Objective: The objective of this research is to analyze the phenomenon of rural shrinkage with an emphasis on the role of space commodification and migration.
Methods: This study employs a descriptive-analytical research methodology based on field and documentary observations. The sample size determination for both the expert questionnaire (on factors of space commodification) and the villager questionnaire (on factors influencing migration) utilized theoretical saturation. The sampling method for both the expert and citizen questionnaire sections was purposive non-probability sampling.
Results:
The findings indicated that the most significant factors influencing rural migration, in order of importance, include: inefficient performance of city officials, family poverty, and inequality in facilities and services between this village and the provincial center and other destination cities, and so on. Based on the DANP model, the most significant factors affecting the commodification of rural space in relation to the phenomenon of urban shrinkage, in order of importance, include: destruction of natural landscapes, sense of alienation from space, change in land use of agricultural lands, sense of privatization of space, unemployment in the village, and so on.
Conclusions: The results demonstrated that rural shrinkage in Saqqez is a victim of the space commodification logic driven by neoliberal capitalism and the inefficiency of local governance. Migration, a key agent in this process, itself perpetuates the vicious cycle of shrinkage.