The publication presented to the reader is the result of a collaboration between sociologists from the University of Lyon II and the University of Lodz. However, recognized rural sociologists representing the academic centers of Warsaw, Krakow and Torun were invited to work jointly. The analysis of the social problems of rural areas in contemporary fre and Polish societies arises both from the importance of this structural element for the two countries and from the desire to continue the long tradition of cooperation. The volume opens with texts evoking the main trends in long-term research undertaken in the rural environment, both in France and in Poland. Then there are synthetic presentations of the dynamics of the social structure in rural areas of Poland between 1991 and 2015, as well as the social problems of peri-urban areas in France. The following texts present an empirical dimension of the quality of life of Polish farmers in the era of globalization; and address the transformation of neighborhood relations in fre rural communities located in peri-urban areas. Then, innovative activities of NGOs within local socio-spatial structures; as well as the transformations of folk culture in central Poland, are presented. The volume ends with a text devoted to the analysis of civic participation of residents of rural areas in Poland and France based on data from the European Social Survey. The texts brought together in this monograph concern the current social situation in France and Poland, seen from the perspectives of territory, social structure, culture and life organizations.

This book is included in DOAB.