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| Rural Settlement Research Group | |
|---|---|
| Name | Rural Settlement Research Group |
| Formation | 1970s |
| Type | Research network |
| Headquarters | unspecified |
| Region served | international |
| Membership | academics, practitioners, policymakers |
| Website | none |
Rural Settlement Research Group is an interregional network of scholars and practitioners focused on the study of rural settlements, landscape use, and community change. Founded by a coalition of university departments and heritage bodies during the late twentieth century, the Group has fostered comparative studies linking fieldwork, archival research, and policy engagement across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Its activities have intersected with major institutions and events in historical geography, archaeology, planning, and conservation.
The Group emerged from collaborations among departments at University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, London School of Economics, University of Edinburgh, and University of Sheffield and drew early support from heritage organizations such as English Heritage and the National Trust (United Kingdom). Initial conferences connected scholars associated with the Royal Geographical Society, the Society for Landscape Studies, and the Council for British Archaeology, while comparative projects linked teams at University of Leuven, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bologna, University of Rome La Sapienza, University of Copenhagen, University of Helsinki, University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University, Charles University, University of Budapest, Trinity College Dublin, National University of Ireland Galway, University of Barcelona, and University of Salamanca. Major milestones included symposia held alongside the International Geographical Congress, conferences hosted by the European Association of Archaeologists, and collaborative workshops linked to the International Council on Monuments and Sites.
The Group aimed to integrate perspectives from archaeological fieldwork associated with the Society of Antiquaries of London, historical records housed at the British Library and the National Archives (United Kingdom), and demographic analyses practiced at institutions like the Office for National Statistics and the United Nations Population Fund. Objectives included producing syntheses comparable to work published by the Royal Historical Society, informing conservation policy advocated by ICOMOS, and contributing case studies used by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Bank in rural development programming.
Research spanned medieval and post-medieval settlement morphology paralleling studies at the Victoria County History project, twentieth-century land-use change linked to initiatives by the European Commission, and indigenous settlement patterns examined in collaboration with researchers at University of Cape Town, University of Nairobi, Makerere University, University of São Paulo, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, University of California, Berkeley, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Cornell University, and Michigan State University. Notable projects investigated deserted medieval villages in the East Anglia region, upland settlement dynamics in the Scottish Highlands, paddock and terrace systems in the Andes, dispersed farmstead networks in Normandy, and resettlement regimes after the Second World War in Central Europe.
Methodological pluralism characterized the Group’s work, combining techniques used by archaeologists at British School at Rome and British Institute at Ankara, palaeoenvironmental analysis practiced at Wenner-Gren Foundation-affiliated labs, and spatial modelling techniques from groups at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Approaches included landscape survey comparable to methods developed by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, GIS applications inspired by projects at National Center for Supercomputing Applications, aerial-photography interpretation akin to archives at the Royal Air Force Historic Flight, and oral-history protocols modeled on guidance from the Memory Studies Association.
The Group disseminated findings through edited volumes resembling publications of the Cambridge University Press, special issues of journals such as Antiquity (journal), Journal of Historical Geography, Economic History Review, Landscape Research, Rural History (journal), and monographs in series similar to those from Oxford University Press and Routledge. Outputs included survey reports delivered to bodies like the National Park Service (United States), policy briefs used by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and digital repositories comparable to datasets hosted by the UK Data Service.
Governance followed a committee model found in learned societies such as the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, with an executive committee, working groups, and regional coordinators drawing members from universities including University of Manchester, University of Leeds, University of Glasgow, University College London, King's College London, Queen's University Belfast, McGill University, University of Toronto, University of Melbourne, Australian National University, University of Auckland, Seoul National University, and Peking University. Membership comprised academics, professionals from heritage agencies like Historic Environment Scotland, and specialists seconded from agencies such as the European Environment Agency.
Collaborative linkages extended to international programs such as the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and multi-institutional research networks funded through frameworks like the Horizon 2020 programme and bilateral grants from bodies including the British Council and National Science Foundation. The Group’s influence was visible in land management guidance adopted by regional authorities in Wales, policy debates in Ireland and France, and community heritage projects coordinated with Local Government Association-affiliated initiatives.
Funding sources mirrored those of similar consortia: competitive research councils including the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, national science foundations, philanthropic trusts such as the Wellcome Trust and the Leverhulme Trust, and project grants from the European Research Council. Resource support included access to archives at institutions like the Bodleian Library, archaeological facilities at the Council for British Archaeology training centers, and computing resources comparable to national research infrastructures.
Category:Rural studies organizations