‘Cosmovillagers’ as Sustainable Rural Development Actors in Mountain Hamlets? International Immigrant Entrepreneurs’ Perceptions of Sustainability in the Lleida Pyrenees (Catalonia, Spain)

Abstract

In recent decades, small villages in some mountainous regions in Europe have been suffering from ageing and depopulation, yet at the same time, immigrants have been arriving and settling there. This paper sheds light on the perceptions of sustainable rural development among international immigrants living in municipalities with fewer than 500 inhabitants, which are already the home to some ‘cosmovillagers’. If immigrants’ views are left unattended, an important part of reality will be lacking in the picture of mountainous areas because today immigration is qualitatively relevant in rural Europe. This paper aims to answer the following questions, among others: What dimensions of sustainability are underscored? What are the main challenges for sustainability and the proposals for improvement? What are the local sustainability challenges? This paper provides research results and insights based on original data gathered during fieldwork in the Pyrenees as well as analyses of documents, maps and statistics. Specifically, the main focus is on some several sparsely populated areas in the Lleida Pyrenees, e.g. dozens of municipalities in Alt Urgell, Cerdanya, Pallars Sobirà and Val d’Aran. Thus this paper aims to help fill that relative gap in the existing academic literature by offering original qualitative information.

The Effects of Tourism on Local Development in Protected Nature Areas: The Case of Three Nature Parks of Sierra Morena (Andalusia, Spain)

“…However, in services, retail, and commercial companies predominate and only in five municipalities (SAPA), the percentage of hospitality companies in 2019 is higher than the rest. The data show that tourism is not the main economic activity in the municipalities, except in those with a sparse and aged population, where it appears feasible [122]. Changes in business activity coincide with the crisis and post-crisis recovery of traditional industries [98,99] and construction [123,124].…”

“…They start undertakings coinciding more with vital than economic strategies [147], with a tendency towards territorial concentration [80], taking advantage of the financing of local or rural development programs and the opening and mobility process, connecting with external markets [80]. In addition, immigrant settlements appear in abandoned or aged villages [122] with local-based tourism development [22]. Thus, the effects of tourism on demography are more limited than expected [29].…”

Retaining Non-EU Immigrants in Rural Areas to Sustain Depopulated Regions: Motives to Remain

“…Both factors that draw people to other cities or countries and those that draw them to leave rural areas contribute to depopulation [9] and to the absence of people and services there [2]. Migration 1 to smaller cities and rural areas can help overcome this depopulation and ensure the viability (or the return) of basic services such as schools, hospitals, and shops, as well as greater diversity, which is associated with economic growth [10][11][12].…”

“…Morén-Alegret and colleagues [11] presented empirical results regarding the demographic, social, and economic challenges faced by rural areas and small villages, arguing that international immigrants add value and play a role in the sustainability and development of rural mountainous areas, namely as immigrant entrepreneurs. Immigrants are transforming these rural challenges into opportunities, as exemplified in the statement, "opening municipal politics up and encouraging respect for others, instead of prejudice, gossip, racism, classism, and sexism" (p. 290).…”

Two Close-to-Nature Lifestyles, One Benefit for the Cultural Landscape: Comparing Lifestyle Movers and Lifestyle Farmers in the Remote European Eastern Alps

“…This apparent void, in turn, provides ample space for innovative engagement with (in)tangible communal resources (Viazzo and Zanini 2014; Gretter et al 2017: 402; Membretti and Lucchini 2018: 203; Ravazzoli et al 2019: 10; Membretti, Dax, and Machold 2022: 21). Immigration by third-country nationals offers challenging but rich opportunities for rural communities, boosting sociocultural exchange and demographic stability across generations (Battaglini and Corrado 2014; Machold and Dax 2017; Gretter 2018; Pereira and Oiarzabal 2018; Bergamasco et al 2021; Morén-Alegret et al 2021). While lifestyle mobilities rest on accumulated social and financial capital that enables individuals to develop economic niches within a chosen destination (Benson and O'Reilly 2016: 10 f), international migration relies more on socioeconomic gaps left by outmigrated locals, as revealed in self-employment in local handicraft, retail, or food businesses (Gretter 2018; Löffler and Steinicke 2018; Gilli 2022) or restoration of abandoned houses (Gretter et al 2017; Membretti and Lucchini 2018; Gretter et al 2019).…”