Rural Roads for Sustainable Development and Improving Human Capabilities of Local Communities

Black Sea Journal of Public and Social Science 1(2): 86-106 (2018) Black Sea Journal of Public and Social Science Open Access Journal e-ISSN: 2618-6640 BSPublishers Research Article Volume 1 - Issue 2: 86-106 / July 2018 (Cilt 1 - Sayı 2: 86-106 / Temmuz 2018) RURAL ROADS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVING HUMAN CAPABILITIES OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES Farhood GOLMOHAMMADI1 1: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Islamic Azad University- Birjand Branch- Birjand. IRAN Submission: April 12, 2018; Published: July 01, 2018 (Gönderi: 12 Nisan 2017; Yayınlanma: 01 Temmuz 2018) Abstract: Many rural poor in developing countries live in areas far away from markets and isolation is a key limiting factor to their livelihood. Rural roads in developing countries are often seen as the least important linkage of the road transport system. However, these rural roads provide access for countless rural communities and their inhabitants. In this article, presenting various aspects of rural roads and their role for human and sustainable development and improving capabilities of local communities. For achieving this purpose, after a wide literature review in related human development contexts, a broad field research work had been done during 2015 - 2017 in rural regions of South Khorasan province, east of Iran. Also researcher has been utilized from his observations, discussions, interviews, experiences and pictures during 2005 - 2017. Finally discussing and concluding ways that rural roads can play their best roles. Some of the recommendations are participation of the villagers in the planning process of establishing and maintaining rural roads that are necessary to take into account their tangible needs, mobilizing local resources, and increasing speed of implementation these projects by securing people’s cooperation. Keywords: Rural roads, Sustainable development, Human capabilities, Mobility, Local communities, Iran *Corresponding author: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Islamic Azad University, Birjand. IRAN Email: (F. GOLMOHAMMADI) 1. Introduction Social interactions are a quintessential part of human life, and their quantity and quality determine a person’s social or relational capabilities (capabilities involving relations with others). In addition, social institutions and social competencies play a critical role in advancing capabilities and shaping individual choice. Individuals cannot flourish alone, Indeed they cannot function alone. When they are born, the family provides their life support. In turn, families cannot function independently of the societies in which they are located. Being a member of a family, of a locality and of BSJ Pub. Soc. Sci. / Farhood GOLMOHAMMADI the larger society is an essential component of a flourishing existence. Since these groupings can provide good or bad conditions for the individual, it is not only their existence but also their nature that is relevant to human development. Thus a major task of the human development approach which aims to assess human progress and identify the conditions for human flourishing is to explore the nature of social institutions that are favorable for human flourishing, as against those that impede it (Stewart, 2013; Jahan, 2002; Sen, 1999). Quality of life concerns in rural development planning and management processes at the local level need to be 86 Black Sea Journal of Public and Social Science identified and evaluated through participatory bottomup approaches. Meeting present and future needs in the context of local sustainability implies addressing concerns of well-being or quality of life. This is because well-being or quality of life in general means the level of human needs met and the extent to which individuals or groups perceive satisfaction or dissatisfaction with this level in different life domains such as health, education, family, leisure, financial situation, environment, social relations, and place of residence. There is an apparent link between wellbeing/quality of life and sustainability, which probably explains why in the ongoing search of useful and understandable indicators for evaluation of sustainability initiatives measuring quality of life, is the most appealing particularly at the local level. The governance model’s general aim was to help generate and evaluate collectively sustainable development interventions at the local level. Meaning and evaluation of quality of life in the context of sustainable rural development must be considered. In rural areas, quality of life is playing an increasingly important role with regard to sustainable development and management (Kazana and Kazaklis, 2009). Sustainable development is a new concept with various perspectives in communities. Cities and rural areas are in the core of attention for developing. Since sustainability is a multidimensional issue (local, regional, and international dimensions), it have to be developed at a level that people live, work and interact with each other and with nature such as local level (Zolfani and Zavadskas, 2013). Sustainable Development (SD) was described as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Although the Brundtland Commission illustrated SD as a model based on environmental and developmental dimensions, this is currently defined as a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) model, since SD includes and integrates environmental, economic and social dimensions. In recent years, SD has also become a central topic in rural areas due to complex interactions between natural resources, agricultural production and local communities (Palmisano et al., 2016). Some of the main objectives of many countries (including developing countries) are development, planning and, more importantly, sustainable development (Sabet and Azharianfar, 2017). Many rural poor in developing countries live in areas far away from markets and isolation is a key limiting factor to their livelihood (Qin and Zhang, 2016). Rural roads have been considered very important and play significant role in poverty reduction through linking rural farming to market, improve their productivity and increase income level (Golmohammadi, 2012). There is overwhelming evidence indicating strong positive links between improved rural access and poverty reduction; and, that improving access contributes towards the achievement of a number of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which are a central feature of development policy. The development of rural roads is considered to be one of the key options to improve the rural access (Ahmed et al., 2007). Slow progress in infrastructure linking landlocked countries and remote regions to the centers of demand and harbors is one of the most important problems of developing countries (Binswanger-Mkhize et al., 2011). In developing countries, many rural poor live in isolated areas. Because they reside far (...truncated)