فصلنامه روستا و توسعه
سال بیست و دوم شماره 4 (پیاپی 88، زمستان 1398)

This study aimed at measuring and prioritizing the rural areas of Meshgin Shahr County of Iran in terms of economic sustainability levels. It was conducted in an analytical-explanative survey method. The statistical population included 90359 people at the ages of 15 and higher residing in the studied areas, among whom 384 people were selected as sample size in simple random sampling method using Cochran’s formula. The required data were collected through a questionnaire, the content and face validity of which was confirmed by faculty members at university and several experts of administrative offices; and to determine its reliability, a pilot test was conducted and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.79 was achieved. The achieved data were analyzed by Fuzzy TOPSIS techniques. The results of multi-attribute decision making methods on the basis of calculated weights showed that Lahroud and Shaban sub-districts were in the first and second ranks in terms of economic sustainability, respectively, and Northern Arshagh sub-district was in the last rank. Finally, based on the results analysis, some applied recommendations were presented.

Rural tourism is one of the most important strategies of rural development and at the same time, its environmental, economic, social and cultural sustainability is emphasized. Thus, this study aimed at assessing and analyzing the tourism implications for Ovan village of Roodbar Alamout region in Qazvin province of Iran. It was conducted in a descriptive-survey method. The statistical population was consisted of rural households in Ovan village (N=136); out of them, 100 household members were selected based on Morgan and Krejcie table. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire, the reliability of which was acquired by conducting a pilot study and calculation of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.9). Data analysis was done through an exploratory factor analysis technique. The results revealed that the positive implications of tourism might be categorized into the eight factors including improvement of rural housing (11.76 percent), improvement of physical structure of the village (10.51 percent), cultural development (9.51 percent), health development (7.65 percent), economic development (7.20 percent), improvement of rural industries (7.11 percent), increase in awareness (6.55 percent), and employment generation (5.30 percent), which explained 65.62 percent of total variances; in addition, the negative implications of tourism were identified in the five factors including environmental visual pollution (14.52 percent), increase in social abnormalities (13.39 percent), destruction of natural resources (11.48 percent), change in use (10.80 percent), and change in local culture (10.15 percent), which explained 60.36 percent of total variances.

The present study aimed at the feasibility of sustainable rural development through the development of creative industries. The statistical population is Villages of Isfahan Economic Development and Employment Development Plan in the 6th Five-Year Development Plan. 122 villages were surveyed in the first year of the program, which, with the help of capacity-measuring, 50 villages, among them the potential of handicraft production, were selected as sample size. Using SWOT analysis and field studies, the feasibility of some weaknesses, strengths, threats and opportunities associated with the development of creative industries with regard to rural capital is examined. Of the 50 villages that have the potential for handicrafts, 7 villages do not manage to develop sustainable rural development through handicrafts. A village with a long-term sustainable development index is zero. It is suggested that each village, which has more points among the rest of the city's villages, is a place for a central workshop for production, supply of materials, quality control, training and supervision of handicrafts

Since there is a close relationship between poverty and migration from rural to urban areas in Iran, determining the quality and quantity of the relationship between these two variables can effectively help to explain the rural and urban development policies. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating this relationship using both Toda-Yamamoto (TY) and Bounds tests as well as the data of population and its natural growth rate, the percentage of poor people, and Gini coefficient during 1985-2913. The results of both causality tests showed that migration and poverty were closely linked and had a two way relation; in addition, the rural poverty could be the cause of migration from the rural to urban areas, and the migration could also lead to rural poverty alleviation. In other words, the migration leads to poverty mitigation in the rural area. Therefore, the government can improve the allocation of funds in accordance with the situation of migrants, including informal jobs.

Entrepreneurship activities are an important factor in rural development. In addition, rural entrepreneurship has a growing role in regional development. However, previous researches have only looked at the economic prospects for rural development. On the other hand, identification of business challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs is of great importance. In this regard, this study aimed at identifying and prioritizing the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurs in rural areas of South Khorasan province of Iran. The required data were gathered in documentary and survey methods  through library sources, interviews and questionnaire. The statistical population consisted of all rural entrepreneurs residing in Bagheran, Al-Qurat and Shakhen sub-districts of Birjand County. The statistical sample included 30 entrepreneurs and business owners in the studied area in 2018 that were selected in a random sampling method using Cochran formula. Furthermore, the Delphi method was used to identify the challenges and opportunities as well as to analyze the opinions of experts. Based on the results of comparative analysis, the opportunities included rural location, natural environment, competition, social capital and access to communications and infrastructures; in addition, the challenges included government financing, employee integrity, social relationships, market constraints and unskilled labors.

The deterioration of rural textures is process-oriented, and even when the area is still in the stage of deterioration, the renewal of deteriorated areas must be done before the region reaches a very bad stage, which is completely unused. In this regard, identification and evaluation of texture deterioration cycle is one of the most important parts in the process of rural renewal activities. Hence, based on the four stages of the deterioration cycle (including the formation of primary grounds, the emergence of signs of deterioration, the improper living environment and reduction of texture efficiency, and the completion of deterioration), this study sought to identify the cycle of texture deterioration in rural area of Tehran province in Iran as well as to determine their physical textures in terms of positioning in this cycle using mathematical models. Accordingly, this study was conducted in a descriptive and applied method, and the required information were collected in both library and field methods through a questionnaire and interviews with 260 households and fifteen scientific specialists and local managers in the deteriorated villages fringe of Tehran metropolitan (mostly) in eight selected counties, which their views and opinions were received, described and analyzed. The results showed that the villages of Tehran province were in the third stage of texture deterioration cycle known as "the improper living environment and reduction of texture efficiency".

This study aimed at examining the relationship between food security and income poverty in rural areas of Amlash County in Guilan province of Iran. Data were collected from 200 rural households in a multistage cluster random sampling method as well as the food security standard questionnaire completed by the households. A household food security standard method was used to determine the food security status of the households. The Likert multi-choice spectrum and household per capita expenditure were also used to determine the mental and relative poverty. In addition, using multiple Logit model and analyzing the marginal effect, the impact of income poverty on food security in the rural households was examined. The results showed that the mental and relative poverty had a positive and significant relation with the food insecurity among the rural households. The analysis of the marginal effect showed that the mental poverty had the greatest impact on the food security. So, to deal with the food insecurity at various levels in the rural community, the poverty reduction in this community should be focused due to its highest priority and effectiveness.