Unequal Rural Areas: Critical Perspectives on Rural Development in Hesse

Speaker: Andreas Kallert

There is no such thing as one rural area in Hessen: While on the one hand rural regions in southern Hessen are mostly prospering, on the other hand the north and east of Hessen are often poorly positioned in terms of infrastructure and economy. The lecture illuminates this spatially unequal development and the associated unequal living conditions starting from the classification in the neoliberal processes of austerity and (intermunicipal) competition. Subsequently, the role of the current structural and regional policy in Hessen will be discussed.
Finally, some elements of a "progressive ruralism" are sketched, which show the direction for a good life in the countryside. The extent to which such a solidarity-based policy could also weaken right-wing populist forces in rural regions will be the subject of the subsequent joint discussion.

To the overview of the event series and the zoom link:
http://www.uni-kassel.de/go/veranstaltungsreihe_critical_agrarian_studies