Lubrin, a village is up for sale.

 

Half the village is for sale because there is no more work for young people. They are moving away.

Once there was plenty of work in mining and iron ore was mined. And this farming community could live on growing olives for the famous Almanzara olive oil.

But that is a thing of the past.

What remains now is work as laborers in construction, as goat herders or in the gypsum mines near Sorbas.

People have left the village and migrated to the cities. Leaving behind grandparents whom they visit during the vacations.

They have left the houses to their fate, slowly decaying and yielding to the weather elements.

Grass grows in front of the front door that is never opened again.

Trees grow in the stairwell that is never entered again.

Cobwebs and dust filter the light that falls through the broken windows.

The roof offers a view of the sky.

As beautiful and aesthetic as urbex photography is, these houses bear witness to a silent tragedy; of people forced to leave their villages in search of education and work. A trend that is going on worldwide. More people now live in cities than in rural areas which is historically a tipping point.

 

But there is hope. For the digital age offers new opportunities.The Internet has opened up and connected this remote, rural area to the rest of the world and made it more accessible to tourists. Also the better-off can more easily settle in rural areas with the advent of the Internet

 

The Internet also brings the ability to work from home. Laura teaches Spanish and Rita writes texts and blogs for companies that have settled somewhere else, far away on the globe. They have become independent of a location and can establish themselves wherever they want.

 

 

There is also shrinkage in the Netherlands

Landscape architects, urban planners are working together with the local community to outline how vitality can be maintained, improved and prevent abandonment. . 
That vitality will not be for every village. Some will find it very difficult, especially those located too far from the economic center.
The decisive factor will be the connections to the regional centers.

If these continue to develop, villages can function as attractive residential areas.

 

Does shrinkage also offer opportunities?

 

"Yes. Areas also have potential.

Developing tourism and recreation can give a tremendous pendulum.

They are often fine places to live, especially for the elderly.

 

There are numerous initiatives under development.

You can improve the quality of living by creating more green space.

This is already happening. In Drenthe, 80 hectares of land have been closed off to grow a wild forest. In Heerlen they are working on theme parks; there is plenty of space there now.

Shrinkage also creates opportunities. It's not all negative.

 

And in Lubrin, Spain, where half the village is for sale, houses could be refurbished so that young people want to settle there again or entrepreneurs / artists want to settle and start their business, thus providing vitality.