Theorizing Rural Space

Rural areas are becoming an important part of theorizing about space and place. Both the (r)evolution of social thought and the fact that rural areas are becoming an important alternative living and working environment in more developed countries have contributed to that fact. After being theoretically neglected due to the focus on urban areas (global city, network society, postmodern city), there is a growing interest now to study the reflections of the postmodern perspectives on the countryside. Eventually, this also leads towards the revival of interest in more traditional approaches and conceptualizing rurality in general. In order to compare and discuss different perspectives and theories of rurality, four different concepts have been used in the paper, namely: the functional concept, the socio-geographic concept of the German (Munich) school, the political economy approach in conceptualizing rurality and the concept of social construction of rurality. Using those concepts and examples from Croatia and abroad, the author transforms and creates his own position towards understanding rural space.