A New Rural Agenda

Read a sample chapter entitled "Rural politics and governance" by Michael Woods.

Social justice has been pushed to the forefront of rural policy as a priority for Government action, yet it remains unclear how rural areas and progressive rural policy fit into the broader social justice agenda.

Rural communities share the same aspirations as communities elsewhere: a prosperous local economy, excellent public services and increased control over their own destiny. However, the route to meeting these aspirations needs to be more readily defined and action taken to achieve these progressive and inclusive aims.

The explores the following main themes:

• rural economies and economic development
• society and public services
• politics and governance.

Together these inform recommendations for a progressive new phase of rural policy.

View the table of contents.