What happens to rural places when people leave? We propose a research agenda that accounts for the material and immaterial values of depopulating and depopulated places. A three-pronged research framework departing from the notion of place is outlined that focuses on the social and political relations and the natural environment in which vacating places are embedded. We use vignettes of places in Ecuador, New Zealand and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea to illustrate how this framework can be used to explore how depopulation has transformed the sense of place. Each explores an aspect of this transformation: (1) replacing people – where inhabitants of a place are replaced; (2) diluting local voice – where the local sense of place is diluted through changing governance arrangements through institutional amalgamation; and (3) transforming nature – where the biophysical transformation of a space effectively renders it inhabitable. Each vignette answers questions about who speaks for, who benefits from, and what is valued about this place. By paying close attention to political, economic, and environmental transformations and what they mean for the values of these depopulating rural areas as well as by showcasing different modes of vacating space and the consequences on legitimacy and beneficiaries, we highlight the importance of this research framework for global public policy and its applicability for both the Global North and the Global South.

中文翻译：

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腾出地方，腾出空间？人们离开的地方的研究议程

当人们离开后，农村地区会发生什么？我们提出了一个研究议程，该议程考虑了人口减少和人口稀少地区的物质和非物质价值。概述了一个脱离场所概念的三管齐下的研究框架，重点关注腾出场所所嵌入的社会和政治关系以及自然环境。我们使用厄瓜多尔、新西兰和巴布亚新几内亚布干维尔自治区的一些地方的小插图来说明如何使用该框架来探索人口减少如何改变地方感。每个都探讨了这种转变的一个方面：（1）替换人——一个地方的居民被替换；(2) 淡化当地声音——通过机构合并改变治理安排，当地的地方感被淡化；(3) 改造自然——空间的生物物理改造有效地使其适合居住。每个小插曲都回答了有关谁代言、谁从中受益以及这个地方的价值的问题。通过密切关注政治、经济和环境转变及其对这些人口减少的农村地区的价值观的意义，以及通过展示不同的腾出空间模式以及对合法性和受益人的影响，我们强调了这一研究框架的重要性全球公共政策及其对北半球和南半球的适用性。