WHAT IS THE RURAL ENVIRONMENT? MAIN FEATURES - ENVIRONMENT - 2024

The rural environment is a geographic space with a low number of inhabitants, in which economic activities are mostly focused on the collection, extraction or transformation of natural resources.

The term rural is difficult to define in the academy, which is why it is usually done following different parameters. The two most commonly used are population density and the economic activities that characterize it.

Another way of defining it is usually by contrasting it with the urban environment, which is characterized by having a high population, generally greater than 3 thousand inhabitants, and may even have millions.

Similarly, in the urban environment the economic activities of the secondary and tertiary sectors prevail (industries, trade in goods and services, among others).

In this way, the rural environment is any space that has a very small population, and whose economic activities and ways of life are adapted to the environmental conditions, before which the population is directly confronted.

Characteristics of the rural environment

1. It is used for agriculture and livestock

The two most common economic activities carried out in rural areas are agriculture and livestock.

For this reason, it is characteristic that the rural landscape is natural in a high percentage, so that it can thus accommodate the activities and processes of planting and cultivating the land, and animal husbandry.

2. It is made up of flora, fauna and other natural resources

The rural environment is also composed, in a high percentage, of plants and vegetation of different types. Characteristically, it is to a much greater extent than in urban areas.

On the other hand, this environment is also the habitat in which wild animals of different species live, as well as domesticated animals.

It is also common to find sources of natural resources in rural areas, such as gold, oil, silver, among others, although their discovery usually encourages the growth of the population around where these resources are found.

3. It has a low population density

It is characteristic of rural areas to have a low number of inhabitants.

The average measure in different countries to classify a population as rural or not is two thousand inhabitants, with rural areas being those that do not reach that number.

However, this varies according to each legislation, so this number can increase to three thousand, four thousand or five thousand inhabitants.

On the other hand, according to the population dispersion within rural areas, these can be classified into two types: dispersed rural areas, and nucleated rural areas.

The dispersed are those that have a number equal to or less than 30 inhabitants per square kilometer.

Nucleated ones are those that have a number equal to or greater than 60 inhabitants per square kilometer.

4. Sometimes you are protected by law

Sometimes a specific rural environment may be protected under the laws of a country as part of a government measure for the conservation of the elements found within it. These laws can regulate access to and use of these areas.

The elements of the rural environment legally regulated can be cultural (indigenous communities or historical heritage), geographical (certain types of flora or fauna) or economic (mineral reserves, tourism areas or eco-tourism).

5. The cost of living is usually much lower than in urban areas

In rural populations, due to the lower demand for properties, goods and services, the prices related to these products are usually lower than those in urban areas.

6. It tends to present lower percentages of environmental pollution

Some types of pollution, such as the emission of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and smog, are higher in urban areas due to the large number of vehicles and industrial activity that is generated in them.

The low population of rural areas helps their environment have lower levels of contamination.

7. Agricultural and livestock production is familiar

The production and collection of raw materials in rural areas tends to take place at a family rather than a business level.

This means that the workforce is provided mainly by the owner families, rather than by externally employed workers.

Generally, rural families depend directly or indirectly on the natural resources found in the area in which they live.

8. The use of technology for economic activities is scarce

In general, production activities carried out in rural areas do not use machinery of the same scope or level of sophistication as those used by agricultural companies in more urban sectors, although this characteristic is not exclusive in some cases. specific.

As the economic activity that takes place in this environment is familiar, the means used are usually more rudimentary, and the level of production much lower than the business one.

9. The rural environment is the base on which the life of the population that lives in it is installed

A common characteristic of the rural environment is that all the activities within it are built on the basis of its resources.

That is why these communities tend to be relatively integrated, in the sense that the different daily aspects, such as the political, social, economic and religious, are closely related.

In the same way, the inhabitants of the rural environment identify and develop a sense of belonging close to it.

10. It is used for "eco-tourism" or "rural tourism"

Rural tourism is a type of tourism that is carried out only in virgin natural sites or very little modified by man, which is why in some rural areas eco-tourism can occur as an activity.

The objective of rural tourism is to offer an alternative activity to mass tourism with a much lower negative impact on the environment.

For this reason, this type of tourism seeks to obtain resources by offering an experience to the visitor in which they become more directly involved with the environment.

In this way, it is intended to teach a more responsible way of taking advantage of natural spaces.

Sources

1. CONYERS, D. (1993). Guidelines on Social Analysis for Rural Area Development Planning. Retrieved July 17, 2017 on the World Wide Web: books.google.com
2. National Geographic Society (nd). Rural area. Retrieved July 17, 2017 on the World Wide Web: nationalgeographic.org
3. United States Department of Agriculture (nd). What is rural. Retrieved July 17, 2017 on the World Wide Web: nal.usda.gov
4. WOLFE, C. (2011). Should We Be Focused on Rural Areas in the Developing World?. Retrieved July 17, 2017 on the World Wide Web: theatlantic.com
5. Wikipedia. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 17, 2017 on the World Wide Web: wikipedia.org