Rate My Professor Tialda Haartsen

Prof. dr. Tialda Haartsen is Professor of Rural Geography in the Faculty of Spatial Sciences at the University of Groningen. Her research centers on rural place meanings, senses of belonging, and their influence on the spatial behavior of individuals and families, particularly in response to rural community and place changes. Since her PhD research in 2002 on changes in land use, landownership, and rural representations, Haartsen has explored how concepts such as rural representations, identities, place attachment, elective and selective belonging, and nostalgia explain geographical and social consequences of rural transformations in contexts of depopulation. Key themes include the motives and everyday experiences of rural newcomers, return migrants, stayers, and leavers, highlighting the heterogeneous nature of migration and its relation to attachment and rootedness. She examines how migration contributes to uneven regional development and social inequalities. Another focus is rural transformations affecting quality of life and liveability, such as agricultural and energy transitions, housing market crises, and declining facilities and services, which evoke emotions of loss and neglect. Haartsen investigates how rural residents cope with these changes, including through co-creating facilities.

Haartsen has made significant contributions to rural geography through numerous publications. Among her highly cited works are 'Migration intentions of rural youth in the Westhoek, Flanders, Belgium and the Veenkoloniën, The Netherlands' (2010, 287 citations), 'Identifying social innovations in European local rural development initiatives' (2016, 237 citations), 'The challenge of proximity: the (un)attractiveness of near-home tourism destinations' (2018, 212 citations), 'Editorial introduction: Putting rural stayers in the spotlight' (2018, 199 citations), and 'Planning for decline: Anticipating on population decline in the Netherlands' (2010, 187 citations). She co-edited the book 'Claiming rural identities: dynamics, contexts, policies' (2000). Current projects include 'Welcome Back! What Rural Areas Can Do to Re-Attract Young Adult Leavers' (2024-2028), where she serves as principal investigator. Haartsen regularly delivers presentations to local politicians, councilors, and aldermen and organized the third Rural Geographies conference in 2023. She supervises PhD students on topics like digitalization in rural entrepreneurship and resilient communities through art and culture.