The rural environment, rural area or rural landscape is a geographical space where the greatest amount of natural resources can be obtained from a region. It generally has a low number of inhabitants and the economic activities carried out there are adapted to the characteristics of the environment..
In this environment, activities such as the collection or extraction and transformation of raw materials are essential. The way of life of its inhabitants is oriented to work the land and natural resources, constituting the main source of work.
The term rural is linked to everything related to the field and the activities carried out there, such as agriculture and livestock. This is the main difference with the urban environment, in which the population is usually much higher and economic activities are oriented to industry and the consumption of goods and services..
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There are many common elements of the rural environment, which are shared even in very different countries. The field varies depending on the climate and vegetation, but their populations and economic activities are similar.
The attributes that give this landscape its rural character are largely the flora, fauna and vegetation it contains. These elements are generally found in greater numbers in rural areas than in urban areas..
Another peculiarity of rural landscapes is the common presence of mineral resources such as gold, zinc, oil, silver, among others. However, the discovery of these elements usually causes the industrial and population growth of the area where they are found..
One of the standards that characterize a rural population is that it generally does not reach 2,000 inhabitants. However, this figure may vary according to the legislation of each country..
Another factor to take into account is that there may be nucleated and dispersed rural areas. In the first case, these areas per square kilometer have about 60 inhabitants; on the other hand, in the second case the number of people per square kilometer is equal to or less than 30.
Agriculture and livestock are the most common activities in these spaces. This is because the landscape is mainly natural.
The situation provides an opportunity for the animal husbandry, cultivation and harvesting processes to account for the highest percentage of labors..
The inhabitants of rural areas tend to have stronger ties with each other, by identifying with the environment and developing a sense of belonging to it..
This is reflected in the different aspects of the day to day, applied in the social, cultural, political, religious and economic..
Many of the families belonging to rural areas depend, directly or indirectly, on the natural resources found in the space in which they live.
Given that industrial activities are generally low-performance and the means used tend to be more rudimentary, it is common to find that the workers are usually family members themselves rather than hiring external employees..
When the inhabitants are dispersed in the land, there are usually considerable distances between the houses.
It also happens that the residential area is distant from the center of the town. In this there are some small commercial establishments.
Generally, the infrastructure of the services is very basic, forcing the inhabitants to move to more populated centers to access certain services..
Likewise, the transportation system is often insufficient. This often helps to maintain lower pollution levels, as there is not so much smog and carbon dioxide emanating from automobiles and industries..
The population movement is not very frequent, since the inhabitants remain in their residences for a long time. A factor that favors this decision is the fact that, in many cases, the house is the workspace.
In these areas, in addition to the activities of the field, administrative activities are also carried out in small and medium-sized enterprises..
Sometimes a rural environment can be protected by the legislation of a country if it contains elements of natural or historical importance. This measure constitutes a great benefit in regulating the way of taking advantage of the resources of the area..
Likewise, the elements under legal protection can be geographical (national parks or natural monuments), economic (tourist areas or mineral deposits) or cultural (indigenous ethnic groups or historical heritage).
Due to the lower demand for goods and services as well as properties, product costs are often lower than they would be in urban areas.
Rural or agrarian landscapes are made up of different elements, all related to the activities carried out in the different spaces..
It includes the meadows and land available for livestock activities, regardless of the type of livestock used.
It is the set of animals that man raises to later obtain meat and other derivatives. In turn, livestock can be of various types depending on the animals that comprise it:
-Cattle or cattle: cows, bulls, oxen.
-Goat: goats.
-Sheep: sheep.
-Pigs: pigs.
-Equine: horses and mares.
Other types of animals are also raised in these environments, such as:
- Poultry: poultry.
- Aquaculture: fish.
- Beekeeping: bees.
It refers to the lands dedicated to the cultivation, sowing and harvesting of products of vegetable origin. These can be food or industrial, depending on the use that is given later.
Includes cereals such as corn, rice, wheat, and oats; tubers and legumes, oilseed and sugar plants, among many others.
Plants that serve as raw material for textile products such as cotton or linen, or for the tobacco industry.
It is the area in which the activities of rural landscapes and those of urban areas are combined. This territory is not properly part of the urban area but it is not considered a rural area either. Therefore, its characteristics can be mixed.
In general, rural areas offer a large amount of land and resources that can be exploited in multiple ways.
It is not just about carrying out the traditional agricultural and livestock activities. Today, development has led to the planning of different productive uses for rural areas.
Agricultural activities are the main engine of rural areas. Representing the traditional aspect, they develop in their different variations, depending on factors such as climate, type of terrain and needs of the population..
It is an activity related to agriculture, with the difference that forestry focuses on forests. This science is responsible for the cultivation and care of forest plantations, to obtain continuously and sustainably the products required by society.
National parks and natural monuments are protected by law, as they host a large amount of fauna, flora and vegetation typical of certain regions or ecosystems, such as particular geographic formations depending on the space where they are found..
Motivated by this existence, conservation groups in these specific areas are common, as well as the presence of public authorities responsible for their management..
Mining also occurs mainly in rural landscapes, wide and rich in mineral raw materials. This is essential to produce a large number of the products that we use every day in all economic sectors..
In most cases, the construction of factories and industrial areas requires a large amount of space. For this reason, rural areas are the preferred lands to establish these structures..
This activity takes place exclusively in places with little or no man-made modification. Its purpose is to offer tourist alternatives different from the conventional ones and involving more people with the environment in which the activities take place..
Another characteristic of this type of tourism is that it usually revolves around the culture, history or natural heritage of the region that is visited..
In general terms, rural areas contain great natural resources, even if they do not represent an economic gain for the industry.
Activities such as those described above are only the main ones that can be carried out to a greater or lesser extent within undeveloped landscapes..
Undoubtedly, ingenuity can always generate other forms of use of these resources, whether it is for private benefit or for the collective.
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