The Impact of Spatial-Location Aspects on the Continuity of Economic Function in Villages Exposed to Depopulation in Ghazvin County of Iran

     Received: 16 November, 2008 Accepted: 30 June, 2009     Socio-economic transformation, insufficient attention to rural areas, concentration of capital and other facilities, and rural-urban migration have led to the emergence of a new pattern of land utilization in rural areas. In this pattern the utilization of rural natural resources was not dependent on the rural population, but on the migrants, and these migrants are those who manage the resources. With the growing number of depopulated villages this pattern expands rapidly. Several factors have contributed to the economic functionality of villages -- including both types, growing and exposed to depopulation. This field study attempted to examine the impact of spatial and location aspects on villages exposed to depopulation in Ghazvin county. The findings of three questionnaires including village level questionnaire, setteled households questionnaire and migrant households questionnaire from selected villages of Ghazvin county showed that a significant relationship existed between spatial-location aspect of villages and the sustainability of their economic functionality.