6.1 Changes In Rural Settlements Flashcards
How are rural settlements changing in the UK?
- employment has evolved from agriculture to small and medium sized businesses due to mechanisation on farms
- the rural landscape is now important for recreation, tourism and environmental conservation
- the rural population has now changed in character (migration) - gentrification has taken place - causing tensions
- higher house prices + lack of affordable housing
- decline of rural services
- reduction of public transport
- greenbelts were created to contain expansion of key villages
- regulation has become a more important element
Why are rural settlements changing?
- impact of internal migration (rural-urban and urban-rural)
- urban growth
- technological change
- rural planning policies
- government funding
How are rural areas changing economically?
- agriculture no longer dominates the rural areas
- firms classed as SMEs have become more present due to development in technology and manufacturing
How are rural areas changing socially?
- due to economic change there are more services available - causing the in-migration of young families and retired people
- the change in population to middle and high class causes gentrification - meaning more restaurants and boutiques and less local grocers and butchers
What is rural depopulation?
- the decrease in the population of rural areas, whether by out-migration or by falling birth rates as young people move away, usually to urban areas
- only happens in remote rural areas
Causes + consequences of rural depopulation
- unmarried young adults migrate to urban areas for better socio-economic opportunities
- population decreases, birth rates fall
- reduction in business services due to falling demand, e.g. bus services, pub, general store, post office
- key social service provision cut, e.g. primary school, mobile library
- loss of services increases out-migration of young families and ensures that in-migration is minimal
- ageing population - disintegration of balanced community
What is the rural transport problem?
- considerable increase in car ownership means the decreased usage of bus transport - leading to routes being cut
- it has increased the isolation of the poor, elderly and young people that live in rural areas
- the lack of public transport puts intense pressure on low-income households to own a car, a large additional expense that many don’t want
- recent increase in price of fuel is applies pressure
Advantages of rural housing problem?
- brings new employment opportunities to areas dependent on agriculture - e.g. building trade, gardening, domestic staff
- local restaurants and shops derive new business and additional profits
- specialised shops opened to cater for second home owners also benefit local residents
- property tax imposed on second homes increases finance of the local community
- second-home owners make fewer demands on local services since education and other community services aren’t required
- renovation of old buildings improves the appearance of the rural area
- local residents have the opportunity to sell of surplus land for buildings at a higher price
Disadvantages of the rural housing problem?
- concentration of second homes may require installation of costly sewerage schemes, extension of water and electricity lines to meet peak season demand, and more maintained of rural roads - costs being partly provided by local residents
- demand for second home pushes up house prices - disadvantage to local residents
- inflated land prices affects future schemes for farm enlargements
- fragmentation of agricultural land
- destruction of natural environment from excess building
- visual degradation resulted from poor constructed homes or inappropriately placed ones
- different values of second home owners may disrupt local community life
Issues of growth + decline in the Lake District
- 17% of homes in the Lake District are second homes and/or holiday homes -> e.g. 51% of the houses in Coniston
- prices of houses beyond the reach of local people - many of the local population work in tourism - low wages + seasonal job
- average household income in the national park = £26,899, average house price = £254,477
- young people are forced to migrate out of the national park to find higher incomes or cheaper housing
- holiday homes are unoccupied for most of the year - services struggle to survive - the local school in Ambleside is struggling + locals shops and post office have closed due to 80% of homes being holiday ones
Responses to the Lake District’s issues?
- local councils construct more social housing so people can rent on a more affordable basis - but the waiting list was 3500 in 2018 + renting doesn’t secure people to an area so is not socially sustainable
- placing local occupancy clauses onto residential properties - to buy a house with a clause attached, the buyer must be able to prove that they would live + work in the area
- community charges to ensure second home owners pay the full amount of tax or even a surcharge
Effectiveness of responses to Lake District’s issues?
- local occupancy clauses reduces the number of potential buyers -> the prices will fall + local people are more likely to be able to afford to buy a home
- any new home constructed will have this clause - generating social sustainability as it hopes to maintain the local populations of towns + villages
- this is vital for services to remain for local people + their future generations
- economically sustainable- housing still being sold, albeit at reduced prices -> still movement in local property market
Impacts of counterurbanisation on Bayston Hill (Shropshire)?
- increased size of village -> building large housing estates to accommodate growing pop of village
- from 1970 young couples + families were attracted to the village due wanting an improvement in quality of life + its close proximity to Shrewsbury
- 1961 = pop under 2000, 1971 = over 5000
- 75% of pop work outside village area -> became a suburbanised village near the town of Shrewsbury
Responses to mass counterurbanisation in Bayston Hill?
- building of large housing estates was no longer allowed
- the Local Plan has created tightly drawn boundaries to encourage development within Shrewsbury on brownfield sites
- increased provision of facilities - especially targeted at young adults
Effectiveness of response in Bayston Hill?
- village pop is ageing (24% 65+) due to the restrictive growth + the young adults that moved in in the 60s have stayed
- therefore a difference balance of services will be needed in the future
What has caused the main issues in LIC rural settlements?
- Rural-urban migration
- poverty
- school provision
Positive impacts of rural-urban migration in LICs?
- rural population has declined - reducing pressures on food, water + other resources
- unemployment has reduced due to a smaller pop
- remittances sent from people who migrated provide a large proportion of some family’s income
Negative impacts of rural-urban migration on LIC settlements?
- public + private services have closed as population declines
- ageing population - younger residents have moved to the cities for better opportunities
- agricultural production has reduced - insufficient labour to maintain it
- development schemes are focused on high profile urban areas - rural areas forgotten
- natural resources + land exploited by large companies/govt. as rural pop have little legal property rights - loss of political voice since young adults hv left
Impact of poverty on rural settlements?
- poverty in rural settlements accounts for 60% of poverty worldwide
- access to services e.g. education, healthcare, sanitation, clean water is much more limited for rural residents than urban ones
- people migrate to cities to break out of poverty cycle as there are more services available in urban areas
How does school provision impact rural settlements?
- schools are inadequate or lacking - especially secondary
- 57 million children don’t go to primary school worldwide
- an extra year of schooling can lift a country’s yearly economic growth by 1%
What factors create + perpetuate poverty in LICs?
- political instability + corrupt politicians
- discrimination based on race, gender, religion etc.
- unclear property rights
- lack of rights of agricultural land
- division of agricultural land following inheritance into smaller plot sizes
- large + rapidly growing families with high dependency ratios
Malawi facts
- pop = 15.9 million, rural pop = 3.18 million
- growth rate = 3.3%
- fertility rate = 2.2%
- % below poverty line = 74%
- HDI = 160 out of 182
Issues faced in rural Malawi?
- 74% of people live below the US$ 1.25 a day poverty line
- recurrent famines in Mwandama due to both a rise in temp + fall in rainfall
- locals from 7 villages in the Mwandama cluster work for privately owned tobacco plantations - earning on $0.50 per day
- plantation owners restrict use of roads to villages -> no access to other work + children are kept out of school to work
Solutions to the poverty in Malawi
Millennium village project
- 14 new primary schools with meals provided —> increased attendance to 95% in 2011 - more children are being educated + can get out of rural poverty cycle
- four healthcare centres —> 400% increase in the number of women tested for HIV/AIDs - improved the quality of life as spread of diseases are reduced + enables better access to medication to prolong life
- universal coverage for household for improved supply of drinking water —> clean water = improved sanitation + health = better standards of living - helping community to get out cycle of poverty
- contract with world food programme worth US$47,500 in 2010 —> reduction of 1/3 in the number of children who suffer from stunting due to chronic malnutrition
- mobile bank —> provides microcredit for people allowing them to get a better income as they can spend more money on farming tools