Rural Space in Mediterranean Europe: A Methodological and Typological Approach
The paper puts forward a fresh approach to the concept of rural space with spatial as well as demographic dimensions. In reaction to the limitations of previous work in the field, our aim here is to derive the various and highly complex forms of rurality from the population distribution of three Euro-Mediterranean countries; namely, France, Italy and Spain. After reviewing the literature on the methods of characterizing rural space, we examine the strengths and weaknesses of the different definitions of this space. Next, we propose a method of typology construction rooted in the twin concepts of diffusion and concentration, and continuity and discontinuity. Then we summarize the main features of our statistical and cartographic conclusions on rural classification. Finally, we produce an operational definition of rural space intended to facilitate comparative analysis internationally.