Revitalising Rural Communities

Abstract

Rural areas across the world have experienced outmigration and loss of economic viability due to processes such as globalisation and increased urbanisation. The loss of rural areas, which provide important resources on which wider societies depend on, creates immense risks for the long-term well-being of the world’s growing urban populations. Their revitalisation, therefore, has benefits for both rural and urban areas. The interconnections between rural and urban areas, in this respect, are, however, often overlooked. By exploring the case of Lai Chi Wo, a village in Hong Kong on the outskirts of the urban community, it is demonstrated how these connections can be enhanced and better managed through the revitalisation of a rural area, bringing vibrancy back to a near abandoned village.