Reconstructing the Small Area Geography of Mid‐Wales for an Analysis of Population Change 1961–95

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Abstract
Reversal of the long‐established trend of rural depopulation during recent decades has countered the continuing decline to which peripheral rural areas of developed countries were condemned in the 1960s. This paper reconstructs the small area geography of Mid‐Wales in order to provide a set of consistent small spatial units for examining net intercensal population and household change since 1961, and for projecting the 1961 community population totals forwards to 1971, 1981 and 1991. This offers the opportunity to consider the usefulness of spatial analysis tools in geographical information systems and small area population projections for population geographers. Analysis of net population change reveals that several communities continued to experience demographic decline despite repopulation overall, and that urban and rural communities had net increases in their household totals irrespective of their history of population change. This analysis provides a context for a survey of households yielding some insights into the processes underlying these demographic changes. The survey provides evidence not only of economic migration, but also of households altering their housing characteristics or household composition in connection with relocating to a rural environment. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.