scholarly journals Introduction: Urban-Rural Differences in Historical Demography

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Christa Matthys ◽  
Jan Kok ◽  
Richard Paping
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Demographic Behavior ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Working And Living Conditions ◽  
The Impact

Systematic research on urban-rural variation in demographic behavior is necessary to overcome dichotomous views resulting from studying cities and the countryside separately. After all, a web of interactions facilitating the diffusion of ideas and behavior connects cities and rural areas. That is why it is especially important to study the comportment of migrants moving between urban and rural environments. In line with this argument five case studies are presented in this special issue that use static or dynamic individual-level data to analyze urban-rural demographic differences and life courses of migrants in Europe (Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland), mainly during the nineteenth century. The outcomes show that the places of residence indeed influenced demographic behavior to a considerable extent, although they do not reflect a simple and strict division between cities and rural areas. Rather, demographic behavior was affected by a diversity of local conditions, including various town sizes, calling for a further exploration of the impact of local demographic, working and living conditions. The studies in this issue also warn against simplified views regarding migrants in the past, for instance, their depiction of being of relatively humble social background. For many migrants, their migration was not a definitive break with the place of origin, and they did not assimilate completely to the dominant behavior in their destination. Instead, migrants often remained embedded in and influenced by trans-regional social networks.

Gram Swaraj: The Sustainable Model for Rural Industrialisation and Employment

2021 ◽  
pp. 251660262110390
Author(s):  
Bhaskar Kumar Kakati
Keyword(s):  
Informal Sector ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rural Migration ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Sustainable Employment ◽  
Rural Industries ◽  
The Impact

This article discusses the relevance of Gram Swaraj or village self-governance and rural industries in the context of pandemic-ravaged countries like India. Drawing mainly from Gandhian Gram Swaraj ideas and secondary sources, it discusses the impact on informal sector workers, their rural–urban–rural migration and precarious livelihood question, the need for rural industries and the adaptation and application of Gram Swaraj ideas. The analysis has implications for considering these ideas for creating sustainable employment and livelihood in rural areas in countries like India.

scholarly journals Activity density of carabid beetles along an urbanisation gradient

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (Suppl.) ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Simone Fattorini ◽  
Cristina Mantoni ◽  
Davide Bergamaschi ◽  
Lorenzo Fortini ◽  
Francisco J. Sánchez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Intermediate Disturbance ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Activity Density ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Several works have investigated the impact of urbanisation on carabid activity density using urban-rural gradients. Such works compared activity density recorded from green spaces located in different parts of a city and assigned to categories of increasing urban intensity, which poses two problems: (1) since the gradient is divided into categories, it is impossible to model continuous variations in biotic responses, and (2) sites representative of different urbanisation levels are not true segments of the same ecological continuum. To surpass these problems, we modelled variations in carabid activity density along an urban-rural transect within a single green space extending from the city centre of Rome to rural environments. Carabids were sampled by pitfall traps from sites distributed along the entire gradient. We used breakpoint regressions to model how (1) carabid activity density, (2) carabids/beetles ratio, (3) carabids/insects ratio and (3) carabids/arthropods ratio varied along the gradient. As already observed for various organisms in urban environments, we found that activity density of carabids and their contribution to the abundance of beetles, insects and arthropods, peaked in the middle of the gradient. This supports the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, according to which moderate urbanisation may favour diversity by increasing habitat heterogeneity.

The Impact of Physical Environment on the Cognitive Function of the Elderly: A Scoping Review of Cohort Studies

2021 ◽  
pp. 108482232110588
Author(s):  
Jihye Kim ◽  
Jiyeong Lee ◽  
Jihye Park ◽  
Hakseong Kim ◽  
Ingyu Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Residential Density ◽  
Living Space ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
The Impact

This review examined whether the physical environment can change the cognitive function of the elderly and categorized the specific environmental types. Four databases, CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, and PsycINFO, were searched for relevant literature published as of December 2020. The framework used was proposed by Arksey and O’Malley, which includes a 5-stage review process. A total of 12 studies were examined. The physical environments with similar characteristics, among all the environmental elements, were grouped together into 4 categories: residential density and road connectivity, limited living space, urban/rural, and care facilities. Residential density and road connectivity, limited living space, and care facilities were found to have a significant effect on the cognitive function of the elderly. However, there was no significant effect on the cognitive function of the elderly when comparing the urban and rural environments. Although studies on environments that affect the cognitive function of the elderly are still ongoing, the ones analyzing specific environments in detail are insufficient. With the increasing importance of the role played by the environment in the cognitive impairment of the elderly, detailed studies on specific environments among the various environmental factors surrounding the elderly, such as this study, should be conducted more actively.

Rural Tourism Development as a Catalyst of Urban-Rural Synergy in the Region of Southern and Eastern Serbia

2020 ◽  
pp. 172-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milica Igić ◽  
Mihailo Mitković ◽  
Petar Mitković ◽  
Milena Dinić-Branković ◽  
Jelena Đekić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Rural Tourism ◽  
Heterogeneous Environment ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Diverse Economies ◽  
Natural Landscapes ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
The Impact

Rural areas in Serbia occupy about 3/4 of total country territory and they are home for almost half of total population. These areas are characterized by very heterogeneous environment with not expressed anthropogenic negative influence. Because of a few types of the settlements and very rich rural and natural landscapes, there are great opportunities for development of diverse economies, multifunctional use, and a variety of different activities. This chapter discusses rural tourism development in the Region of the Southern and Eastern Serbia and its impact on the urban-rural synergy. The main goal is to investigate the impact of the tourism development on the connections on the relation urban to rural on the example of this region, and to point out importance of this synergy for future balanced rural and regional development. Rural tourism represents drive for urban-rural synergy and it is one of the key factors of rural development.

scholarly journals Criminal Investigation in Rural Areas: How Police Detectives Manage Remoteness and Resource Scarcity1

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Rantatalo ◽  
Ola Lindberg ◽  
Markus Hällgren
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Criminal Investigation ◽  
Northern Sweden ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Police Investigations ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Set Up

Abstract This article addresses how rural environments characterized by remoteness impact the work of police detectives in their casework. It reports on an ethnographic study of two investigative departments (working on volume crime and domestic crime) located in Northern Sweden. Interviews (N = 27) and participant observations (N = 56) were conducted in order to examine how investigators approached and managed rural conditions in their daily work. Findings indicate that police investigations in rural areas are characterized by constraints, such as resource shortages, extended set-up times (due to travelling), and challenges in multitasking. The findings identify two main practices for investigating crime in such settings: ‘rural investigation’ that entails a decentralized approach in which investigators are embedded locally; and ‘investigating the rural’ that entails a distanced, centralized approach. This article discusses trade-offs and predicted outcomes in crime investigation and highlights how the urban/rural binary divide encompasses a paradoxical tension that investigators must manage continuously.

scholarly journals Redistributive Effects of Fiscal Policy across the Income Groups in the Urban-Rural Areas of Pakistan

2001 ◽  
Vol 40 (4II) ◽  
pp. 519-533
Author(s):  
Nasim Shah Shirazi ◽  
Muhammad Ilyas ◽  
Mehboob Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Municipal Government ◽  
Government Expenditures ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
Fiscal Impacts ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Redistributive Effects ◽  
The Impact

There exist a large number of studies related to the estimates of government budgetary redistributive effects and its related problems with regard to different countries of the world.1 Studies of the impacts of government expenditures and taxes in Pakistan have been conducted within the framework of either incidence of taxes or the impact of expenditures across the income groups. The studies carried out by Azfar (1972); Jeetun (1978); Alauddin and Raza (1981) Malik and Saqib (1985, 1989) cover different aspects of taxation—tax incidence, progressivity or regressivity of the tax system across the income groups/individuals and regions. These studies did not discuss the expenditure side of the budget. Shirazi (1996) analysed the impact of government transfer programmes (Zakat and Ushr) across the income deciles. Ghaus (1989) studied the incidence of provincial and municipal government service-related expenditure benefits in Karachi metropolitan and therefore, the scope of her study was limited to one city only. Despite the existence of a rich bibliography on the subject of government redistrbutive budgetary effects and its related problems, no study is available which covers the overall redistributive impacts of government budgetary policy in Pakistan. This study explores the impacts of government expenditures and taxes on the distribution of income across various income groups along with net fiscal impacts in the urban-rural areas of Pakistan. The rest of our study is organised as follows. In the following section, Part II, we describe the methodology and data set. In Part III, the results of the study are presented. The Part IV concludes the paper.

Urban-Rural Synergy Toward Human Well-Being

2020 ◽  
pp. 51-70
Author(s):  
Nikola Zoran Furundžić ◽  
Dijana Petar Furundžić ◽  
Aleksandra Krstić-Furundžić
Keyword(s):  
Preventive Medicine ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
New Challenges

The cities are characterized by the rapid development of technologies and the inevitable expansion, which requires looking at ways to address new challenges and overcome the problems that have arisen. Living conditions may vary in many ways, depending on where people live, but the advantages and disadvantages in terms of comfort of human life can be recognized in both urban and rural environments, as analysis of case studies shows. Factors that occur in both areas and affect human life, comfort, and health are presented. The positive effects of rural areas and the advantages that cities have in terms of preserving human health are discussed in this chapter. By comparing the good characteristics of the urban and rural environment, the goal is to indicate some postulates that can be applied in preventive medicine.

Democracy’s Rural Dividend

2020 ◽  
pp. 58-84
Author(s):  
Robin Harding
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Electoral Competition ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Democratic Elections ◽  
National Analysis

This chapter evaluates the second and third hypotheses identified in Chapter 2, that the distribution of benefits resulting from the introduction of democratic electoral competition should be targeted primarily towards rural areas, and that the extent of any such urban–rural differences should be conditional on levels of urbanization. This is done using quantitative cross-national analysis of data from the Demographic and Health Survey Series. These household surveys provide incredibly detailed individual-level data on a range of essential education and health outcomes, across thirty African countries. This enables investigation of the extent to which these outcomes are affected by the introduction of electoral competition, and importantly, how these effects vary across urban and rural areas. Robust estimates demonstrate that democratic elections significantly increase access to primary education and reduce infant mortality rates, but only for children in rural areas. Moreover, these effects are conditional on the level of urbanization. The analysis provides no support for a series of alternative explanations, thereby strengthening confidence in the validity of the theoretical argument.

scholarly journals Levels and Changes of Physical Activity in Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Contextualizing Urban vs. Rural Living Environment

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasa Zenic ◽  
Redha Taiar ◽  
Barbara Gilic ◽  
Mateo Blazevic ◽  
Dora Maric ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Adolescents ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Rural Living ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing implemented shortly after influence physical activity levels (PALs). The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the changes in PAL and factors associated with PALs among Croatian adolescents while considering the impact of community (urban vs. rural living environment). The sample included 823 adolescents (mean age: 16.5 ± 2.1 years) who were tested on baseline (from October 2019 to March 2020; before COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia) and follow-up (in April 2020; during the COVID-19 pandemic and imposed rules of social distancing). Baseline testing included anthropometrics, physical fitness status, and evaluation of PALs, while follow-up included only PALs (evaluated by a standardized questionnaire through an internet application). The results showed a significant influence of the living environment on the decrease of PAL, with a larger decrease in urban adolescents. Logistic regression showed a higher likelihood for normal PALs at baseline in adolescents who had better fitness status, with no strong confounding effect of the urban/rural environment. The fitness status of urban adolescents predicted their PALs at follow-up. The differences between urban and rural adolescents with regard to the established changes in PALs and relationships between the predictors and PALs are explained by the characteristics of the living communities (lack of organized sports in rural areas), and the level of social distancing in the studied period and region/country.

scholarly journals Co-producing a typology for Green and Blue spaces for a longitudinal, national dataset of Green and Blue spaces

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Mizen ◽  
Richard Fry ◽  
Ben Wheeler ◽  
Sarah Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Government Planning ◽  
The Impact

Background with rationaleSpending time in green-blue spaces (GBS) is beneficial for mental health and wellbeing. There are few longitudinal studies, and definitions of GBS differ within academic studies and between policy, practice and research. Main AimQuantify the impact of longitudinal exposure to GBS on wellbeing and common mental health disorders, for a national population (2008-2018) for use in a population-wide natural experiment. MethodsWe co-produced a GBS typology with planners and policy makers at a day-long workshop using validated public participation methods. Using this typology, we built a national, longitudinal GBS dataset created from local government audits and satellite data for 1.4 million homes in Wales, UK. Results produced a nested national typology to define GBS that built on previous academic literature and considered policy and local government planning priorities. The typology differentiated between inland and coastal GBS and facilities available at the GBS e.g. benches, public toilets etc. We created a national, longitudinal dataset of GBS and a cross-sectional dataset of household-level access to GBS for 2018. Access to GBS varied by socio-economic status, urban/rural classification and type of GBS. ConclusionWe worked with policy and planners to produce a typology that will enable us to translate our findings to be used in evidence based policy and planning. We will use the dataset to create quarterly household access to GBS for eleven years (2008-2018). We will link GBS access scores to individual level mental health for 1.7 million people with primary care data and survey data (n = ~12,000) on wellbeing. The results from the wider study will inform the planning and management of GBS in urban and rural environments and contribute to international work on impacts of the built environment on mental health and wellbeing.

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