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Resilient rice farming in indigenous ricescapes is dependent on access to various forms of capital assets; however, the acquisition of these assets is hindered by environmental, industry, demographic, and cultural vulnerabilities. This paper examines the implications of these challenges on natural, physical, financial, human, social, and cultural capital assets for rice farming in the indigenously engineered ricescapes of Bali, Indonesia, and Ifugao, the Philippines. The study used site visits, focus group discussions, and interviews and employed a combined analysis of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework and Bourdieu's theory of capital to explore the interconnected vulnerabilities and their impacts on rice farming to understand the factors that endanger the preservation, cultural integrity, and heritage of these sites. The study shows that similar challenges are present across these ricescapes, including land use changes, erratic weather patterns, and rice market volatility, among others. Additionally, dilemmas regarding cultural and normative directions for development are apparent, while livelihoods vary and are in flux among households due to their discrepant access to capital assets. Therefore, it is crucial to implement governmental, market, and development programs that strengthen rice farmers' access to various types of capital assets to preserve the outstanding universal values of these ricescapes. • Access to capital is crucial for resilient rice cultivation in indigenous ricescapes. • Environmental, industry, demographic, and cultural challenges hinder capital acquisition. • The study examines the impact of multiple vulnerabilities on rice farming capital for resilience in Bali and Ifugao. • Common challenges include land use changes, erratic weather patterns, and rice market volatility. • Discrepancies in capital access lead to unstable livelihoods in rice farming households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With economic progress, it was expected that smallholders would fade into history. This has been the experience in much of the global North and it was expected to occur as development proceeded in the global South. In East and Southeast Asia, however, smallholders have persisted in the face of rapid and profound social and economic transformation. This presents the core puzzle that the paper addresses: why has the farm-size transition not occurred in much of East and Southeast Asia? Why have smallholders stubbornly resisted the tide of economic history? The first half of the paper defines the smallholder and smallholding, sets out the historical evolution of smallholdings in the region, and explores the role of smallholders in national development. The second half of the paper explains the persistence of the smallholder through three explanatory lenses: the economics of smallholder farming; the role of farm policy; and the logics of smallholder-based livelihoods in a context of global integration. The paper concludes by setting out four possible rural futures for the wider East Asian countryside and smallholder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban environment has a profound influence on how people live, work and play; conversely, that environment is continually being re-shaped by shifts in lifestyles and patterns of consumption. Human well-being and health, in turn, are both outcomes of urban environments and drivers of further urban change. This paper reviews the evidence for links between urban environments, physical activity and food consumption, and obesity. It finds that there is modest, but far from universal, support for an emerging set of propositions that a sustainable and healthy urban environment is one which has: well connected, walkable and cyclable streets; public green spaces; compact and modular organization with mixed land-uses; and a healthy food environment. Although a lot of research has been carried out on some pathways, the evidence-base for many other relationships is weak and transferability of findings across countries or cultural contexts is unclear. Fortunately, many on-going urban initiatives are underway providing a good base for future studies of the effects on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]