LOCAL DEVELOPMENT IN PERIPHERAL RURAL AREAS - CONCEPTIONS AND CHALLENGES

The aim of the article is to systematize the achievements in the theoretical foundations of selecteddevelopment concepts in relation to the development of territorial units located in rural peripheral areas andconcepts useful in the diagnosis and management of local development. The work reviews the concept of socio-economic development: sustainable, multifunctional, neo-endogenous, intelligent and inclusive, and the conceptof path dependency, resilience and territorial approach as a concept referring to diagnosis and developmentmanagement. Sustainable development was considered a superior concept, which results from the axiologicalpotential – the concept of development adopting an over-centric value system as an axiological foundation. Atthe same time, it was recognized that the local system (with economic periphery features) lacking sufficient ownpotential requires intervention by public authorities, which, through the implementation of specific policies,should stimulate the stimulation of endogenous potential. On the other hand, the operationalization of the smartvillages concept makes it possible to identify rural growth poles, in relation to which the support should beaimed at increasing their supralocal influence