A Living Countryside

By examining a range of experiences from both the north and south of Ireland, this book asks what the ideal of sustainable development might mean to specific rural groups and how sustainable development goals have been pursued across the policy spectrum. It assesses the extent of commitment to a living countryside in Ireland and compares various opportunities and obstacles to the actual achievement of sustainable rural development. How different sectors of rural society will be challenged in terms of future survival provides an overarching theme throughout.

This book celebrates country life by showcasing rural European homes from Sweden, Ireland, England, Holland, France, Greece, Tuscany, Majorca, and Greece, we present the most inspiring rural homes, each selected for their style, character and serenity.

Country living has long been associated with a rustic way of life and a sense of tradition. This strong appreciation of rural traditions does not mean, however, that all country homes are relics of the past. Contemporary solutions and innovative ideas work equally well when old spaces are given over to new uses, converted, renovated or just revived. A country house is intimately connected to the land and all its seasons and is built to last using natural, indigenous materials. These are the core qualities of the countryside style, whether old or new. Full of inspiration on how to achieve that highly desirable ideal of comfortable country living combined with the clean lines and edited design of today, Countryside Living shows work by architects and designers who have helped evolve the country house look. Containing never before seen images, this new book is a source of inspiration to interior designers, architects, and home-owners, and a must-have for rural house enthusiasts.

One grey dismal day, Janine Marsh was on a trip to northern France to pick up some cheap wine. She returned to England a few hours later having put in an offer on a rundown old barn in the rural Seven Valleys area of Pas de Calais. This was not something she'd expected or planned for. Janine eventually gave up her job in London to move with her husband to live the good life in France. Or so she hoped. While getting to grips with the locals and la vie Française, and renovating her dilapidated new house, a building lacking the comforts of mains drainage, heating or proper rooms, and with little money and less of a clue, she started to realize there was lot more to her new home than she could ever have imagined. These are the true tales of Janine's rollercoaster ride through a different culture - one that, to a Brit from the city, was in turns surprising, charming and not the least bit baffling.

At a time when the relationship between 'the country' and 'the city' is in flux worldwide, the value and meanings of food associated with both places continue to be debated. Building upon the foundation of Raymond Williams' classic work, The Country and the City, this volume examines how conceptions of the country and the city invoked in relation to food not only reflect their changing relationship but have also been used to alter the very dynamics through which countryside and cities, and the food grown and eaten within them, are produced and sustained. Leading scholars in the study of food offer ethnographic studies of peasant homesteads, family farms, community gardens, state food industries, transnational supermarkets, planning offices, tourist boards, and government ministries in locales across the globe. This fascinating collection provides vital new insight into the contested dynamics of food and will be key reading for upper-level students and scholars of food studies, anthropology, history and geography.