ABSTRACT

This Chapter covers two key areas of concern; first, it considers the geographical distribution of demand, examining the factors which determine the location of growth regions; second, it looks at the types of properties becoming second homes in the past and types of properties which may become second homes in the future. In France, inheritance is often a key factor in determining the acquisition and distribution of second homes; it is not rare for a city-dweller to inherit a rural home from grandparents and this is likely to be true elsewhere in Europe where rapid urbanisation has occurred in the twentieth century. One of the underlying causes of second home growth in importing regions is economic decline. In Scotland, the emergence of holiday villages in the 1960s was in part a result of commercial pressure and in part a response to planning concerns. Wilson has argued that planning should be fundamentally concerned with analysis, design and policy in that specific order.