Diversity of rural areas and the place of agriculture

Abstract

Rural areas are not any longer considered, as they have been in France, as productive agricultural areas. The links between agriculture and rural areas area are changing. According to a socio-economic analysis, this chapter aims to analyze rural dynamics and agriculture contribution to rural attractiveness. Upon existing studies, but also research on rural areas under urban pressure, two dimensions of rural dynamics area underlined. The first one is the relation between town and countryside; the second one is the spatial reorganisation (polarisation processes and territorial construction).