The Rural-Urban Continuum

The Rural-Urban Continuum

1. Size

   • Some countries use a 'population threshold to define how many people should be in an area for an area to be classified as urban.
   • In the UK, the Countryside Commission suggests that for an area to be classified as rural, it must by populated by fewer than 10 000 people.
   • In some sparsely populated areas of western Canada, there are just 1000 people in some settlements that are defined as 'urban'

2. Function

   • Urban areas typically contain high order functions in cultural retailing, education, administration, and financial services, universities, colleges, and specialised retailing.
   • The size and type of services that are offered will depend very much on the size of the settlement itself and the audience that the functions need to cater for.
   • Urban areas are therefore considered to be central places that have a wide sphere of influence on smaller towns and in some cases even neighbouring cities, in search of the specific amenities on offer in that particular place.

3. Employment

   • Rural areas are likely to be based around the primary sector- historically this may be around the agricultural industry, or coal mining industry etc.
   • Urban areas will have more of a focus on the secondary sectors - manufacturing and processing products from raw materials and increasingly are moving towards the tertiary (service) industry and quaternary sectors (research and administration) as technology improves. Often, the main sector in an urban area is an indication of the level of development.
   • Rural areas in MEDCs will have under 10% of people employed in the agricultural sector.

4. Administration

   • Urban areas function as centres of government with large centres being responsible for several layer of administration

5. Density

   • A measure of the built up nature of an area.
   • Rural areas can be quite sparsely populated, except when they are located around cities in suburban areas, for example, where houses are designed to be areas for commuters to live and then commute into the town or city for work.

6. Character

   • Urban areas have a specific social dimension - people typically live the 'urban lifestyle' characterised by stress, pace, vibrancy and the desire to be upwardly mobile. There is often a more obvious polarisation between the more affluent areas and the poorer communities and very often, the two can be located within close proximity to one another, further highlighting the polarisation.
   • Rural areas are becoming increasingly common nowadays as people are in search of the 'rural idyll'. This is characterised by stress free, peaceful, slow pace for life lifestyle. Rural communities in MEDCs though do still contain packets of poverty, especially since land prices are cheaper, so houses are more affordable.