Rural Space: Between Renewal Processes and Preservation
A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 August 2025 | Viewed by 678
Special Issue Editors
Interests: urban and rural design; new cities and neighborhoods planned by the state; ideology in planning; brutalist architecture; heritage preservation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Rural space is undergoing significant changes as a result of rapid development. In developing countries, it suffers from the intrusion of urban functions, which alter residents’ livelihoods and occupations, subsequently reshaping the spatial distribution of settlements, the form and character of public spaces, and the design of homes. In developed countries, rural areas are often abandoned (particularly those distant from metropolitan areas and not serving as suburbs), or they become a “backyard” for infrastructure that cities prefer to avoid, ranging from large warehouses to facilities for green energy production. These processes fundamentally alter the character and identity of rural spaces.
The goal of this Special Issue is to gather together papers (original research articles and review papers) that provide insights into these processes, and it seeks to uncover these phenomena while considering the unique historical, cultural, and social context of each location. This Special Issue will explore the social and cultural implications of these processes, the ideological shifts brought about by them, and their impact on physical spaces. The relevant scale is diverse, ranging from the regional to the settlement and architectural levels. Simultaneously, the Special Issue aims to capture the spirit of the place that should be preserved, even amidst development processes, and to explore how this preservation could be achieved.
This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:
- Threats to the rural spaces;
- The preservation of rural heritage;
- The physical aspects of rural space transformation;
- The cultural interpretations of the significance of rural space.
We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.
Dr. Hadas Shadar
Prof. Dr. Irit Amit-Cohen
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- rural–urban spatial conflicts
- development processes in rural areas
- rural heritage
- rural preservation
- rural sense of place
- rural local identity
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