Preference and paradox: Local residents’ perspectives on the reuse of post-agricultural brownfield sites

0578082 - ÚGN 2024 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Navrátil, Josef - Martinát, Stanislav - Frazier, R. J. - Klusáček, Petr - Van der Horst, D. - Škrabal, J. - Krejčí, Tomáš - Osman, Robert - Pícha, K. - Dvořák, Petr
Preference and paradox: Local residents’ perspectives on the reuse of post-agricultural brownfield sites.
Sociologia Ruralis. Roč. 63, č. 3 (2023), s. 514-543. ISSN 0038-0199. E-ISSN 1467-9523
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA19-23870S
Institutional support: RVO:68145535
Keywords : post-agricultural brownfields * reuse preferences * rural wastelands * rural wastelands
OECD category: Environmental sciences (social aspects)
Impact factor: 4.1, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/soru.12418

Structural change in the agricultural economy may result in the abandonment of agricultural buildings, creating rural brownfield sites. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, post-agricultural brownfields have become very common in Central and Eastern Europe. Our aim is to uncover and understand the reuse preferences for 16 reuse options, among 1275 survey respondents (local residents) from 272 rural communities with post-agricultural brownfields in the Czech Republic. The influence of respondent status, the socioeconomic characteristics of those communities and environmental characteristics of communities were tested using redundancy analysis and variation partitioning. Three types of reuse were identified as most preferred among respondents: agricultural reuse, industrial reuse and reuse for housing, services and leisure time activities. We found strong and significant ties between the pattern of preferences for potential reuse options and demographic, community socioeconomic and environmental context variables. It can therefore be concluded that preferences for rural renewal tend to be constructed comprehensively and encompass social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. In order to implement a vision that promotes sustainable rural development, we need to recognise that the preferences of rural residents are fundamentally shaped by the local environment and are therefore highly dependent on the place-based circumstances.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0347119