What is RURAL?

\rur-l\

URBAN ECOLOGICAL PROCESS

Area that is located outside cities and towns, typical rural areas have a low population density
and small settlements. Agricultural areas are commonly rural, though so are others such as
forests. : Of or relating to the country and the people who live there instead of the city.
Origin of RURAL
Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin ruralis, fromrur-, and rus open land First
Known Use: 15th century

What is URBAN? \r-bn\

An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in
comparison to the areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but
the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamletsof,
relating to, characteristic of, or constituting a city.

1. Concentration - refers to the movement of people towards an area where conditions enable
the people to live the way they want to be.
2. Centralization - refers to the centering of basic functions around the city. Through
centralization, the city becomes the center of work.
3. Decentralization - refers to the movement of people away from the cities.
4. Specialization - refers to the sorting out of uses, functions and other types of activities in
the rural areas. This also refers to the mastery and development of specialized skills in the
performance of a particular type of occupation.
5. Segregation - refers to the concentration of certain types of people and activities within a
particular area.
6. Invasion - entrance of new population or facilities into an already occupied area.

Origin of URBAN
Latin urbanus, from urbs city. First Known Use: 1619
COMMON PROBLEMS in RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITY
Problems of Rural Life
URBAN AND RURAL DIFFERENCES

On the positive side, rural areas

Much more open space and less crowding.

Their violent and property crime rates are much lower than those in large cities, as
we have seen.
The air is cleaner because there is less traffic and fewer factories and other facilities
that emit pollution.
Life in rural areas is thought to be slower paced, resulting in lower levels of anxiety
and a greater sense of relaxation

On the negative side,

rural areas are often poor and lack the services,
Employment opportunities, and leisure activities that cities have.
Teens often complain of boredom, and drug and alcohol use can be high (Johnson
et al., 2008).

Public transportation is often lacking, making it difficult for people without motor
vehicles, who tend to have low incomes, to get to workplaces, stores, and other
venues (Brown, 2008).
Rural residents with motor vehicles often must still travel long distances to shop, to
visit a doctor, to go to work, and to do any number of other activities.

Rural Health

The first is that the small hospitals typical of rural areas generally lack high-quality
care and equipment. A patient who needs heart bypass surgery, brain surgery, or
other types of complex medical care is likely to have travel to an urban hospital far
away.
The second problem is the long distances that ambulances and patients must travel.
Because ambulances and other emergency vehicles must travel so far, rural
residents with emergencies receive medical attention more slowly than their urban
counterparts. The long distances that people must travel make it more difficult for
patients with health problems to receive medical care.
In yet another problem, rural areas are also much more likely than urban areas to
lack mental health care, drug abuse counseling and programs, and other services
related to physical and mental health.
An additional health problem in rural areas arises from the age profile of their
populations. This fact adds to the health-care problems that rural areas must
address.

Rural Schools and Education

First, because rural areas have been losing population, they have been
experiencing declining school enrollment and school closings.
Second, rural populations are generally older than urban populations, as mentioned
earlier, and have a greater percentage of retired adults. Therefore, rural areas percapita income and sales tax revenue are lower than that for urban and suburban
areas, and this lower revenue makes the funding of public schools more
challenging.
Third, rural families live relatively far from the public schools, and the schools are
relatively far from each other. As a result, rural school districts have considerable
expenses for transporting children to and from school, after-school athletic events,
and other activities.
Finally, it is often difficult to recruit and retain quality teachers in rural areas. This
problem has forced some rural school districts to offer hiring bonuses or housing
assistance to staff their schools.

Rural Poverty

Rural poverty is thought to be more persistent than urban poverty because of the
factors that contribute to its high rate. These factors include the out-migration of
young, highly skilled workers; the lack of industrial jobs that typically have been
higher paying than agricultural jobs; and limited opportunities for the high-paying
jobs of the information age
Compounding the general problem of poverty, rural areas are also more likely than
non-rural areas to lack human services programs to help the poor, disabled, elderly,
and other people in need of aid

Domestic Violence

One of the sad facts of rural life is domestic violence. This form of violence is
certainly common in urban areas, but the defining feature of rural areasa relatively
low number of people living in a relatively broad areacreates several problems for
victims of domestic violence, most of them women (DeKeseredy& Schwartz,
2009). [9]
Rural areas generally lack shelters, and any shelters that exist are often long
distances from the homes of abused women. In rural areas, abused women are also
more likely than their urban counterparts to lack neighbors and friends to whom they
can turn for support, or at least to live farther from these individuals.

Problems of Urban Life

Crowding

Residential crowding: large numbers of people living in a small amount of space.

City streets are filled with apartment buildings, condominiums, row houses, and
other types of housing, and many people live on any one city block. Residential
crowding is perhaps the defining feature of any large city.
Household crowding: Dwelling units in cities (apartments and houses) are typically
small because of lack of space, and much smaller overall than houses in suburbs or
rural areas. This forces many people to live in close quarters within a particular
dwelling unit, especially if they are low-income individuals or families.

Housing

Much urban housing is substandard, as this chapters opening news story

illustrated, and characterized by such problems as broken windows, malfunctioning
heating systems, peeling lead paint, and insect infestation.

Homelessness

In cities, men, women, and children live in the streets, abandoned vehicles or
houses, cheap motels, or trailers, or living in someone elses home temporarily.

This poor air quality has significant health consequences, as it produces higher
rates of respiratory and heart disease and higher mortality rates in cities (Stylianou
& Nicolich, 2009).

Traffic and Transportation

One manifestation of the traffic problem in cities is traffic gridlock, when traffic in all
directions is barely moving or not moving at all. Gridlock occurs in urban areas, not
rural ones, because of the sheer volume of traffic and the sheer number of
intersections controlled by traffic lights or stop signs.
Commuters can experience greater stress than fighter pilots in battle (Greenfield,
2011). [24] Another consequence is huge financial costs. Sitting in traffic wastes both
time and fuel.

Crime

Air Pollution

Traffic creates pollution from motor vehicles exhaust systems, and some cities have
factories and other enterprises that also pollute. As a result, air quality in cities is
substandard.

Cities have higher residential crowding (or higher population density) and also more
household crowding. In a city, there are many potential targets of violence all
crowded together into a relatively small space, and thus many potential targets for
criminals. In a rural area, potential targets are spread across miles, and a robber
can go a long time without ever seeing a potential victim.
Crowded households are more stressful, and people who experience stress are
more likely to be aggressive. Further, people (and perhaps especially young people)
who live in crowded households often find they need to get outside to be away
from the stress of the household and to have some elbow room and privacy. But
once outside, they are that much more likely to interact with other people. Because,
as we just noted, social interaction is a prerequisite for violence, household
crowding indirectly contributes to violence for this reason.