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a b s t r a c tIt is necessary for rural communities to meet conditions of decline, including depopulation, with effective strategies for rural revival and revitalisation. Based on Hirschman's 'exit-voice' theory, this paper investigates the way in which local stakeholders respond to processes of rural depopulation. Case studies undertaken in Xiaoguan village in China and in Åre in Sweden reveal the effectiveness of bottomup revitalization initiatives in combating rural decline. We show how local stakeholders' strong "voices" in these placesdwhich called for improved living conditions and increased job opportunitiesdheld people and groups together, encouraging them to work together with shared values and attitude. The strong leadership demonstrated either by local committees or in stakeholders' self-organized actions played an important role in carrying out revitalisation initiatives. We highlight the importance of not only reviving economies but also creating desirable rural lifestyles. Our findings also emphasize the need for bottom-up initiatives to align with government policy and regional development plans.

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a b s t r a c tThe paper aims to investigate land conversion as a result of urban-rural transformation in the Chinese context. Theoretical analysis and empirical study of the Bohai Rim region find strong connections between the land conversion rates and urban-rural transformation intensity in the period 2000-2010. Rapid land conversion normally takes place in counties/districts of low initial level of urban-rural transformation. However, places of high initial socioeconomic level and low transformation intensity would experience slow land conversion. The different land conversion rates in relation to urban-rural transformation intensity are mainly attributed to the China's land quotas distribution system which is subjective and administrative. The study highlights the implementation of land quotas distribution system based on differences to improve the land distribution efficiency and achieve balanced regional development in China.

By entrepreneurial combinations of voluntary resources, project means from public and private sources, commissions on contracts and other ways of financing, the youth house Fryshuset, with a great number of social activities for primarily young people in Stockholm, Sweden, has been able to allocate resources for establishing and expanding its activities. This development would not have been possible without struggle against established norms, values, traditions and institutions, not least the 'close to monopoly' that the public sector in practice was having on the fields in which Fryshuset emerged. Step by step, Fryshuset has built partnerships and alliances with public, private as well as civil actors. Expressed in a general way, Fryshuset has built a new social capital and created new norms and values. The aim of the paper is to investigate how Fryshuset has managed to build social capital through, and for entrepreneurial efforts aiming to facilitate young peoples' development. Construcción del capital social por el empresariado socialLa casa de jóvenes Fryshuset, que desarrolla un gran número de actividades sociales para los jóvenes de Estocolmo (Suecia), ha sido capaz de captar recursos para asentar y extender sus actividades a través de conglomerados empresariales de recursos benévolos, de medios procedentes de fuentes públicas y privadas, de comisiones de contratos y de otras fuentes de financiación. Este desarrollo no habría sido posible sin combatir las normas establecidas, valores, tradiciones e instituciones, sin contar el cuasimonopolio