Rural and urban

The rural and the urban encompass a set of attributes that are associated with a region, locality or community, among other types of human groupings..

Among the attributes that are associated with rural are found that an area has low population density, develop economic activities linked to primary sector, has large spaces of land and green areas, and lacks government administrative centers.

In the case of urban, this encompasses attributes such as the presence of a high population density, that the main economic activities are of the industrial and services sector, and the existence of government administrative centers and physical infrastructure.

It should be noted that there is no single way to define the rural and the urban. The criteria used to delimit its attributes are variable. It is possible to find characteristics associated with the urban in rural areas and vice versa.

What is rural?

It rural refers to a set of characteristics that are associated with a locality or region, such as having a low population density or a small community of inhabitants. In a rural area, the main economic activity revolves around working with the environment, particularly in the primary sector.

The word rural comes from Latin ruralis, and refers to that which 'comes from or is from the field', or to an 'open space' (of land).

In this sense, the rural has been identified by the presence of large areas of land in which there are small human settlements. It is common for infrastructure to be of less capacity, when compared to large cities (urban centers). They are generally regions with communities in which there is a low population density.

There is less proximity between neighborhoods and houses. The houses are single-family. In addition, agricultural production and agricultural activities predominate in rural areas..

Generally, rural and urban are spoken of as opposites. That is, the rural is defined as the non-urban and vice versa, according to a series of criteria that are associated with each one. However, nowadays the rural spaces and the lifestyle in these places has changed. Aspects such as diversification of the type of jobs, development of sustainable tourism programs and other ways of generating income have been present in the rural world..

As a general rule, rural areas are those with the lowest income in a country. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), although poverty in rural regions in Latin America has decreased since the 1980s, there is still a large gap between income of urban and rural areas.

Characteristics of the rural

• It implies the presence of agricultural activities or the primary sector.
• It is related to the field, open spaces, large green areas and vegetation.
• Generally, the population of a rural area or community has an income below the average per capita income of a country.
• The population density and the number of inhabitants is low in relation to the national average of the country.
• It is common that there are no high-ranking administrative centers of government.
• There is little presence of physical infrastructure.
• Migration has a negative flow (from rural areas to the city).
• Social relationships are closer and longer lasting (friends, family and work relationships).

What is urban?

It urban refers to a set of characteristics that a locality or region possesses, such as a high population density, an economic activity linked to industrial and service sectors, as well as the presence of administrative centers and physical infrastructure (paving, aqueducts, electrical services, etc.).

The word urban comes from Latin urbanus, and refers to 'what is related to the city'. Large cities are characterized by having large buildings and a high population density.

The physical infrastructure of the environment is an important criterion when classifying something as urban. For example, in an urban region there are buildings, residences, industry and administrative centers, among others..

Transport and communication logistics also represent a feature widely used to define what is urban. The provision of transport services and their efficiency are used to compare urban and rural locations..

In an urban region, population density tends to be high. In countries like Mexico and Venezuela, towns or populated centers with more than 2,500 inhabitants are considered urban populations. This is a quantitative criterion to define which regions are urban (or rural).

The existence of administrative centers or that the communities are the head of a district are considered as criteria by different countries to define what is urban at a geographical or demographic level.

Another feature of the urban is that the most important activity in a region is linked to the industrial or services sector and not to the agricultural or agricultural sector.

In this case, it is considered that in an urban space most of the active population is dedicated to the industrial or service sector, and not to agricultural work.

Characteristics of the urban

• The urban is identified with the city, being something that has been built and organized by human beings.
• Population density is high (in relation to other populations in the same country) and this is the most used criterion to define which localities are urban in a country.
• The population is heterogeneous.
• There are buildings and physical infrastructure and services.
• There is presence of administrative centers.
• The industrial and service sectors are the most important and most of the workforce works in these sectors.
• Generally associated with a population, area or community with an income higher than that of the inhabitants of rural areas.

Learn more about the Difference between rural and urban population.

The rural and the urban in Latin America

Each country uses slightly different criteria to define what is rural and what is urban. The main instrument used to determine which localities or populations are classified as rural or urban are the national censuses, which are applied once every ten years in most countries..

In general, the majority of the population in Latin America lives in urban centers. The most used criterion to define what is rural and urban is the demographic, although it does not consider the population or demographic density so much, but rather the number of people who live in a given community. The next most commonly used criterion is the administrative.

These criteria follow quantitative and qualitative parameters. For example, the demographic criterion is quantitative. This is based on the number of inhabitants per square kilometer in a region, as well as the total number of inhabitants in a locality..

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) establishes that a population density of more than 150 inhabitants per square kilometer is the minimum amount for a region to be considered urban.

A criterion qualitative It is the functionality or economic activity that takes place in a region. For example, a characteristic of a region or rural area is that its main economic activity is in the primary sector (agriculture).

According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the specialist in social and political studies, Sergio Faiguenbaum, some of the criteria most used to define rural and urban in Latin America are:

• Demographic or population density and number of inhabitants per community (one of the most used criteria).
• Function or economic / productive activity of a region and the type of employment (of the working-age population).
• Services and physical infrastructure (streets, signage, basic services).
• Spatial ordering and geographic location.
• Presence of administrative centers and their hierarchy.

The following table shows some of the criteria used to define urban and rural in several Latin American countries and in Spain

Know the Difference between rural and urban areas.

Approaches to rural and urban

Different theoretical perspectives, and even points of view in general, delimit the attributes and criteria that each human space has. Focus dichotomic on the rural and urban proposes that both terms refer opposite realities, where the rural is more backward or a step prior to the urban and modern.

Unlike this perspective, the focus on the rural-urban continuum proposes that the rural and the urban are part of a spectrum. It is not possible to establish a separation between the two, having only one difference gradual in the characteristics of each one.

At the end of the 20th century, with the new rurality, rural and urban they are no longer seen as opposites. The effects of capitalist development and technological and industrial advances allow the presence of attributes traditionally associated with the urban in rural spaces.

Rural-urban dichotomous approach

The division of the rural-urban as opposites follows the line of thought of sociologists such as Karl Marx (1818-1883), Max Weber (1864-1920) and Émile Durkheim (1858-1917). This approach establishes a dichotomy of the rural and the urban as if they were opposing points. That is, a locality is rural or urban, but not both at the same time..

Rural-urban continuum approach

This approach was developed by Pitlrim Sorokin (1889-1968) and Carle C. Zimmerman (1897-1983) in Principles of Rural-Urban Sociology (Principles of rural-urban sociology) in 1929.

This approach proposes that the rural and the urban are not opposites that separate abruptly. For Sorokin and Zimmerman, the rural and the urban are integrated in a gradual continuum, without defined points of separation..

In any case, agriculture and work in the primary sector continue to be important to define the rural.

Approach to the new rurality

The new rurality is a perspective from the end of the 20th century that proposes that the rural environment can acquire characteristics that have traditionally been associated with the urban, such as the diversification of the labor market and the introduction of industry and services in rural areas.

In this way, the new rurality challenges traditional notions about the rural. This takes into account the points of integration between rural and urban in today's world and the impact of capitalist development..

It suggests that the rural is not a previous step to the urban, nor less modern, but that rural spaces are contemporary and differ according to each region.

Characteristics of the new rurality

• The rural area diversifies its economic activities and not only depends on the primary sector.
• The communities themselves are active in rural development.
• Compare the rural with the rural, and rurality is not seen as a stage prior to the urban.
• The relationship with the environment is important.
• There may be a great exploitation of the soil caused by monocultures.
• There are greater industrial investments and capital that comes from outside the region.
• Family businesses have less weight.
• There is development of physical infrastructure and services.
• The level of income continues to be lower than that of urban centers.
• Greater interaction and integration between rural and urban spaces.