<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>1989 was a turning point in the socio-economic development in the former Eastern bloc, initiating a systemic transformation that affected the society at large. It also contributed to the crystallisation of certain cultural landscapes, hitherto largely illegible due to the inhibition of spatial processes encountered during socialism. In Poland, after a quarter-century of a free market economy, the focus on social problems began to expand to the spatial realm as well. It became apparent that the progressive social polarisation that followed was most prominent in environments striated by a particular landscape type – the former State Agricultural Farm (PGR). Considering PGRs as ‘the epitome of rurality’ subject to ideas informing about the direction of contemporary ‘rural development’ prompts a different way of looking at the problem. In this paper, we investigate the concept of rurality in the discursive tenor of implemented policy and contrast it with contextualised empirical examples. Our findings suggest that an efficient policy should be confronted with the expectations of residents at the local level, and introducing top-down actions usually ends in failure as in the case of post-PGR estates.</p></abstract>

1989 was a turning point in the socio-economic development in the former Eastern bloc, initiating a systemic transformation that affected the society at large. It also contributed to the crystallisation of certain cultural landscapes, hitherto largely illegible due to the inhibition of spatial processes encountered during socialism. In Poland, after a quarter-century of a free market economy, the focus on social problems began to expand to the spatial realm as well. It became apparent that the progressive social polarisation that followed was most prominent in environments striated by a particular landscape type – the former State Agricultural Farm (PGR). Considering PGRs as ‘the epitome of rurality’ subject to ideas informing about the direction of contemporary ‘rural development’ prompts a different way of looking at the problem. In this paper, we investigate the concept of rurality in the discursive tenor of implemented policy and contrast it with contextualised empirical examples. Our findings suggest that an efficient policy should be confronted with the expectations of residents at the local level, and introducing top-down actions usually ends in failure as in the case of post-PGR estates.

From policy to misery? the state agricultural farms vs. ‘the rural’

Quaestiones Geographicae

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"From policy to misery? the state agricultural farms vs. \u2018the rural\u2019"}

1989 was a turning point in the socio-economic development in the former Eastern bloc, initiating a systemic transformation that affected the society at large....

Answer	% of respondents
A. Who really cares about the plight and the living conditions of the family? (multiple answers possible)
Institutions at the poviat level	0.0
Institutions at the voivodship level	0.0
Institutions at the state level	0.0
Foundations	0.0
The Social Welfare Centre at the Town and Commune Office	3.2
Schools	3.2
Church	3.2
Family	77.4
Neighbours	12.9
Residents of the estate	6.5
Residents of nearby villages	3.2

Answer	% of respondents
A. Which of the following problems occur at Jackowo? (multiple answers possible)
Alcoholism	54.8
Poverty	51.6
Domestic violence	48.4
Theft	45.3
Fraud	41.9
Prostitution	16.1
Drug abuse	09.7

From policy to misery? the state agricultural farms vs. ‘the rural’

Publié en ligne: 26 déc. 2019

Pages: 77 - 90

Reçu: 12 mars 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/quageo-2019-0043

© 2019 Jadwiga Biegańska, Mirek Dymitrow, Elżbieta Grzelak-Kostulska, Stefania Środa-Murawska, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Fig. 1

Structure of answers from the questionnaire survey regarding the assessment of assistance offered to the residents of post-PGR estate.

Structure of answers from the questionnaire survey regarding some aspects of the socio-economic and material dimensions.