Akgün A. A., Baycan-Levent T., Nijkamp P. and Poot J. Roles of local and newcomer entrepreneurs in rural development: a comparative meta-analytic study, Regional Studies. Early studies of rural development suggested that newcomer rural entrepreneurs are important agents of change and responsible for new spatial development, but more recent research has concluded that there is no difference between newcomer and local rural entrepreneurs in this respect. Much of this literature is based on qualitative ethnographic case studies. Systematic pooling and scrutinizing of the main attributes and findings of such studies enhances their comparability and permits some generalization. Newcomer and local rural entrepreneurship is therefore investigated by means of a meta-analysis of twenty-two applied studies. The statistical results show that newcomer entrepreneurs are relatively older, better educated, and develop more non-agricultural business. They appear to be predominantly attracted by a rural lifestyle. In many cases, newcomer entrepreneurs are not directly the instigators of economic development, but their contribution to physical capital formation is greater than that of the locals. Akgün A. A., Baycan-Levent T., Nijkamp P. et Poot J. Rôles des créateurs d'entreprise, soit nouveaux, soit locaux, dans l'aménagement du milieu rural: une étude par méta-analyse, Regional Studies. Les premières études de l'aménagement du milieu rural ont laissé supposer que les nouveaux entrepreneurs ruraux constituent d'importantes forces motrices et expliquent le développement spatial. Cependant, des recherches plus récentes ont conclu qu'il n'y a pas de différence à cet égard entre les entrepreneurs ruraux, soit nouveaux, soit locaux. Cette documentation est basée dans une large mesure sur des études de cas ethnographiques qualitatives. La mise en commun et l'examen systématiques des principaux atouts et résultats de telles études améliorent la comparabilité et permettent une certaine généralisation. On examine, alors, l'esprit d'entreprise nouveau et local ruraux par moyen d'une méta-analyse de vingt-deux études appliquées. Les résultats statistiques montrent que les nouveaux entrepreneurs sont relativement âgés, mieux instruits, et créent plus d'affaires non-agricoles. Il semble que ce soit essentiellement un style de vie rural qui les attirent. Souvent, les nouveaux entrepreneurs ne sont pas les forces motrices du développement économique, mais leur contribution à la formation du capital physique dépasse celle de leurs homologues locaux. Esprit d'entreprise Aménagement du milieu local Solde migratoire positif Méta-analyse Akgün A. A., Baycan-Levent T., Nijkamp P. und Poot J. Die Rolle von lokalen und neuen Unternehmern bei der Entwicklung ländlicher Gebiete: eine vergleichende metaanalytische Studie, Regional Studies. In früheren Studien über die Entwicklung in ländlichen Gebieten wurde die These aufgestellt, dass neue Unternehmer im ländlichen Raum wichtige Akteure für Veränderungen darstellen und für neue räumliche Entwicklungen verantwortlich sind. Aus aktuelleren Studien geht jedoch hervor, dass es in dieser Hinsicht keine Unterschiede zwischen neuen und lokalen Unternehmern im ländlichen Raum gibt. Ein Großteil dieser Literatur basiert auf qualitativen ethnografischen Fallstudien. Durch eine systematische Zusammenfassung und Untersuchung der Hauptmerkmale und Ergebnisse dieser Studien verbessert sich ihre Vergleichbarkeit, und es lassen sich einige Verallgemeinerungen anstellen. Zu diesem Zweck untersuchen wir das neue und lokale Unternehmertum in ländlichen Gebieten mit Hilfe einer Metaanalyse von 22 angewandten Studien. Aus den statistischen Ergebnissen geht hervor, dass neue Unternehmer relativ älter und gebildeter sind und einen höheren Anteil von nicht landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben entwickeln. Diese Unternehmer scheinen vor allem durch eine ländliche Lebensweise angezogen zu werden. In vielen Fällen sind die neuen Unternehmer nicht unmittelbar für die Wirtschaftsentwicklung verantwortlich, doch ihr Beitrag zur Bildung von physischem Kapital fällt höher aus als der der lokalen Unternehmer. Unternehmertum Ländliche Entwicklung Immigration Metaanalyse Akgün A. A., Baycan-Levent T., Nijkamp P. y Poot J. El papel de los empresarios nuevos y locales en el desarrollo rural: un estudio meta-analítico comparativo, Regional Studies. Estudios previos sobre el desarrollo rural indican que los nuevos empresarios rurales son agentes importantes de cambio y responsables del nuevo desarrollo espacial. Sin embargo, en estudios más recientes se ha llegado a la conclusión de que no existen diferencias a este respecto entre los empresarios nuevos y locales en el ámbito rural. Mucha de esta literatura se basa en estudios cualitativos de casos etnográficos. La concentración y el escrutinio sistemáticos de los principales atributos y resultados de estos estudios mejoran su comparabilidad y permiten algún tipo de generalización. Por tanto, analizamos el empresariado nuevo y local a nivel rural mediante un meta-análisis de veintidós estudios aplicados. Los resultados estadísticos muestran que los empresarios nuevos son relativamente mayores, mejor educados y desarrollan más negocios fuera del sector agrícola. Estos empresarios parecen estar principalmente atraídos por el estilo de vida rural En muchos casos los nuevos empresarios no son directamente instigadores del desarrollo económico, sin embargo, contribuyen en mayor medida a la formación física de capital que los empresarios locales. Empresariado Desarrollo rural Inmigración Meta-análisis

In many countries, rural areas have shown a new spatial-economic dynamics that have meant a contrast with the traditional urban-rural dichotomy. In particular, the need to use economic-ecological sustainability as a guiding principle for new rural development is a prominent feature. But how will rural areas, sometimes suffering from lack of economic development, peripheral positions and relatively low social well-being be able to face new challenges? Can they be attractive, innovative and developed (“hot spots”) while maintaining their sustainability and continuity? This question was the background in conducting our research. Hence, this study aims to answer this question in three steps, namely (i) offering a contemporary overview, (ii) identifying the critical factors for and (iii) developing a set of sustainable development scenarios. In order to reach our aims, we applied the so-called pentagon model and used multi-criteria analysis, namely regime analysis. The data and information deployed in this study were obtained from field surveys conducted in 60 European and 17 Turkish rural areas. The results show that future choices are different among rural users and between European and Turkish villages. European users seem more consistent about their future and their will while the will of Turkish villages are still more concentrated on economic development rather than sustainable development itself.

As environmental problems and pressures on natural resources escalate, awareness building and efforts to protect natural areas have also became a major goal to ensure sustainability. Ecotourism is one of the major activities to protect natural and cultural resources, while also providing economic benefits to both local people and government. Successful ecotourism planning is a function of establishing sound goals and criteria. In this paper, we have presented the example of Igneada, Turkey, as a case to elaborate this point. Igneada a coastal town, located on the north-west Black Sea region of Turkey, was declared a national park in 2007. The park is well known for its longos forests (flooded), lagoons, endemic and endangered species, and wildlife. However, currently, unsustainable economic activities, overgrazing, and urbanization cause threats to its sensitive ecosystems. Promoting ecotourism is a sustainable approach to balance economic, social, and environmental aspects in the development of Igneada. The aim of this study is to define a set of ecotourism criteria and propose an ecotourism vision for Igneada. The methodology in this research involves field observations and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis with an Analytical Hierarchy Process. A survey study is conducted with both local people and experts to define a framework to generate a priority ranking for ecotourism-planning decision. The research generated 5 main criteria and 14 subcriteria, among which ‘Proposal of Igneada in Turkey’s 2023 Tourism Strategy Plan’ was the highest ranked opportunity for ecotourism planning and development in the town.

The present paper investigates the role of urban networks in interaction and integration of cities by means of the “sister city” movement. The paper addresses the relationships of “Eurocities” with their “sister cities” to highlight the main factors behind the successful relationships. The data and information used for evaluation are based on the extensive survey questionnaires filled out by relevant departments or experts of municipalities in Eurocities. A logistic regression method is deployed to identify the most important factors in the success of sister city relationships. The results of our study show that the existence of any former relation with the sister cities affects the success of the relationship positively. This former relation makes it easier to have a future relation with an economic partnership while shortening the process and accelerating the economic partnership. The results also show that two factors, viz. similarities in urban problems and contributions of Eurocities to their sister cities stimulate the willingness of Eurocities to improve the relationship. The contributions as well as economic benefits provided from the sister city relationship and new business and investment opportunities have emerged as the most important factors in sister city relationship.