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Aksel Hagen, Deputy major in Oppland County, Norway Coordinator of the working group

Sub-committee 1 ”Sustainable development and rural policies Working group Sustainable Rural Development 1. Outcome of the working group meeting in Strasbourg of October 2006 2. Project for a Conference on rural areas in 2008. Aksel Hagen, Deputy major in Oppland County, Norway

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Aksel Hagen, Deputy major in Oppland County, Norway Coordinator of the working group

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  1. Sub-committee 1 ”Sustainable development and rural policiesWorking group Sustainable Rural Development1. Outcome of the working group meeting in Strasbourg of October 20062. Project for a Conference on rural areas in 2008 Aksel Hagen, Deputy major in Oppland County, Norway Coordinator of the working group

  2. Strasbourg 3 October 2006 Follow up the meeting in Crete: • A information guide on labels and the promotion of quality products • How regions can make use of European labels • Examples of best practice • Existing studies on the impact of regional quality products and the use of label on local and regional economies • carry out our own study? • organise a workshop where researchers meet member regions

  3. Strasbourg 3 October 2006… Topics from the members of the working group • e-services in the rural areas • acessibility: to improve attractiveness to investors and entrepreneurs • employment – how to have local population stay in rural areas (women, young people…) • Rural Innovia project (Closing conference 12 and 13 March) • A regular newspaper on the topic of rural development? Working method - mail, newsletter, … a future partnership pool!

  4. Oppland, proposed study:Rural areas: From living landscapes to recreational landscapes?Exemplified by second home development

  5. Global trends • Worldwatch Institute- State of the World 2007: Our Urban Future ”In 2008, half of the Earth’s population will live in urban areas, marking the first time in history that humans are an urban species” • ”The leisure society”: Increased leisure time + increased mobility+ increased income = increased recreational pressure on rural areas from urban areas • Rural areas: Declining population + reduced activity in traditional rural economics = need for developing new commercial activities Tourism has become a powerful force in rural economic development. Second homes are an integral component of tourism in rural and peripheral areas

  6. Norwegian trends • Increasing number of second homes (huge demand) • Development of second homes is important for the local economy in many rural areas: - 2002: Expenditure per second home/year: Appr. 4.200 € - Employment effect: 3-5% of total employment in the municipalities studied (huge supply) • Increasing quality of second homes: 1985: Average second home: 60,6 m², 2006: 102,8 m² New second homes are larger than new residents

  7. Old second homes Example of a new second home

  8. Number of second homes in different Norwegian counties, January 2006 Oppland Oppland: 1 second home per 4.5 inhabitants

  9. Second home development represents both positive and negative impacts for the local communities • Environmental impacts: Consumption of land and energy • Economical impacts: - Positive impacts on local economy of development and use of second homes, taxes providing income to the local community, new “inhabitants” (new expertise, new ideas, money…),etc. - Negative impacts on community services: Do for example health care, the water and sewage system have to be dimensioned to a large number of users in peak periods?

  10. Impacts, continued…. • Impacts on local identity: How to maintain a local identity when the number of visitors in periods may exceed the number of inhabitants? Or, - a positive impact: New ideas, life styles… • Democratic impacts: Should “leisure inhabitants” have democratic rights if they pay local taxes? • Impacts on the possibilities of uphold of the population of the local community: - In popular recreational areas residential houses/properties may be attractive as second homes, causing the prices to be too high for local youths or other who want to settle in the community permanently. - Transformation of second homes into permanent housing

  11. Proposed study:How can regional and municipal authorities maximise the benefits, and minimise the negative impacts ofsecond home development?

  12. Proposed study, continued….. • Comparison of the status for second home development in different regions (Number, dispersion, major impacts and challenges etc.) • Exchange of best practice: 2.1 What policies, initiatives and interventions can be applied at local/regional level to maximise the benefits and minimise the negative impacts of second home development? (Regulation through planning systems and other agreements/laws, local taxes, reimbursement for infrastructure like roads and sewage, etc.) 2.2 Innovative approaches for stimulation of the local economy through second home development

  13. From talk to action,included more talk • Remember ourselves about what we said about working methods in Strasbourg • A working group meeting in September (Durres) or before? • A task force for the 2008 Conference Who`s in?

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