The concept of the global network society provides a basis for examination of current trends and policy issues in rural landscape change across a range of developed countries. Drivers of change include the demand for food and fibre to support the growing urban populations in developing conutries, the rationalization and centralisation of supply chains under the open market angenda, and the global integration of information and control systems. These dynamics frequently conflict with place specific socio-cultural values and environmental integrity. The regional and local institutions through which these dynamics are managed often express conflicting aims and means, despite clearly stated intentions of 'policy integration'. Comparative analysis has highlighted the way production landscapes continue to intensify, and clear indications are found that these landscapes are converging in character under the influence of new technologies and global network.

Key research questions that emerge include how to conceptualise and investigate the relationships between local landscapes that are functionally linked but geographically widely separated; how to shape policy frameworks that enable commodity based quality management processes to be better connected with the needs and administration of local landscape policies; and how to shape institutions at the interface of the spaces of flow and spaces of place that are able to maintain their integrity in the face of asymmetrical power and knowledge relationships.