Rural futures

Abstract

Is our snow-man melting? Can we feed our world? Do we spoil our natural resources? Where are the safe harbours in crisis? Many global problems have essentially rural solutions. But rural regions have their own problems and challenges as well: urban sprawl, depopulation, valorisation of natural resources and loss of political power. In industrialised countries, rural people are a minority.

Finland is a very specific country in some respects. Large rural areas, extremely low population density, rapid socio-economic transformation and high economic wellbeing is a rare combination. The futures of the rural areas are at stake. A dispersed bioeconomy, a colonial countryside, a museum countryside and an archipelago of business islets are all possible rural futures. This book presents snapshots of rural futures with Finnish illustrations.