Rural spaces being commonly framed as marginal borderlands, are increasingly also viewed as areas for conservation, access and the promotion of wellbeing at a range of scales individual, community or regional. Such priorities, often externally determined, arise as responses to urbanised or global drivers and often bring about uncertain futures for positive rural realities and livelihoods. This session explores creative solutions to maintain the environment and socio-cultural fabric of these areas though new cross border/cross sector initiatives, particularly but not exclusively for research undertaken in UK devolved Nations/regions, the global South and marginal geographical areas.

Research or actions promoting overcoming such barriers will enable a clearer understanding, facilitate responsible and development and fuller appreciation of the very diverse dimensions future rural. This session explores the conference theme of ‘boundaries, borders, borderlands and bordering’ as contributions invited from new researcher or community organisations possibly engaging with interdisciplinary and/or cross-sectoral initiatives, aim to make this session as inclusive and open as possible to cross academic-practitioner boundaries.

Presentations that enable the sharing of widely differing areas of thematic rural development and / or outcomes e.g. creative practice, resilience building, linguistic or cultural challenges are . Critical discussion of current policy and funding priorities and broad processes of planning and development in rural communities, space, including interpretation of rural futures that positively frame sustainable communities, overcoming such imagined or real rural borders.

Session Chair Dr. Eifiona Thomas Lane