Journal of Research and Rural Planning -پژوهش و برنامه ریزی روستایی

Purpose - Today, tourism is mentioned as a suitable approach for socio-economic and physical development in rural areas. Therefore, rural areas have capabilities and potentials in terms of tourist attractions; however, not all areas have the same capabilities for development. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ecological potential of the study area and to find the relationship and alignment between tourism capacity and ecological potential in rural areas of Mashhad tourism sphere of influence. Design/methodology/approach - The present theoretical study was conducted with applied purposes using the descriptive-analytical method. GIS and SPSS software and CoCoSo multi-criteria decision-making model were used to analyze the data. Findings- According to research findings the most influential indicator was the distance to tourism water resources and the least influential indicator was the distance to fault. Therefore, the highest ecological potential belongs to the foothill villages of the study area. Also, in terms of tourism capacity, the most effective factors have been the natural attractions of the village and its suburbs and the quality of village road. Original/value - On this basis, the highest tourism potentials belong to villages of Pivehzhan, Virani, and Radkan, respectively. According to the results of the study there is a significant positive relationship between ecological potential of the studied villages and their tourism capacity and there is no relationship between the number of tourists and ecological potential of the studied villages.

Purpose - The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of improving the dimensions of social capital in the spatial evolution of rural settlements in Esfandagheh. Design/methodology/approach - This study is a quantitative survey conducted using questionnaires distributed among 400 households in 30 sample villages. Descriptive-analytical measures such as mean, variance, standard deviation, Kendall Tau-b correlation coefficient, and multiple regression were used to analyze social capital's status in the spatial evolution of rural settlements in the study area. Findings - The findings revealed that the six dimensions of social capital, including social awareness, social organizations and groups, social networks and relations, social participation, social cohesion, and social trust have a positive and significant relationship with the dimensions of the spatial evolution of rural settlements. Moreover, there is a positive and significant relationship between social capital and spatial development dimensions in the studied villages' four environmental-ecological, social, economic, and physical-infrastructural dimensions. Also, social awareness, social participation, social cohesion, social trust, social networks and relations, and social organizations and groups with a variance of 0.433% were explained as predictors of spatial changes in the Esfandagheh rural district. Research limitations/implications - The variable of social capital plays an essential role in the spatial transformation of rural settlements because improving the dimensions of spatial transformation regardless of the dimensions of social capital faces a crucial challenge. In other words, social capital is influential in various areas of life, from the local and micro-level to the national and macro-level; it can empower the villagers in dealing with the socio-economic problems of their village. Practical implications - Paying attention to the dimensions of social capital in terms of approaches and planning and policy-making system of rural development and subsequently emphasizing the status of social capital as one of the most important intangible assets to improve the spatial evolution of rural settlements. Originality/Value - This study investigated the effects of all dimensions of social capital on all four dimensions of geographical space. In such a way, the attention of policymakers and development planners to the outcome of this research provides a more effective planning ground for developing the rural space based on people's views and the conditions of each region.

Purpose - The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the second homes on the physical and economic development of rural settlements in Hendeh Khaleh Rural District of Someh Sara County. Design/methodology/approach- The research method was descriptive-analytical. The main part of the data was obtained by a survey and interviews. The statistical population of this study is the villages of Hendeh Khaleh Rural District. Based on the estimation of the sample size using Cochran's formula, the sample size was detemined to be 385 of the heads of households. The independent variable (second home tourism) and the dependent variables (physical and economic development of rural settlements) for Hendeh Khaleh Rural District were analyzed in SPSS software. Findings - The findings of statistical tests show that second homes have caused physical and economic changes in Hendeh Khaleh Rural District. Second home tourism had influenced physical components, especially the indicators of “improvement of facilities and amenities”, and “increasing the construction”. The villages of Sofiandeh, Hendeh Khaleh, Now Khaleh Jafari and Akbari, Siah Darvishan, Lakesar had the highest number of built villas. The villages of Sheykhmahale, Kishestan, Lakesar, and Nargestan had the highest ranks in earning income from having houses to rent. The highest distance from the optimal limit regarding the physical components is for “increasing the construction” (1.89) and regarding the economic components is for “earning income from having the house to rent” (1.83). Practical implications - Providing a comprehensive review of all related literature, this study may help the researchers in choosing the appropriate method for planning the development of second home tourism as a strategy of development policies. Originality/value- This resaerch is the first study conducted about the impact of the second homes on the physical expansion in Hendeh Khaleh Rural District, which examined the relationship between the creation of the second homes and physical and economic development together.

Purpose - Having an appropriate and integrated entrepreneurial ecosystem in rural areas largely guarantees the sustainability of rural businesses. Therefore, this study was conducted with the purpose of classification of the rural regions of Haraz plain watershed in terms of entrepreneurial ecosystem. Design/methodology/approach - This is a descriptive study that was done using a survey. The questionnaire was the key instrument for gathering data. The study samples were 182 pluriactive rice farmers and 50 rural experts. Findings - The results showed that the studied regions are in an inappropriate situation in term of rural entrepreneurship ecosystem. Relative assessment using Shannon's entropy showed support component ranked at the highest level by a large difference compared to other components. The financial component ranked at the lowest level in comparison with other components. The results using the ORESTE and hierarchical cluster analysis techniques showed that Nour and Babolsar regions are the most appropriate regions in term of the rural entrepreneurship ecosystem for rural business development, respectively. Research implications/limitations - The improvement of REEs in the six regions should be seriously considered and pursued by policy makers. At the same time according to this research and creating mental ideas for the authors, it is suggested that researchers study the REE and introduce the types of rural businesses appropriate to the situation of the EE in all region of the world; the subject that is not covered in this article. In addition, the method, model, and strategy used in this study provide an appropriate pattern for future researches in entrepreneurial activities development in different regions of the world.

Purpose - Value chain development is an approach to rural economic development, which promotes the development of businesses and farmers' access to the market, reduces poverty, increases income and sustains food security in rural areas. Design/Methodology/Approach - This study is mixed qualitative-quantitative research, and applied research and in terms of purpose. A non-probability sampling method was used in the research. The main method of collecting research data was semi-structured interviews with the selected sample. The interviews were continued until the theoretical saturation. At the end, 38 individuals participated in the interviews. Interview notes were classified and analyzed in three stages: open, central and selective coding. Ultimately, 20 respondents were selected to answer the questionnaires after reviewing the content. The data of the questionnaires were collected and combined as a direct input matrix in MICMAC Findings- Barriers to olive value chain efficiency were identified: 30 criteria, 10 subcategories and 5 main categories. The efficiency of the olive value chain in Tarom County depends on a proper marketing management, providing infrastructure, policymaking, planning and also the organizations and trade unions. These factors were the most important and influential factors that had high cohesion and influence among other factors. In contrast, variability of the purchase and sale price, taking advantage of buying the product below the price by the middlemen, pre-sale of the product by farmers, more product waste during storage, transferring the olives to processing factories in the county are the dependence criteria. Practical implications - Given that the olive value chain in Tarom County is not efficient, its efficiency depends on a proper marketing management, providing infrastructure, policymaking, planning and also the organizations and trade unions. Most of the mentioned factors are dependent on the institutional actors and agricultural managers, and indicates their important role in enhancing the productivity of the olive value chain. Originality/Value- The results of this research can be a good way to solve problems and obstacles to agricultural development in rural areas.

Purpose - This study, reviewing the literature in rural tourism development, has extracted factors affecting tourism development in rural areas . Design/methodology/approach - Using five approaches in rural tourism development and using a systematic review, this study has extracted factors affecting tourism development in rural areas; Therefore, the researcher studied the existing research in this field and finally 33 articles were selected that were appropriate to the purpose of the research. Finding - Factors of tourism development in rural areas fall into four categories: economic, managerial, socio-cultural and attractions. Regarding the economic factors, investing in the region and the region's willingness to invest were more important. Regarding cultural-social factors, much attention has been paid to issues such as villagers' participation, security in the village, the spirit of hospitality and education to the villagers in tourism. Planning and attention by the government, as well as efficient local management, are key factors in management, and about attractions, natural attractions such as natural landscapes, communication attractions such as proximity to cities and having access to roads and Communication and welfare attractions such as having accommodation facilities have been very prominent. Research limitations/implications - Carrying out further studies to classify the factors affecting tourism according to the climatic and cultural diversity of the villages. Weighting of extracted factors and planning on factors that have more weight and conducting studies by providing operational solutions for tourism development are needed. Unable to read some articles because of lack of full text. Practical implications - All economic, managerial, socio-cultural factors and attractions are essential in achieving tourism development with just slight defferent in impact weight. Therefore, it is necessary to have a comprehensive view of all factors in order to policy in rural tourism. The present study also showed the need for research to provide solutions for tourism development; Therefore, considering the community-based, economic, geographical and sustainable development approaches, it is necessary to provide solutions for the development of rural tourism with a comprehensive view of all factors. Originality / value - The novelty of the article is the use of systematic review method, which has received less attention from researchers in this field. The results of this research will be used among three bodies: scientific and elite, social and popular, organizational and managerial.