Anita Kulawiak
Articles
Geographia Polonica (2026) vol. 99, iss. 3, pp. 359-378 | 
Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0331
Abstract
The aim of the article is to present the concept of the “mutilated village” as a new analytical category for interpreting a specific type of rural settlement transformation. The concept refers to settlements that, as a result of sudden and most often exogenous impacts, have lost part of their morphological, functional, social or cultural integrity, while retaining settlement continuity. The term “mutilation” has a metaphorical character and denotes a socio-spatial condition of a settlement resulting from the deconstruction of its previous socio-spatial whole, rather than its complete disappearance. The article presents the theoretical foundations of the concept of the “mutilated village”, identifies its main dimensions – morphological, functional, social and cultural – and proposes a typology and a research model enabling the operationalisation of this category in empirical studies. The research procedure includes the identification of factors leading to the loss of settlement integrity, the analysis of the course of transformation, and the assessment of the village after “mutilation”, taking into account its adaptive potential, capacity for regeneration, and possible trajectories of further development.
Keywords: ‘mutilated’ village, rural settlement, morphogenesis, human geography, settlement geography
[andrzej.suliborski@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Lodz Kopcińskiego 31, 90-142 Łódź: Poland
[tomasz.figlus@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Lodz Kopcińskiego 31, 90-142 Łódź: Poland
[anita.kulawiak@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Lodz Kopcińskiego 31, 90-142 Łódź: Poland
Geographia Polonica (2024) vol. 97, iss. 4, pp. 359-381 | Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0283
Abstract
Interest in rural entrepreneurship among researchers has been systematically growing in recent years, which allows for noticing specific research trends. However, a comprehensive methodological approach to this topic is lacking, especially in the context of new definitions of rural entrepreneurship. This article focuses on the results of a systematic analysis of the literature on rural entrepreneurship aimed at distinguishing emerging research trends. The authors base their conclusions on research of articles from the international databasesof Scopus and Web of Science journals. The paper also proposes an original model of rural entrepreneurship, based on the relationship between a rural entrepreneur and the place of activity, concerning new ways of defining this type of entrepreneurship. This model may help understand the mechanisms of rural entrepreneurshipand the factors determining its development and may constitute a conceptual framework for further empirical research. Moreover, the conclusions from the study have application values, as they can be helpful for decision-makers in formulating local policy assumptions and strategic development plans, especially forrural areas.
Keywords: rural entrepreneurship • rural entrepreneur, place, literature review, research in rural entrepreneurship, conceptual framework, model
[anita.kulawiak@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Lodz Kopcińskiego 31, 90-142 Łódź: Poland
[tomasz.rachwal@uek.krakow.pl], Department of International Trade & Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship Krakow University of Economics Rakowicka 27, 31-510 Kraków: Poland