The effect of communication concerning civic participation on local identity and the struggle against depopulation
The effect of communication concerning civic participation on local identity and the struggle against depopulation

Author(s): Anne Schubert, Jens Wolling
Subject(s): Media studies, Civil Society, Theory of Communication, Social development, Demography and human biology, Rural and urban sociology
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: Communication; civic participation; struggle against depopulation; demographic changes; social development; rural and urban areas;
Summary/Abstract: Modern societies across the world are confronting profound demographic changes. Amid low birth-rates and increased migration to major cities, rural areas, including small cities and towns, are grappling with a changing social structure: populations are decreasing, while the average age of the population is rising. For these places, these trends have consequences for their public image and, moreover, effects on the psychology of their residents. As the population decreases, houses become uninhabited and decay, stores close, and other important elements of public life, such as restaurants, cinemas, cafes and theatres, become endangered and finally shut down. These changes cause the appearance of the city to deteriorate, and the remaining residents grow pessimistic about the future of the place and are reluctant to make investments in, or to engage themselves in, that future.

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