Resumen de Determinants of Individual Quality of Life Ratings in Rural Versus Suburban Regions — A Gender Perspective
Nana Zarnekow, Christian H. C. A. Henning
It is a common observation in all EU member states that the population of many rural areas is in a continuous and sharp decline, mainly caused by net migration flows from rural to urban areas (European Commission 2008). This results in regional disparities, or rather their intensification, particularly in the case of unequal income opportunities, social environment issues, environmental quality, the availability of infrastructural and social services and recreational and cultural activities. In short, the overall regional quality of life. Against this backdrop it is a key aim of European regional and rural development policy to reduce regional disparities and improve the quality of life in rural regions. Rural development programmes from the most recent period (2007–2013) had the central objective of developing a ‘living countryside’ and helping to maintain and improve the social and economic fabric, particularly in remote rural areas, to counteract depopulation (European Commission 2006).
