses purchased, one to attract a needed auto electrician with the others rented to hotel staff. Community associations or companies were formed to umbrella many of these initiatives and some state funding was utilized (Kenyon 2001). All projects remain under the ownership of community groups or in joint private ownership arrangements (KI (Key Informants) 1 2017). Though the population is clearly shrinking, the increase in income was the highest in the six towns studied, and while mining is no longer a dominate employer, employment in hospitality is increasing and most people are employed and are working fulltime, at a rate higher than the state average. Given the large number of activities that these individuals have developed, there has been a clear impact on this small town, and the creation of a new economic activity, despite the reality that Hyden is a ‘shrinking town’. Nyabing had a small population of 275 in 2011, growing to 296 in 2016, an increase of 7.64%, most are employed in agriculture—59% in 2011 and 57% in 2016. Clearly this is an agricultural town and remains so, other workers are employed in local government 11.6%, and primary education 8.6%. Unemployment is zero and 63% work full time, which is slightly more than the WA average. The 2.2 million Australian dollars (AUD) key new initiative in Nyabing was the community’s purchase and rebuilding of the derelict and closing hotel (Business Council 2015). The replacement hotel opened in 2019 as a community ‘pub to hub’, and it includes conference and meeting rooms. Earlier in 2017 the community group built six new accommodation units for visitors. Half the 2.2 million AUD project was funded by the Federal and state governments, with the balance being raised by the community (Wilson 2019), largely paid off by share cropping on a farm that local

110

T. Stevenson and E. Nel

farmers purchased collectively in 2012 (Arnall 2015; Business Council 2015). The key actors in this initiative were a group of local residents with a key leadership role played by farmers’ wives (KI 2 2017). This is one of the two study towns to show an increase in population, with a corresponding increase in income also occurring. The ‘pub to hub’ project with its attached motel units remains in the ownership of the community group, and as it has only recently opened it is too soon to gauge if it has had an impact on the local economy and on population numbers. Balingup had a small and declining population of 560 in 2011, falling slightly to 544 in 2016, a modest decrease of 2.86%, with a lower number working in agriculture compared with the other study towns at 13% in 2011 and 5.8% in 2016, the balance being in a mixture of employment, including teaching, accommodation and administration. The population age was significantly higher here than in the other study towns, with a median age of 57 in 2016 compared to only 36 for WA. A higher than average 38.5% worked part time in 2016 compared to the WA average of 30%, the median income is low at 720 AUD or 49.12% less than the WA median and rose only to 941 AUD in 2016 which is now 41% less than the WA median. Unemployment in 2011 was 4.9% and rose to 6.9%. The low income and part time working nature of the town is very similar to nearby Bridgetown, however Balingup has more older people and slightly more work part time. One informant described the town of “Balingup as a ‘time-rich’ town where people move to so they can retire early but also a town with more younger parents who are more relaxed about their work” (KI 3, 2017). Projects in Balingup include: • In 1987 a local woman frustrated at an empty shop on the main street, set up the ‘Village Peddlers’ as a craft co-operative. • A few years later in 1991 a community meeting came up with the idea of a small farm and field day, with stalls to advise lifestyle-block farm owners regarding land management (Balingup small farm website 2019), with any profits from the annual event, being used to improve the next event and also to provide seed-funding to other new community events, organized independently by a diverse range of local people. • In 2017 nine independent annual events were being funded and offered a legal umbrella (KI 3 2017). An example is a ‘dressed in theme children’s book readings’ week, and a ‘dragon burning’ medieval event (Balingup Community Website 2017). This has encouraged local individuals to be creative, and lead and own their own events. • In approximately 2007 a group of four local businesses (a pharmacy, winery, cafe, and historical group), collectively set up in the old fruit ‘packing shed’ on the main street, each business remains independently owned. • The town now also has numerous bed and breakfasts and small businesses. “Many people come to our town for the lifestyle, they don’t work full time by choice, so have the time to be creative, some however choose not to chip in” (KI 4 2017). Hence the town’s focus is on part time activities and encouraging new fun events to emerge independently, which keeps the town active and buoyant, despite

7 Responding to Marginalization: A Case Study of Small …

111

the declining population and low incomes. The diffuse ownership and lack of central control of the Balingup projects was noted as a feature in this town, and an informant made a comment about alternative development styles: “Other towns like Hyden purchase and own most of the projects, here in Balingup we encourage others to own their own projects” (KI 5 2017). The town, though loosing people, ageing and having low median incomes, has been able to boost social capital, volunteerism and the local sense of well-being (Alonso and Liu 2013). Kulin is a remote town with a small population of 330 in 2011 increasing by 14.2% to 377 in 2016, making it one of only two towns in the study with a growing population. Again, the top five industries of employment show agriculture as the highest, but at only 18.3% in 2011, 16.7% were in administration and 9.3% in teaching, this due to the town hosting the local authority (Shire) offices for the district and having a high school. It is noteworthy that by 2016 agriculture as an occupation had increased to 31.1%, with a relative decrease in administration and teaching, possibly due to new classification sub-categories in the census, however grocery retail shows up as an occupation for the first time at 5.1% in 2016, possibly reflecting the grocery needs of the new freedom camping visitors and foster camp detailed as new projects below. Some projects were driven from a community consultation base (Jennings 2002; Kenyon 2001), yet others, such as the camps came from the initiative of individuals. Key projects in Kulin were the establishment of a huge water slide, the attraction of a childrens camp, the establishment of freedom camping facilities, and a horse racing event. Kulin also benefited from a local farming family who bequeathed 1.5 million AUD towards recreation improvements in Kulin, this contributed 600,000 AUD towards the new Freebairn recreation centre (an in-door sports centre with attached catering facilities) which left the old bowling club redundant, and also funded 330,000 AUD towards the new water slide (KI 6 2017; Shire of Kulin 2019). Through community encouragement, the Bendigo Bank’s Kulin Community Bank opened in October 1999. In 1992 there were a series of three meetings which raised the need for aged care facilities which have since been built. In addition, one farmer who had an interest in horse racing, initiated the town’s key event the ‘Kulin Bush Races’ which occurs annually on donated farmland, with profits funding event needs, with the balance going to other community projects. Other meeting ideas became independent projects such as the array of large tin horse sculptures positioned beside the main road to the town, which has now become a tourism icon. Separately, a previous Shire chief executive officer (CEO) had the idea of purchasing a 182 m water slide using the Freebairn fund with local farmers using their vehicles to transport it from Queensland’s sunshine coast to Kulin, which the local authority then installed at their large swimming pool (Mochan and Bennett 2018). Wastewater from the pool now irrigates the public green spaces (KI 6 2017). The current Shire CEO and the recreation centre manager both encouraged a young woman running childrens camps to relocate from Perth to utilize Kulin’s redundant bowling club as a camp for the region’s foster children, with the balance of the site being redeveloped to host freedom campers in return for only a donation. These two projects have greatly increased patronage of the large swimming pool, usage of the large recreation centre, and grocery sales in the town (KI 6 2017). More recently the town has also hosted

112

T. Stevenson and E. Nel

an externally organised ‘burning man’ event (a music festival), though not organized by the locals, they do provide food stalls. Farmers also donated land for a wildflower walk and for future housing (KI 7 2017). This is the second town in this study to show an increasing population and income, other positive signs are unemployment decreasing and fulltime work increasing. The town has encouraged creativity and events and the town’s CEO was also very driven to see under-utilised assets find new uses and, in this, was supported by the town’s people and the bequest the town received. The Kulin projects have diversified the town’s economy into fringe tourism, namely freedom camping and childrens camps, which boosts grocery sales, and adds to the usage and viability of recreation facilities (KI 7 2017). The projects have improved the range of community facilities and local quality of life, drawing on and boosting local social capital, self-initiative and willingness to lead (Lee 2014). Katanning is a larger town with a population of 4185 dropping to 3687 in 2016, a decrease of 11.9%. In 2016, 18.5% worked in meat processing or sales, 4.8% in education, groceries was 4.1% and health 3.6%. Key activities include the sheep sales yards and the service centre nature of a town which hosts a hospital and high school. The town received state ‘Supertown’ funding from the Royalties for Regions programme for a new information centre and town amenity (Plummer et al. 2018), this project is currently being implemented at the time of writing and the impact has yet to be assessed. The key earlier project in this town was instigated by Shire staff in 2011, being the roofing of the shire owned sheep sales yard for 26 million AUD, which opened in 2014, with its more than four hectares of roof collecting water for stock use and having 180 solar panels producing 65,000 AUD worth of electricity (Shire of Kaitanning 2019). The project included the establishment of several new micro-businesses that operate under this roof, such as running the sales yard café and recycling waste. The other project was the sale of a Shire owned heritage flour mill for 1 AUD to Dome cafes a business which turns heritage sites into hotels and cafes. The resulting Katanning Premier Mill Hotel opened in June 2018 (HollandMcNair 2019). This town which has a declining population is however managing to modestly increase its mean household income from 951 AUD in 2011 improving to 1178 AUD in 2016 which is now 26.14% less than the WA median. The mix of jobs remains constant and the rate of fulltime work is near the WA average. With these interventions the town appears to be holding its position economically. The town has definitely benefited from having Shire staff inspired and capable of managing the sheep yard project and accessing state funding. Bridgetown had a population of 1515 in 2011 falling to 1448 in 2016, a modest decrease of 4.42%. The top five employment industries being 8.5% in education, 5.3% in hospital care, mining at 4.4%, administration 4.3% and café/takeaways 4%. It is noteworthy that there is no dominate sector, and this reflects on the presence of the local authority, health care and schools in this service town. The weekly household median income was very low at 749 AUD or 47.07% less than the WA median and does not improve, rising to only 845 AUD in 2016 or 47.02% less than the WA median. Unemployment is high at 6% and worsened to 8.2%. The population

7 Responding to Marginalization: A Case Study of Small …

113

is older, with a 43 year median age, compared to the WA average of 36 years and this rose further to 48 years in 2016. In 2016 there were more people in part time work, standing at 36.6% compared to the WA average of 30%. Previous research indicates the retirement and lifestyle nature of the town (Tonts and Grieve 2002). In Bridgetown activities are driven by businesses themselves of their own volition (Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes website 2019), with one business, the Christmas Shop supplying premises to four others, with another antique business housing an arts collective in their basement (KI 8, 9 2017). Separately a group of friends set up a cidery, and other residents organize the annual long bridge lunch and the blues concert (Woods 2011). This is a town with a decreasing population, with many being slightly older and working part time. It could be speculated these are Australians deciding to run their own businesses and are tolerant of receiving low incomes. Despite this, the mood of the town appears up-beat with specialist organic food outlets, and boutique retail evident on the main street, developing in response to tourism traffic. From observations and interviews it appears that businesses are attracting like businesses i.e. organic foods and the arts (KI 8, 9 2017).

7.5 Analysing the Outcomes The information above provided key details about each of the small marginalised towns and the endogenous projects undertaken to respond to change and diversify and transform their local economies and improve local well-being. This section seeks to identify patterns in the nature of local responses, the actors involved, their motivations, and the most common styles of response. Key factors such as the importance of workshops, the degree of goodwill and agreement in a community and the availability of finance will then be analysed. Overall the sense of being marginalised was a common theme in all of the towns. Four out of the six towns, Hyden, Bridgetown, Nyabing and Balingup, were motivated to respond, from on an individual or community level, by having a very real sense of being marginalized and not prioritized by their Shire. By contrast in Kulin and Katanning Shire staff got very involved in their projects. This may have been inspired by Kulin’s isolation and the larger Katanning’s need and ability to make a good case to access government funding. Patterns did emerge in terms of the development approaches which different towns utilized. The key actors varied, and ranged from council staff to business persons, farmers or community members acting independently or cooperatively. They variously did or did not form a community group to umbrella their activities. Observable differences could be accounted for by differences in development thinking, with a first group of towns being more focused on the needs of the community and retaining ownership of the projects which they initiated, pursuing what we term a ‘centralized ownership model’. This ownership ensured that more substantial projects were undertaken (18 projects in Hyden’s case), projects that ultimately required large degrees of private and/or grant funding. The second style of economic development was driven

114

T. Stevenson and E. Nel

by a variety of actors from individuals to businesses and council staff, but a commonality was that several had an attitude of ‘having fun’ and actively encouraging others to own and initiate projects, which we call the ‘empowerment model’. This resulted in a range of independent projects, which encouraged the diversification and sustainability of the towns, making them attractive to others wishing to locate there and who could potentially contribute to the diversity of the towns’ activities. It should always be noted when comparing the developments in each of the towns that there is no right or wrong, or best practice, each town addressed their marginalization challenges in accordance with the resources available to them, and the approach that would lead to productive outcomes.

7.5.1 Development Approaches, Motivations and Leadership From the above two styles of development emerged. Group one: Centralized Ownership Model Two towns, Hyden and Nyabing had projects driven by individuals from farming families, who formed community groups to umbrella their activities, which were highly focused on addressing the needs of their communities and of retaining control of developments in the hands of key groups or individuals. Hyden clearly saw the potential of capitalizing on the rock feature called Wave Rock. Seven locals formed the Hyden Progress Association led by two families, with each family putting in 1000 AUD, while two builders also contributed financially. A key driver noted that the projects were a ‘win-win’ for the town and the business investors (KI 1 2017). These individuals were very focused on the town’s needs, for example, when they needed a metal fabricator, they built a workshop to attract one. In addition, the group wished to retain property ownership of all or most new activities. Hyden implemented an impressive 18 projects which were variously privately or publically owned or owned through a shared arrangement. One of the issues of this central ownership is the vulnerability to the key person leaving the town, or projects becoming dated and lacking refreshing due to no new project owners. Nyabing was likewise very focused on the needs of one group, wishing a product: a hotel with a restaurant, which suited some but not others, leading to light local disagreements (KI 10 2017). These towns showed a needs driven, centrally owned and controlled approach driven by community leaders and business people. Other towns had a mix of centrally owned and empowerment projects such as the Shire’s covered sheep yard in Katanning being centrally owned, which also facilitate the establishment of independent businesses. Group two: The Empowerment Model In the second group of three towns, project control has been more informal, with many diverse projects existing in parallel. Financial return was not always the prime objective, as enhancing local well-being often drove projects, which suited these towns some with shrinking populations and lower than average income levels.

7 Responding to Marginalization: A Case Study of Small …

115

The Balingup re-vitalisation, was originally driven by an individual who was frustrated at the lack of retail and an empty shop, who then set up a crafts cooperative to fill the space. A group in the town later developed the small field day event. Unlike the first two towns above which were focused on meeting the economic and service needs of existing residents, Balingup was more altruistic, wanting to give a sense of well-being to the community and wishing to attract visitors and new residents (KI 3 2017). The concept put forward was of: ‘one event making a profit so it could support other new independent events’ (KI 4 2017). The group had a deliberate philosophy of not owning or running events themselves, they saw their role as only to encourage new ideas and events, offer a legal umbrella if required and to encourage profits to go toward the events’ growth and also to seed-fund other non-related new activities (KI 3 2017). In Bridgetown small clusters of businesses acted independently, not as a business association or a community group. Their support of emerging entrepreneurs created a situation of ‘like attracting like’ and a ‘win-win’ scenario for the business and the town (KI 9 2017). Here one business hosted a group of arts businesses, while another business housed four others in an old supermarket. In another case a group of friends established a cidery. There was a clear focus on a culture of ‘having fun’ such as through street events and the Blues festival (KI 8 2017). This approach of ‘having fun’ and encouraging newcomers to set up independent businesses fits best in the empowerment group. A Bridgetown business noted that “the critical mass of dynamic businesses here helps, as like attracts like, there are like minded businesses i.e. in organics, the strong music and arts community in Bridgetown which attracts creative people from outside” (KI 8 2017). In Kulin the horse races were led by the community and in particular by a farmer keen on horse racing. In parallel, the sourcing of the giant water slide was driven by a previous shire CEO and part-funded by a grant from a local farmer. However, it was seperate local authority staff who took the initiative to attract the childrens camp and set up the freedom camping site (KI 6 2017). Kulin is similar to Balingup in having a very strong philosophy of encouraging locals to have fun, and to initiate new projects (KI 7 2017). Kulin can therefore be grouped in the empowerment category. Initiatives, while often having an economic impact, were generally driven by a sense of the need to enhance local wellbeing and operate on an independent basis.

7.5.2 Grievances and Goodwill Most small towns and community projects do incur a degree of local tension, and light grievances were more noted in some places. In these cases people were uncertain about the control by a few, or the desired alternative products. However, the community could see the wider benefits and were therefore generally accepting of the projects. In addition, in these towns, given the small size of the communities, it would be doubtful if what were often significant initiatives, would have occurred without the drive of these few individuals. In the case of Hyden this also involved

116

T. Stevenson and E. Nel

the willingness of a few to invest large amounts of private funds and take on personal debt. In Kulin and Balingup, the community goodwill was very high, due to the focus on ‘having fun’ and actively encouraging individuals to take ownership and implement new projects (KI 3, 6 2017). Similarly, in Bridgetown, the business groupings tended to get on well within their own small group and were generally encouraging of other groups (KI 8, 9 2017).

7.5.3 Funding Sources WA had the advantage of having the Royalties for Regions fund (Plummer et al. 2018). Many of the case study towns benefited from being able to access these and other state funds, with Nyabing receiving half of the needed funds from the state. Many of Hyden’s projects received partial funding, examples include from the regional airport fund and the Housing Commission. Kulin received partial funding for the later stages of the Kulin Childrens Camp and for the promotion of the Tin Horse highway. Katanning, received substantial funding from the State and Federal governments to redevelop its amenity and CBD and to fund the covered sheep yard (Shire of Kaitanning Website 2019). Though state funding was helpful to the smaller towns, often more critical were the generous contributions of local farmers, with one farming family in Kulin donating 1.5 million AUD which enabled the town to support various projects. Farmers in Kulin, Hyden, Balingup and Nyabing donated land for events, amenity, housing and for community cropping to help make annual project payments. Farmers also donated their time and use of their machinery. In Hyden a few key individuals personally invested in projects. In contrast Balingup was impressive in that it undertook smaller wellbeing projects with their own limited resources, while Bridgetown businesses acted independently. Kulin and Balingup both used the profits from their key annual event to seed fund other community projects, a particularly innovative way of selffunding and encouraging new independent activities.

7.6 Conclusion These six small Western Australian rural towns did indeed have more economic activity outside of the mainstream than expected. The impact of these local initiatives on these small towns was significant, sometimes in terms of job creation, but also in well-being and empowerment which often attracted others to relocate to the town. Despite the fact that four of the towns are ‘shrinking towns’ in terms of population, all have embarked on action which improved economic diversity and social well-being and responded to their marginalization. The analysis shows that while two of the towns had state or local government support, in the other four there was no initial expectation that the local authority

7 Responding to Marginalization: A Case Study of Small …

117

or state government was going to assist them, the towns folk had the concept of “we just need to get on and do it and use our own resources” (KI 3 2019). Despite this two of the latter four towns did later receive partial funding from state sources. The resourcing of the initiatives in the smaller towns was often largely due to the generosity of the farming community. The case studies also show that the driving visions were often created by individuals whether they be a business person, a local authority staff member seeing a need, or a resident who saw a serious gap that needed to be filled. The establishment of community groups, trusts and progress committees were utilized as necessary to umbrella these initiatives. Of particular help were the community-led visioning workshops held at the early stages in several of the towns, workshops which introduced the concept of hosting one fun community event that could subsequently seed-fund other, unrelated independent projects. These annual events gave the towns a culture of fun and an on-going mechanism of empowering new individual actions. The case studies show that action in marginalized towns can occur from the personal drive of individuals, rather than just from community groups. In some cases, such as Balingup and Kulin, this can be achieved through a philosophy of encouraging fun and independence leading to improved social wellbeing. By contrast, the alternative model of centralized needs based action is also effective. In both models resources came from individuals, be they businesses, farmers, or from events within the town. In many cases resources also came from the state. These case-study findings give tangible examples of the necessary mechanics behind concepts such as social entrepreneurship (Pededo and McLean 2006), local resilience and social capital (Besser 2013, Eversole 2016). This leaves us with the question of: how do you measure the success of initiatives for these small isolated rural towns responding to their marginalization? Is it population growth; is it the spend of visitors; income-levels relative to the regional average; is it a low and reducing level of unemployment; is it meeting your community’s needs; or having the chance to be part of something creative and fun? After concluding these case studies we would hypothesise, it may be more the latter than the former in many instances. This would be in line with broader arguments about ‘smart decline’ i.e. that population loss does not necessarily imply economic loss or loss of quality of life (Rink et al. 2012). Hyden, Balingup and Bridgetown all had population declines, but also saw significant local improvements, and in the case of the latter two communities, increased wellbeing and having a ‘sense of fun’, and attracted new, proactive residents, albeit that these towns were losing people overall. Is population growth a true measure of success? Considering the median income is increasing in Hyden and the percentage in full time employment outstripping the state average, visitor spend is probably considerable, yet the population had dropped by 27.5%. In this study we would conclude that population growth is not necessarily a measure of success, vibrancy though abstract and unmeasurable, is a better indicator of success which draws on the strength of social capital and local buy-in and may be a more accurate indicator. Kulin and their fun attitude also stands out as a town that has proactively attracted in new activities. The difficult task of measuring such vibrancy could be a useful subject for further research, but none the less is a reality, as shown

118

T. Stevenson and E. Nel

in the following quote from a KI (3 2017) in Kulin who stated “it’s the philosophy that’s important not the product, you need to make a change in people, have fun, have a ‘we can do it ourselves’ attitude. It’s very important to encourage individuals to take ownership of their component, to have fun, this empowers people.” Alternatively, a needs driven, centrally owned style of development, which does not necessarily reverse population decline, but which can improve local activity and employment is also important to recognize. In the case of Hyden a key leader noted: “people with vision, confidence, good marketing and communication skills and the capacity for hard work are integral to the success of all the development initiatives” (Mourtiz 2001, p. 29). This study shows two development philosophies that seem to work for small and economically isolated towns, one a philosophy of having fun, creating and giving seed-funding, encouragement and empowerment to others to own their own projects. The other is a needs driven and centrally owned and controlled win-win philosophy, which shows that where there is the need, the locals will invest in the solution. This series of case studies show that whether it is a centrally owned needs driven model or a fun and diverse empowerment model, it appears that local individuals are key, whether from business, farming or local authority staff. Different approaches to marginalization will suit different towns depending on the individuals, the towns’ needs, attitudes and resources, leading to an increased wellbeing in the town, that while not necessarily reversing population decline will certainly make the town a more desirable place. Acknowledgements The financial assistance of the Regional Studies Association which supported the study presented in this chapter is gratefully acknowledged. Views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Regional Studies Association. Advice and support of local informants and Peter Kenyon is gratefully acknowledged.

References Alonso, A. D., & Liu, Y. (2013). Local community, volunteering and tourism development: The case of the Blackwood river valley Western Australia. Current Issues in Tourism, 16(1), 47–62. Arnall, K. (2015, January 14). Nyabing; A small town with big plans. https://www.abc.net.au/local/ stories/2015/01/14/4162138.htm. Accessed 5 Dec 2017. Atkinson, R. (2019). The small towns conundrum: What do we do about them? Regional Statistics, 9(3), 1–17. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011). Census. https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_ser vices/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/SSC50415?opendocument&navpos=220. Accessed 23 Aug 2019. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016). Census. https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_ services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC50786?opendocument. Accessed 23 Aug 2019. Balingup Community. (2017). Balingup progress association. www.balingup.asn.au. Accessed 5 Dec 2017. Beer, A. (2012). The economic geography of Australia and its analysis: From industrial to postindustrial regions. Geographical Research, 50(3), 269–281. Beer, A., Ayres, S., Clower, T., Faller, F., Sancino, A., & Sotarauta, M. (2019). Place leadership and regional economic development. Regional Studies, 53(2), 171–182.

7 Responding to Marginalization: A Case Study of Small …

119

Besser, T. (2013). Resilient small rural towns and community shocks. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 8(1), 117–134. Business Council. (2015, June 30). Farming towns grows community crop to buy local pub, Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals. http://bccm.coop/faring-town-grows-community-crop-tobuy-local-pub. Accessed 5 Dec 2017. Commonwealth of Australia. (2014). The Evolution of Australian Towns, Australia Government. Canberra: Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. Commonwealth of Australia. (2017). Transitioning Rural Economies. Canberra: Australia Government Productivity Commission. de Noronha Vaz, T., van Leeuwen, E., & Nijkamp, P. (2013). Towns in a rural world. Farnham: Ashgate. Eversole, R. (2016). Regional development in Australia: Being regional. London: Routledge. Farm Weekly. (1999, November 2). Hyden shows how it’s done. Farm Weekly. www.farmweekly. com.au/news/agriculture/agribusiness/general-news/hyden. Accessed 5 Dec 2017. Government of Western Australia (2019). Department of primary industries and regional development. http://www.drd.wa.gov.au/rfr/whatisrfr/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed 23 Aug 2019. Hastings, C., Wortley, L., Ryan, R., & Grant, B. (2016). Community expectations for the role of local government in regional Australia: Meeting the challenges of ‘slow burn’. Australasian Journal of Regional Studies, 22(1), 158–178. Holland-McNair, L. (2019, June 20). Dome is where the heart of WA’s story is, https://thewest.com. au/business/commercial-property/dome-is-where-the-heart-of-was-story-is-ng-b881230444z. Accessed 3 Sept 2019. Horlings, L. G., Rope, D., & Wellbrock, W. (2018). The role of leadership in place development and building institutional arrangements. Local Economy, 33(3), 245–268. Hummel, D. (2015). Right-sizing cities: A look at five cities. Public Budgeting and Finance, 35(2), 1–18. Jackson, T., Nel, E., & Connelly, S. (2016). Subnational rural governance and development: Case studies of England, Scotland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In E. Schoburgh & R. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of research on sub-national governance and development (pp. 117–149). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Jennings, A. (2002). Local people rebuilding local economies. Community Development Journal, 37(4), 300–315. Jones, S. (2008). Can Australian local governments have a role in local economic development? Three cases of evidence. Urban Policy and Research, 26(1), 23–38. Kenyon, P. (2001). Small town renewal: overview and case studies. Canberra: Rural Industries Research and Development Corporati. KI (Key Informants). (2017). Interviews held with anonymous informants. Lee, P. (2014, December 11). ‘Tin Horse’ Kulin now a Premier Town. Farm Weekly, 11, 30. Leimgruber, W. (2004). Between global and local. Aldershot: Ashgate. Martinez-Fernandez, C., Weyman, T., Fol, S., Audirac, I., Cunningham-Sabot, E., Wiechmann, T., et al. (2016). Shrinking cities in Australia, Japan, Europe and the USA: From a global process to local policy responses. Progress in Planning, 105, 1–48. Mochan, K., & Bennett, M. (2018, December 3). How the WA town of Kulin reinvented itself and brought the tourists flooding in. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-02/kulins-giant-wat erslide-turns-town-population-decline-around/10574750. Accessed 3 Sept 2019. Mouritz, J. (2001). Opportunity is an attitude: A rural community economic and social success story. In Outlook 2001. Proceedings of the National Outlook Conference, Canberra, Australia, 27 February-1 March. Volume 2: agriculture and regional Australia (pp. 29–34). Canberra: Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Onyx, J., & Leonard, R. (2010). The conversion of social capital into community development: An intervention in Australia’s outback. International journal of urban and regional research, 34(2), 381–397.

120

T. Stevenson and E. Nel

Paül, V., & Haslam McKenzie, F. (2015). ‘About time the regions were recognised’: Interpreting region-building in Western Australia. Australian Geographer, 46(3), 363–388. Peredo, A. M., & McLean, M. (2006). Social entrepreneurship: A critical review of the concept. Journal of World Business, 41, 56–65. Plummer, P., Tonts, M., & Argent, N. (2018). Sustainable rural economies, evolutionary dynamics and regional policy. Applied Geography, 90, 308–320. Rink, D., Rumpel, P., Slach, O., Cortese, C., Violante, A., Bini, P. C., et al. (2012). Governance of shrinkage: Lessons learnt from analysis for urban planning and policy. Leipzig: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research. Rodgers, M., & Collins, Y. (2001). The future of Australia’s country towns. Bendigo: Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities. Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes Website. (2019). Businesses. https://www.bridgetown.com.au/ business-directory/local-businesses. Accessed 3 Sept 2019. Shire of Kaitanning Website. (2019). Saleyards, history. https://www.katanning.wa.gov.au/explore/ things-to-see-and-do/regional-saleyards.aspx. Accessed 3 Sept 2019. Shire of Kulin Website. (2019). Recreation, history. https://kulin.wa.gov.au/main/recreation/ove rview-1/history/. Accessed 3 Sept 2019. Tonts, M., & Greive, S. (2002). Commodification and creative destruction in the Australian rural landscape: The case of Bridgetown. Western Australia. Australian Geographical Studies, 40(1), 58–70. Tonts, M., Argent, N., & Plummer, P. (2012a). Evolutionary perspectives on rural Australia. Geographical Research, 50(3), 291–303. Tonts, M., Plummer, P., & Lawrie, M. (2012b). Socio-economic wellbeing in Australian mining towns: A comparative analysis. Journal of Rural Studies, 28(3), 288–301. Wave Rock Hotel. (2019). http://www.waverock.com.au/hyden. Accessed 29 Aug 2019. Wilson, R. (2019, March 7). MP website. https://rickwilson.com.au/nyabing-community-hub-nowopen/03/2019/. Accessed 3 Sept 2019. Wolff, M., & Wiechmann, T. (2017). Urban growth and decline: Europe’s shrinking cities in a comparative perspective: 1990–2010. European Urban and Regional Studies, 25(2), 122–139. Woods, M. (2011, November 10). How Bridgetown got the blues. https://www.abc.net.au/local/sto ries/2011/11/10/3361565.htm. Accessed 8 Dec 2017.

Part III

Policies, Actions and Other Responses to Marginality

Chapter 8

Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social Marginalization in the Polish-Czech Borderland and Their Current Transformations Krystian Heffner and Agnieszka Latocha

8.1 Introduction The processes of globalization have affected Central European countries to a greater extent than previously, after the period of entering the political and economic transformation (1980s and 1990s). One of the effects of globalization was the growing diversity of both the countries and their constituent regions in terms of economic growth and development opportunities. The rural and agricultural regions are the primary losing areas, and especially those additionally burdened with being situated in a peripheral location at the European or national scale. Border regions are often perceived as marginal areas due to their peripheral location from the core areas of the countries (Copus 2001; Crone 2012). Although peripheral regions are always more or less connected to neighboring development centers (more often to domestic than foreign ones, even if the latter are closer), only in some areas do the characteristic symptoms of economic, social and cultural marginalization appear. The characteristic features of marginalization in peripheral areas, which are most often mentioned, include: economic underdevelopment, social and cultural exclusion, political unimportance and lack of influence, and—in general—an essentially different path of functional development than in the more central regions (i.e. attracting investment,

K. Heffner University of Economics in Katowice, ul. Adamskiego 7, 40-069 Katowice, Poland e-mail: [email protected] A. Latocha (B) Institute of Geography and Regional Development, University of Wrocław, Pl. Uniwersytecki 1, Wrocław 50-137, Poland e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 E. Nel and S. Pelc (eds.), Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization, Perspectives on Geographical Marginality 5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51342-9_8

123

124

K. Heffner and A. Latocha

social and entrepreneurial activity, infrastructure condition, domination of emigration and commuting over arrivals, weak public sector) (Pacione 2004; Pelc 2006, 2017). The marginality of borderland areas is additionally enhanced if they are located in the mountains with harsh environmental conditions and limited accessibility. Such areas are especially prone to depopulation, which has been observed in many regions of the world (i.e. Lang et al. 2015; Eder 2018). Several decades of systemic economic transformation in Poland have not significantly overcome the effects of peripheralisation, especially of border and rural areas (Ba´nski 2005; Heffner 2018). Depopulation is one of the major determinants for classifying an area as a problem region (i.e. Churski 2010). All these issues characterise the Polish-Czech borderland region described in this paper. Due to long-term unfavourable development conditions, SW Poland’s borderland (including the Sudety mountains and the Sudetic Foreland) has been classified as a problem area from the 1990s (Zago˙zd˙zon 1990; Ciok 1991). The intense and consistent outflow of inhabitants, followed by land abandonment were the main characteristics of the study area, starting from the second part of the nineteenth century and intensified in the post-World War II period. These processes led to a substantial shrinkage of settlements and desolation (total or partial) of numerous villages. Vanishing villages can be defined as localities that are characterised by permanent and gradual decline in population and employment where most of the inhabitants mainly live on unearned sources of income (i.e. disability or retirement security, social and welfare transfers, remittances from abroad, self-supply farms) (Wilczy´nski 2016; Wesołowska 2018). The peripheral character of such locations in local and regional structures, poor access to transport (frequently the lack of public transport), absence or minimum scope of new building development, and lack of social and commercial infrastructure are their typical features. Furthermore, poor or deteriorating conditions of technical infrastructure, housing resources and farm buildings are also significant. A growing number of uninhabited buildings and their subsequent collapse or demolition results in a decrease in the density of buildings and dispersion of the village structure (Soboth 2009). Three distinctive spatial properties of ‘advanced marginality’—according to Wacquant 2007—are also visible in the peripheral rural areas in the study region: territorial fixation and stigmatization, spatial alienation with the dissolution of ‘place’, and the loss of a hinterland. Additionally, the peripheral locations are usually associated with the problem of ageing population. Older people residing in the remote communities are subject to both the disadvantages of rural living as well as the health and mobility challenges associated with ageing which enhances a gradual depopulation and also increases the number of abandoned houses and villages (Nemes and Tagai 2011; Winterton and Warburton 2011, see also Bock 2018). The well known concept of the centre-periphery (Wight 1983) can be perceived as a valuable tool to understand the processes of geographical marginalization (Schmidt 2007) and permanent depopulation of the rural areas as the result leading to the growing number of abandoned farms and housing and consequently the disappearance of villages. It can be interpreted in three ways: (a) positional (geographical)

8 Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social …

125

centre and periphery, which is mainly associated with the accessibility of a place; (b) development (economic) centre and periphery, and (c) authority (social) centre and periphery in which the role of power and the imbalance of interests appear (Pénzes 2013). Globalization has a pervasive influence over development trends in European rural regions, presenting both opportunities and challenges (Woods 2013; Kairyt˙e 2015). The liberalization of markets and increasing integration to the global economy, expansion of transport and electronic communication networks, the opening of borders and increased pattern of international migration, as well as growing consciousness of the impact of globalization on the environment and other issues have all prompted, intensified and exaggerated processes of social and economic restructuring in rural areas (Amin 2002; Woods 2007). From the point of view of regional and local policies, globalization is a process involving the multiplication, stretching, intensification and acceleration of socio-cultural and economic relations, interdependencies and spatial exchanges at various scales, accompanied by a widespread, growing public consciousness of opportunities for direct participation and of the impact of the global economy, social relations and culture (i.e. Cox 1997; Steger 2009). However, in the discourses on globalization the inadequacy of center—peripheries models is frequently underlined because they are difficult to interpret without some distinction between what is becoming central and what is becoming peripheral in geographical, political, economic, social or cultural terms. People tend to be aware of whether they or their surroundings, communities, activities and creations are considered—from particular perspectives and in specific aspects—as central or peripheral, and they understand that this has actual, material effects, especially in terms of the capacity to effect changes in their own position or in the world at large. The intensification of global connectivity has not done away with inequalities and hierarchic systems, even if their spatial distribution across the world has shifted (Beck 2015; Peeren et al. 2016). Poor access to services or exclusion from mainstream economic activity and inability to derive benefits from globalization are spatial or aspatial syndromes of peripherality. But the defining feature and the initiating factor is the weakness of interaction and the lack of connectedness, rather than secondary factor, such as the lagging socio-economic development. Thus most of the peripheral rural regions tend to be lagging behind, some of them are marginalized in socio-economic development, but not all lagging areas transform into peripheries (Copus 2001, 2017; Beetz et al. 2008; Dangschat 2009). Numerous European studies indicate and warn that rural areas with limited accessibility will become depopulated due to the persistent exodus of young people who prefer an easy access to education and expect significant improvements in living conditions. Actions and undertakings reversing this process are difficult to carry out due to various social, cultural and economic reasons. Peripheral areas often became places where a large part of the population is redundant as workers, consumers and producers. Less accessible rural areas (e.g. mountains regions) are especially prone to peripheralization processes since the historic planned economy which created or maintained economic and social structures have become increasingly obsolete and

126

K. Heffner and A. Latocha

incompatible in a globalized economy (Ferrão and Lopes 2004; Scholz 2005). Therefore the peripherality of rural areas is often transformed into permanent marginalization (Farrell et al. 2014). A significant part of the shrinking population is affected by poverty and social exclusion, as well as a declining opportunities to meet the health, education, housing, culture and leisure needs (Mehretu et al. 2000). Lack of adequate income causes some kind of feedback and is both the cause and the effect of deprivation and of unmet needs, and consequently triggers migration. All this favours the unsustainable development of peripheral rural areas and their progressing marginalization. The processes of marginalization in Poland are—unlike in the highly developed countries—highly concentrated in territories, and among others in peripheral rural areas like the Polish-Czech border region (i.e. Heffner 2018). However, rural areas with a peripherality syndrome are undoubtedly also territories of unused potential (Lorentzen 2012; Bartkowiak-Bakun 2017). There are many reasons that peripheries can play a prominent role as an integral part of a holistic and balanced society (Copus et al. 2011; de Souza 2018). In the recent years new phenomena can be observed in the studied borderland such as the increase in tourist infrastructure and new buildings, including second homes (Heffner and Czarnecki 2015; Czarnecki 2018). This raises questions about whether they can be interpreted as a return of more intense socio-economic processes and as a hope for better development of the marginal areas? In this chapter we aim to present both the causes and effects of long-term depopulation and desolation of villages in the Polish-Czech border region, and to discuss the current changes occurring in the study area in the context of marginalization or de(?)marginalization. Marginalization can be understood in many different ways, such as: underdevelopment, lack of resources and distance, relation, oppression, closure and lack of cultural integration as well as lack of adaptation to norms (Bernt and Colini 2013). Marginal areas can be characterized by a variety of criteria which are more focused on conditions rather than on the relations, i.e. significantly lower incomes per capita, low infrastructure equipment, cultural isolation, difficult natural conditions (Leimgruber 2004; Pelc 2017). With respect to the concept of territoriality it is a multi-dimensional concept which simultaneously covers aspects of insufficient integration (isolation, dependency, weakening), relatively low level of development, and economic, social, political and cultural disadvantage (see Schmidt 2007). We also discuss the potential threats posed by further development and the disadvantageous closed cycle rural development model for peripheral and marginal regions has been proposed. Some recommendations for limiting the impacts of negative trends are also made. This is mainly a review based on existing knowledge, literature studies and the authors’ own research. The study area is SW Poland’s border region, including southern parts of two voivodeships1 : Dolno´sl˛askie and Opolskie and provides detailed analysis of the most depopulated counties (poviats) (Głubczyce, Prudnik, Kłodzko) as the case studies (Fig. 8.1). 1 Poland is divided on regional level into 16 administrative units named voivodeship (województwo).

In EU terms these administrative units are located as regions at NUTS-2 level in the division used for Cohesion policy purposes in the European Union.

8 Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social …

127

Fig. 8.1 Study area—border region with county (poviat) borders and local names which are mentioned in the text. Source The Authors

8.2 Causes and Stages of Depopulation in SW Poland’s Borderland The depopulation process started in the Polish-Czech borderland at the end of the nineteenth century, and phases of peak intensity were observed in 1880s, 1945–48 and 1950–1960 for the Sudety mountains area, and additionally in the 1990s in the Opolskie voivodeship. This process is still being observed, even though a small growth of population in some villages have also been reported recently (Szmytkie and Tomczak 2017). The causes for depopulation were complex and diverse in the successive stages as well as diversified in individual localities—being different for villages located in lowlands, mountains or in their forelands. These processes were the result of the overlap of natural, socio-economic, and political determinants (Latocha et al. 2018). World War II and its political, economic and social consequences in Central Europe, especially changes in the state borders and population displacement (flight, evacuation and expulsion) took place on an unprecedented scale, had extremely

128

K. Heffner and A. Latocha

significant impact on depopulation processes in the new Polish-Czech borderland. The change in the political system of the states in the Central Europe, including Poland and Czechoslovakia that became neighbouring countries, was a crucial factor, too. Depopulation was also commonly observed on the Czech side of the border (Kuˇcera and Chromý 2012). Because of the war many local centres (small towns) and villages in the eastern part of the study area were devastated. The displacement of the German population caused the abandonment of many buildings, farmsteads, rural settlements and hamlets. In the Polish-Czech borderland the abandonment was experienced in a considerable part of the rural areas, especially in the Sudety mountains, Sudetic Foreland and Głubczyce Plateau (Fig. 8.1). The resettlement of the abandoned areas by new Polish settlers was insufficient in number, therefore only some villages and only some buildings of the Polish-Czech borderland were reoccupied and permanently inhabited, mainly those that had the best locations in terms of transport, and those that were in the best physical condition (Ko´scik 1982). Many farms, hamlets and single farm buildings located in more isolated locations were not reinhabited at all and slowly deteriorated. Considerable cultural differences between the expelled Germans and newlysettled Poles resulted in significant difficulties being experienced with regards to the appropriate reuse of the acquired properties, buildings and infrastructure, which often led to their further dilapidation. The nationalisation of the great majority of properties and large farms that was conducted in the second half of the 1940s, resulted only in the partial reconstruction of residential and farm buildings, whereas preserved buildings, often used inappropriately to their primary purpose, were often abandoned and then demolished. In the whole post-war period, until the end of the 1980s, most of the rural areas of the Polish-Czech borderland experienced intensive depopulation that was associated with migration outflow of the younger part of rural community, especially of women, with rapid ageing of rural population and decrease in the number of children and youth in rural localities taking place in parallel. These phenomena affected not only many villages but also the majority of small towns. This created a growing number of empty buildings in the rural settlements as well as difficulties experienced in maintaining the technical and social infrastructure in villages. Furthermore, the causes of depopulation of villages in the southern parts of Dolno´sl˛askie and the Opolskie voivodeships must be also seen as the result of a faulty proprietary structure prevailing in agricultural areas (Heffner 1998). Small farms did not create sufficient incomes whereas the working conditions were significantly more difficult (demanding larger work-effort) than in lowland areas. The introduction of pension benefits for farmers brought a similar result. Farmers receiving a pension most often handed over the farm to younger generation and moved to nearby urban centres where living conditions are easier and more favorable for elder people. At the same time, numerous small work establishments located in piedmont villages were attractive places to work in, but only for the inhabitants of villages with convenient places of residence in terms of transport (i.e. larger villages, suburban areas and where houses were close to main roads). Small-scale industry, functioning in many small towns and villages in the Polish-Czech borderland areas between 1950 and

8 Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social …

129

1989, contributed to an outflow of many young people from smaller rural localities, who settled relatively close to their workplaces. In the 1990s industry in these places collapsed in most cases, but the workers did not go back to their original villages and the vast majority chose regional or sub-regional urban centers (i.e. Heffner 2018). Additionally, according to the post-war regulations and the system of communism, the borderlands were subject to severe limitations of any activities and strict security and monitoring, which significantly impacted on the settlement processes and encouraged the gradual depopulation of many villages (Oleszek 2015).

8.3 Size and Spatial Diversity of Depopulation in the Study Areas In the southern part of Opolskie voivodeship, in the Prudnik and Głubczyce counties/poviats, the average size of populations decreased in 2012 by around 35-45% in comparison with the situation in 1939 just before the War (see Lis 2013) (Table 8.1). A lot of villages, hamlets, farms and even parts of cities vanished completely. In many villages, there are still numerous ruins overgrown with trees. Although the villages in both poviats were initially relatively completely repopulated after the expulsion of Germans, the outflow of inhabitants has gradually progressed in recent decades. Native people (Silesians) are gradually leaving for Germany (for better work and better living conditions), which has resulted in a permanent negative balance of foreign migration, whereas incoming people are moving to larger cities and industry centres both in Opolskie region and further afield (Heffner 1998, 2018). Most of the communes (gminas—the smallest administrative units in Poland) in the Sudety mountains reported a decline of population in the post-war period in comparison with the pre-war period, however, the depopulation was most severe in the Kłodzko poviat (Miszewska 1993). Comparisons between the pre-war maximum population and the post-war minimum number of people show that depopulation affected all villages in the Kłodzko area, including 70% (131) villages in the Kłodzko poviat that reported depopulation of 50% and more, and for over a third (65 localities) it was ≥80%. Among the villages mentioned in pre-war censuses, in the post-war period seven villages disappeared completely. Considering non-independent settlement units such as hamlets and isolated farmsteads, the number of settlements that vanished is even bigger (Table 8.2). The desolated villages are generally found in the areas with the most difficult access. The level of depopulation is related both to the altitude (level above the sea) and the gradient of slope as well as to the topography, especially to orographic barriers (Latocha et al. 2018). The highest level of depopulation is usually further associated with tiny villages with small areas of arable land and to settlements close to the state border.

130

K. Heffner and A. Latocha

Table 8.1 Population of villages in the border region of Głubczyce poviat between 1999 and 2012 in comparison with the situation in 1939 Commune/locality

Year 1939

1999

2012

% 1999/2012

% 1939/2012

635

568

89.4

42.2 52.5

Commune (gmina) Branice Bliszczyce Boboluszki

1347 604

377

317

84.1

4594

2429

2136

87.9

46.5

Dzier˙zkowice

357

175

150

85.7

42.0

Wiechowice

516

198

187

94.4

36.2

Wysoka

716

543

502

94.3

70.1

Branice

Commune (gmina) Głubczyce Chomi˛az˙ a

404

206

156

75.7

38.6

Ciermi˛ecice

427

94

75

79.8

17.6

Dobieszów

281

98

86

87.7

30.6

Gadzowice

354

239

248

103.8

70.1

Krasne Pole

264

173

163

94.2

61.7

Lenarcice

193

82

56

68.3

29.0

Opawica

555

128

111

86.7

20.0

Pielgrzymów

417

72

61

84.7

14.6

Pietrowice

692

193

176

91.2

25.4

Pomorzowice

604

417

387

92.8

64.1

Pomorzowiczki

208

79

71

89.9

34.1

Równe

939

449

393

87.2

41.8

Sławoszów

217

34

31

91.2

14.3

Tarnkowa

120

84

72

85.7

60.0

Kietrz

8914

6827

6199

90.8

69.5

Pilszcz

1468

512

735

143.5

50.1

Rozumice ´ Sciborzyce Wielkie

1067

332

305

91.9

28.6

1174

788

440

55.8

37.5

Commune (gmina) Kietrz

Source Lis (2013)

8.4 Spatial and Landscape-Related Consequences of Depopulation Decapitalisation and devastation of buildings in abandoned villages and the progressive decline of settlements in rural areas are consequences of depopulation (Ciok 1991). These processes led to fragmentation of the morphological structure of

8 Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social …

131

Table 8.2 Population changes in the most depopulated and vanished villages in Kłodzko poviat Village

Maximum population in pre-war perioda

Minimum population in post-war periodb

Population in 2002c

Depopulation (%)

Biała Woda

146

0

0

100

Czerwony Strumie´n

158

0

0

100

Karpno

141

0

0

100

Piaskowice

347

0

0

100

Rogó˙zka

198

0

0

100

Wrzosówka

115

0

0

100

Zimne Wody

166

0

1

100 (99)

Poniatów

342

2

2

99

Rudawa

647

6

6

99

Marcinków

578

6

6

99

Mostowice

560

14

14

Taszów

301

8

15

Janowa Góra

141

4

4

Potoczek

666

23

23

97

Niemojów

618

23

23

96

98 97 (95) 97

Sienna

346

14

18

Studzienno

419

19

20

95

Huta

132

6

6

95

Le´sna

96 (95)

77

4

4

95

Bieganów

693

37

37

95

Pasterka

653

36

43

Witów

166

10

10

94

Szklary

66

4

lack of data

94

Lesica

618

39

39

Bielice

484

32

56

Jodłów

820

68

68

92

Jerzykowice Małe

111

10

lack of data

91

Source Latocha (2017) a Censuses from: 1867, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1925, 1933, 1939 b Censuses from: 1950, 1960, 1970, 1978, 1988, 2002 c National Census of Population 2002

94 (93)

94 93 (88)

132

K. Heffner and A. Latocha

Fig. 8.2 Example of decline in built-up areas in the depopulated villages in the Sudety Mountains (Stołowe Mountains). Source The Authors

villages, increases in dispersed settlements and, locally, to a complete disappearance of hamlets and parts of villages. Depopulation was followed by land abandonment, decline in arable areas, and development of the secondary succession of vegetation which resulted in lowering of the agro-forest borderline in the Sudety mountains (Latocha 2012). The depopulation of the mountains was mainly reflected in the decline of smaller villages and the isolated settlements and hamlets (Table 8.2, Fig. 8.2), whereas within bigger villages the depopulation caused a thinning out of the building structure but not their disappearance. These processes transformed traditional “waldhufendorf” villages to dispersed settlements. On the other hand, the new, socialist forms of multi-family buildings and residential areas for collective farming emerged successively between 1950 and 1981 and partly replaced traditional buildings. Old farms and homesteads were usually used only partially, due to their considerable size and they suffered from gradual degradation and some of them turned into ruins. Changes in traditional spatial structures and the predominant forms of settlements are an important problem for depopulating villages. Building structures developed in the period of predominance of farming activities (large residential buildings, numerous farm buildings of considerable cubic capacity) do not correspond to contemporary demands and needs of the current residents where the majority are not farmers anymore. Therefore, they do not need old farmsteads or farm buildings. Most of the village residents in the Polish-Czech borderland have non-agricultural sources of income, and they are often elderly people. Furthermore, old houses or farm buildings (which are now seen as too big and impractical) raise the costs of their maintenance.

8 Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social …

133

8.5 Current Trends and Threats in Depopulating Areas The recent political and socio-economic changes in Poland, such as the decline of communism since 1989, joining the European Union in 2004 and Schengen area in 2007 have visibly impacted also the borderlands and peripheral areas. One of their most visible effects are the local increases in new residential, recreation and service-providing developments. The increase in new buildings occurs mainly in the rural surroundings of towns, in areas with intensive development of tourism and recreation functions, and near the spa-resorts which are numerous in the study area. Furthermore, in many villages, previously identified as vanishing, new residents arrived, migration outflow decreased, and new functions emerged (service provision for tourism, recreation, agro- and eco-tourism, second homes) (Latocha 2017; Szmytkie and Tomczak 2018). These trends are associated with the influx of permanent or temporary new users of villages, primarily from bigger cities. They start businesses and social activities in the rural areas, however they often maintain relationships (work, services, culture) with their places of origin. Nevertheless, they contribute to the transformation of traditional functions of rural settlement. These phenomena fit well to a current, broader concept of the rurality, where the rural is no longer the monopoly of the farmer which means a gradual shift towards other village functions, especially in rural peripheral and marginalized zones (Korf and Oughton 2006). For example, in Kłodzko county/poviat, development of new single-family and summer housing was especially intensive at the beginning of the twenty-first century (Latocha 2017). The number of construction permits issued annually for singlefamily houses doubled within just a few years from 96 in 2002 to 204 in 2007 (data for the northern part of the poviat, including both rural and urban areas). In the rural areas only—which are more attractive for recreation—the increase was even larger (44 permits in 2002 and 110 in 2007). A clear loss of settlements in upper locations was compensated by new developments in more convenient places as mentioned above. However, recently more and more houses are also being built in more isolated areas which can be explained by the search for more natural areas. There are also numerous rural houses in Polish-Czech borderland which are used as so-called second homes. Their owners generally go there for weekends or holidays, and activate, at least seasonally, some previously depopulated villages (Heffner and Czarnecki 2015). Although the phenomenon is most intensely developing in the areas of influence of larger urban centers and in the regions of particular touristic and recreational attraction, it is also observed in rural areas that are attractive mainly to local people. This form of making investments, renovation and revitalisation of old rural buildings provides the opportunity to maintain and preserve the spatial integrity of rural areas. However, if the new summer cottages are built, they are often located outside the historical village structure and this negatively affects the villages (Oleszek 2015). This is because of the threat of such “external” revitalisation of villages, which are attractive as recreational sites but this does not assist or support the living conditions of permanent residents (because farming has declined,

134

K. Heffner and A. Latocha

there are few opportunities for non-agricultural labour, and what labor demands there are, are seasonal in character, in addition it is now difficult access to services, etc.). The development of a new building structure in many areas has been of an uncontrolled character. It brings disorder to spatial arrangements and the loss of the villages’ unique character and landscape-related values of many areas (Suchodolski 2010; Latocha 2012; Trocka-Leszczy´nska 2012). This process has already blurred the typical and traditional pattern of numerous villages in the study area. Moreover, the new buildings are becoming more and more dispersed and cover increasingly larger areas (Fig. 8.3). Consequently, sprawl does not improve the accessibility to local centers or the network of services, on the contrary, handling scattered building structures is becoming increasingly difficult. In many smaller villages, the decrease in dispersion of buildings means depopulation and disappearance of farms located away from local centers, most often less accessible in terms of communication. As a result, some rural settlements become smaller but more concentrated.

´ askie voivodeships. Fig. 8.3 Polish-Czech borderland (Polish part): Dolno´sl˛askie, Opolskie and Sl˛ Changes in dispersed buildings in the period 2000–2012. Source Based on source material (Gibas 2017)

8 Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social …

135

8.6 Recommendations for Further Development of the Borderlands The studies on depopulation in the Sudety mountains in the 1970–80s indicated that the best way to prevent this process is to develop stock farming and tourist industry (Miszewska 1993). In fact, a development of these sectors has been observed, but only recently. Permanent and relatively easy access to most important public services—childcare and education, healthcare, palliative care, shops, supply in basic products—and reliable public means of transport, and technical infrastructure are extremely important determinants hampering outflow of population, especially of young people (Soboth 2009). Easy access to the Internet may also be important for both village inhabitants and owners of second homes. Unfortunately, these transformations in village functions are very difficult to implement because they need considerable targeted investments and targeted spatial policies which are still lacking, especially in the smallest rural communities (Bock 2016). Therefore, it can be interpreted that the vanishing villages in the study area follow the so-called ‘closed-cycle’ model of rural development (Leibert 2013; Kühn 2015). This concept assumes the disappearance of settlement structures in rural areas as a result of the migration outflow of young people. Selective outflow (young, more entrepreneurial population) results in a decrease in demand for services and in the sphere of production. As a result of the exodus of young people from the village, market difficulties appear (including that of finding a job), which are reasons further pushing the inhabitants out of the village. This process has many negative consequences, up to and including the disappearance of the village (i.e. Török 2014; Weber 2014; Moldovan 2018). The authors take the view that the reasons for the depopulation and disappearance of villages are more complicated, and the factor, which initiates shrinkage of villages through the migration of young people and the accelerated aging of other residents, is the economic and social inefficiency of farming in difficult environmental and spatial conditions (Fig. 8.4). It can be a real phenomenon, but also the same effect gives the inhabitants’ conviction about the worse farm management efficiency. The decreasing economic attractiveness of agriculture (i.e. difficult working conditions, relatively weak work effects, decreasing profitability of farms, problems with transport accessibility and commuting to work) result in increased interest in the migration outflow from peripheral rural areas with more difficult farming conditions and agricultural monofunctionality (compare Copus, Noguera, 2017). Worsening living conditions related to, among others, remoteness and transport difficulties as well as problems with technical infrastructure do not encourage the return of those who have oscillatory or temporarily left such rural areas. Those processes gradually lead to the disappearance of the village in peripheral rural areas. However, it is unrealistic and sometimes pointless to prevent population outflow from rural localities “at any costs” (i.e. in all villages experiencing depopulation). Due to their initially small size or dispersion of buildings and difficult access, some of them have insufficient demographic and economic potential to return to the path of

136

K. Heffner and A. Latocha

Fig. 8.4 Disadvantageous ‘closed–cycle’ rural development model for peripheral and marginal regions. Source The Authors: K. Heffner; graphic concept: A. Majorek, University of Economics in Katowice, 2019

growth. Maybe it would be a better idea to try to slow down the depopulation through initiatives and actions targeted only at areas with potentially more favourable conditions for development? Considerable and stable support for the process of concentration (on a local scale) of population potential, business and investment activity as well as maintenance of public services sector in compliance with key villages could be appropriate to pursue (Drobek and Heffner 1992). Villages with relatively big populations and convenient location and access could become local centres of growth, which support the social integration of inhabitants and which provide services to both externally located tourist and recreation facilities, second homes and innovative farmers. Second homes, which are located within depopulated villages, can increase the opportunity for such areas to restore the housing, tourism and recreation functions. Additionally, the second homes based on renovated old buildings, can considerably contribute to the preservation of traditional architecture. However, the role of second homes in re-activating the desolated areas is effective mainly in the neighbourhood of bigger cities or in places which are attractive in terms of natural and landscape values. Unfortunately, it does not significantly affect the increase of permanent residents (Halfacree 2011; Czarnecki 2018; Heffner and Czarnecki 2015). Restoration or intensification of farming need changes in ownership structure of land and do not significantly increase the number of labour places—it changes rather the number of people employed in agriculture (Kutkowska 2006). However, it does

8 Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social …

137

not stop negative processes associated with the lack of sufficient demographic and economic potential that result in the gradual disappearance of social and commercial, and consequently technical infrastructure. The ordering and restoring of devastated and abandoned land should be of key importance in the vanishing villages with an advanced level of degradation of their spatial form and structure. The possibilities of developments within the internal structure of village must be considered in revitalisation projects rather than to locate the new buildings and investments outside of the settlements (Koetter 2009). Restored land also needs to gain other, specific economic functions (tourism, modern farming, forestry, ecological, service-providing, etc.). Vanishing villages may regain attractiveness for investments due to their values of location, landscape and natural environment. The recent development of numerous large-scale hotel complexes and guesthouses in the study area confirms the transformation of functions in the previously depopulated areas (Wilczy´nski 2016; Latocha 2017).

8.7 Conclusion The transformation process and integration of the formerly socialist Central European states into the global economy has led to very profound changes in these countries’ economies, societies and socio-cultural behavior of their inhabitants. All this resulted in extremely high polarization of selected regions whilst the capital city and the most of metropolitan regions have more or less caught up economically with European Centers of Development while the more remote rural areas, frequently with the additional features of peripherality (understood as widely recognized deficiencies of accessibility), stagnate on a low level or fall even further behind (Schmied 2005). In some theoretical approaches, the thesis is even formulated that for peripheral areas the highest priority is to ensure future economic success and maintain links with dynamic centers of global importance at all costs. After joining the European Union the decreasing population of those peripheries gained the ability to migrate to the core European regions for many potential opportunities, simultaneously reducing taxes and public money spent to keep up services of general interest and infrastructure in peripheral regions (Leibert 2013; Heffner and Twardzik 2015). However, the globalization trends can also contribute to the new socio-economic phenomena in the peripheral regions as it was described in this paper. The presented case shows that both long-term depopulation in the Polish-Czech borderland and current trends in terms of the new, mainly recreation-oriented developments cause significant changes in the functional and spatial structure of vanishing villages. The majority of these changes should be considered unfavourable in terms of the preservation of historical settlement structures and of the unique character of ´ the places (Sleszy´ nski et al. 2018). Additionally, the gradual loss of human potential, depreciation of technical infrastructure and the disappearance of housing has resulted in the withdrawal of public sector services in many places.

138

K. Heffner and A. Latocha

The question about the strategic goals of local and regional policy in depopulating areas remains open. The ways to prevent depopulation and its consequences must take into account the reduced capacity of housing, service buildings and infrastructure, new conditions of spatial development and reduced human resources. The strengthening of local governments and compensation of weak organisational density by enhancement and creation of cooperating local societies and institutions can countervail processes of circular economic and social decrease in peripheral rural regions (see Lorentzen 2012; Heffner and Czarnecki 2015; Ubels et al. 2019). At the same time, the marginalisation of vanishing villages in the Polish-Czech borderland can be viewed more optimistically from the perspective of national strategies of regional development (Krajowa Strategia Rozwoju Regionalnego… 2017) where it is suggested that by 2030 the nature of the peripheral character of borderland areas will be reduced through the improved access to them in intra-national and international relations. Integration processes on both sides of the border will be intensified through the implementation of diverse trans-border cooperations with a focus on the strengthening of human, environmental, touristic, educational and cultural potential in areas of current depopulation. The environmental changes associated with the previous disappearance of settlements, and related to the reduced human impact, have already opened new possibilities for the development of tourism, recreational and service functions. Moreover, in some areas the depopulation can be considered as a positive process of better adaptation to the local environmental and/or economic conditions. It can be concluded that the marginal areas in Polish-Czech borderland are currently subject to intensive transformations with increasing polarisation in terms of both depopulation and new developments. At the moment it is too early to state if the new processes are able to counteract the marginalisation of the border regions or if they improve only the living conditions, impacting negatively at the same time the traditional cultural landscape, which could be interpreted as another aspect of marginalisation in the sense of losing the identity of the place.

References Amin, A. (2002). Spatialities of globalisation. Environment and Planning A, 34(3), 385–400. Ba´nski, J. (2005). Suburban and peripheral rural areas in Poland—The balance of development in the transformation period. Geograficky Casopis, 57(2), 117–130. Bartkowiak-Bakun, N. (2017). The diversity of socioeconomic development of rural areas in Poland in the western borderland and the problem of post-state farm localities. Oeconomia Copernicana, 8(3), 417–432. Beck, U. (2015). What is globalization?. Oxford: John Wiley. Beetz, S., Huning, S., & Plieninger, T. (2008). Landscapes of peripherisation in North-Eastern Germany’s countryside: New challenges for planning theory and practice. International Planning Studies, 13, 295–310. Bernt, M., & Colini, L. (2013). Exclusion, marginalization and peripheralization. conceptual concerns in the study of urban inequalities. Working Paper, Erkner, Leibniz Institute for Regional

8 Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social …

139

Development and Structural Planning. www.irs-net.de/download/wp-exclusion-marginalizationperipheralization.pdf Bock, B. (2016). Rural marginalisation and the role of social innovation: a turn towards nexogenous development and rural reconnection. Sociologica Ruralis. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12119. Bock, B. (2018). Rural futures: Inclusive rural development in times of urbanisation. Wageningen: Wageningen University & Research. https://doi.org/10.18174/465253. Churski, P. (2010). Problem areas in Polish regional policy. Moravian Geographical Reports, 18(2), 23–35. Ciok S. (1991), Sudety. Obszar problemowy. Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis, no. 1236, Studia Geograficzne, 51. Copus, A. K. (2001). From core-periphery to polycentric development: concepts of spatial and aspatial peripherality. European Planning Studies, 9(4), 539–552. Copus, A., Dubois, A., & Hedström, M. (2011). Expanding horizons: local embeddedness and global engagement among small firms in the European Countryside. European Countryside, 3(3), 164–182. Copus, A., & Noguera, J. (2017). PROFECY—Processes, features and cycles of inner peripheries in Europe (inner peripheries: national territories facing challenges of access to basic services of general interest. Applied Research Final Report Annex 1. Conceptual Framework Version 07/12/2017, ESPON, Luxembourg. Cox, K. R. (1997). Spaces of globalization: Reasserting the power of the local. New York: Guilford Press. Crone, M. (2012). Re-thinking “peripherality” in the context of a knowledge-intensive, servicedominated. In: M. Danson & P. D. Souza (Eds.), Regional development in northern Europe. Peripherality, marginality a border issues (pp. 49–64). London: Routledge. Czarnecki, A. (2018). Going local? Linking and integrating second-home owners with the community’s economy: A comparative study between Finnish and Polish second-home owners. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Publishing. Dangschat, J. S. (2009). Space Matters—marginalization and its places. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 33(3), 835–840. de Souza, P. (2018). The rural and peripheral in regional development: An alternative perspective. Abingdon: Routledge. Drobek, W., & Heffner, K. (1992). Infrastrukturalne i funkcjonalne czynniki przemian w wiejskiej ´ aska Opolskiego. Opole: Silesian Institute in Opole. sieci osadniczej Sl˛ Eder, J. (2018). Peripheralization and knowledge bases in Austria: towards a new regional typology. European Planning Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2018.1541966. Farrell, M., Kairyt˙e, E., Nienaber, B., McDonagh, J., & Mahon, M. (2014). Rural return migration: Comparative analysis between Ireland and Lithuania. Central and Eastern European Migration Review, 3(2), 127–149. Ferrão, J., & Lopes, R. (2004). Understanding peripheral rural areas as contexts for economic development. In L. Labrianidis (Ed.), The future of Europe’s rural peripheries (pp. 31–61). Aldershot: Ashgate. Gibas, P. (2017). Analiza zmian i prognoza przyrostu zabudowy mieszkaniowej na obszarze Polski do 2020 roku. Pozna´n: Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Halfacree, K. (2011). Heterolocal identities? Counter-Urbanisation, Second Homes, and Rural Consumption in the Era of Mobilities. Population, Space and Place, 18(2), 209–224. Heffner, K. (1998). Population changes and processes of development in the Polish-Czech borderland zone. In M. Koter & K. Heffner (Eds.), Borderlands or transborder regions geographical, social and political problems, region and regionalism No 3 (pp. 204–216). Łód´z-Opole: University of Łód´z, Department of Political Geography and Regional Studies and Silesian Institute in Opole. Heffner, K. (2018). Rural labour markets and peripherization processes in Poland. In W. Leimgruber & D. Chang Yi (Eds.), Rural areas between regional needs and global challenges (pp. 53–71). Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Cham: Transformation in rural space.

140

K. Heffner and A. Latocha

Heffner, K., & Czarnecki, A. (2015). Linking locally: Second home owners and economic development of the rural community. In E. Kulke & P. Dannenberg (Eds.), Economic development in rural areas: Functional and multifunctional approaches (pp. 185–210). Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Heffner, K., & Twardzik, M. (2015). Leaching functions from the outer metropolitan zones (trade, services)—increasing peripherality of small towns and rural areas. Journal of Economics and Management, 19(1), 194–209. Kairyt˙e, E. (2015). Greater globalization challenges—lesser rural responses: the case of Alytus County, Lithuania. In J. McDonagh, B. Nienaber, & M. Woods (Eds.), Globalization and Europe’s rural Regions. Farnham: Ashgate. Koetter, T. (2009). Innenentwicklung der Dörfer und Revitalisierung der Dorfkerne – von der Dorferneuerung zum Dorfumbau. In Dörfer ohne Menschen?! Zwischen Abriss, Umnutzung und Vitalisierung. Materialien zur Vorbereitung der 30. Bundestagung der Deutschen Landeskulturgesellschaft (DLKG) am 14. bis 16. Oktober 2009 in Würzburg, Institut für Regionalmanagement, Deutsche Landeskundegesellschaft, Sonderheft 2, Müncheberg (pp. 6–27). Korf, B., & Oughton, E. (2006). Rethinking the European countryside—Can we learn from the South? Journal of Rural Studies, 22(3), 278–289. ´ aska w latach 1945– Ko´scik E. (1982). Osadnictwo wiejskie w południowych powiatach Dolnego Sl˛ 1949. Prace Wrocławskiego Towarzystwa Naukowego, seria A, no. 224, Ossolineum, Wrocław. Krajowa Strategia Rozwoju Regionalnego do 2030 roku. (2017). Ministerstwo Rozwoju Regionalnego, Warszawa. Kuˇcera, Z., & Chromý, P. (2012). Depopulation, resettlement and landscape changes in the peripheries of the Czech borderland. In A. Paniagua, R. Bryant, & T. Kizos (Eds.), The political ecology of depopulation: Inequality, landscape and people (pp. 191–213). Zaragoza: Ceddar. Kühn M. (2015). Peripheralization: Theoretical concepts explaining socio-spatial inequalities. European Planning Studies, 23(2), 367–378. Kutkowska, B. (2006). Wspieranie rolnictwa na obszarach o niekorzystnych warunkach gospo´ asku ze szczególnym uwzgl˛ednieniem terenów sudeckich. Acta darowania (ONW) na Dolnym Sl˛ Agraria et Silvestria, Seria Agraria, 46(1), 49–56. Lang, T., Henn, S., Ehrlich, K., & Sgibnev, W. (Eds.). (2015). Understanding geographies of polarization and peripheralization: Perspectives from Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Latocha, A. (2012). Changes in the rural landscape of the Polish Sudety Mountains in the post-war period. Geographia Polonica, 85(4), 13–21. Latocha, A. (2017). Odradzanie wsi? Przemiany ludno´sciowo-osadnicze na ziemi kłodzkiej w okresie powojennym, Studia Obszarów Wiejskich, 48, 29–50. Latocha, A., Szymanowski, M., & Wieczorek, M. (2018). Wyludnianie powiatu kłodzkiego przestrzenne zró˙znicowanie i uwarunkowania. Przegl˛ad Geograficzny, 90(2), 241–266. Leibert, T. (2013). The peripheralization of rural areas in post-socialist Central Europe. A case of fragmenting development? Lessons for rural Hungary. In A. Fischer-Tahir & M. Naumann (Eds.), Peripheralization: the making of spatial dependencies and social injustice (pp. 101–120). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. Leimgruber, W. (2004). Between global and local. Marginality and marginal regions in the context of globalization and deregulation. Aldershot: Ashgate. Lis, M. (2013). Nadgraniczne miejscowo´sci powiatu głubczyckiego w warunkach otwartej granicy (pp. 55–60). Głubczyce: Kalendarz Głubczycki, Urz˛ad Miejski w Głubczycach. Lorentzen, A. (2012). The development of the periphery in the experience economy. In M. Danson & P. de Souza (Eds.), Regional development in Northern Europe. Peripherality, marginality and border issues (pp. 16–29). Routledge, London. Mehretu, A., Pigozzi B. W., Sommers, L. M. (2000). Concepts in social and spatial marginality. Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography, 82(2), 89–101. Retrieved March 27, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/491067.

8 Desolated Villages as Examples of Spatial, Economic and Social …

141

Miszewska, B. (1993). Problemy ludno´sciowe Sudetów, Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis, no. 1343. Studia Geograficzne, 58, 33–56. Moldovan, A. (2018). Peripheralisation as a result and driving force of territorial mobility in postsocialist Romania. European Spatial Research and Policy, 24(2), 39–57. Nemes Nagy, J., & Tagai, G. (2011), Regional inequalities and the determination of spatial structure. Regional Statistics, 14(51), Special Issue, 1/2011, 15–28. Oleszek, J. (2015). Współczesna posta´c przestrzeni wiejskiej pogranicza polsko-czeskiego regionu Góry Złote/Rychlebské Hory w nowych realiach gospodarczych - próba oceny, Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu, no. 408, Przestrze´n w nowych realiach gospodarczych (pp. 184–194). Pacione, M. (2004). The geography of disadvantage in rural Scotland. Tijdschrifl voor Economische en Socialc Geografie, 95(4), 375–391. Peeren, E., Stuit, H., & Van Weyenberg, A. (2016). Introduction: Peripheral visions in the globalizing present. In E. Peeren, H. Stuit, & A. Van Weyenberg (Eds.), Peripheral visions in the globalizing present (pp. 1–29). Leiden-Boston: Brill Rodopi. Pelc, S. (2006). Geographical marginality in Slovenia from the point of demographical indicators. Revija za geografijo, 2–1, 121–132. Pelc S. (2017). Marginality and marginalization. In: R. Chand, E. Nel & S. Pelc (Eds.), Societies, social inequalities and marginalization. Marginal regions in the 21st century. Berlin: Springer, pp. 13–28. Pénzes, J. (2013). The dimensions of peripheral areas and their restructuring in Central Europe. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin, 62(4), 373–386. Schmidt, M. (2007). Some reflections on the definition and delimitation of geographical marginality (Papers presented during the Commission Meeting 2001–2004). In G. Jones, W. Leimgruber, E. Nel (Eds.), Issues in geographical marginality. Grahamstown, South Africa: Rhodes University. Schmied, D. (2005). Winning and losing in Europe’s rural areas. In D. Schmied (Ed.), Winning and losing: The changing geography of Europe’s rural areas (pp. 1–1). Aldershot: Ashgate. Scholz, F. (2005). The theory of fragmenting development. Geographische Rundchau International Edition, 1(2), 4–11. ´ Sleszy´ nski, P., Wi´sniewski, R., & Szejgiec-Kolenda, B. (2018). Demographic processes in Poland in the years 1946–2016 and their consequences for local development: Current state and research perspectives. Geographia Polonica, 91(3), 317–334. Soboth, A. (2009). Dörfer ohne Menschen?! - Zwischen Abriss, Umnutzung und Revitalisierung. In Dörfer ohne Menschen?! Zwischen Abriss, Umnutzung und Vitalisierung. Materialien zur Vorbereitung der 30. Bundestagung der Deutschen Landeskulturgesellschaft (DLKG) am 14. bis 16. Oktober 2009 in Würzburg, Institut für Regionalmanagement, Deutsche Landeskundegesellschaft, Sonderheft 2, Müncheberg, pp. 28–64. Steger, M. B. (2009). Globalization: A very short introduction. New York: Oxford Press. Suchodolski, J. (2010). Zanikanie zabudowy turystycznej elementem degradacji krajobrazu w Sudetach na przykładzie Gór Suchych. In D. Chyli´nska & J. Łach (Eds.), Studia krajobrazowe a gin˛ace krajobrazy (pp. 185–199). Wrocław: Zakład Geografii Regionalnej i Turystyki IGRR Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. Szmytkie, R., & Tomczak, P. (2017). Revival of rural settlements in Kłodzko Land. Geographia Polonica, 90(3), 319–333. Szmytkie, R., & Tomczak, P. (2018). Rozwój działalno´sci gospodarczej jako wyraz “odradzania si˛e” wsi na ziemi kłodzkiej. Studia Obszarów Wiejskich, 49, 39–57. Török, I. (2014), From growth to shrinkage: The effects of economic change on the migration processes in rural Romania. Landbauforschung, 64(3–4), 195–206. Trocka-Leszczy´nska, E. (2012). Mo˙zliwo´sci kontynuacji architektury regionalnej w Sudetach. Projektowanie architektury na terenach o szczególnych walorach krajobrazowych i uzdrowiskowych (pp. 19–28). Wrocław: Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wrocławskiej.

142

K. Heffner and A. Latocha

Ubels, H., Bock, B., & Haartsen, T. (2019). An evolutionary perspective on experimental local governance arrangements with local governments and residents in Dutch rural areas of depopulation. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 37(7), 1277–1295. Wacquant, L. (2007). Territorial stigmatization in the age of advanced marginality. Thesis Eleven, 91, 66–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/0725513607082003 Weber, G. (2014). Zersiedelung – die verkannte Zukunftsbelastung. In J. Wippel (Ed.), Baukultur in Österreich (pp. 65–71). Wien: Studienverlag. Wesołowska, M. (2018). Polarization of rural settlements in the Lubelskie voivodeship as a result of population changes. Barometr Regionalny, 16(2), 161–171. Wight, J. B. (1983). From centre/periphery to territory/function: John Friedmann in transition. In J. C. Hansen, J. Naustdalslid, & J. Sewel, (Eds), Centre-periphery theory: Theory and practice. Sogndal. Wilczy´nski, R. (2016). Sytuacja rozwojowa wsi w woj. opolskim w warunkach depopulacji. Studia Obszarów Wiejskich, 41, 209–227. Winterton, R., & Warburton, J. (2011). Does place matter? Reviewing the experience of disadvantage for older people in rural Australia. Rural Society, 20(2), 187–197. Woods, M. (2007). Engaging the global countryside: Globalization, hybridity and the reconstitution of rural place. Progress in Human Geography, 31, 485–507. Woods M. (2013). Rural development, globalization and European regional policy: Perspectives from the DERREG project. Geographia Polonica, 86(2), 99–109. Zago˙zd˙zon, A. (1990). Wybrane problemy ludno´sciowe Sudetów na tle rozwoju regionalnego. Studia KPZK PAN, 96, 95–111.

Chapter 9

A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza Hugo Capellà i Miternique

9.1 Introduction: Gender Freedom at the Merge The margin has always been a space for tolerance and dissent (Planells 2002). On the margins of the central referent, definitions and limits become diffuse, both conceptually and physically, and they are translated into space. Thus, for example, the un-definition of frontiers, allowed precisely, the possibility of exchanges and the emergence of new ideas, impossible to conceive from univocal central parameters. The multiplicity of criteria shared in the margins, has always been considered as an imperfection of the model, to be eradicated, nevertheless, in the contemporary era, it becomes fragments of innovative experiences that shed light on ways to follow in a world that understands diversity as wealth and advantage (Certeau 1993). In this context, the concept of ‘merge’ is usually studied as a deviance from the central normativity rule. In the present study case on gender in Ibiza, we are going to show that merge can also be seen as an opportunity to develop alternative ways to face the world from diverse approaches, through cultural and social innovation. The idea then that a marginal space can become the refuge of a segregated social group (gender minorities) from a central point of view which is quite accepted, according to ghettoization processes (Vélez-Pelligrini and Guasch 2008). The Ibiza case shows another more unusual perspective from that of the marginal spaces literature, when it links merge with tolerance and the defence of critical integration, more than with segregation. The special perspective towards gender which has developed in Ibiza, has built a real (with more than 50 years of experience) and innovative lenses on multicultural societies, aside from normativities. The social consequences of this

H. Capellà i Miternique (B) Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma, Spain e-mail: [email protected] Médiations, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 E. Nel and S. Pelc (eds.), Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization, Perspectives on Geographical Marginality 5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51342-9_9

143

144

H. Capellà i Miternique

plural approach go beyond the gender debate and bring us, through to an understanding of merge, to answer the question of: what is it like to live in multicultural societies? In addition, the case shows how a marginal place has de-marginalized as a result of innovation and change. Within this context, island territories have also been able to develop their own formula, better adapted to new challenges, due to their remoteness. Until a few decades ago, Ibiza was the humblest island in the Balearic Archipelago from which a large number of its population migrated to the continent or further afield (France, Algeria and Argentina) in order to find a better life (Fig. 9.1). It was a territory that had been frozen in time and it was precisely in its traditions which were attached to the land where a group of hippies found the perfect place to develop their visionary alternative ways of life. Even under a dictatorial regime such as Franco’s, this form of development could be tolerated, because it was located in a marginal space that did not affect the whole. On the other hand, the local population knew how to live with these new arrivals, because they also shared a deep love for their land (Ramón and Serra 2013). Following Hippies principles and ways of living, new forms of life were developed based on the idea of freedom, understood as a free choice and a deep respect for every living being. Ibiza curiously appeared as a place of freedom even under an authoritarian rule. Those new principles were shaking all the previous and normalized forms of ways of life. Those new ideas led to the almost experimental development of new forms of community life, translated into concrete actions, such as respectfulness

Fig. 9.1 Map of Ibiza. Source Pinterest

9 A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza

145

Table 9.1 Models to approach diversity MODEL

Repressive (forced)

Demands (choice)

Heterogeneous 1. Classical segregation Gendered (Ex: Spain)

3. Distinction among minorities Re-gendered/multi/queer (Ex: Anglosaxon, UK, US, AUS, CA)

Homogeneous 2. Universalist assimilation Un-gendered (Ex: France)

4. Critical integration/cosmopolitanism De-gendered/Poli/Pan/Anarchism (Ex: Ibiza)

for nature, autarchic community forms of life, or in other aspects such as the discovery of our own body (nudism) or free experience of sexuality (dissociated from gender, Besio and Moss 2006). Marginality became the place to experience life. Unlike other aspects of the hippy movement that have been eroded with the further tourist development of the island, such as the folklorization of its markets or adlib clothing, an abbreviation of the name of the Ibizan clothing fashion created in the 1970s and whose origin is rightly linked to the idea of freedom, because Ad Libitum means freedom in Latin. Sexual tolerance, on the contrary, has become one of the key elements for the further success of the development of nightlife and the so-called Ibiza’s party, at a global scale (Capellà i Miternique 2018). The originality and interest in this situation lies in the fact that tolerance towards sexual diversity has not been built from a positive discriminationclaiming from sexual minorities (such as the queer movement in the Anglo-Saxon model and on global scale later on), but has been achieved, from the recognition of a critical integration (Table 9.1), much closer to contemporary anarchist approaches, avoiding gender labels and focusing more, on complexity and plurality (Kymlicka 2002). The case of Ibiza provides a very interesting case for the understanding of a new approach to gender, on the fringe of official discourses and where it surprisingly fits in much better with contemporary debates on gender (Queer-anarchism). The experience of marginal places gives us then the answers how to develop a cosmopolitan and tolerant society. The innovation derived from those particular processes developed in merge’s spaces, no longer seen as marginal, they have become precious experiences with original answers, ready to be heard. In the case of Ibiza this island has become, for many tourists around the world an amazing island, not just for the party and leisure, but also for the innovative perspective on freedom in tolerant societies. It is also an example of how a once marginal place has become de-marginalized. This study was based on the results of an ethnographical study based on interviews with straight/gay tourists, clubs owners and local islanders. This chapter focuses firstly, on the reasons for this original merge situation in relation to gender on the Island. Secondly, it studies the evolution of Ibiza’s approaches to gender: from degendered, to re-gendered spaces in nowadays postmodernity. Thirdly, it concludes with a discussion on the urgency of the opportunity of merges to bring about a diverse

146

H. Capellà i Miternique

critical perspective in our global world. Merge is the best descriptor for innovation in global worlds.

9.2 Freedom in the Merge The everyday life, often regarded by philosophers (Certeau et al. 1990) as a ‘veil’ that prevents us from seeing the world in all its splendour, reduces our gaze to an almost mechanical act, through its repetition. On the contrary, it can also become an element of normalization (Sana Reguillo 2000). Thus, for example, in the image of the nudist girls of the 1960s in Ibiza, it is precisely the naturalness of the daily scene of having breakfast that turns the unusual look of nudism into a natural act. It becomes normalized and every-day through the acceptance of a new normal (Fig. 9.2). In Ibiza The disappearance of external socially accepted norms of conduct (normativities), more specifically with regard to the subject of decorum, achieve a new nuance in Ibiza due to the prevailing freedom. Nudity is stripped of its conventions and concealments and becomes a rediscovery of one’s own body and one’s own being. The shameless gaze is only relegated to the other, immersed in the corset of rules. Detachment from conventionalisms allows a lapse of free experimentation, an escape from everyday life and a (re)discovery of oneself. Then, sun, sea, nature are lived and felt as never before, and they empower us, relativizing any form of conventionalism. Nudity ceases to be unchaste and sexualized.

Fig. 9.2 Nudity from everyday life. Author Josep Soler Soler

9 A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza

147

Ibiza represents freedom at the merge of oblivion. Nudity, for the tourists who experience it for the first time becomes an initiatory process that goes far beyond the more hedonistic aspects of body cult and tanning, but rather reveals itself almost from the emotional point of view, as catalysts for a conversion of life, or a new rebirth or as an initiation. Tourists interviewed in El Chiringuito close to nudist beach of Es Cavallet who bathe for the first time in Ibiza outside their own gaze of responsibility, told us that they feel an inner peace and freedom and this will allow them to give a new meaning to their lives, much beyond their holidays.

9.3 Gender Rules? The issue of nudity and the practice of nudism on the tolerant beaches of this Island, normativity aside, is part of a wider debate about gender and one which Ibiza has resolved in a very original way. Almost as if it were an endemism case, Ibiza has known how to approach the issue from its own perspective, far removed from established rules. In order to understand this, we must first mention the different issues about gender at a general and a historical level and also how to treat diversity from a broader perspective (Table 9.1). Firstly, it is worth mentioning that from the centerreferent position, diversity has traditionally been outlawed and understood as a form of deviation from the rule. As recent postcolonial studies have shown, the elites have imposed their model and conditioned the rest, marginalizing others. In the process, certain racial groups, gender or religious persuasions settled the pattern on which to establish the referent and measure the rest (Dimitriadis and McCarthy 2001). On the specific issue of gender, this was no exception and traditional Western models based on Christian and natural approaches (pro-creation), to justify the model of the patriarchal monogamous family (usually called compulsory heteronormality or phalocentrism). The gender-sexual univocal pattern was one more factor to impose the model (Grosfoguel 2016). The understanding of diversity has gone through a series of different models. In the first place we start with the pre-modern model (within the western world) where forms of diversity are excluded from a referent perspective and there is a drift towards stigmatization (Classism) and prosecution of everything that would call into question the referent. This is the type of model that we find, for example, in the process of the conquest in the Spanish colonial system, where the different (“savages”, pagans) are recognized in order to assimilate them by means of conversion or eradication. There is no place or margin for difference (Grosfoguel 2016). In the second, modern model, we find the imposition of the negation of difference, to justify egalitarian principles. This model, self-imposed by universal rights is found in a good part of the modern State and was nourished by the eighteenth century precepts of the Enlightenment, embodied in post-revolutionary France. This model nullifies any principle of differentiation, whether of race, gender (citizens) or religion (laicism). The problem of the model lies in its imposition and the negation of the other, for the common good of superior coexistence (Jean-Marc 1999).

148

H. Capellà i Miternique

The third model has been developed mainly in the nineteenth century, although it is anchored in previous precepts on the basis of ethnic differentiation, and it is based on the recognition and respect of differences. Diversity is tolerated but not shared. This has been the precept in the Anglo-Saxon dominions, from the colonial model of British segregation (in India, South Africa, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Palestine) (Phillips 2006) based on the protection of differences through spatial segregation and avoiding above all, métissage (La Fountain-Stokes 2011), for the wellbeing of the species and the integrity of colonial politics (Knopp 1998). Within this model, the American version of positive discrimination has been developed from the lobbying of minorities. The U.S. model for the defence of racial minorities and, by extension, gender minorities has become a worldwide reference and has sometimes ended up overlapping or supplanting other formulas as valid to address diversity. By contrast, the case of Ibiza shows a different, fourth approach which has been influenced by the model of the distinction of the United States’ minority as a more commercial simulation, by LGTB’s movements (Kymlicka 1995). In any case, the third model, both in its British and colonial version and in its American version, provides for the defence of the margins or alternatives, and respect for the imposed model, excluding métissage. The first three models prevail at the global level, while the 4th, which exists in Ibiza, is another approach to diversity that responds to contemporary principles (Table 9.2). The approach to the margin and difference in the case of Ibiza, relative to the other three models, is not based on the definition of gender and roles but rather focuses, from a homogeneous perspective, on society where all possible options are tolerated. Each individual will be able to experience its sexuality, without being defined by any preconceived label and without any type of social or moral imposition. Although, Table 9.2 Gender definition and interrelation Type

Process/Orientation

Heterosexuality

Excluding

Compulsory Heteronormalization

Marginal

Segregating

Compulsory Heteronormalization

Gay Lobby (LGTB)

Adapted Heteronormalization

Homonormalization

Interrelated

United

Link

Homosexuality

Forbidden

Radical

Open minded (Friendly)

Mirror effect (Hyped up)

Polylove/Pansexual

Anarcho-Queer

NB The processes described are not mutually exclusive and can be carried out at the same or at different locations

9 A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza

149

for most people interviewed, the experience of Ibiza is only transitory, during a visit as a tourist in the majority of cases, and not as a fully settled option of life; we can nevertheless define this approach to diversity from the choice of each person, without the need for definitions or fixed limits, from polyamory perspective (Klesse 2014). Thus we find that this point view links to some of the most contemporary approaches to gender, diversity and how to live sexuality (anarchic, poly-love, among others). The Ibizan way is more than a model, it is also as a form of coexistence and integration of all options, starting from the premise of respect and tolerance towards all others. This approach to diversity then does not involve any difficulty, since it is not linked to any pattern or model that could be threatened, due to the fact that there is simply no model. The key to the success of this formula is that diversity is not only understood as the accumulation of univocal options of the totality of a society but it is also understood as the diversity proper to each individual. This formula seems to be the right way to focus on diversity but the difficulty lies on the fact to be able to settle that principle as a policy, due to the fact that is no defines and it is based on a lack of model. In the Ibiza’s case, each individual can approach different options and experiences at the same time or according to their life’s expectancies. Then, there is no need of specific spaces or groups defined by a sexual orientation because they all embrace all the options. Therefore, any form of discrimination in terms of gender is practically impossible, since everyone has a range of choices with all possible options. Critical integration, as a result, tends to define us just as individuals (Butler 1995). The non-distinction of differences, is a reality that assumes all options are common, this provides a curious homogeneous glance, but at the same time, also a social claim. In Ibiza, homogeneous diversity can be achieved in a framework of freedom and shared respect for equality (in critical multiculturalism, Kymlicka 1995). At present, some of the countries that are legalizing the acceptance of diversity (ethnic, gender, etc.) are generating to new generations of young people who are beginning to live difference from their own experience in total freedom and achieve the situation that Ibiza anticipated more than 50 years ago. The difference now lies in the fact that the new phenomenon is still very much subject to the intolerances and processes of the new orthodoxy. Fears and reactions against freedom are the greatest danger to this way of thinking that unfortunately has become a growing reality in the contemporary world. In this sense, Ibiza represents, behind superficialities and appearances, one of the clearest challenges to modern Western thought. Let us also remember that this approach is not a model and only provides the power to choose experimentation and knowledge derived from freedom, curiosity and joy and far away from impositions. This is the main difference. Thus, while in the case of Ibiza and the margin there is room, even for forms of gender and sexuality typified as more traditional (heteronormalized), as monogamous heterosexual marriage for life, far away from the imposed models (patriarchy), the raison d’être of the model is precisely to deny any diversity. The imposition and destruction of everything outside of what is dictated, keep us away from any free thought and makes us hostages. It is also worth mentioning that in some of the most radical contemporary approaches (anarchical-queer, radical feminism)

150

H. Capellà i Miternique

that they sometimes fall into the same misunderstanding, by being presented as excluding models, even when motivated as a violent reaction to force changes to the imposed model, as Femen movement for example (Channell 2014). The exclusion in any type of model of diversity, does not just include gender minorities (gay, lesbian or trans) but also includes ambiguous forms (bisexuality), or even goes beyond sexuality, as in the case of the same a-sexuality (Gressgård 2013) which is often also marginalized in traditional societies, where celibacy is not accepted as a way of life, outside of the religious sphere (Catholic, etc.). Patterns of identification with gender by exclusion (binary), found their roots in the naturalness in biology (under the issue of species’ reproduction), to cover decisions apparently not cultural (even related to religious issues) and on the contrary, exclude deviations because of being cultural choices (twisted minds) and supposedly forbidden for being contra-natura. This paradox is assumed as natural (Pennock 2007). In the Contemporary postmodern context, the gender identities debate has led to a transformation of normativities in the sense that the LGTB’s movement has helped to open up hetero-normalization with a more open and inclusive legal frameworks, while in parallel, paradoxically, sexual minorities, in certain sectors, have tended to a standardization of its homo-normalization (Podmore 2013), as a mirror of heteronormalized models: with respect to issues such as weddings, traditional family habits, etc. (Duggan 2002). Thus, while in the heterosexual world “the minds were opened” (Hubbard 2007), in the queer world, it was reduced in traditional idiosyncrasies, to fit in a certain way into the whole. Nevertheless, certain more radical queer sectors have criticized this labeling reification that reduce roles to hyperbolism, hyped up (Bell et al. 1994). Ibiza’s approach to gender (critical integration) differs totally from any of the situations described above, as it is conceived as a homogeneous mixed community, not linked to a model. In some ways it can look close to certain positions within the queer movement, which are neither the most conservative nor the most radical sectors. Nevertheless it answers to an ideology close to anarchic-queer issues, where each individual chooses his sexuality without having to define himself by it. Moreover, this approach is not limited to the binary statements: Homo/Hetero or Man/Woman, but on the individual and therefore cannot be included within the hetero/homo-normalized discourses (Crooks and Baur 2013; Haritaworn et al. 2006). The Critical integration approach is still very unusual relative to the local and the global levels, if we still consider all the regions of the world where the definition of gender is still imposed and where any form of divergence is legally and/or socially forbidden and punished.

9.4 From a de-Gendered Merge The critical integration achieved in Ibiza has turned this marginal island into a symbol that crosses borders and has turned it almost into a myth (Fig. 9.3). Behind the first

9 A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza

151

Fig. 9.3 The critical integration to diversity in Ibiza. Source : Author

superficial image of electronic music, parties and crazy nights, Ibiza awakens the imagination of any young and free mind (not necessarily conditioned by physiological age). International media (songs, video clips, movies, advertisements) related to Ibiza has deepen into the myth with the building of a magical state or place, where beyond fun; everyone can feel free for a moment in their life. The desire to be able to live at least one weekend on the island, far from the everyday life, reflects the traumas of our contemporary societies, immersed in a general blindness. The island’s freedom experience permits the visitors to shake off all the social and individual hidden troubles that can perturb us. Ibiza’s particular approach to freedom forces the visitor in some way to leave their comfort zone and obliges them to live an experience out of its quotidian frames that will redefine them. Meanwhile, for locals or residents they are used to it because it is part of its quotidian and they are not surprised of it. Based on the idea of the cavern in Plato, it would be as if for a while, we got the chance of being able to keep out of the cave, we stopped seeing the shadows, and we were able to see the light, even with the danger that, for the lack of habit, it could blind us. Many are those who when they arrive in Ibiza are dazzled by its sunlight. It is only after experiencing it that they start to adapt, although also for many of them, that absolute freedom shows their own lack of control or madness. To be able to leave time aside and discover oneself for a few moments is an experience that leaves no one indifferent. Breathing the freedom of a space where the norm

152

H. Capellà i Miternique

is fixed by oneself and where the definition is superfluous is a big challenge. Ibiza achieved that thanks to the fun it offers, related to party and leisure time. Ibiza’s famous parties are unique in the world. Somewhere else, music can be the same, people can be the same, but the difference lies in the disposition of each individual in Ibiza, who is willing to leave their codes at the door and be ready to experience Ibiza with a free gaze. The perspective of critical integration in Ibiza encourages parties in which everyone shares and it is able to discover themselves. Then, not imposing barriers or distinctions which allows us to get the child we have hidden inside us out (Fig. 9.3). At this point, it could become easier to explain the types of people who are in a party in Ibiza, but we would fall precisely into what the island avoids. Furthermore, if we label them, it would be a serious mistake, since the same individual can move between several types or roles (bisexuality) and therefore, we would make a second mistake by wanting to define them as frozen. In any case, we could only define those ones, who have consciously adopted an appearance with a specific role (dominant, submissive, transformative, etc.) even they would still not represent them, either. These characterizations are just a role and could be associated in some aspects to satirical and Carnival periods in the past.

9.5 A Critical Perspective on Gender: Mixed Crowds The parties in Ibiza draw a mixed crowd and while they superficially appear close in appearance to those of other places, however, in reality, they reflect just the opposite. Elsewhere, while being part of the central models (shown in Table 9.1, models 1, 2 and 3), people appear to follow a role that is accepted by the rest by imposition and the resulting homogeneity is feigned by appearance. By contrast, in the case of the Ibiza’s party, the diversity of each person allows a mixture based on real differences. So then based on survey results and owners club interviews, the paradox is that traditional parties are based on appearances meanwhile Ibiza’s parties go beyond performance, and appear to be more real at the end. Ibiza, with this tolerance, became for certain gender minorities (Gays, lesbians and transsexuals) a refuge, since the 1960s. The lack of definition of roles and the freedom that prevailed on the island allowed, under anonymity, a tacit tolerance. In parallel with the mixed parties, we found that the first bars and discos were based on a more exclusively gay public. The bar Anfora was then, one of the local references, like many other places that began to be concentrated along the Carrer de la Verge, in the heart of the harbor’s town of Ciutat d’Eivissa (Sa Penya). Nevertheless, the process of spatial segregation or ghettoization here (Levine 1979; Browne and Bakshi 2013) has been quite different from the case of a village (Doan and Higgins 2011) found in other parts of the world (Binnie 2004b). The gay district in Ibiza has always been more open and tolerant of mixed crowds and became over time, an even more mixed space (Hemmings 2002), which everyone is free to go to (Sullivan 2005). This

9 A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza

153

district has become one of the most famous areas for leisure in Ibiza, for all kinds of audiences (Archer 1999). Nowadays, gay bars will be mostly open to all audiences, with terraces on the street. The adding of these spaces into Ibiza’s nightlife forms part of the party route, with the famous parades in the streets (performances of transvestites and others to promote club parties: La Troya, and Matinee for example). The street then becomes a huge show, that you can’t miss. Ibiza then has included the gay scene as a part of mixed leisure, creating a critical integrated perspective.

9.6 Ibiza’s Nightlife Tolerance Ibiza’s nightlife and its free-minded attitude has allowed a mixed crowd to congregate, without distinctions, neither negative (discrimination) nor positive (segregation), since the 1960s. At first, this situation attracted hippies and an audience linked to gender minorities who found in this margin, a space of freedom in which to have a place and recognition, but with times going on, a mixed party, tolerant atmosphere started to attract a greater number and type of visitors, from initially the famous, actors, national but especially international singers, to a more massive tourism of national youth and then people from across the entire world. More recent criticisms of Ibiza’s superficial aspects and for commercial purposes is due in part to the success of having shown to the world an example of living and sharing diversity (Ramón 2001). The concept of Ibiza’s nightlife, which is nowadays known almost worldwide, has been created firstly by the past of freedom and tolerance of the hippies, together with the contribution of gender minorities attracted by local tolerance towards them; and secondly, by the investments of businessmen who knew how to diversify and adapt nightlife through the creation of large macro-discotheques (Clubs), together with the development of their own music labels and their own rhythms. Thirdly, this reputation was initially guided by music and later on by information networks. All together this has created the brand “Ibiza”, built up without any type of public or specific private investors. And we should not forget that all these processes have only been possible due to the great capacity of adaptation and acceptance by the local islanders, which is often forgotten. Despite being considered as a population that remained very isolated and very traditional, it has always shown a great capacity for tolerance and coexistence, and an openness to the other. This attitude permits us to explain the acceptance of the hippy movement. It also was an option to avoid marginality and good opportunity for businesses that are still controlled by islanders. We could also add, according to local literature and some of the locals interviewed, that the local population itself was the first to assume these new pioneering visions, not without going through a process of adaptation that included phases of reaction and denial. Traditional society was very close-minded but at the same time, was based on a traditional marginal matriarchal system (women used to control finances, and they could even choose their future husband or they had the control of traditional

154

H. Capellà i Miternique

dances, for example) that did not fit well with homogeneous patriarchal impositions (Sansano Costa 2003). Acceptance of differences then in Ibiza had an opportunity to develop through the focus on womens sexual identity. The transformations that the island has undergone are part of a process of adaptation of the same ideas that differentiated Ibiza from other places, for the new generations. Ibiza has thus become an image that is taken as a reference for many people and has even been simulated in other parts of the world, without the same results because they just want to imitate Ibiza only in appearance but forget the experimentation that can only take place in a tolerant context of freedom (something unfortunately very scarce). Ibiza has become an icon, from its silent first merge into its vibrant present. Beyond nostalgia, it stills inspire new generations by its vitality and the myth built around it, based on an experimentation and freedom, that are central Western European values.

9.7 To an Over-Gendered Scene Unlike Mykonos, which has become one of the most desired destinations for the LGTB community in the world, Ibiza on the contrary, despite first impressions, is far from having a specific gender label. In fact, most of the gay tourist’s operators (Fig. 9.4), have some difficulty when defining the island, without falling into a paradox. Thus, while on the one hand, they define it as one of the most tolerant and open places towards the LGTB community; on the other hand, it is surprising to see the almost non-existence of specific LGTB’s services, unlike in the case of Mykonos. We have even noticed that part of the gay tourism market that comes to Ibiza, sometimes is a little bit reluctant to share in a mixed environment, being more used to a segregated model. In recent years, even public administrations have tried to encourage the claim of LGTB’s tourism niche market for the island, recreating an image of a gay world (homo-normalized) that does not accord, as explained above, with the mixed and tolerant homogeneous reality of the island. Gay-genderized spaces are over-acted becoming fake scenarios (Prats 2006; Augé 1992; Skeggs 1999) in a local reality that does not distinguish gender roles. This spatial hyped up becomes a kind of transvestite space to adapt Ibiza to an LGTB’s international flavor (Perrot 1997). Ibiza has been able to introduce an adaptation process of segregated spaces, at the merge of general homogenous mixed crowds. Village has become then just a kind of big commercial-satire, in a similar way to the processes that start to appear in some gay districts (Village) in big metropolitan cities (in Western Europe: as in Paris (Marais) or Barcelona (Gayeixample); or in Sydney, Toronto or Montréal, for example). Those villages which at first related to a LGTB’s community have in some cases, opened up as leisure districts for mixed crowds and been reduced in focus to being business targets, while other ones, have disappeared, due to the conversion of leisure’s logics (as in the case of the historical Gay’s district of Gomila, in Palma de Mallorca, that passed from having more than 12 gay clubs, to just one that is

9 A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza

155

Fig. 9.4 Promotion by Balearic Islands authorities of LGTB tourism in Ibiza. Source Turismo de Baleares

now closing). In many cases, young generations (Gay or not) have different ways to have fun and at the same time in many places, they get more used to being mixed all together, as has happened in Ibiza.

9.8 A Re-gendered Place Due to LGBT The policy of claiming gender minorities, initially encouraged by the logic of the U.S. (based on lobbies as a way to force a positive discrimination for minorities, Kymlicka 1995) and later extended as an international movement (Binnie 2004a), has achieved great advances, in terms of visibility, with respect to gender, but on the other side, has brought about certain paradoxes, in societies that were based on other logics related to minorities. The U.S. model is based on the univocal discourse where formal and informal discourses and choices have to be clear (binary). But in many other societies, although differences were formally banned (religious, gender, ethnic, etc.), they could also informally coexist in an ambiguous merge (as it happened in many Mediterranean areas, and Latin American (Pecheny 2001), the Arabic or the Ottoman world (Dialmy 2005, for example), through complex discourses (double standard’s

156

H. Capellà i Miternique

discourse). Under invisibility, margins have been often able to survive, but without any possible formal recognition. Minorities, under those rules, are not defined and are still dependent. In this way, even in the case of Ibiza, the existence of gender freedom could only be initially given under an authoritarian rule (dictatorship), because of the island’s marginality. The silence of local authorities through looking away, was the way to face and tolerate, diversity. Critical integration has been established within a homogeneous whole, in which it was not necessary to define the difference, due to the past double standard’s discourse. That was then another way to arrive and focus on diversity. Consequently, the homogeneous mixed vision of Ibiza clashes in many aspects with the positive minority discrimination claim of the Anglo-Saxon model. Nevertheless, even though the LGTB movement has been essential for the recognition of minorities worldwide, we have also to admit that Ibiza’s way to accept minorities, based on the individual, appear to be a good alternative which is very useful in complex cultures related to differences, and also in Postmodern societies, where any model is seen as a way of segregation (Anarchic-queer). In this sense, inside LGTB movements, the debate still focuses on how to achieve homo-normalization based on the mirror of heterosexual patterns (Richardson 2005) or by contrast, to, preserve the difference (Bell et al. 1994). This is due to the fact that the Anglo-Saxon model is based on a forced difference (based on positive discrimination, Kymlicka 1995). The present Queer debate within the Gay movement is about if we look at the united and un-gendered perspective in Ibiza’s case. We leave binary normativities and bring a new perspective on difference, based not on individual gender choice (very close to Anarchic-queer statements) nor on generic models. Nevertheless, the introduction of new, international, Anglo-Saxon precepts based on positive discrimination for minorities as lobbies’ groups on Ibiza has resulted in an unusual adaption and paradox, where the LGBT’s movement, in some aspects is discriminating positively in a context of social freedom, and then become the segregator in a mixed and tolerant crowd, even it is only in appearance (transvestites’ spaces). We find then that while all the differences coexisted in Ibiza from the 1960s to the 1980s, on the contrary, due to the growth of the LGTB’s movement in the 1990s and 2000s, we have noticed the introduction of segregation, even if it was just in appearance. The emergence of bars and other services only for gay audiences, has to fit within a society that has overcome this division and where issues of sexual orientation and gender are not a conflict for any longer. In Ibiza, according to the answers provided by some of gay tourists interviewed and the comments of gay tourism operators, there is even the curious circumstance of many gay tourists (more amongst elder group) who, when they arrive in Ibiza, feel confused at first, because they are not used of having to share their spaces with the rest. Although days on, as the findings show, the critical integration which prevails ends up, allowing them to free themselves and be part of the same diverse whole. With the 2005 legalization of gay marriage in Spain, thanks to the efforts of the LGTB’s movements, the situation has relaxed even more, especially for new generations who experience their sexuality, apart from old stereotypes (Nash 2013).

9 A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza

157

In this new context, Ibiza has gone from being an original margin, to becoming a central space and an avant-garde place for the rest of Europe. Nowadays it gets hard to find specific sexual oriented places in Ibiza. Most of the gay spots have closed or are just opening up to all types of customers. Critical integration has supported and created a homogenous and tolerant crowd. The experience of the last 50 years in Ibiza should serve as an example for the logics of other places when dealing with diversity. Nevertheless, we should insist that this way of thinking it is still uncommon. Among reluctant sectors curiously, we should notice that there are not only heterosexual detractors, but even amongst the homosexual public (for example, views against bisexuality) who remain disconcerted when they discover that their model and built normativity is not the only one and that other options are possible.

9.9 An Over-Gendered Satiric: The Village In this new contemporary context, Ibiza has managed to adapt LGTB’s segregation as a simulation of spaces related to gender like in a Theme Park (Brown 2009). El carrer de la Verge thus becomes the beginning of the parties’ leisure route for all types of public, regardless of their sexual orientation. Local spots (bars, shops, etc.) still simulate a Village even in reality, everyone shares that district. Sa Penya neighborhood becomes a simulated village (transvestite’s place) (Browne et al. 2009), as a gay parody for all audiences (Fig. 9.5) (Browne and Bakshi 2013). The heterosexual public feels curious to visit bondage’s bars, or terraces with almost naked males, or watch drag queen performances on the main street. Almost like a satire, space is transformed and adopts a fictitious appearance that is valued by all. Beyond appearances, we return to the basic idea of critical integration, related to the play with role and gender. Spaces adopt roles and can be transformed without problem, awakening admiration and curiosity in the face of satire. As in a transvestite’s show, the performance of the role is valued. This new spatialized experience is a renewal for new, young generations, of Ibiza’s liberating experience, based on freedom and tolerance. In present times facts loose importance and the symbolism of the representation and the image becomes more important. That explains the triumph of over-gendered spatial satire of Ibiza. It also shows of a marginalized places and social groups can become de-marginalized. The re-invention of a thematic gay neighborhood, is no longer based on the real need to protect a minority and becomes a new claim attraction, as a sim-place, shared by everyone (Browne and Bakshi 2013). Critical integration in Ibiza does not conform to politically correct discourses of coexistence and respect (each one in their own space) but rather aims for a forced, sharing and a mixed experience, away from shame and normativities. Ibiza has known how to achieve the simulation of the parody of the village, embracing the most contemporary approaches to anarchismqueer, regardless of the labels, definitions or standard obligations, close to what we

158

H. Capellà i Miternique

Fig. 9.5 Satire in critical Ibizan integration. Source Julius Jooste

already find in certain neighborhoods of a few cosmopolitan cities (Paris, New York) (Doan 2015). Ibiza exists as a world outside of homogeneous bubbles and one in which we are all forced to know each other. Experience and curiosity are the keys on which to build tolerance and are only possible in a space of freedom. The margin, from its imperfection, has contributed to the contemporary scene, creating a global view that distances itself from reductionist and cultural homogenizing discourses and, on the contrary, opens up an endless number of new possibilities in the face of the infinite combinatory possibilities of diversity (Martel 2013). The current models are in crisis, although many people continue to cling to them in the face of the fear of having to leave the comfort of everyday life and be obliged to experiment and live in order to discover and get to know each other. This is even though they may even reach a better situation, very similar to the initial one, but with the difference of it no longer being imposed but chosen and, in turn, being able to see the other options as valid. Ibiza is presented on the global stage, despite the appearances of its different forms, and thanks to its peculiar trajectory over the last 50 years, as either a reflection of a queer anarchism, to use existing concepts, or along the path that we frame in this article as critical integration. The manipulation of this path is however easy and we should not ignore the intentionality that exists for certain people in using this experience for exclusively lucrative purposes or as forms, in the case of gender, of more or less concealed prostitution (because it is a free option in a still traditional context). Learning from and experience of the case of Ibiza should allow us to better understand the situation

9 A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza

159

of the contemporary world, with respect to the way of dealing with difference from the margins, converted according to traditional discourse, into new centers and without falling into the same errors of imposition, and into forms of radicalism.

9.10 Ibiza into Post-modernity Ibiza has been, in some ways, like an early pilot experience that can be used for other spaces in postmodern times. In the contemporary context in which we do not yet know how to move without references or models, Ibiza provides a clear answer from the margin on how to approach diversity, through a very simple and easy formula. The island’s commitment is iconoclastic since it not only breaks with traditional classic patterns, but also, at the same time, it even promotes the alternative forms that have been developed to date. Thus, the island, while underlining the undeniable work of an approach of distinguishing the minority for social claim recognition, also outlines its limits (Kymlicka 1995), and introduces other ways that have proved to be successful with global reference. The path of critical integration within a homogeneous space, breaks with the standard postulates of approaching heterogeneity (Kymlicka 2002). Ibiza’s way then becomes closer to anarchism and individual, postqueer/anarchism (Green 2002), whereas the LGTB’s claim are still more based on the logics of social struggle, neo-Marxism. In the case of Ibiza, moreover, the imposition of any model is not pursued, firstly, because there is no model and secondly because it always starts from the free choices of the individual (Oswin 2008). Ibiza as a good merge where dissidence is possible, and appears as an anti-model. It does not seek to establish itself as a followed pattern and it must be understood more as an initiation to the discovery of oneself (thought being), away from both traditional models (patriarchal/neoliberal) and alternative models (neo-Marxist/social struggle). Both models have been curiously based in fact, on the same principle of centrality and as a way of exerting an influence and an imposition on the rest. In both cases difference, in all its forms, is feared. Thus, from both the neo-liberal and the neo-Marxist perspective, the dialectic with the particular and plural dimension of history is mishandled. Ibiza as an example of postmodernity, is a halo of light that we can see reflected in things as banal as seeing a couple of Chinese tourists clubbing in Ibiza, simply to experience, for a few hours, what it is to feel free, while they throw you spume, and you take photos to send to your friends and above all you laugh, play and feel as curious as a child. The mystery of Ibiza is the answer to why these two Chinese tycoons have crossed half the world to land for a few hours on an island on the edge of the world (from the China’s world perception). We can say that this is a trivialization of the world to superficial facts, within a market-driven world, but at the same time we can also understand it, as the chance of being able to stop seeing the shadows and leave the cave and feel for a moment (not as gods but) as simple humans. This is the myth that the world has built around Ibiza. A magical place of celebration where the limits are set by oneself.

160

H. Capellà i Miternique

9.11 Conclusion: Ibiza’s Gender Way Ibiza has built up a genuine relationship with diversity (particularly to gender), models apart. This satire permits us to keep away from roles and discover ourselves. This situation has two advantages since, on the one hand, it allows each individual to define and recognize oneself in a flexible way (Gammon and Isgro 2006). On the other hand, the non-obligation to define oneself derives from the failure to impose any specific model (and the often consequent resentments towards one’s own impossibility of making choice towards oneself and therefore towards the others). This simple way has been achieved in very few places. The fact that we are in a margin is the key to understand how Ibiza has managed to forge that image. A central space would never have been allowed to develop an equal identity, or rather an equal diversity, based on ambiguity or un-definition. Reference in Ibiza is precisely the same diversity understood in an integrated way (Critical integration). Tony Pikes, a famous 83-year-old Englishman who lived on the island for decades, recently summarized it up in an interview when he said that “…in Ibiza one can feel total freedom, be oneself and find oneself…” (https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=sfgoc4cotDM). According to him, the island has nothing special but is simply different. And asked about the subject of sexuality “…he answers clearly that he is not gay but that he has had many sexual experiences with men…” which perfectly sums up the critical integration approach that we have expressed before. The island, from its fragile un-definition, deconstructs our daily lives, starting first of all from the de-fragmentation of our most basic temporal structures. In fact, for many of the tourists who arrive in Ibiza the first thing they do when they get off the plane or the boat is to take off their watch or unplug their mobile phones, as part of the beginning of a process of disconnection essential to connect with oneself. In addition, the peculiar rhythms of life of the Ibizan summer will take charge of disorienting us even more. Thus any new visitor to Ibiza in summer is unsettled and then adapts without problem to a rhythm of life, almost opposite to its daily life. To understand it, we must explain the typical chronogram of a tourist in Ibiza. After breakfast (noon), people usually go to the beaches where they spend a good part of their day (with the exclusion of the hottest hours from 14 to 17 h for lunch in a chiringuito—restaurant at the beach- and for a siesta pause), until they return to their accommodation to prepare themselves for going out at night. Then you go out for dinner around 22 h, later on you go for a walk and shopping (businesses are open till 2 h and still close in the morning), and you go for drinks in some spots in the Village (Sa Penya) until 3 h and you end up in one of the electronic music clubs, until early morning (about 6 h). The rhythm of nightlife (from 22 to 06 h) takes advantage of the coolness, while avoiding the hottest hours of midday (from 14 to 17 h) has an effect on the rhythms of life of our bodies, although after a couple of days, we tend to adapt to the new rhythm. In this way, the body already has a better predisposition to assume a new

9 A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza

161

process of learning and experimentation of its own, outside of everyday life, because it has already managed to re-signify space and time. The critical integration is just one more aspect of this deep experience by tourists in Ibiza. Marginality is rightly understood as a richness and a possible alternative from the center. Ibiza has thus managed to distinguish itself from the rest and that has permitted it to become a rich region. At the same time, Ibiza becomes an involuntary milestone for the defence of a way of life, based on freedom, on the margins of intolerance and against univocal definitions. Its insularity protects a local light that becomes a global lighthouse, for the defence of values that go far beyond specific experiences. Margins, therefore, are a necessary good for discrepancy and for finding the alternative within a global world and do not have to accord with poverty but rather with diversity. The freedom of the merge, permit us to understand the world from a complex and innovative perspective, with important social consequences for contemporary multicultural societies. The boundaries of gender, identity, ethnics, religion get erased in the merge and bring new glances and answers to questions associated with contemporary social conflicts. Merges are adapting to a dynamic world that no longer needs models and normativities. Merges like Ibiza become new examples not just of central patterns but also of alternative solutions (seen also as dependent from central decisions even if antagonistic). Those spaces provide unique answers that are waiting to be understood.

References Archer, B. (1999). The end of gay (and the death of heterosexuality). New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press. Augé, M. (1992). Non-lieux: Introduction à une anthropologie de la surmodernité. Paris: Seuil. Bell, D., Binnie, J., Cream, J., & Valentine, G. (1994). All hyped up and no place to go. Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography, 1(1), 31–47. Besio, K., & Moss, P. (2006). Sexuality and gender. Special issue. ACME: An International EJournal for Critical Geographies, 5. Binnie, J. (2004a). The globalization of sexuality. London: Sage. Binnie, J. (2004b). Quartering sexualities: gay villages and sexual citizenship. In D. F. Bell & M. Jayne (Eds.), City of quarters: Urban villages in the contemporary city (pp. 163–172). Aldershot: Ashgate. Brown, G. (2009). Thinking beyond homonormativity: Performative explorations of diverse gay economies. Environment and Planning, 41(6), 1496–1510. Browne, K., & Bakshi, L. (2013). We are here to party? Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans leisurescapes beyond commercial gay scenes. In J. Caudwell & K. Browne (Eds.), Sexualities, spaces and leisure studies (pp. 89–106). London: Routledge. Browne, K., Lim, J., & Brown, G. (Eds.). (2009). Geographies of sexualities: Theory, practices and politics. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Butler, J. (1995). Melancholy gender—Refused identification. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 5(2), 165–180. Capellà i Miternique, H. C. (2018). The Ibiza’s nightlife as a bend from marginalization to tourism centrality. In S. Pelc & M. Koderman (Eds.), Nature, tourism and ethnicity as drivers of (de) marginalization (pp. 109–118). Cham: Springer. Certeau, M. D. (1993). La culture au pluriel (No. 306 C477C).

162

H. Capellà i Miternique

Certeau, M., Giard, L., & Mayol, P. (1990). L’invention du quotidien: Arts de faire (Vol. 1). Gallimard. Channell, E. (2014). Is sextremism the new feminism? Perspectives from Pussy Riot and Femen. Nationalities Papers, 42(4), 611–614. Crooks, R. L., & Baur, K. (2013). Our sexuality. New York: Cengage Learning. Dialmy, A. (2005). Sexuality in contemporary Arab society. Social Analysis, 49(2), 16–33. Dimitriadis, G., & McCarthy, C. (2001). Reading and teaching the postcolonial: From Baldwin to Basquiat and beyond. Teachers College Press. Doan, P. L. (2015). Beyond queer space. Planning and LGBTQ Communities: The Need for Inclusive Queer Spaces, 2(2013), 251–259. Doan, P. L., & Higgins, P. (2011). The demise of queer space? Resurgent gentrification and the assimilation of LGBT neighbourhoods. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 31(1), 6–25. Duggan, L. (2002). The new homonormativity: The sexual politics of neoliberalism. In R. Castronovo & D. D. Nelson (Eds.), Materializing Democracy: Toward a Revitalized Cultural Politics (pp. 175–194). Durham: Duke University Press. Gammon, M. A., & Isgro, K. L. (2006). Troubling the canon: Bisexuality and queer theory. Journal of Homosexuality, 52(1–2), 159–184. Green, A. I. (2002). Gay but not queer: Toward a post-queer study of sexuality. Theory and Society, 31(4), 521–545. Gressgård, R. (2013). Asexuality: From pathology to identity and beyond. Psychology and Sexuality, 4(2), 179–192. Grosfoguel, R. (2016). Del extractivismo económico al extractivismo epistémico y ontológico. Revista Internacional de Comunicación y Desarrollo (RICD), 1(4), 33–45. Haritaworn, J., Lin, C. J., & Klesse, C. (2006). Poly/logue: A critical introduction to polyamory. Sexualities, 9(5), 515–529. Hemmings, C. (2002). Bisexual spaces: A geography of sexuality and gender. New York: Routledge. Hubbard, P. (2007). Between transgression and complicity (or: can the straight guy have a queer eye?). In K. Browne, J. Lim, & G. Brown (Eds.), Geographies of sexualities: Theory, practices and politics (pp. 151–156). Burlington, VT: Ashgate. Jean-Marc, T. (1999). Identité culturelle et réflexion critique. Le problème de l’universalité des droits de l’homme aux prises avec l’affirmation culturaliste. La stratégie argumentative d’Ernst Troeltsch. Études théologiques et religieuses, 74, 213–233. Klesse, C. (2014). Poly economics—Capitalism, class, and polyamory. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 27(2), 203–220. Knopp, L. (1998). Sexuality and urban space: Gay male identity politics in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. In R. Fincher & J. M. Jacobs (Eds.), Cities of difference (pp. 149–176). New York: Guilford Press. Kymlicka, W. (1995). Multicultural citizenship: A liberal theory of minority rights. Clarendon Press. Kymlicka, W. (2002). Contemporary political philosophy: An introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. La Fountain-Stokes, L. (2011). Gay shame, Latina-and Latino-style: A critique of White queer performativity. Gay Latino Studies: A Critical Reader, 55–80. Levine, M. P. (1979). Gay ghetto. Journal of Homosexuality, 4(4), 363–377. Martel, F. (2013). Global gay: Comment la révolution gay change le monde. Paris: Flammarion. Nash, C. J. (2013). The age of the “post-mo”? Toronto’s gay village and a new generation. Geoforum, 49, 243–252. Oswin, N. (2008). Critical geographies and the uses of sexuality: Deconstructing queer space. Progress in Human Geography, 32(1), 89–103. Pecheny, M. (2001). De la ‘no-discriminación’al ‘reconocimiento social’. Un análisis de la evolución de las demandas políticas de las minorías sexuales en América Latina. In Ponencia para el XXIII Congreso de la Latin American Association. Washington, DC.

9 A Disrupting Merge Perspective on Gender: The Case of Ibiza

163

Pennock, R. T. (2007). Biology and Religion. In M. Ruse & D. Hull (Eds.), Cambridge companion in philosophy of biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Perrot, M.-D. (1997). Du vrai-faux au virtuel: Mondialisation culturelle et néo-utopie. Nouveaux cahiers de l’Institut Universitaire du Développement, 6, 41–63. Phillips, R. (2006). Sex, politics and empire: A post-colonialgeography. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Planells, M. (2002). El nacimiento de Babel -Ibiza años 60-. Eivissa: José Ferrer y Vicent Guillamó. Podmore, J. (2013). Critical commentary: Sexualities landscapes beyond homonormativity. Geoforum, 49, 263–267. Prats, M. (2006). Sexo, género y lugar. In Joan Nogué & Joan Romero (Eds.), Las Otras geografías (pp. 511–526). València: Tirant Lo Blanch. Ramón, E. (2001). Historia del turismo en Ibiza y Formentera. 1900–2000. Eivissa: Genial Ediciones Culturals. Ramón, J., & Serra, A. (2013). Tolerancia y desarrollo turístico: Sant Antoni en los años cincuenta. CULTUR-Revista de Cultura e Turismo, 7(2), 132–156. Richardson, D. (2005). Desiring sameness? The rise of a neoliberal politics of normalisation. Antipode, 37, 515–535. Sana Reguillo, R. (2000). La clandestina centralidad de la vida cotidiana. In A. Lindon (Ed.), La vida cotidiana y su espacio-temporalidad (pp. 77–94). Barcelona: Anthropos. Sansano Costa, L. (2003). Aproximación al derecho foral de las Pitusas. Narria: Estudios de artes y costumbres populares, 101–104, 65–70. Skeggs, B. (1999). Matter out of place: Visibility and sexualities in leisure spaces. Leisure Studies, 18(3), 213–232. Sullivan, A. (2005). The end of gay culture: Assimilation and its meanings. The New Republic, 16–19. Vélez-Pelligrini, L., & Guasch, Ó. (2008). Minorías sexuales y sociología de la diferencia: Gays, lesbianas y transexuales ante el debate identitario. Editorial Montesinos (Interview with Tony Pikes). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfgoc4cotDM, July 03, 19.

Chapter 10

The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility of Marginal Areas in the West Region of Romania Raularian Rusu, Titus Man, and Ciprian Moldovan

10.1 Introduction As is the case in many other European countries, Romania is in a gradual process of transport infrastructure development. The Romanian authorities are planning to finalize around 3000 km of motorways and expressways by 2025 (Man et al. 2015). Financed mainly by EU funds (TEN-T Core and TEN-T Comprehensive FEDER), state budget and public-private partnerships (PPP) arrangements, the development of transport infrastructure will modify the existing spatial accessibility at the national and regional level (Romanian Parliament 2006; National Institute of Statistics 2013; Romanian Government 2013). There are several priority axes for EU investments in the infrastructure development in Romania (European Commission 2013). The advantage of the economic competitiveness offered by a higher accessibility index is already visible in the Romania’s economic system (Ionescu-Heroiu et al. 2013). For this reason, the manner in which accessibility improves across the territory is a point of concern in order to prevent increasing local and regional disparities and uneven development of the communities. The main objective of the present study is to analyze the accessibility implications of motorway development by applying the distance-based and especially the timebased connectivity index to the West Region of Romania, taking into consideration two different moments: before the building of the motorways and after the building R. Rusu (B) · T. Man · C. Moldovan Centre for Regional Geography, “Babes, -Bolyai” University of Cluj-Napoca, 5-7 Clinicilor St., Cluj-Napoca, Romania e-mail: [email protected] T. Man e-mail: [email protected] C. Moldovan e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 E. Nel and S. Pelc (eds.), Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization, Perspectives on Geographical Marginality 5, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51342-9_10

165

166

R. Rusu et al.

of the A1 motorway, which, although not yet entirely completed, has been taken into consideration as if it is finished in order to assess its full impact, especially on marginal areas within the region. Poor accessibility is one of the main drivers of marginalization processes. According to the prevailing centrifugal economic thinking, trade and exchange are an absolute necessity for every society, and they are seen as the main instruments to overcome underdevelopment and marginality (Leimgruber 2004, p. 231). Improved accessibility is one of the possible policy responses in order to encourage development and to demarginalize isolated and less accessible areas. This chapter is structured as follows. Section 10.2 summarizes different methods to estimate accessibility. The study area is briefly described in section 10.3, while methodological aspects used in this study are also presented in section 10.3. Section 10.4 presents the results and discussions of the accessibility analysis. Lastly, the conclusions are summarized in section 10.5.

10.2 Measuring Accessibility 10.2.1 Definitions Regional planners and transportation researchers have focused some of their research on the economic, social and environmental impacts of accessibility. The concept of accessibility itself has been frequently used in transportation studies as a direct expression of mobility (Rodrigue 2013) and there are several definitions proposed by Handy and Niemeier (1997), Vandenbulcke et al. (2009) and Paez et al. (2012). Accessibility has been commonly defined as the measure of the capacity of a location to reach different locations (Rodrigue 2013) or the ease of some specific activities (opportunities) to be reached using a transportation system from a specific location (Vandenbulcke et al. 2009; Johnston et al. 2000). These definitions rely on two significant concepts to approach accessibility: location and the system of transport (Handy and Niemeier 1997), involving network connectivity as the basic measure of accessibility (Rusu 2008; Rodrigue et al. 2009; Rodrigue 2013). To characterize areas with low level of accessibility (mostly due to economic activities) the terms “peripherality” and “marginality” are often used (Keeble et al. 1988; Leimgruber 2004; Vandenbulcke et al. 2009).

10.2.2 Measurement of Accessibility Accessibility is a very complex concept, with a wide range of applications in scientific research. It is difficult to quantify and there is no best-method to approach it (Geurs and Ritsema van Eck 2001; Vandenbulcke et al. 2009; Vega 2012). According to the purpose of each study and the indicators used for the spatial assessment of

10 The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility …

167

Fig. 10.1 Location of the West Region, the other development regions and the existing motorways in Romania in 2014

accessibility, different approaches generate different results (Handy and Niemeier 1997). The review by Curtis and Scheurer (2010) attempted to consolidate the range of accessibility measures, using seven categories. In Romania, Mures, an (2008) calculated the isolation index for a number of settlements located at the contact zone between Apuseni Mountains and the Transylvanian Basin. Muntele et al. (2010) used the concepts of accessibility, centrality and connectivity to assess the quality of transport infrastructure in the rural areas of Moldavia. Oprea (2011) computed a coefficient of accessibility of the administrative units in the Transylvanian Basin while Máthé (2011) made use of GIS in computing the accessibility of the settlements in the Central Region of Romania. Accessibility of tourism facilities in the Moldavia Region were determined by Bulai (2013). The distance-based and time-based connectivity indexes have been used by Rusu et al. (2013a, b) and Man et al. (2015).

10.3 Study Area and Methodology The West Region of Romania (see Fig. 10.1) consists of four counties: Arad, Timis, , Caras, -Severin and Hunedoara. They lie close to the borders with Hungary and Serbia.

168

R. Rusu et al.

This region is one of the most developed in Romania. This is mainly due to the main cities, Timis, oara and Arad, which are the traditional growth poles in this area (Rusu 2007) and which also underwent mostly positive changes after the fall of communism. The region has also benefitted from its close proximity to the western border of Romania. The main trading and transport axes and communication lines from Romania towards Western and Central Europe have always passed through this region and have had a long-lasting positive impact. More or less formal cross-border relations to Hungary and Serbia (formerly, Yugoslavia) also brought prosperity to the communities, especially those close to the border. However, the region also includes many former industrial hubs (Res, it, a, Hunedoara, Petros, ani Basin), very much affected by the economic crises and the changes during the transition period to a market economy. These changes included the full or partial decommissioning of the factories and involve many economic and social issues, such as high unemployment rates, lower living standards and high emigration rates. There are also rural isolated areas, especially in the mountains (Rusu et al 2015). Apuseni Mountains in the North, Poiana Rusc˘a Mountains in the centre and Banat Mountains in the South (see Fig. 10.2) incorporate a large number of isolated villages, poorly connected by low quality infrastructure. The situation is even worse in the Southern Carpathians, at higher altitudes. These are truly marginal areas, greatly affected by population ageing, economic instability and recession, and primitive standards of living, all caused by isolation and lack of proper infrastructure. It is therefore important to assess the connectivity (or isolation) of the settlements as one of the basic indicators of marginality. The main lines of communication have always played an important role in defining the axes of development. Many of the “central places” within a territory (Christaller 1933) are usually those settlements which benefit from good accessibility, apart from other urban functions generated by geographical and historical factors. On the other hand, settlements located away from the development axes are disadvantaged and their isolation increases with distance and poorer accessibility (Rusu et al. 2013a, b). In this chapter we considered accessibility by car along the road network, including all existing classified roads and the A1 motorway. Distance and then travel time from any settlement in the West Region of Romania to the nearest central place of every rank has been calculated. The shortest and then the fastest routes from origins (communities) to destinations (central places) were modelled in a GIS environment using a topological network dataset of the existing infrastructure and specific network-based GIS procedures. The existing network database was updated with the segments representing the A1 motorway in order to calculate the fastest routes after the implementation of the road development projects. Before the assessment of the connectivity index was undertaken, a preliminary study was undertaken in order to establish the ranks of the settlements within the analyzed territory and in the neighboring areas. Therefore, our analysis relied on a ranking based on a previous assessment (Rusu 2007), according to which settlements were classified into 12 levels, starting from the national capital (Bucharest, rank 0) to the most insignificant villages (rank 11). Nevertheless, only the first nine levels (rank

10 The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility …

169

Fig. 10.2 Landscape units and main towns in the West Region of Romania

0 to rank 8, commune centre) have been taken into consideration, because smaller settlements (ranked 9 to 11) can hardly be considered as central places (Rusu et al. 2013a, b). The central places of any level are detailed in the list of central places for all the lower levels (see Table 10.1). For the distance-based connectivity index, the values of distance (see Table 10.2) were then aggregated for every settlement into the distance-based connectivity or accessibility index using the following formula (Equation 10.1) (Rusu et al. 2013). Equation 10.1: A=

n  (3 − (Drk /ak )) k=0

where A k Drk ak

accessibility index rank of the settlement distance to the nearest settlement ranked k coefficient considered for a score of zero (Table 10.2).

(10.1)

170

R. Rusu et al.

Table 10.1 Ranking of central places considered for the West Region of Romania Rank Short description

Cities, towns and commune Settlements outside the West centres in the West Region Region

0

National capital city

1

Regional centre

Timis, oara

Bucharest Cluj-Napoca, Craiova

2

Secondary centre

Arad

Oradea, Sibiu

3

County seat

Res, it, a, Deva

Drobeta T. Severin, Târgu Jiu

4

Important middle-sized city Lugoj, Caransebes, , Hunedoara, Petros, ani

5

Small city or town with large area of influence

6

Small town with minor area Pecica, N˘adlac, Sântana, Vas, c˘au, Baia de Aram˘a, of influence or urban-like Curtici, Pâncota, Gurahont, , Abrud, Zlatna, Bumbes, ti-Jiu commune centre Recas, , G˘ataia, Ciacova, Jimbolia, Buzias, , B˘aile Herculane, Bozovici, Anina, C˘alan, Simeria, Uricani, Aninoasa, Geoagiu

7

High-grade commune centre

Vinga, Vladimirescu, S, iria, S˘avârs, in, Beliu, Cermei, Ghioroc, S, imand, Vârfurile, H˘almagiu, Biled, Ort, is, oara, Giroc, Jebel, C˘arpinis, , Lovrin, N˘adrag, Peciu Nou, Periam, Dudes, tii Vechi, Mehadia, Berzasca, Toplet, , Caras, ova, Teregova, Cris, cior, Ilia, Certeju de Sus, Ghelari, Baia de Cris,

8

Commune centre

All the other commune centres

Lipova, Ineu, Sebis, , Chis, ineu Cris, , Sânnicolau Mare, Deta, F˘aget, Oravit, a, Moldova Nou˘a, Bocs, a, Ot, elu Ros, u, Brad, Hat, eg, Or˘as, tie, Lupeni, Vulcan, Petrila

Salonta, S, tei, Ors, ova, Câmpeni, Cugir

Source Rusu et al. (2013a)

The maximal value for each component of the formula is 3, at zero distance, meaning that the settlement belongs to a rank above or equal to the one considered. Therefore, the formula takes into account a highest possible value of 27 in the case of the capital city of Bucharest (Rusu et al. 2013a). As distances were calculated from every settlement using classified roads, one may face the issue that not all the settlements are actually located on roads. Therefore, a range of 4 km to the nearest road has been taken into consideration for the West

10 The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility … Table 10.2 Distances and times considered for a score of zero in every component of the formula

Rank

Distance (in km) or time (in min)

0

450

1

225

2

120

3

60

4

36

5

24

6

15

7

9

8

6

171

Region settlements, as for instance 32 villages are not reached by any public classified road (Rusu 2007). The overall values for each settlement have been interpolated to produce a map of the distance-based road connectivity index in the West Region of Romania (see Fig. 10.3). For the time-based connectivity index, distances have been transformed into driving times needed for a motor vehicle to get to certain locations. While distances are important to assess, the connectivity of a certain settlement, journey times to

Fig. 10.3 The distance-based connectivity index (RD) after the completion of the motorway

172

R. Rusu et al.

central places provide a better and more realistic picture of accessibility and the real connection each settlement has to the nearest central places (Rusu et al., 2013a). To assess travel time in an origin-destination matrix, each road segment in the network is characterized by a length and an average travel speed (according to the type of road, road quality, weather conditions, traffic density). The following speeds have been considered: motorway—110 km/h, national road—70 km/h, county road—50 km/h, commune road—30 km/h. The values of travel were then aggregated for every settlement into a time-based connectivity or accessibility index using a similar formula (Equation 10.2) (Rusu et al. 2013). Equation 10.2: A=

n  (3 − (Trk /ak ))

(10.2)

k=0

where A k Trk ak

accessibility index rank of the settlement travel time to the nearest settlement ranked k coefficient considered for a score of zero.

All settlements from where one can get by car to the national capital in less than 450 min (7 h and a half) will have a positive score for this component. For lower ranks, coefficients were gradually lowered, so that for the lowest considered rank (a commune centre), a coefficient value of 2 would mean that people should be able to reach their commune centre in less than 6 min for their settlement to have a positive score in this component. Although the coefficient values seem to be large enough to allow many settlements to have positive scores, negative scores are recorded for villages located far from urban centres and their commune centre. The time-based connectivity or accessibility index of each settlement was used as an input point in interpolation process using ArcGIS Spatial Analyst. The result is a raster dataset representing the spatial variability of accessibility (see Fig. 10.4).

10.4 Results and Discussions 10.4.1 The Impact of the Motorway on the Distance-Based Connectivity Index (RD) There is almost no impact of the motorway on the distance-based connectivity index. The reason for this is that the index was conceived taking into account only distances from different settlements to ranked centres. However, the motorway has hardly any impact on distances, as it does not usually shorten distances between settlements.

10 The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility …

173

Fig. 10.4 The time-based connectivity index after the completion of the motorway

Therefore, most of the settlements have the same distance-based connectivity index as before. A few settlements located along the motorway and especially near the entries or exits to the motorway have slightly improved values. The highest differences compared to the former values have been assessed in the case of the village Grind, which improved its index value by 1.14. Another nine villages in the same area, around Ilia, improved their values by 0.5–1. It should be noted that their increase is also due to their low (negative) initial values. Another 113 settlements increased their index values by 0.1–0.5. All the others have the same or almost the same values as before.

174

R. Rusu et al.

While the motorway does not have a considerable impact on the distance between places, it has however a considerable impact on the time one needs to get from one point to another.

10.4.2 The Impact of the Motorway on the Time-Based Connectivity Index (RT) Without the motorway, the values of the time-based connectivity index range between 24.08 (Timis, oara) and 64.87 (Meria, in Poiana Rusc˘a Mountains, Hunedoara County). Less than half of the settlements (666 out of 1405) have positive values of the index. The majority of the settlements have negative values, which points to the low quality infrastructure and the poor accessibility in many parts of the West Region. About 13% of the settlements have an index above 10, but more than 20% have an index below—10 and more than 5% register values below—20 (Rusu et al. 2013a), clearly indicating their marginal status. On the completion of the motorway, the values of the time-based connectivity index (see Fig. 10.4) changed for the better for 1219 settlements (86.8% out of the total 1405). For the remaining 186 settlements, there were no changes. The settlements the least affected by the motorway are those located in the southern part of Caras, -Severin County, far from the motorway. The motorway will have the highest impact on the settlements located near the motorway exits, as suggested by the circle-type areas of highest impact on the map, surrounding each motorway exit (see Fig. 10.5). The most impacted settlements are Grind (7.2), near the motorway exit at Ilia, and Seceani (7.1), near the motorway exit at Ort, is, oara. Most of the other settlements which would highly improve their connectivity index are located near these two exits, near Margina (Timis, County) or around N˘adlac (Arad County). These areas had had lower accessibility levels before the building of the motorway. Major cities and towns connected by the motorway (Timis, oara, Arad, Deva, Lugoj) improved their time-based connectivity index, but not by that much, as they were already well connected and accessible. It emerges that, in terms of accessibility, the motorway has had a higher impact on rural and formerly isolated areas than on cities and towns.

10.4.3 The Impact of the Motorway on Journey Times to and from Bucharest There are 1169 settlements in the West Region out of the total number of 1405 settlements, or 83% of those, which will benefit from the new motorway in terms of travel time to and from Bucharest. The impact of the new motorway is particularly felt in Timis, and Arad Counties, as well as in most Hunedoara County. The only

10 The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility …

175

Fig. 10.5 The motorway impact on the time-based connectivity index (RT) in the West Region

parts that are not affected and retain their pre-existing travel times to Bucharest are Petros, ani Basin and the southern part of Hat, eg Basin in Hunedoara County, as well as the southern half of Caras, -Severin County. In their case, the fastest way to get to Bucharest will still be by means of Jiu Valley and Ors, ova—Drobeta Turnu Severin respectively. The situation changed a lot in terms of travel time (see Fig. 10.6). If settlements in Petros, ani Basin were closest to Bucharest without the motorway, now in the same travel time, with the motorway, one can now get quicker from the Or˘as, tie area to Bucharest than from Petros, ani. Deva and Hunedoara are approximately four and half

176

R. Rusu et al.

Fig. 10.6 Journey times to and from Bucharest after the completion of the motorway

hours away from Bucharest, which is more than half an hour faster than before the construction of the motorway. The 5 h isochrone from Bucharest gets as far as Margina in Timis, County (near a motorway exit), Zam on the Mures, Corridor at the border between Hunedoara and Arad counties and it includes most of Hat, eg Basin and the southern parts of Brad Basin. B˘aile Herculane area is less than 5 h and a half away from Bucharest, without using the motorway. The same isochrone, along the motorway, reaches Topolov˘at, u Mare in the centre of Timis, County, and covers most of Hunedoara County except for a few isolated areas in the mountains, the entire eastern Timis, County (including Lugoj) and easternmost Arad County, comprising H˘almagiu Basin and the Mures, Corridor downstream from B˘atut, a. Less than 6 h is needed from Caransebes, and the surrounding area. The main cities of the West Region, Timis, oara and Arad, are approximately 6 h away from Bucharest by using the new motorway. A little more than 6 h is needed from Res, it, a to get to Bucharest, using the motorway from Lugoj. The rest of the territory within the West Region is mostly within the 7 h isochrone. Only about 20 villages are located at more than 7 h from Bucharest. They are generally located in the westernmost Timis, and Caras, -Severin Counties, as well as in northern Arad County. Beba Veche continues to be the settlement whose inhabitants need the largest amount of time to get to Bucharest, approximately seven and a half hours. Still, this journey time is 1 h and 20 min better than without the motorway.

10 The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility …

177

As a general rule, differences between the new journey times and the former journey times are increasing as one goes further along the motorway away from Bucharest. The largest differences are registered in the case of settlements around Timis, oara, in fact near the motorway exits at Giarmata and Ort, is, oara. Journey times to Bucharest have improved by more than 100 min (1 h and 40 min) for about 20 villages in that area, with a maximum of 107 min for Cerneteaz and Giarmata. Journey times are better by 100 min from Ort, is, oara, 90 min from Vinga, 85 min from N˘adlac, Sânnicolau Mare or Lovrin. The inhabitants of the largest city of the region, Timis, oara, can get to Bucharest approximately 84 min faster and those from Arad by about 70 min. Journey times from Arad area have improved less than from Timis, oara area because the motorway to Bucharest is in fact longer, by taking a detour to Timis, oara, than the national road along the Mures, Corridor. In total, 274 settlements have improved their journey time to Bucharest by more than 1 h, including Lugoj, Sântana, Buzias, , Pecica and other towns. For other almost 900 settlements, journey times have improved by less than an hour, such as Deva, Hunedoara (more than 30 min), Res, it, a (24 min), Hat, eg, Ot, elu Ros, u or Caransebes, (for a mere 8 min).

10.4.4 The Impact of the Motorway on Journey Times to Timis, oara and Other Main Cities Residents of almost 900 settlements of the existing 1405 settlements in the West Region will be able get quicker to Timis, oara when the new motorway is entirely built. More than that, Timis, oara would extend its area of attraction, as only a few settlements in G˘aina and eastern Metaliferi Mountains would get faster to ClujNapoca than to Timis, oara and only a few other settlements around B˘aile Herculane and Cerna Mountains would reach Craiova in shorter time than Timis, oara. As a result, Timis, oara would be the nearest main city for the inhabitants of almost 99% of the settlements in the West Region. The main area where the polarizing effect of Timis, oara has extended is along the Mures, Corridor in Hunedoara County, along the motorway; now even the inhabitants of the farthest settlement, Aurel Vlaicu, near the border with Alba County, would arrive faster to Timis, oara than in Cluj-Napoca. This might however change with the completion of the A10 motorway between Sebes, and Turda, which would connect this area to Cluj-Napoca. All the commuting bands are elongated on the motorway and the main national roads (see Fig. 10.7). In less than 30 min, one can get from Timis, oara to Vinga in the North, to Topolov˘at, u Mare in the East, to Voiteg in the South or to C˘arpinis, in the West. The one-hour isochrone includes a much larger area, reaching Arad, Pecica, Sânnicolau Mare, Lugoj and even F˘aget and Margina near the new motorway. Arad would be approximately 40 min away from Timis, oara, a decrease by a mere 6 min, but from

178

R. Rusu et al.

Fig. 10.7 The impact of the motorway on journey times to Timis, oara and other main cities

F˘aget one would need 58 min, an improvement of 21 min compared to the situation without the motorway. In one hour and a half, one would get from Timis, oara to almost anywhere in Timis, County, to Res, it, a, Caransebes, and close to Oravit, a in Caras, -Severin County, to Zerind in Arad County (at the border with Bihor County) and to S, oimus, (near Deva) in Hunedoara County. Deva, Hunedoara, Simeria, C˘alan, Or˘as, tie and Brad are all less than 2 h away from Timis, oara. Between 2 and 2 h and a half would be needed to get to north-eastern Arad County, to south-eastern Hunedoara County and to southern Caras, -Severin County. A few settlements are more than 3 h away from Timis, oara, some in Petros, ani Basin and Big˘ar in Alm˘aj Mountains. The longest time needed to get to Timis, oara from a village in the West Region is 197 min (3 h and 17 min) from Câmpu lui Neag in Petros, ani Basin. Even this journey time has been improved due to the motorway by about 17 min. In fact, the impact on the motorway on journey times to Timis, oara can be best assessed by using time differences before and after the mototway. Analyzing this, one may state that the highest difference is registered in Hunedoara County in the case of villages located on the Mures, Corridor and in southern Metaliferi Mountains, close to the motorway exits at S, oimus, or Simeria. From around 40 villages, journey times to Timis, oara would be better by more than 45 min. People from Deva would get to Timis, oara in about 93 min, 44 min earlier than before. For another 190 settlements, all in Hunedoara County, journey times to

10 The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility …

179

Timis, oara would improve by 30–45 min. For about 250 settlements, including eastern Timis, and Arad counties, as well as parts of Hunedoara County, journey times would improve by 15–30 min. Other people from hundreds of settlements would get faster to Timis, oara, even if it would be a matter of minutes as compared to the previous situation.

10.4.5 The Impact of the Motorway on Attraction Areas and Journey Times to and from Secondary (R2) Ranked Cities In this analysis, we took into consideration both the upper ranked cities (Timis, oara, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova) and secondary ranked cities like Arad, Oradea and Sibiu in order to assess their area of influence in the West Region once the new motorway is fully functional (see Fig. 10.8). As the new motorway passes by Arad, Timis, oara and Sibiu, it is obvious that these cities would have an advantage over the other three. On the other hand, they will also compete against each other at this stage of the analysis and their areas of influence might even shrink, despite their connection to the motorway.

Fig. 10.8 The impact of the motorway on attraction areas and journey times to and from secondary (R2) ranked cities

180

R. Rusu et al.

This is the case of Arad, whose area of influence decreased in Hunedoara County to the benefit of Timis, oara. Before the construction of the motorway, settlements of western Hunedoara County, especially along the Mures, Corridor, were closer to Arad than to Timis, oara in terms of journey time, because the national road to Arad was shorter than the road to Timis, oara via Lugoj. The motorway has changed this pattern, as these settlements can now reach Timis, oara faster using the motorway. As a consequence, Timis, oara actually increased its area of attraction in western Hunedoara County around Ilia at the expense of Arad. Nevertheless, people from most of Hunedoara County would get quicker to Sibiu than to the large cities of the West Region. This situation existed also before the construction of the motorway, but in a smaller area. In fact, Sibiu also expanded its area of attraction due to its location on the motorway, gaining most of Brad Basin at the expense of Oradea and other settlements in eastern Brad Basin and the nearby mountains at the expense of Cluj-Napoca. Therefore, at the level of cities ranked 2nd, Sibiu is the winner in terms of journey times using the motorway, while Oradea and Cluj-Napoca have lost parts of their area of influence, which they might regain if the A3 and A11 motorways are built in the future. In fact, settlements where one can get faster to Oradea than to any other important city are concentrated in H˘almagiu Basin and a small area in Codru Hills. People from only four villages in the G˘aina Mountains may get quicker to ClujNapoca (using the national roads) than to any other city ranked 2nd. From B˘aile Herculane and a few surrounding villages, one may get faster to Craiova than to Timis, oara. This area remains unaffected by the construction of the motorway. The main impact of the motorway is however the decrease of journey times to and from important cities. At first glance, one may easily notice that anywhere along the Mures, Corridor or Bega Corridor, settlements are less than one and a half hours away from an important city, be it Arad, Timis, oara or Sibiu. The same isochrone of 90 min covers most of the Western Plain and includes all the important cities and towns, reaching as far South as Res, it, a and Caransebes, and as far North and East as Ineu and Sebis, . In contrast, the settlements that are farthest from any important city are located in southern Caras, -Severin and Hunedoara counties, where the motorway has limited or no impact. Settlements in Petros, ani Basin need about two and a half hours to get to Sibiu, and the same time is needed to get from the settlements in Alm˘aj Mountains and the Danube Valley to Timis, oara. Big˘ar is the most isolated village from this perspective, as it is more than 3 h away from Timis, oara.

10.4.6 The Impact of the Motorway on Journey Times to and from Timis, oara-Arad Agglomeration Once finalized, the motorway will have a significant impact on journey times to and from Timis, oara-Arad agglomeration, the main urban area of the West Region (see

10 The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility …

181

Fig. 10.9 The impact of the motorway on journey times to and from Timis, oara-Arad agglomeration

Fig. 10.9). The impact would be higher for journey times to Timis, oara, as already stated. Commuting bands from both Timis, oara and Arad would be farther away from these cities, especially along the motorway. As a result, while the 20 min isochrone comprises only settlements near the two main cities, the 40 min isochrone already includes large areas in western and central Timis, and Arad Counties, reaching Chis, ineu Cris, in the North and N˘adlac in the West. One may get in about one hour to either Timis, oara or Arad from Lugoj, F˘aget and Ineu, so the 60 min commuting band covers most of Timis, County and the western half of Arad County. Due to the motorway, people from Deva, Res, it, a or Caransebes, would only need about one and a half hours to get to Timis, oara. Most settlements in Caras, -Severin and Hunedoara Counties are more than 90 min away from Timis, oara, reaching more than 3 h in Petros, ani Basin and southern Caras, -Severin County.

10.5 Conclusions A marginal position is the starting point of marginality research in geography (Pelc, 2017). There are many types of marginality issues, but one is definitely linked to the isolation and lack of accessibility of some communities, due to the location of the settlements far from the main transport and communication axes, as well as poor

182

R. Rusu et al.

infrastructure. New road infrastructure, especially for fast transit, such as motorways and bypasses, is currently in the process of being built in many European countries and Romania is no exception. The A1 motorway has been the most important motorway project in Romania as it represents the main communication line to Western and Central Europe. This motorway passes through the West Region of Romania and is almost complete in this region. For the communities in the West Region, this motorway is not just the faster way to get to most of Europe, but also a faster connection to Bucharest and to the main cities inside the region. Only a few settlements in the southern part of the region will see no benefits from the completion of the motorway. This might change in the future, with the building of other motorways, such as the proposed A6 Lugoj—Caransebes, —Drobeta Turnu Severin or the A11 Arad—Oradea. However, the highest impact of the motorway is along its route and especially around the motorway exits. Many isolated settlements in the mountains and the hills will benefit less from such infrastructure projects, located far from them. This chapter compared the spatial structure of accessibility in the West Region of Romania before and after the implementation of the A1 motorway project in the region. Allowing useful comparisons in terms of impact, the suggested connectivity or accessibility index may represent a useful tool in the planning and management of infrastructure projects, as well as in assessing the remoteness and marginality of certain areas and the degree to which marginality can decrease through transport improvements.

References Bulai, M. (2013), Accesibilitate s, i turism. Studiu de caz: regiunea Moldovei [Accessibility and tourism. case study: The Region of Moldavia, Romania], Ias, i: Edit. Universit˘at, ii Alexandru Ioan Cuza. Christaller, W. (1933), Die Zentralen Orte in Süddeutschland [The central places in Southern Germany]. Jena: Fischer. Curtis, C., & Scheurer, J. (2010). Planning for sustainable accessibility: Developing tools to aid discussion and decision-making. Progress in Planning, 74, 53–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pro gress.2010.05.001. European Commission. (2013), Mobility and transport. Infrastructure TEN-T. Available from http:// ec.europa.eu/transport/index_en.htm. Geurs, K. T., & Ritsema van Eck, J. R. (2001). Accessibility measures: Review and applications. RIVM Report 408505 006. Bilthoven: National Institute of Public Health and the Environment. Available from http://www.rivm.nl/bibliotheek/rapporten/408505006.html. Handy, S. L., & Niemeier, D. A. (1997). Measuring accessibility: An exploration of issues and alternatives. Environment and Planning A, 29(7), 1175–1194. https://doi.org/10.1068/a291175. Ionescu-Heroiu, M., Burduja, S., Sandu, D., Cojocaru, S, t, Blankespoor, B., Iorga, E., et al. (2013). Competitive cities. Reshaping the economic geography of Romania. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Johnston, R. J., Gregory, D., Pratt, G., & Watts, M. (2000). The dictionary of human geography. Oxford: Blackwell.

10 The Impact of Motorway Building on the Accessibility …

183

Keeble, D., Offort, J., & Walker, S. (1988). Peripheral regions in a community of twelve member states. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. Leimgruber, W. (2004), Between global and local. Marginality and marginal regions in the context of globalization and deregulation, Aldershot: Ashgate. Man, T., Rusu, R., Moldovan, C., Ionescu-Heroiu, M., Nona-Sonia, Moldovan, & Iulia, H˘ar˘angus, . (2015). Spatial impact of the road infrastructure development in Romania. An Accessibility Approach, Romanian Review of Regional Studies, XI(1), 101–112. Máthé, C. (2011). Studiul geografic al ret, elelor de transport în regiunea de dezvoltare Centru [The geographical study of transport networks in the Centre Development Region]. Ph.D. thesis, Babes, -Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca. Muntele, I., Groza, O., T, urc˘anas, u, G., Rusu, Al. & Tudora, D. (2010). Calitatea infrastructurii de transport ca premis˘a a diferent, ierii spat, iilor rurale din Moldova [The quality of transport infrastructure as a premise for differentiating rural spaces in Moldavia], Ias, i: “Al. I. Cuza” University Press. Mures, an, G. A. (2008). Bordura Munt, ilor Apuseni cu Depresiunea Transilvaniei (sectorul Somes, ul Mic - Ampoi). Organizarea spat, iului geografic [The contact area between the Apuseni Mountains and the Transylvanian Plateau—Somes, ul Mic—Ampoi Sector. Geographical Space Organisation]. Cluj-Napoca: Casa C˘art, ii de S, tiint, a˘ . National Institute of Statistics. (2013). Economic statistics. Transport. Transport infrastructure. Available from https://statistici.insse.ro/shop/index.jsp?page=tempo2&lang=en&context=56. Oprea, M. G. (2011). A model for calculating the coefficient of accessibility in the Transylvanian administrative territorial units. Studia UBB Geographia, LVI(1), 167–174. Páez, A., Scott, M. A., & Morency, C. (2012). Measuring accessibility: Positive and normative implementations of various accessibility indicators. Journal of Transport Geography, 25(11), 141–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2012.03.016. Pelc, S. (2017). Marginality and marginalization. In R. Chand (Ed.), Societies, social inequalities and marginalization, perspectives on geographical marginality (pp. 13–28). Springer. Rodrigue, J. P., Comtois, C., & Slack, B. (2009). The geography of transport systems. New York: Routledge. Rodrigue, J. P. (2013). The geography of transport systems (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge. Romanian Government. (2013). Highway network development strategy for 2014–2018. Available from http://gov.ro/fisiere/stiri_fisiere/13-12-03-06-59-59Autostrazi_Romania.pdf Romanian Parliament. (2006). National master plan. Section 1—Transport networks. Law 363. September 21, 2006 from http://www.mdrl.ro/_documente/dezvoltare_teritoriala/amenajarea_t eritoriului/patn_en/section_1.pdf. Rusu, R. (2007). Organizarea spat, iului geografic în Banat [Geographical Space Organisation in Banat], Timis, oara: Mirton. Rusu, R. (2008). The connectivity index applied to the settlements of Banat, Western Romania. In Paper presented at the 31st IGU Congress, Tunis. Rusu, R., Man, T., & Moldovan, S. C. (2013a). The GIS-based road distance and time connectivity index of the settlements within the west region of Romania. Studia UBB Geographia, LVIII(1), 141–150. Rusu, R., Man, T., & Moldovan, S. C. (2013b). The road connectivity index applied to the settlements of Banat using GIS. Romanian Reviews of Regional Studies, IX(1), 117–123. Rusu, R., Man, T., & Moldovan, S. C. (2015). Marginal areas of the Romanian Banat. Studia Universitatis Babe¸s-Bolyai, Series Geographia, LX(2), 153–162. Vandenbulcke, G., Steenberghen, T., & Thomas, I. (2009). Mapping accessibility in Belgium: a tool for land-use and transport planning? Journal of Transport Geography, 17(1), 39–53. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2008.04.008. Vega, A. (2012). Using place rank to measure sustainable accessibility. Journal of Transport Geography, 24, 411–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2012.04.008.