<論文>過疎活性化にみる「都市-農村」関係の諸相 : Iターン移住者を巡る地域のダイナミズム

Abstract

This population movement, caused by modernization and urbanization, has consistently flowed from rural areas to cities. Consequently, rural agricultural communities have declined and lost their vitality. Although nationwide development and activation plans for underpopulated areas have been drawn up in order to ease this problem, the exodus from rural areas has not been stemmed. Since the 1980s, however, the population has flowed in the opposite direction. This movement from cities into underpopulated rural areas, the so-called 'I-turn', is significant in that it appears to be a rejection of modernity and urbanization. However it has been thought that this movement from cities into underpopulated rural areas caused mainly by problems of cities, and the subjective influence of underpopulated rural areas has been not made of as yet. In this article, I focus upon this subjective influence, and analyze their living conditions and their intentions. In conclusion, I demonstrate that the movement into underpopulated areas has two main features: 1) the phenomenon of urban population movement into underpopulated rural areas has the side as a survival strategy of rural areas, and showed two inconsistent workings of rural people that is toward exclusion and toward assimilation, 2) there are a negotiated transaction Between local inhabitants and settlers, that is called mutual compensation of the contrariness. I consider that rural areas are now real living spaces for the settlers rather than idealized locations for leisure consumption.