Capita Selecta ‘A global sense of place’

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In the 2nd WU education period running, starting October 31, Rural Sociology will again offer the Capita Selecta course ‘A Global sense of place’ (course code RSO-50806).  Course outline is available here.

The course offers a comparative perspective on place-based approaches in rural and spatial development. Next to lectures and readings on place-based development, five guest lecturers are invited to present a case and discuss the relevance of place-based development. 

The interdisciplinary course is open to MSc-students from different Master programs that want to broaden their understanding of place-based approaches for sustainable development.  The course aims to make students acquainted with different  disciplinary approaches to study and understand the sustainable development of places, necessary for thoroughly understanding transformation processes, rural and territorial development.

From the course outline:

A global sense of place gives a critical overview of approaches and discourses on sustainable place-based development and is a constituent and contingent expression of three interrelated, interdependent and relational processes: economic, ecological and social-cultural. Places can then be seen as the constructs wherein the varied interactions between these three interconnected processes are expressed. We will focus on an action-perspectives based on ecological and cultural processes as a starting point, which can create autonomy and a repositioning of economic relations, a regrounding in ecological capital and self-efficacy in the cultural sphere.

We will focus on two main approaches: 1) places as arenas for negotiation, conflicting interests and power struggles, influenced by capital and global forces, where place-based struggles occur as multi-scale, network-oriented subaltern strategies of localization; 2) Spaces endowed with meaning and the constitution of identities, subjectivities and difference.

The themes for the six weeks and invited quest lecturers are:

Week 1 Analysis of place-based development (Dirk Roep)

This lecture introduces an analytical model for sustainable place-based development where place-shaping is a constituent and contingent expression of three interrelated, interdependent and relational processes: economic, ecological and social-cultural. Places can then be seen as the constructs wherein the varied interactions between these three interconnected processes are expressed. The lecture deals with the issue how place-based development based on an action-perspective takes practices based on ecological and cultural processes as a starting point, with the aim of creating autonomy and a repositioning of economic powers, a regrounding in ecological capita and self-efficacy in the cultural sphere. Continue reading →

Master and PhD thesis possibilities in Mozambique and India

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 The International Livestock Research Institute (www.ilri.org ) offers thesis possibilities for Masters and PhD students of various disciplines in their imGoats project (2011-2012/13) in India and Mozambique. The project entitled ‘Small ruminant value chains as platforms for reducing poverty and increasing food security in dryland areas of India and Mozambique’ aims to transform the livelihoods of goat keepers in India and Mozambique through a transformation of their subsistence level goat production into a viable and profitable enterprise. The project goal of imGoats is to  increase incomes and food security of the poor in a sustainable manner by improving performance of goat value chains in India and Mozambique . The specific objectives of the project are (a) to pilot sustainable and replicable organizational and technical models to strengthen goat value chains in India and Mozambique that increase incomes, reduce vulnerability and enhance welfare amongst marginalized groups, including women and (b) to document, communicate and promote appropriate evidence-based model(s) for sustainable, pro-poor goat value chains.

The target group is about 500 vulnerable households in the semi-arid Inhassoro district in the Northern Inhambane province of Mozambique, of which 25% will be Female Headed Households and 20% households living with HIV and AIDS. In India, the project operates in Udaipur district of Rajasthan state and Dumka district of Jharkhand state, covering a total of 5000 scheduled caste and scheduled tribe and landless households. CARE International in Mozambique (http://www.care.org/ ) and BAIF in India (http://dev.ikf.in/baif/index.asp ) are leading the development aspects and local project administration in their respective project sites. More information on the project can be obtained at www.imgoats.org.

For more information on specific Msc and Ph D thesis research areas, please see here. For other information or questions please contact Ranjitha Puskur (r.puskur@cgiar.org) or Birgit Boogaard (b.boogaard@cgiar.org ) of the International Livestock Research Institute.

Die Produktive Stadt / Carrot City – Designing for Urban Agriculture

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Carrot City is a traveling exhibit that shows how the design of buildings and cities can enable the production of food in the city. It explores the relationships between design and urban food systems as well as the impact that agricultural issues have on the design of urban spaces and buildings. The focus is on how the increasing interest in growing food within the city, supplying food locally, and food security in general, is changing urban design and built form. Carrot City showcases projects in Toronto and other Canadian and American cities, as well as relevant international examples from around the world. The exhibition contains a mix of projects that were recently completed or are currently under way, and visionary, speculative design proposals by both professional designers and students, which illustrate the potential for design that responds to food issues. The exhibit explores these issues at different scales, the city scale, the community scale, housing, rooftops and the products that make all of this possible.

Main curators of Carrot City are Mark Gorgolewski, June Komisar and Joe Nasr of Ryerson University Toronto (Canada). It has traveled to New York City, Montreal and Casablanca. Carroty City is now coming to Europe with exhibitions at the Technical University in Berlin (30 September – 30 October 2011) and the Technical University in Munich (8 – 26 November 2011). For more information about the exhibits and opening ceremonies have a look at the flyer.

Excursion Biodiversity in Brabant

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By Elisa de Lijster

After I completed my MSc-thesis for International Development Studies (see earlier post in Dutch) I’m now working at the Centre for Agriculture and Environment (Centrum for Landbouw en Milieu or CLM) on my second MSc thesis project about the current turmoil in Dutch Nature Policy.

I will explore and hopefully find new and creative ways of managing and realizing nature in combination with agricultural and other – out of the box – practices. For this, I will undertake interviews with actors from State Forestry Service, Agricultural Environmental Cooperatives, Nature Organisations, Farmers’ Union and Governmental Administrators. Apart from the interviews, I will go as participant observer to symposia and meetings organised by several nature organisations which have the aim to discuss the future course of nature policy in the Netherlands.

CLM under the header of the Netherlands Rural Network (Netwerk Platteland) is also organising a field excursion focusing on nature & biodiversity and cooperation between different parties in the Province of Brabant (see the announcement, in Dutch, and the site biodiversiteit in Brabant). We will visit several sites and projects such as the Association of Dune Farmers, the Nature Museum, the project Nature Gate and the project Biodiverse Farm Yards.

The purpose is to exchange knowledge and learn from each others’ experiences and bottle necks. Of course, from an academic and scientific perspective, such a day is an excellent opportunity for participant observation: to meet relevant actors and in my case to see how they perceive the changes in Nature Policy which could affect their livelihoods and planning projects. If you have an interest, see the announcement. 

Elisa de Lijster (elisa.delijster@wur.nl) 

MSc International Development &  MSc Forest and Nature Conservation

Nederland 2040 – Een land van regio’s

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Het Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving heeft in kader van Ruimtelijk Verkenning 2011 het rapport Nederland in 2040: een land van regio’s uitgebracht:

Nederland staat aan de vooravond van andere tijden: de jarenlange groei van bevolking, mobiliteit en werkgelegenheid gaat afvlakken. Dat betekent dat in de toekomst, met name na 2020, in een groot deel van ons land krimp even goed denkbaar is als groei. Het beleid zal hier op moeten inspelen met een kleinschaliger en flexibeler ruimtelijk beleid dat veel minder dan voorheen voorziet in grote investeringen en projecten voor de lange termijn.

Groei en krimp komen dus naast elkaar voor en met wisselende mate van zekerheid. In regio’s als het Rivierengebied, de Veluwe en delen van het Groene Hart zijn krimp en groei van bevolking, mobiliteit en werkgelegenheid beide goed denkbaar. In stedelijke regio’s als Almere, Groningen, Arnhem/Nijmegen en Utrecht zullen bevolking, werkgelegenheid en mobiliteit de komende tijd blijven groeien. Krimp treedt de komende periode vrij zeker op in regio’s aan de rand van Nederland, zoals Oost-Groningen en Midden-Limburg. Na 2020 is voor steeds meer regio’s zowel groei als krimp goed mogelijk. Na 2030 is dat zelfs in een groot deel van ons land het geval. Dat betekent mogelijk krimp in de huidige groeiregio’s maar op langere termijn zouden ook krimpregio’s van nu weer met stabilisatie of zelfs groei te maken kunnen krijgen.

Voor kennis rond  krimp, zie ook Van meer naar beter: kennisplein krimp.