Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities
Australian Research Council Discovery Project
Australia's Rural Heartlands: Declining Economic Fortune or Dynamic Regional Adjustment?
Chief Investigators:
- Professor John Martin, Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities, La Trobe University
- Dr Neil Argent, Division of Geography and Planning, The University of New England
- Associate Professor Scott Baum, Urban Research Program, Griffith University
- Associate Professor Lisa Bourke, School of Rural Health, The University of Melbourne
- Dr Phil McManus, Geosciences, The University of Sydney
- Dr William Pritchard, Division of Geography, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney
- Associate Professor Anthony Sorensen, School of Human and Environmental Studies, The University of New England
- Professor Jim Walmsley, School of Human & Environmental Studies, The University of New England
Australia's rural heartlands are in the midst of momentous social and economic transformation. Current research is divided on whether this reflects dynamic regional adjustment or declining economic fortunes.
This project will develop major conceptual advances in the social scientific modeling of rural change leading to innovative, policy relevant strategies for successful adaptation to change in Australia's rural heartlands.
We will evaluate how agriculture is embedded in the rural heartlands today; explain the interrelationship between agricultural production systems and social systems; develop conceptual models to explain these drivers; and, apply these findings to policy debates on the future of the rural heartlands.
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