Methods and tools to foster territorial approaches for the assessment of food supply chains

The challenges of the current global food systems are often framed around feeding the world's growing population while meeting sustainable development for future generations. Globalization has brought to a fragmentation of food spaces, leading to a flexible and mutable supply chain. This poses a major challenge to food and nutrition security, affecting also rural-urban dynamics in territories. Furthermore, the recent crises have highlighted the vulnerability to shocks and disruptions of the food systems and the eco-system due to the intensive management of natural, human and economic capital. Hence, a sustainable and resilient transition of the food systems is required through a multi-faceted approach that tackles the causes of unsustainability and promotes sustainable practices at all levels of the food system. In this respect, a territorial approach becomes a relevant entry point of analysis for the food system’s multifunctionality and can support the evaluation of sustainability by quantifying impacts associated with quantitative methods and understanding the territorial responsibility of different actors with qualitative ones. Against this background the present research aims to i) investigate the environmental, costing and social indicators suitable for a scoring system able to measure the integrated sustainability performance of food initiatives within the City/Region territorial context; ii) develop a territorial assessment framework to measure sustainability impacts of agricultural systems; and iii) define an integrated methodology to match production and consumption at a territorial level to foster a long-term vision of short food supply chains. From a methodological perspective, the research proposes a mixed quantitative and qualitative research method. The outcomes provide an in-depth view into the environmental and socio-economic impacts of food systems at the territorial level, investigating possible indicators, frameworks, and business strategies to foster their future sustainable development.

Migration of Husbands, Remittances and Agricultural Production: Impacts when Wives Head Households in Rural Kenya

This paper uses data collected from migrants' wives in the Nyeri district of Kenya. The main objective is to determine whether migration and remittances contribute to the development of agriculture. Our results suggest that most migrants are pushed out of rural areas, belong to the group of low-paid workers in urban areas, send little and irregular remittances to their wives back in rural areas and that these remittances are mainly used for consumption purposes and do not contribute to any significant development in agriculture. Our results also indicate that altruism or social obligation might be the main reason for migrants sending remittances back to their rural wives.

Remitting behaviour of Nepalese rural-to-urban migrants: Implications for theory and policy

This article uses data for Nepal to test contemporary hypotheses about the remitting behaviour and associated motives of rural-to-urban migrants and to consider the likely impact of such remittances on rural development. Possibilities for inheritance, degree of family attachment, likelihood of eventual return to place of origin and family investment in the education of the migrants are found to be significant influences on levels of remittances by Nepalese migrants. However, in Nepal, remittances do not seem to result in long-term capital investment in rural areas and so may not promote long-term development of these areas.

Historicizing counterurbanization: in-migration and the reconstruction of rural space in Berkshire (UK), 1901-51

This article uses census data for Berkshire to argue that large-scale counterurbanization began much earlier than is generally recognized in some parts of southern England. This was not just movement down the urban hierarchy, which as Pooley and Turnbull have demonstrated was a long-term feature of England’s settlement system, but in some cases at least amenity-driven migration to rural areas of the kind increasingly recognized as a core component of recent counterurbanization. Despite a reduction of acreage Berkshire’s rural districts saw a 54% rise in population between 1901 and 1951. The sub-regional pattern of growth is assessed to gauge whether ‘clean break’ migration to the remote west of the county (which remained effectively out of commuting range from London throughout the period) was taking place, or whether counterurbanization was confined to the more accessible eastern districts. However, whilst population did increase in both west and east, it was in fact the central districts that grew most impressively. Three case study parishes are investigated in order to gauge the nature and consequences of counterurbanization at a local level. Professional and business migrants figure prominently, seeking to preserve and promote the rural attributes of their new communities, without however cutting their ties to urban centres. It is argued that migration to rural Berkshire in the first half of the twentieth century cannot adequately be described either as a form of extended suburbanization or an anti-metropolitan ‘clean break’. Rather, early counterurbanization marks the first stage on the long road to a post-productivist countryside, in which countryside becomes detached from agriculture, there is socio-economic convergence between town and country, and the ‘rural’ increasingly becomes defined by landscape and identity rather than economic function.

Indigenous peoples and urban settlements: spatial distribution, internal migration and living conditions

Includes bibliography

Migration as a rural development strategy and the migrants involved : an account of a migrants' hometown in Sichuan, China

This paper attempts to describe part of the history of Chinese rural migration to urban industrial areas. Using a case study of a township in Sichuan, the author examines a type of rural development which she defines as a "bottom-up" style strategy of regional development. Different types of social mobility are observed in the case study, and over its long history, migration in the township has offered diverse means of social mobility to the local peasants. The paper concludes by considering the diversity and limits of Chinese social mobility at this stage.

The role of migration in urban transition : studies of the relationship between migration and modernisation for Brisbane and Stockholm

Wilbur Zelinsky formulated a Hypothesis of Mobility Transition in 1971,in which he tried to relate all aspects of mobility to the Demographic Transition and modernisation. This dissertation applies the theoretical framework, proposed by Zelinsky and extended to encompass a family of transitions, to understand migration patterns of city regions. The two city regions, Brisbane and Stockholm, are selected as case studies, representing important city regions of similar size, but drawn from contrasting historical settings. A comparison of the case studies with the theoretical framework aims to determine how the relative contributions of net migration, the source areas of migrants, and the migration intensity change with modernisation. In addition, the research also aims to identify aspects of modernisation affecting migration. These aspects of migration are analysed with a "historical approach" and a "multivariate approach". An extensive investigation into the city regions' historical background provides the source, from which evidence for a relationship between migration and modernisation is extracted. With this historical approach, similarities and differences in migration patterns are identified. The other research approach analyse multivariate data, from the last two decades, on migration flows and modernisation. Correlations between migration and key aspects of modernisation are tested with multivariate regression, based on an alternative version of a spatial interaction model. The project demonstrates that the changing functions of cities and the structural modernisation are influential on migration. Similar patterns are found, regarding the relative contributions of net migration and natural increase to population growth. The research finds links between these changes in the relative contribution of net migration and demographic modernisation. The findings on variations in urban and rural source areas of migrants to city regions do not contradict the expected pattern, but data limitations prevent definite conclusion to be drawn. The assessment of variations in migration intensity resulted in the expected pattern not being supported. Based on Swedish data, the hypothesised increase in migration intensity is rejected. Interactional migration data also show patterns different from those derived from the theoretical framework. The findings, from both research approaches, suggested that structural modernisation affected migration flows more than demographic modernisation. The findings lead to a formulation of hypothesised patterns for migration to city regions. The study provides an important research contribution by applying the two research approaches to city regions. It also combines the study of internal and international migration to address the research objectives within a framework of transitional change.

Rural and Urban Streams: Anthropogenic Influences and Impacts on Water and Sediment Quality

The Pirapo river watershed (Parana State, Brazil) compounds a relatively industrialized and urbanized region, undergoing great pressure from the discharge of industrial, agricultural and domestic wastes. We evaluated the environmental quality of ten streams belonging to this watershed in April and June 2008 by performing acute and chronic toxicity tests with Daphnia similis and Ceriodaphnia silvestrii from water and sediment samples. We tested the hypothesis that the streams located in urban areas are more exposed to the influence of pollutants, than those outside the city limits. In addition, we obtained the measures of physical and chemical parameters, and identified the main polluted sources. Contrary to what was expected, the rural streams were more toxic than those located in urban area. These results demonstrate that the water bodies located in rural areas are being affected by the pollution of aquatic ecosystems as far as those found in urban areas, requiring the same attention of environmental managers in relation to its monitoring.

Discoloration and fungal growth on three fiber cement formulations exposed in urban, rural and coastal zones

Three formulations of fiber cement were evaluated for fungal colonization and color change after five years of exposure in aging stations located in urban (Sao Paulo), rural (Pirassununga) and coastal (Rio Grande) zones in Brazil. The lowest color change and fungal colonization were registered in Rio Grande, which has a temperate climate, as opposed to Sao Paulo and Pirassununga, which are tropical. The highest fungal colonization was recorded in Sao Paulo, one of the most air polluted cities in Brazil. Pirassununga samples had an intermediate fungal colonization, in spite of showing the highest color change with visible dark spots on the surfaces. These spots were identified as cyanobacteria, which significantly contributed to the darkening of the specimens. The fiber cement formulation, varying in proportion of organic fibers such as poly (vinyl alcohol) and cellulose, was less significant for fungal bioreceptivity than the characteristics of the exposure site. The most frequent fungal genus found in the tropical climate, in both urban and rural zones, and the main one responsible for the higher records in Sao Paulo, was Scytalidiurn sp. which was registered for the first time on this building material in Brazil. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social and psychiatric influences on urban-rural differentials in Australian suicide

The purpose of this study was to investigate urban-rural differentials in Australian suicide rates, and to examine influences that previously have remained largely speculative. Suicide rates for males (all ages and young adults) were significantly higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. Urban-rural suicide rate differences in males were rendered nonsignificant after adjustment for migrant and area socioeconomic status. Adjusting for mental disorder prevalence, in addition to migrant status, reduced the excess suicide risk in rural areas; the excess was reduced further with addition of mental health service utilization. The implications of this study are that socioeconomic circumstances in rural populations contribute to higher male suicide rates compared to urban areas, but these conditions may be partly mediated by mental disorder prevalence and mental health service utilization.

Migration in Afro-Brazilian Rural Communities: Crossing Demographic and Genetic Data

Many studies have used genetic markers to understand global migration patterns of our species. However, there are only few studies of human migration on a local scale. We, therefore, researched migration dynamics in three Afro-Brazilian rural communities, using demographic data and ten Ancestry Informative Markers. In addition to the description of migration and marriage structures, we carried out genetic comparisons between the three populations, as well as between locals and migrants from each community. Genetic admixture analyses were conducted according to the gene-identity method, with Sub-Saharan Africans, Amerindians, and Europeans as parental populations. The three analyzed Afro-Brazilian rural communities consisted of 16% to 30% of migrants, most of them women. The age pyramid revealed a gap in the segment of men aged between 20 to 30 yrs. While endogamous marriages predominated, exogamous marriages were mainly patrilocal. Migration dynamics are apparently associated with matrimonial customs and other social practices of such communities. The impact of migration upon the populations` genetic composition was low but showed an increase in European alleles with a concomitant decrease in the Amerindian contribution. Admixture analysis evidenced a higher African contribution to the gene pool of the studied populations, followed by the contribution of Europeans and Amerindians, respectively.

Rural and urban attitudes to the conservation of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka: Empirical evidence

There has been little study of economic and general attitudes towards the conservation of the Asian elephant. This paper reports and analyses results from surveys conducted in Sri Lanka of attitudes of urban dwellers and farmers towards nature conservation in general and the elephant conservation in particular. The analyses are based on urban and a rural sample. Contingent valuation techniques are used as survey instruments. Multivariate logit regression analysis is used to analyze the respondents’ attitudes towards conservation of elephants. It is found that, although some variations occurred between the samples, the majority of the respondents (both rural and urban) have positive attitudes towards nature conservation in general. However, marked differences in attitudes toward elephant conservation are evident between these two samples: the majority of urban respondents were in favour of elephant conservation; rural respondents expressed a mixture of positive and negative attitudes. Overall, considerable unrecorded and as yet unutilised economic support for conservation of wild elephants exists in Sri Lanka.