Demographic Change in Australia's Rural Landscapes

Written from an interdisciplinary perspective, this volume examines the patterns of demographic change in Australia's rural landscapes. The text uses case studies to illustrate the driving factors behind these changes, and outlines the impact they have on society and the environment.

The distribution and re-distribution of people across the landscape has signi cant implications for ecological, economic and social dynamics. Movement of people to urban centres (mostly from rural landscapes, especially in the developing world) is a major global phenomenon. This can result in the de-population of rural landscapes. Conversely, population growth and a changing demographic pro le have been id- ti ed for particular rural landscapes with notable examples from North America, Europe and Australia. Yet we know little of the factors that drive demographic changes in rural landscapes and even less about the implications of these changes. This book examines broad and local-scale patterns of demographic change in rural landscapes, identi es some of the drivers of these changes using Australian case studies or comparisons between Australian and international contexts, and outlines the implications of changes for society and the environment. This book makes a valuable contribution to the literature because it adopts an integrated and interdisciplinary approach by explicitly linking demographic change with environmental, land-use, social and economic factors. This integrated approach was achieved by encouraging interaction among authors writing on similar topics to ensure coherency and complementarity among chapters, and cross-pollination of ideas and perspectives. Chapters are presented as interactive and re ective d- cussions that address the ndings of other contributors; yet, each chapter contains enough background to stand alone as a unique contribution.

Integrated interdisciplinary approach Focus on rural landscapes Implications for planning policy

Klappentext
Throughout history, humans have lived primarily in rural landscapes. In 2008, for the first time, the global population became predominantly urban. While much research has focussed on the impacts of increasing urbanisation, we have very little knowledge of the implications of these changes for rural landscapes. Global trends suggest populations in rural landscapes are, relatively speaking, in decline. Yet this broad trend is too simplistic and can be very misleading for researchers, land managers and policy makers. This generalisation often masks a much more complex and dynamic process of demographic change, with some rural areas increasing in popularity and experiencing new environmental pressures. The patterns of change can be broadly characterised in two ways: population decline and dissolving rural communities; and amenity-led in-migration (or counter-urbanisation) a trend identified in developed regions such as North America and Australia. Both of these patterns have substantial implications for the management and sustainability of rural landscapes and communities. This book examines broad and local-scale patterns of demographic change in rural landscapes, identifying some of the drivers of these changes using local case studies, and outlining the implications of changes for society and the environment. The book adopts an interdisciplinary approach by explicitly linking demographic change with environmental, land-use, social and economic factors. The book will provide a useful resource for researchers and graduate students interested in urban development, sustainability science, landscape studies and demographic change, as well as environmental management, human and physical geography and rural sociology.

Inhalt
Patterns, Drivers and Implications of Demographic Change in Rural Landscapes.- Amenity-Led Migration in Rural Australia: A New Driver of Local Demographic and Environmental Change?.- Sea- and Tree-ChangeTree-change Phenomena in Far North QueenslandFar North Queensland , Australia: Impacts of Land Use Change and Mitigation Potential.- Seeking Trees or Escaping Traffic? Socio-Cultural Factors and 'Tree-Change' Migration in Australia.- Demographic Change and Rural Nature.- Agricultural Areas Under Metropolitan Threats: Lessons for PerthPerth from BarcelonaBarcelona .- Agricultural Land Ownership ChangeOwnership Change and Natural Resource Management: Comparing Australian and US Case Studies.- Land-Use Planning and Demographic Change: Mechanisms for Designing Rural Landscapes and Communities.- Demographic Change and the Implications for Commercial Forestry: Lessons from South-East Australia.- Why Farming Families Decide to Maintain Native Biodiversity on Their Farms and the Implications of Demographic Change for Conservation Policies.- Immigration and Multicultural Place-Making in Rural and Regional Australia.- Too Bad to Stay or Too Good to Leave? Two Generations of Women with a Farming Background What is Their Attitude Regarding the Sustainability of the Australian Family Farm?.- Doing More for Fewer: Health Care for Declining Rural Communities.- Staffing Rural Schools: A New Perspective.- Fly-In Fly-Out: The Challenges of Transient Populations in Rural Landscapes.- Demographic Change in Rural Australia: Future Opportunities and Challenges.