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AbstractThis article explores how two rural arts festivals, one in the town of Boyle (Boyle Arts Festival), in Western Ireland and the other in the municipality of Mäntyharju, (Salmela Festival) Eastern Finland, contribute to the development of their respective localities and communities via two different models of festival implementation. Both festivals have a major focus on visual art along with other events such as music and enjoy strong reputations for promoting quality artistic experiences. Drawing on the concepts of cultural capital, resilience and resourcefulness, the article investigates how the arts can work in providing wide‐ranging possibilities for engaging with local development activities and shaping local development agendas in diverse and changing rural contexts. The research is based on semi‐structured interviews with 15 festival contributors and individuals in institutional support roles. It finds that an emphasis on community‐focused, quality of life priorities that is a feature of the Boyle festival increasingly presents challenges to sourcing funding, and that an entrepreneurial approach applied in the case of the Salmela festival, while economically successful, does not provide the same scope for community participation. Both approaches have implications for the ways the festivals impact on local development processes.

The interpretation and operation of planning guidelines relating to private housing estates in Ireland, and the structures for involving residents in their management thereafter, are examined. Institutional and legislative weaknesses underlying the current approaches to estate management have created a range of governance deficits, with potentially longer-term adverse impacts for the development of a sense of local community and for the promotion of participatory democracy and civil society. Drawing on evidence from several recently constructed private housing estates, this paper explores these issues in terms of the institutional context in which planning policies are being administered and the relative position of the relevant stakeholders within this process. An open, participatory approach, that recognises residents as legitimate stakeholders in the process of managing their own estates, is strongly advocated.

Agriculture across Europe is very much driven by the reforms initiated by the European Union (EU) and World Trade Organisation negotiations. Reforms have mobilised a shift in agricultural practices from production to a somewhat contested post-production and, more recently, multifunctional agriculture regime. Accompanying such change has been the debate on the future of farming, the role of agriculture within the countryside, and the extent to which the sector will maintain support from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the EU. Central to these discussions, in terms of bringing about beneficial change on farms and in rural areas, is the advice and direction available to farmers. The agricultural extension advisory services are an integral component of this process. This paper explores the position of public extension advisory services in Ireland and determines the extent to which these services are impacting the trajectory of modern agricultural practices within a framework of more traditional views of farmers and farm families.

peer-reviewed ; Highlights • Generational renewal is high on the political agenda for agriculture, with young farmers linked to positive outcomes. • There are limited policy incentives for older farmers to consider engaging in the farm succession and inheritance process. • Farmers perceive risks and uncertainties regarding the transfer process, and thus avoid handing over to their successors. • Taxation, retirement income, long term care cost, and marital breakdown are motivations for farmers to retain ownership. • Financial incentives related to generational renewal must aim to alleviate the level of risk perceived by farmers. ; Royal Dublin Society

peer-reviewed ; Farm succession and inheritance is increasingly considered a complex phenomenon which not only affects core dimensions of farm family life but also the agricultural sector more widely. Intergenerational farm transfer in particular is increasingly viewed as fundamental to the sustainability and development of global agriculture. In the majority of EU countries, the average age of farmers is increasing, while the number of farmers under 40 years of age is decreasing. There is growing concern that this demographic trend may have negative impacts on the agricultural industry because it is younger and not older farmers who are associated with more efficient and effective production practices. The question of what motivates decisions to transfer farms is a complex one, and research to date has not apparently enlightened agricultural policy to the extent that current trends towards an ageing farm population are being managed. This research aims to investigate economic and financial aspects of the policy drivers of farm succession and inheritance in Ireland to understand what it is about the policy environment that is failing to stimulate higher levels of farm transfer. It draws on the Teagasc National Farm Survey data which provides Irish data to the Farm Accountancy Data Network in the European Commission. A hypothetical microsimulation model is used to investigate economic factors of farm transfers, with scenarios created to test these factors and their impacts on the transfer process. The Net Present Value (NPV) of income streams for farmers and their successors are calculated to assess which scenarios have the highest/lowest financial effects. The findings illustrate a range of possible scenarios for farm succession/inheritance, with some results indicating that under current policy retaining a farm until death may be more economically beneficial to a farmer than transferring land before death.

AbstractTerritorial cohesion is a guiding set of EU principles to achieve sustainable development. However, evidence suggests that within and across rural and peripheral regions in particular, prosperity and social and economic wellbeing continue to lag behind other regions. The aim of this article is to examine how a spatial justice perspective can provide new development insights on rural sustainability. Introducing a spatial justice perspective to a sustainability/territorial cohesion view of rural development, this article explores the scope for alternative framings of rural sustainability based on more place‐based, context‐specific socio‐spatial relations and processes. Drawing on interviews with EU‐based stakeholders mainly representing rural‐based NGOs, it identifies changing values and priorities about rural sustainability linked to notions of spatial justice and fairness. The findings illustrate an evolving local‐level emphasis on rural sustainability as a phenomenon less focused on economic growth and as much on achieving social equity, with associated capacity to frame and agree locally relevant sustainability goals in an inclusive and respectful way.

Cover; Contents; Preface; List of Figures; List of Tables; Abbreviations; Notes on Contributors; Introduction; 1. Spatial justice, housing and financial crisis; 2. Territorial politics after the global financial crisis; 3. Spatial justice and housing in Ireland; 4. 'Planning gain' in a time of crisis; 5. Greening the economy in Ireland: Challenges and possibilities for just transitions through clustering for cleantech; 6. The nature of uneven economic development in Ireland, 1991-2011; 7. Environmental justice, childhood deprivation, and urban regeneration; 8. Health and spatial justice.

Raising collective agency is key to successful place-based development approaches. Existing policy arrangements have, however, been criticised, suggesting a need to effectuate more collaborative modes of governance. This paper shall contribute to a better understanding of how public support can best be arranged to raise collective agency for a more collaborative mode of governance in rural areas. The paper elaborates on findings of empirical investigations conducted within the EU FP7 project DERREG. It will be shown that differences in effectuating more collaborative modes of governance can partly be ascribed to different political dynamics, economic and demographic situations as well as the presence of a shared sense of place. To raise collective agency effectively requires a joint reconsideration and restructuring of the division of roles and tasks, including those of public administration. This can be supported by facilitating joint reflexivity among development actors and giving room for collaborative leadership and operational flexibility within policy arrangements