Advisory report
RLG 02/8a: For Farmers, Townspeople and Countryfolk
Advice on the importance of socio-cultural developments for the Rural
Area - June 2002
Introduction
The request for advice
At the request of the Junior Minister of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, the Council for the Rural Area drew up an advice on the meaning of socio-cultural developments for the rural area. Dutch society is witnessing numerous socio-cultural changes that ultimately have repercussions in the perception, the meaning and the use of the rural area. For example, green pastureland is more or less seen as collective property: the green. Collective values of the rural area, apperception and authenticity are becoming more and more important for how the rural area is organised. Not only may all this lead to drastic shifts in dealing with the rural area, but also to frictions between and within the various groups of users, such as farmers, residents and townspeople. The Council was asked to sketch out - with the year 2030 as perspective - the possible consequences of these developments in some scenarios, and to indicate the appropriate role of the government and the suitable instruments.
The Council's approach
The Council took the existing policy frames and its earlier recommendations
as a basis, and took the wishes and the expectations of the citizens/consumers
as a perspective. The Council will first sketch the functions of, and
the present developments in, the rural area, and the meaning and the perception
the Dutch population attaches to it. This is followed by looking at the
demographic and socio-cultural developments in society and the changing
wishes of the citizen/consumer. To show the possible lines for the future,
the Council will sketch three perspectives as a foothold. To test and
to find creative and innovative ideas, bilateral consultations and two
meetings were held with scientists and practice-based experts. And finally,
the Council will formulate its advice on the desired development and perspective
for the rural area. The advice concentrates on main lines and on the long
term, and focuses on the role of the government and the instruments to
be applied.
The Junior Minister of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries
asked the Council for the Rural Area to advise on the importance of socio-cultural
developments for the Rural Area.
In this advice, the Council uses the concepts of 'rural area' and 'countryside'.
Though they may seem the same on first thought, the Council holds the
view that there is a perceptive distinction between these two concepts.
'The rural area' is generally an official and administrative concept to
indicate the part of the Netherlands that is located outside the urban
area. The 'rural area' does not solely have an agricultural man-made landscape,
but also has nature and recreational areas, water, and other economic
activities. In general, only the area is indicated; the fact that people
live in this rural area is not the first thought.
'The countryside' is a more intuitive concept used by the general public,
and it actually refers to a part of the 'rural area': the countryside
is mainly the agricultural man-made landscape, together with the buildings
and residents that go with it. Aspects like nature, recreational areas
and water are generally not thought of when talking about the countryside.
Central Message of this Advice
The rural area is disappearing
A gradual but nevertheless drastic development is taking place in the rural area: food production gives more and more way to housing, working, nature and recreation. The disappearance of the rural area, traditionally the opposite of the urban area, is looming, both in the spatial and in the socio-cultural sense. As to the spatial sense, this can be seen in the disintegration and fragmentation, as the new functions are not related to the surrounding area. As to the socio-cultural sense, the technological developments have created a digital world of imagination and perception, making that activities and functions are separated from their historical, social, cultural and geographic connections. The wishes that the present-day citizen/consumer has for the rural area are diverse and contradictory, and they promptly change according to time and place: the zapping citizen wants it all: safe food, tranquillity and nature, but also intensive recreation and a dwelling in the rural area. However, the storyline of the citizen's wishes is that the rural area itself, with all its diversity and identity, must be maintained. This is why the government must explicitly see to it that the rural area is maintained, both in the spatial and in the socio-cultural sense. If this is not done with proper handling and instruments, the rural area may disappear!
Entrepreneurial agriculture is and will remain important
It is essential to clearly indicate the expectations for the future of the rural area, and the related government's role and instruments. This is why the Council sketched - purposely black-and-white - three development perspectives: 'urban dominance', rural renaissance' and 'agricultural exclusivity'. Society wants to have a rural area for everybody, with a varied supply of apperception and uses, and - especially around the cities - space for functions other than food production. But this countryside must be vital and be able to function. Agriculture can continue to count on societal appreciation, and must always play an important role in the rural area. Not only farmers, but also residents of the rural area and city-dwellers have an interest in a vital entrepreneurial agriculture: 'the best entertainment is real life'. There is only very limited space for 'agro-monuments' in addition to nature reserves. In addition to space for food production, space is also needed to fulfil the specific wishes of townspeople as to living, recreation and nature. The space that it requires need not be much more than has been indicated in zoning schemes, as the wishes city-dwellers have for a rural area without agriculture are not infinite.
New role for the government, and socio-cultural agenda for the rural
area
To anticipate the desired diversity in the rural area, every strata of
authority must have its own and clear responsibility. The central government
indicates the framework and provides specific funds for government priorities.
Provinces and municipalities must direct and implement, and must have
much more room for policies than has been allowed so far. Societal organisations
must be given a much more important role in putting in the details and
the implementation of the policy.
All strata of the government must follow a more integral policy. At present,
the spatial, economic and ecological aspects of the rural area have been
given ample prospects in policy and implementation, but have to catch
up on the socio-cultural aspects. The Council is of the opinion that this
requires a separate social and cultural agenda for the rural area. The
Minister of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries must also have
ministerial responsibility for the rural area and - with an area-oriented
approach - take the lead in maintaining and developing the rural area
as spatial, economic, social and cultural entity. Only this will guarantee
a strong and diverse rural area in the future.
1. Survey
1.1. The rural area in motion
The rural area has many functions
Traditionally, the rural area in the Netherlands has 'objectively' fulfilled a large number of functions: agriculture, nature, recreation, accommodation, water retention. As the largest user of available space, the agricultural sector has always played a key role. For large groups of the population, nature and the perception of nature are important, and leisure activities also leave their marks on the rural area. Living in the rural area appeals to many. Other economic activities, such as the provision of services, have meanwhile become more important than agriculture from an economic and socio-cultural viewpoint. The combat against water and the manipulation of it has played an important role from time immemorial. In the course of time, the organisation of the rural area has always been adapted to the changing wishes of society.
Developments in the rural area
The rural area has developed under the influence of economic, technical and socio-cultural factors within the spatial and ecological preconditions. But the rural area is now seeing a gradual but drastic and controversial revolution: it has become less important as exclusive domain for food, and more important for accommodation, nature and recreation: from 'food for the market' to 'consumable space for all Dutch'. The relative importance of agriculture is decreasing, and more space is needed in the rural area for nature, recreation and accommodation. Moreover, agriculture has also drastically changed into a large-scaled and mono-functional enterprise, and at the same time into a more small-scaled and broadened undertaking. Not only citizens but also the residents of the rural area demand more space for nature, leisure activities, tranquillity, and accommodation. All this is more or less visible, but not always 'con amore', and it sometimes creates tension as shown from protests in times of animal diseases or actions against spatial fragmentation. Over and over again, the strong involvement of the people is revealed in the many initiative groups. The liveability of the rural area is locally subjected to great pressure. This crisis-like situation creates uncertainty with threats and with new opportunities. A new balance must be found in the functions of the rural area for farmers, residents and visitors from town, now and in the long term, in 2030.
The meaning of the rural area
To pinpoint the meaning of the socio-cultural development of the rural
area it is necessary to have a picture of the meaning that citizens/consumers
have given to the rural area. Various groups put various meanings on it:
they are 'subjective'. People assign an identity to their surrounding
area and, in their turn, derive their identity from it. The Netherlands
is characterised by a large degree of diversity, not only in its landscape
but also in socio-cultural aspects. In fact, it would be better to speak
of the rural areas.
The meaning the rural area has for the Dutch population is constantly
changing depending on the time. Throughout the ages, three perceptions
seem to be of (changing) significance: utilitarian, idyllic, and nature-oriented.
Where after World War II great emphasis was put on a utilitarian approach
(usefulness, rationality, modernisation, quantity), we can now see a shift
to an idyllic approach (apperception, authenticity, quality) and a nature-oriented
approach (preserving nature areas, plant and animal species). It is important
to know now what perception(s) are constant, and what perceptions are
effected by (quick) changes and what importance must be attached to them
with an eye to the year 2030. The point of departure is the meaning that
the rural area has for Dutch society. Dutch society can be categorised
in three main groups: ten million city-dwellers, six million country-dwellers
and almost a hundred thousand farmers. Or, as they used to say: 'the rural
area is meant for farmers, townspeople and countryfolk'.
Rurality examined more closely
The rural area is important as a counterpart of the city, both in the spatial and morphological, but also in the socio-cultural sense. An essential characteristic of rurality is the co-production of man and nature. Rurality is important to farmers, townspeople and countryfolk, and is not restricted to agriculture and nature, but it is more than that. A wide range of landscapes, activities such as hunting and fishing, forest management, recreation and accommodation in the rural area belong to it as well. Important elements are authenticity, cultural identity, social cohesion, small communities, personal ties between people, self-supporting abilities, tranquillity, space and 'a slower culture'. The views about the rural area and rurality may change in the course of time, but 'rurality' is and will always be valuable and worth the effort to maintain it and to support it.
1.2. Developments in society
Demographic and socio-cultural developments
Dramatic 'exogenous' developments are taking place in society, and have
an impact on the rural area. Population is still on the increase but it
is expected that it will stabilise at about 18 million inhabitants in
the year 2030. However, the population is ageing fast and the number of
non-native Dutch and the diversity of them will increase further. One
can see regional differences in the increasing population. So far, the
growth has been above average in medium-size municipalities. The number
of households in the Netherlands is still increasing although the rate
of growth has decreased in recent years. Households are getting smaller,
but expectations are that further reduction in household members will
go less quickly in the next decades. Two groups that have 'relatively
little interest in the rural area' are important and must be examined
further with a view to the long-term scope of this issue: young people
and non-native Dutch.
In addition to the demographic developments there are also socio-cultural
developments that may have an important impact on the rural area. The
Council sees the 'five i's' characterised by the Social and Cultural Planning
Bureau as important scene-setting socio-cultural developments:
• individualisation: the increased personal freedom and longer care
chains;
• informalisation: de-hierachysation and democratisation of society;
• information technology: the increasing invisibility and the importance
of knowledge;
• internationalisation: developments are less and less connected
to national borders;
• intensification: the development of wishes, and the desire to live
life to the fullest.
However, we must realise that these demographic and socio-cultural developments
are not isolated but take place in close coherence of technical and economic
developments, in which the latter seem to play a leading role.
The changing people/consumer
People want to have it all in the rural area and all at the same time: food, accommodation, nature, recreation, tranquillity and space, but they also want the Netherlands to stay beautiful, healthy and comfortable. The wishes and the behaviour of the people/consumers are diverse, are changing fast, with parallels but also differences between and within groups and persons, social dilemmas, paradoxes and inconsistencies. The city-dweller wants tranquillity and space, but does not want to pay extra. The country-dweller wants a view of cow-specked pastures, but not the stench. The farmer wants to have protection and financial support from agriculture, but does not want the bother of 'urban' wishes in the sphere of the environment or the landscape. The rural area is becoming, as it were, a 'supermarket' where farmers, townies and countryfolk are shopping to find there something to suit their tastes, something for everyone, with the matching image: fast developments, fading of ecological, spatial and cultural diversities and decreasing social coherence. The behaviour of the people/consumer regarding the rural area is diverse, and can be characterised as: calculating, conservative, unique and sound. One and the same person may even act differently in different situations. The 'zapping' consumer wants safe food, rest, tranquillity and nature, but also intensive recreation and a house in the rural area. The addition sum of all these wishes, the 'democratic optimum', does not lead automatically to the optimum of the rural area as a whole as desired by the population. However, the connecting thread in the people's wishes is the preservation of the rural area itself with its diversity and its identity. Considering the wishes of the people/consumer, steering is necessary for maintaining the rural, both in the spatial and in the socio-cultural sense. But it must be clear how, and by whom: the people, the organisations, the enterprises and the government.
Young people and non-native Dutch further considered
Young people and non-native Dutch must be further considered with an
eye to the long scope: two groups that now seem to have 'little interest'
in the rural area. What does this mean in the long term?
In general, young people are in a stage of life where they are not interested
in the rural area. But not all young people can be put in one box: some
of them do use the rural are, but most of them are not at all concerned
about it. They can also be distinguished into groups that want tranquillity
and that want activity. It is important to organise the rural area not
as one big amusement park, but nevertheless the rural country can be the
setting of exiting activities. When young people reach another phase in
life, and become older and start a family, they seem to have more interest
in the rural area and for its aspects of tranquillity and space.
For many a non-native Dutch, the public green spaces occupy a major place
for meeting each other with families and relatives, and for meeting people
of the same mind. Nature is considered to be the source of life. However,
for many a non-native Dutch, the ideal living and recreation environment
is the city: they want to be near all facilities. But changes can be seen
in the second and third generation: born and bred in the Netherlands,
they came more into contact with Dutch customs and culture, and they have
become more familiar with the areas outside their immediate environment
right from childhood. Immigrants have enriched and broadened our culture
throughout the ages. This has never resulted in an abrupt 'decline' of
the rural area as cultural heritage. And now, too, there seems to be no
reason to assume that non-native Dutch after two or three generations
will attach a significantly different value to the rural area than the
native Dutch.
Why do farmers stay?
The development in the largest group of land users is extremely important for the future of the rural area: why do farmers stay? Though many a farmer no longer runs a farm, many farmers still stay in the farming business despite the not always favourable economic prospects. Expansion, specialisation, diversification and globalisation raise several questions in our minds whether it is sensible to invest in a future as a farmer. But to get a proper idea of the farmer and his - or her! - future, it is equally important to look at the socio-cultural context as well: the family and entrepreneurial culture, the possibility of succession, the partner's willingness to work on the farm, and the attraction of other activities in or outside the enterprise.
1.3. Effects on the rural area and on policies
Imagination in power?
In the conceptual sense, the developments can be summarised as 'the informational society'. Economic progress and power is based on knowledge development, information management, and symbolic communication. Following on this line, it results naturally in a network society and a culture of 'real virtuality'. Spatial barriers are broken by applying new forms of communication and transport that make connections possible over greater distances. The role and the quality of specific locations in the city centres, on the outskirts of towns, and in the rural area become increasingly dependent on the further extended networks of relations. At the same time, an ever-growing part of the cultural scene is absorbed in the digital world of imagination and perception. Not only does this development relate to the scope of communication, media, design and amusement, but also to the tangible world of clothing, food, appliances, architecture, town planning and landscape architecture, and with all this, also to the rural setting. Landscape elements, activities and functions are as it were disconnected from their historical, social, cultural and geographic connections. Where imagination was once seen as a representation of reality, reality has now become a function of imagination in the 'informational society'.
Effects on the rural area
In the Council's view, the demographic developments together with the
socio-cultural developments constitute the danger that the rural area
as such will become squandered, and that the rural area, not only in a
tangible, spatial sense but also in the socio-cultural sense, is no longer
the counterpart of the city. This had already been signalled in the early
twentieth century, but because of the scale on which the developments
take place there is, for the first time in history, the risk that the
rural area is no longer 'automatically' in good hands and is no longer
'automatically' maintained. This makes the survival of primary agriculture
no longer a matter of course.
The Council believes that a number of effects are very important for the
rural area, in particular:
• the increasing communication and mobility which makes that everything
is possible everywhere;
• the increase in diversity and in subcultures, both in native Dutch
and in non-native Dutch;
• the increasing tensions in the agricultural sector as a result
of trade liberalisation and EU expansion;
• the increase in leisure time which makes that perception and imagination
are becoming more important;
• the changing ambitions for accommodation (more space is used as
families become smaller)
• the increasing social and cultural dichotomy between and within
the city and the rural area;
• the increasing separation and enclave-forming for housing, working
and recreating.
The Council believes that the impact on the rural area of these effects,
together or independently, is profound, and also believes that if there
is not a historical split, there will certainly be an unprecedented scale
in developments, both in the tangible and in the socio-cultural sense.
Policy and government in motion
Policy and government appear to fall under the spell of virtuality, imagination and entertainment. The public debate simplifies; form, emotions and slogans are important; everything becomes personal, and concentration on content, depth and reflection is limited. Or is there more to it? Are the moving spirits of politics, democracy and government fundamentally subjected to great pressure? All this is presently under heavy discussion, and the core of the problem has of yet all but crystallised. Anyhow, one can sense a great pressure in the tasks of the representatives of the people: listening to the people, exceeding partial interests, reaching compromises, thinking through the consequences, looking after the public interest and respecting minorities. The reality is complex, and the opinion of 'the voter' does not exist: it is a composition of various opinions, feelings, and doubts. All this demands an increase in the trust between the citizen and the government, improvement of the representative democracy and a new and transparent role for the government that gives account and meets its obligations.
2. Guidelines for the Future
2.1. Perspectives
Possible perspectives
There are many ways of indicating perspectives. The Council preferred
to take the ideals of the main groups (city-dwellers, country-dwellers
and farmers) as the basis. Through the centuries, these three main groups
have given their changing dominant meaning to the rural area without excluding
the other ideals. And so the Council constructed three development perspectives
for the future:
• 'Urban Dominance' (the meaning given to it by the largest population
group is the guiding principle);
• 'Rural Renaissance' (the meaning given to it by the country-dwellers
is the guiding principle);
• 'Agricultural Exclusivity' (the meaning given to it by the largest
group of land users is the guiding principle).
Outline of the three development perspectives:
Development
|
Urban
|
Rural
|
Agricultural
|
Main group of
|
The ten million
|
The six million
|
The hundred
|
Sketch of the
|
Urban needs dominate the perception and the use of the rural area.
The split between the urban area and the rural area is the basis.
The lost connection between rural area, agriculture and food is
accepted as an irreversible fact. Agriculture is exchangeable and
must preferably move to other areas outside the Netherlands where
land and the environment offer more 'space'. New forms of land-
use for recreation and nature are possible. |
It recognises the current societal changes, but tries to restore the broken coherence between 'ruralism' and 'urbanism', between the rural area, agriculture and food. Important are the broadening, the deepening and the refunding of agricultural enterprises and the interweaving of these enterprises in new networks that connect the city and the countryside. There is a revitalisation of the rural area, both in the economic and in the cultural sense. |
It is based on the lost coherence between the rural area, agriculture and food, and on the recognition that there is a deep cultural gap between society as a whole and agriculture. Attention is focussed on defining new borders around the concept of food. At the centre is a large-scaled, strongly industrialised agriculture which, by a wide range of measures, can create a 'cordon sanitaire' against the many threats. |
These perspectives are not scenarios in the scientific sense but meant
to serve as a guideline to gain insight into possible consequences and
necessary choices. All three are realistic, purposely formulated in black-and-white;
all three can be given shape in policies, and are already taking place
in changing proportions and are sometimes creating conflicts. With this
guideline, the Council tried to find what scope the rural area could or
must offer: food, nature, recreation, accommodation, or mixed, and where
(possible) conflicts may lie and where consensus can be found. The Council
then tried to find out whether only process conditions or viewpoints must
be drawn up for each area, and if so: can there be various viewpoints
alongside one another, or must there be a choice for one (whether or not
combined) viewpoint. And finally: what demands are made on the government
in an urban (and civil) society?
2.2. A mosaic of inspiring opinions
Consulting external experts
The Council tested the sketched developments and perspectives externally
and, in bilateral consultations and in two meetings, looked for creative
ideas and practical solutions: one with scientists to generate new ideas,
and one with experts with working knowledge to detect practical knowledge
and ideas. The most important findings are the following:
This subject is of interest to the people and it exercises many minds.
There is a whole range of ideas, dilemmas and solutions. It appears to
be difficult to isolate the socio-cultural dimension from other dimensions,
such as the spatial or economic. The reality in the rural area is multifaceted:
the regional differences have to be taken into account.
Compared to the recent past, there is now another opinion and another
outlook on the rural area, but in the long term this seems only an acceleration
of processes that have already been going on for some time. Yet the scale
on which they are taking place is now unprecedented. European and global
perspectives are qualifying these developments to a large degree.
Society wishes to have a rural area for everybody with a varied supply
of functions for its use and its perception. This demands space for functions
other than food supply, especially around the cities. But 'rurality' remains
important for all members of Dutch society. Primary agriculture is and
will remain a sector that can count on society's appreciation and that
must play an important role in the rural area. The rural area should not
be a make-believe world.
The chances for government steering will become less important. Steering
must correspond more with the economic and social processes. The government
must have a role that is clear, but interpreted in a different way than
is now the case: the three layers of authorities must each have a clear
task: the government must define the frame, the province must give direction
and municipalities must implement and carry out.
Consensus and conflicts
From the analysis of the perceptions, developments and prospects of farmers,
townspeople and countryfolk it appears that there are similarities in
the socio-cultural sense, but there are also differences and conflicts.
Farmers have a strong instinct for continuing entrepreneurship in the
rural area, and they want to have room and space for innovations. The
original residents see with concern that the facilities and the cohesion
are on the decline, new residents want to live spaciously and comfortably
in an idyllic setting. The more diverse city-dweller cherishes the rural
area for spending his free time, with aspects like tranquillity, space
and apperception, but with exiting activities as well. This means that
the rural area must remain full of vitality. Many people, and not only
farmers, but also country-folk and city-dwellers, associate the rural
area with 'agriculture'.
So entrepreneurial agriculture is and will remain important as a prerequisite
for the meaning of the rural area and the 'rurality', for all target groups:
farmers, townspeople and countryfolk. A make-believe world must be avoided;
it would destroy itself. Even the city-dweller as the holidaymaker does
not want a rural area that totally consists of 'agro-monuments', 'ramble
nature' or national ecological networks, although some space must be reserved
for these. People do not want socio-cultural imitations or agrarian dummies:
'The best entertainment is real life'. And also: the management of 2 million
hectares for EUR 1300 per hectare could not be financed with public funds!
Societal consequences of the perspectives
The three perspectives have a diversity of societal consequences and
also require different accents in the necessary government steering. The
rural area is very different per region; it would be better to speak of
"the rural areas" instead of 'the rural area". This therefore
requires area-oriented policies for placing accents on the various areas,
but also for following the various perspectives at the same time.
Possible differences in accents are: the accent on urban consumption in
the west of the country, the accent on rural renaissance in the south
and the east, the accent on agricultural exclusivity in the north. However,
area-oriented policy requires in all cases clear frames on the national
level, direction on the regional level, and implementation with fitting
instruments on the local level. However, regionally different (combinations
of) perspectives require the possibility to implement the policies that
may be different on the national level, such as veterinary or environmental
policies. Hence the steering, the requirements, the instruments and the
prerequisites may differ per region, but the space to do this must be
created on the national level and even within the European and WTO frameworks.
3. Advice
3.1. Demands and tasks for the future of the rural area
A list of demands
The Council is of the opinion that in the Netherlands the rural area
as the counterpart of the city is and will always be of great importance
to the entire society. Society wants to have a rural area for everybody,
with a varied supply of functions like perception and usage, and space
for functions other than food supply especially around the cities. But
the countryside must be vital and must be functioning. Agricultural may
always count on appreciation by society and must continue to play an important
role in the rural area. Not only farmers, but also residents of the rural
area and city-dwellers have an interest in a vital and entrepreneurial
agricultural sector. Only limited space is needed for 'agro-monuments'.
A significant part of the rural area is needed for fulfilling people's
specific wishes that are related to accommodation, recreation and nature,
but the space required for this need not be much greater than already
planned.
This means that the following 'list of demands' can be made for the rural
country in the future:
• The rural area must become a cultural mirror of our entire society
of farmers, city-dwellers and country-dwellers, and must express what
is really taking place there;
• A powerful and vital rural area demands integral interpretation,
both in the spatial, economical and ecological sense, and in the socio-cultural
sense;
• 'Rurality' (social cohesion, cultural identity, tranquillity and
space) must be cherished as an important binding agent in an individualised
society;
• The picturesqueness of the rural area as a whole must be emphasized,
and the local change from food production to other functions, including
recreation and care, must be actively supported;
• To fulfil the changing wishes in 2030, the realisation of a higher
utility value of the rural area must be started in 2002;
• Green products and services for the entire society demand rural
entrepreneurship in the broad sense, including new prospects for the agricultural
sector that will continue to play an important role.
Tasks for the government
With the above list of demands the tasks for the government can be drafted.
The technical, economic and socio-cultural developments cannot be stopped
at the border, and can certainly not be reversed, but their consequences
can be adjusted or steered. However, this can often only be done on the
supra-national level or indeed on the regional level. This must be won
or made possible on the national level, which makes it primarily the task
of the government.
Starting-points are that the government must not meddle with the contents
of culture, but must encourage important socio-cultural developments,
must safeguard the balance between the various needs, and must be receptive
to wishes that are yet unknown; the government must also encourage socially-responsible
undertakings and must give direction in a broadly-based vision with room
for cultural diversity and identity, and attention for social justice.
The government must be expressly attentive to the degree of reversibility
of developments.
Two lines of thought are important for the future development in the rural
area: orientation on maintaining and on developing. These two lines of
thought can be employed in connection and separately, depending on the
nature of the area, and the desired result. Considering the changing consumer
behaviour, there must be a change for the suppliers: they must not push
problems aside and resist them, but they must renew them and make the
most of their opportunities. The government must therefore encourage co-operation
between consumers and suppliers, and between the suppliers themselves.
This policy must be concretely implemented per region, together with relevant
local groups and organisations. Quality and the value of perception require
further interpretation per area.
3.2. The government in a new role
The government in a 'civil' society
Societal dynamics have great impacts: borders are shifting and certainties
are disappearing. Local communities are faced with the task of finding
connections with the global networks, and if they miss the boat, entire
regions may drop behind. Civil society demands a new interpretation of
the assignment to express what binds, what is binding, and what is bonding.
Public institutions must be transparent, reliable and effective. Society
and companies must be able to know which authorities are accountable for
what, and must be able to rely upon authorities to do what they promise.
These elementary demands of 'good governance' demand a clear organisation
of governance. There is the need for a government that considers itself
to be the driving force of the primacy of the societal organisation, and
for a government that does not only give normative steering in its statements
but also draws the lines and safeguards these lines effectively. Too high
expectations for feasibility and for the government may result in disappointments.
All this requires society's trust in the government, improvement of the
representative democracy, and a new and clear role for the government.
Although socio-cultural developments often have a compulsory character
for individuals or groups of people, they are no laws of nature. Developments
are created by people and people can steer or adjust them jointly in the
desired direction. On the national and regional levels, society needs
an inspiring perspective on itself and on its future that makes the future
as realistic as possible. This need not be a grand prospect; in the normative
sense, the government can support or legitimise clearly reasoned initiatives
that are contributory causes to the desired changes. The Social and Cultural
Planning Office (2001) applies for this the conceptual framework of 'direction,
space, result, and accountability'. With these concepts, the government
can make the general interest visible, guard the limits and give direction
to the societal discussion.
A new and clear role for the government
In the light of the Dutch viewpoints on the decentralised united state,
the role of the government in the civil society must be reconsidered.
Steering is necessary, but a new form must be found. The government must
start from the idea that the cultural manifestation of the rural area
is mainly caused by society itself. This cultural manifestation will be
feasible and dirigible only to a limited extent in the future. This is
why the government must have a clear role in an integral (that is, a coherent
spatial, economic and socio-cultural) policy. Instead of setting ambiguous
targets and designing vague frameworks and maintaining the same instruments,
the government must set unambiguous targets, design clear frames, and,
in implementing them, must give more elbowroom by radical decentralisation:
by abandoning the instruments and by giving more room to local initiatives,
but also by creating more room within the European and WTO frameworks.
People feel very attached to their regions and many socio-cultural activities
take place on the regional level. The Dutch provinces are historically
and constitutionally deep-rooted.The directive role of the provinces must
be strengthened, and this is feasible. The social and cultural dimensions
must carry much weight in forming political opinions and decisions, so
that society is able to identify itself with the result.
Municipalities (whether or not jointly) must take all practical, executive
measures and must do the funding in direct co-operation with the stakeholders,
such as multi-functional centres for facilities and services, and the
realisation of projects.
3.3. Integral policy with suitable instruments
A socio-cultural agenda for the rural area
The sketched demographic and socio-cultural developments in society have such an impact on the rural area that policies need to be adapted to them. The socio-cultural side of the policy demands a make-up for lost time as material for an integral policy on the rural area. The spatial, economic, ecological and environmental components of the policy on the rural area are described in several national memorandums. The attention that social policy gives to the urban area with its relatively vulnerable groups resulted in an 'own' Ministry for Large Cities. Consequently, in the social and cultural policies, the rural area has become somewhat underexposed. In imitation of the integral policy on the urban areas, a Minister for the Rural Areas must be appointed to give substance to a coherent and integrated policy for the rural area in which the socio-cultural component is satisfactorily represented. This side of the policy has yet to be developed into a separate social and cultural agenda for the rural area. The Minister of Agriculture, Nature Management en Fisheries must take the role of 'Minister for the Rural Area' and take the lead in maintaining and developing the rural area as spatial, economic, social and cultural entity, with an area-oriented approach.
A suitable set of instruments
The Council subscribes to the Council for Culture's viewpoint on the
relation between politics and culture: reserved and connected. It is not
the task of the government to interfere with the contents of culture.
However, developments or activities can be encouraged with a socio-cultural
policy that society deems important. Image and language are important
and may have a strong influence on developments, both in a negative and
in a positive way; it is therefore important to make sure that no undesired
stereotypes are used. Quality and perception values must be enhanced by
paying attention to the harmony in the landscape, to variation and variety
(not only tranquillity and space, but also bustle and activities) and
to accessibility. This can be realised by policies on landscape design
and architectonics, but also by a 'link-up' with other functions, such
as cultural history and water retention.
Integral policy demands a coherent usage of sector and facet armamentarium
on all government levels. There must be a state regulation for the rural
area, with area-oriented development: an 'Investment Stimulus for Renewal
of the Rural Area'. An action plan must be drawn up together with the
provinces and the municipalities for area-oriented steering.
Some concrete instruments
An area-oriented approach requires an integral policy with utilisation
of spatial, economic, veterinary, ecological and environmental instruments
and measures in a coherent whole. This also means that it must be made
possible for steering, demands, instruments and prerequisites to vary
per region. The leeway for this must be created at national and international
levels. For the spatial, economic, veterinary, ecological and environmental
instruments and measures, the Council refers here to the above-mentioned
government memorandums and to the Council's relevant recommendations.
The Council would like to mention a number of concrete instruments and
measures to strengthen the social cohesion and the cultural identity of
the rural area.
In this connection, the Council advises to utilise the following instruments
on the national, provincial and municipal levels:
1. On the national level: create clear and wide frames
• Adapt national legislation and rules and increase the elbowroom
for regional experiments;
• Create more elbowroom for regional (socio-cultural) policy within
the European and WTO frameworks;
• Make an Investment Stimulus for Renewal of the Rural Area together
with an action plan;
• Encourage rural entrepreneurship through integration and chain-forming
in Green Services;
• Create room for new alliances and initiating groups of farmers,
townspeople and countryfolk;
• Appoint a 'state architect' for the rural area to guide the process;
• Encourage social coherence and promote and facilitate socio-cultural
activities.
2. At the provincial level: avail the space and strengthen the direction
• Place emphasis on what must go well, instead of preventing things
that go wrong;
• Counteract fragmentation of society and encourage cultural binding
agents;
• Introduce regional and local plans for image quality and introduce
'rural area quality teams';
• Encourage renewal by (groups of) rural entrepreneurs, residents
and visitors;
• Encourage joint associations and organisations of farmers, townspeople
and countryfolk;
• Encourage acquaintance between different cultures, e.g. 'non-native
Dutch visits the farmer';
• Design tourist or culinary package tours as a bridge between city
cultures and rural cultures.
3. On the municipal level: implementation in actual practice
• Maintain sufficient adequate facilities in the rural area;
• Combine schools/shops/community centres/socio-cultural accommodations;
• Start projects for child care, for the mentally retarded, for deprived
youngsters, etc.;
• Improve the mobility: adequate accessibility facilities with a
maintained basis;
• Improve living conditions: facilitate the own community on the
housing market with council housing;
• Allot vacant farmland to e.g. elderly groups;
• Prevention of criminality: lower the crime rate and increase the
feeling of safety;
• Consider financing via ownership, tenancy, urban capital, new country
estates, and etceteras