After rapid urban growth and industrialisation, the postwar era has seen counterurbanisation become a dominant demographic trend in the UK. Much has been written about the residential patterns of counterurbanisation, but the associated growth of rural business has attracted less attention. The author proposes the term ‘commercial counterurbanisation’ to describe the growth of rural economies stimulated by inward migration. In the North East of England, in-migrants own over half of rural microbusinesses, they are more growth-oriented, and they are responsible for considerably more employment than the whole of the agriculture sector. In arguing that commercial counterurbanisation is more than just a spatial decentralisation of business activity, the author explores the social as well as the economic motivations of ‘counterurbanising’ business owners. Commercial counterurbanisation can be a two-stage process, as the decision to work in a rural area or run a rural business may occur several years after a residential move. Where this time lag exists, in-migrant business owners will be influenced by different factors in different locations. In the context of neoendogenous development, the balance of local and extralocal forces is particularly significant. This leads to the conclusion that in-migrant business owners need to become embedded into the rural community for the wider rural economy to realise the maximum benefits from commercial counterurbanisation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BerryB, 1976Urbanization and Counterurbanization (Sage, Beverly Hills, CA)
2.
BosworthG, 2008, “Entrepreneurial in-migrants and economic development in rural England”International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business6355–369
3.
BosworthG, 2009Entrepreneurial In-migrants and Economic Development in Rural England PhD thesis, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
4.
BosworthGAttertonJ, 2009, “Neo-endogenous development and the rural economy”, paper presented at the 7th Rural Entrepreneurship Conference, Penrith, May; copy available from author
5.
BraceC, 2003, “Rural mappings”, in Country Visions Ed. ClokeP (Pearson, Harlow, Essex) pp 49–72
ChampionA, 1989Counterurbanisation: The Changing Pace and Nature of Population Deconcentration (Edward Arnold, London)
10.
ChampionA, 1998, “The determinants of migration flows in England; a review of existing data and evidence”, report prepared for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, London
11.
ChampionA, 2003, “Testing the differential urbanization model in Great Britain, 1901–91”Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie9411–22
12.
ChampionA, 2006, “The changing urban scene: demographics and the big picture”, published as the ODPM State of the Cities Report 2005, Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
13.
ChampionASheppardJ, 2006, “Demographic change in rural England”, in The Ageing Countryside: The Growing Older Population of Rural England Eds LowePSpeakmanL (Age Concern, London) pp 29–50
14.
ChampionAWatkinsC, 1991People in the Countryside: Studies of Social Change in Rural Britain (Paul Chapman, London)
15.
ChampionAAtkinsDCoombesMFotheringhamS, 1998, “Urban exodus”, report for Campaign to Protect Rural England, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
16.
CoombesMRaybouldS, 2001, “Public policy and population distribution: developing appropriate indicators of settlement patterns”Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy19223–248
17.
Countryside Agency, Cheltenham, Glos2003Rural Economies: Stepping Stones to Healthier Futures
18.
Countryside Agency, Cheltenham, Glos2004The State of the Countryside 2004
19.
Countryside Agency, Cheltenham, Glos2005The State of the Countryside in the North East 2004
20.
CRC, Commission for Rural Communities, Cheltenham, Glos2005The State of the Countryside 2005
21.
CRC, Commission for Rural Communities, Cheltenham, Glos2007The State of the Countryside 2007
22.
CRC, Commission for Rural Communities, Cheltenham, Glos2008aThe State of the Countryside 2008
23.
CRC, Commission for Rural Communities, Cheltenham, Glos2008bEngland's Rural Areas: Steps to Release Their Economic Potential advice from the Rural Advocate to the Prime Minister
FieldingA, 1982, “Counterurbanization in Western Europe”Progress in Planning171–52
27.
FindlayAShortDStockdaleA, 1999Migration Impacts in Rural England report to the Countryside Agency, Cheltenham, Glos
28.
GranovetterM, 1985, “Economic action and social structure: the problem of embeddedness”American Journal of Sociology91481–510
29.
GreenA, 1997, “A question of compromise? Case study evidence on the location and mobility strategies of dual career households”Regional Studies31641–657
30.
GreenA, 2006, “Employment and the older person in the countryside”, in The Ageing Countryside: The Growing Older Population of Rural England Eds LowePSpeakmanL (Age Concern, London) pp 94–118
31.
HalfacreeK, 1994, “The importance of the rural in the constitution of counterurbanisation: evidence from England in the 1980s”Sociologia Ruralis34164–189
32.
HalfacreeK, 2008, “To revitalise counterurbanisation research? Recognising an international and fuller picture”Population Space and Place14479–495
33.
HallidayJCoombesM, 1995, “In search of counterurbanisation: some evidence from Devon on the relationship between patterns of migration and motivation”Journal of Rural Studies11433–446
34.
HealeyMIlberyB, 1985The Industrialization of the Countryside (Geo Books, Norwich, Norfolk)
35.
HirschmanA, 1958The Strategy of Economic Development (Yale University Press, New Haven, CT)
36.
HodgeIMonkS, 2004, “The economic diversity of rural England: stylised fallacies and uncertain evidence”Journal of Rural Studies20263–272
37.
JackSAndersonA, 2002, “The effects of embeddedness on the entrepreneurial process”Journal of Business Venturing17467–487
38.
KalantaridisCBikaZ, 2006, “Local embeddedness and rural entrepreneurship: case-study evidence from Cumbria, England”Environment and Planning A381561–1579
39.
KeebleDTylerPLewisG, 1992Business Success in the Countryside: The Performance of Rural Enterprise (HMSO, London)
40.
LowePMurdochJWardN, 1995, “Beyond exogenous and endogenous models: networks in rural development”, in Beyond Modernization: The Impact of Endogenous Rural Development Eds Van der PloegJ DVan DijkG (Van Gorcum, Assen) pp 184–194
41.
LowePRayCWardNWoodDWoodwardR, 1998, “Participation in rural development: a review of European experience”, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
42.
MitchellC, 2004, “Making sense of counterurbanization”Journal of Rural Studies2015–34
43.
MurdochJ, 2000, “Networks—a new paradigm of rural development?”Journal of Rural Studies16407–419
44.
MurdochJ, 2006, “Networking rurality: emergent complexity in the countryside”, in Handbook of Rural Studies Eds ClokePMarsdenTMooneyP (Sage, London) pp 171–184
MyrdalG, 1957Economic Theory and Underdeveloped Regions (Duckworth, London)
47.
NorthDSmallboneD, 2000, “The innovativeness and growth of rural SMEs during the 1990s”Regional Studies34145–157
48.
One NorthEast, 2006, “Creating the right conditions for attracting entrepreneurs to the rural North East”, research report by Shared Intelligence, One NorthEast, Newcastle upon Tyne
49.
OwenDGreenA, 1992, “Migration patterns and trends”, in Migration Processes and Patterns. Volume 1: Research Prospects and Progress Eds ChampionAFieldingA (Belhaven Press, London) pp 17–38
50.
PahlR, 1970Patterns of Urban Life (Longmans, Green & Co. Ltd, London)
PhillipsM, 1998, “Investigations of the British rural middle classes—Part 2: Fragmentation, identity, morality and contestation”Journal of Rural Studies15427–444
53.
RaleyMMoxeyA, 2000, “Rural microbusinesses in North East England: final survey results”, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
54.
RayC, 2001, “Culture economies”, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
55.
SchamaS, 1996Landscape and Memory (Fontana Press, London)
SleeR W, 1994, “Theoretical aspects of the study of endogenous development”, in Born From Within: Practice and Perspectives of Endogenous Rural Development Eds Van der PloegJ DVan DijkG (Van Gorcum, Assen) pp 184–194
58.
SleeR W, 2005, “From countrysides of production to countrysides of consumption?”Journal of Agricultural Science143255–265
StockdaleA, 2004, “Rural out-migration: community consequences and individual migrant experiences”Sociologia Ruralis44149–176
61.
StockdaleA, 2005, “Incomers: offering economic potential in rural England”Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England166
62.
StockdaleA, 2006, “Migration: pre-requisite for rural economic regeneration?”Journal of Rural Studies22354–366
63.
StockdaleAFindlayA, 2004, “Rural in-migration: a catalyst for economic regeneration”, paper presented at Global Change and Human Mobility—ICG-UK Glasgow, August
64.
TaylorM, 2008Living Working Countryside: The Taylor Review of Rural Economy and Affordable HousingDepartment for Communities and Local Government, London
TownsendA, 1991, “New forms of employment in rural areas: a national perspective”, in People in the Countryside: Studies of Social Change in Rural Britain Eds ChampionAWatkinsC (Paul Chapman, London) pp 84–95
67.
VartiainenP, 1989, “Counterurbanisation: a challenge for socio-theoretical geography”Journal of Rural Studies5217–225
