Will Rural Areas Still Matter in the 21st Century? (or) Can Rural Sociology Remain Relevant?1

Abstract

Abstract Despite demographic and economic trends away from rural societies and from agriculture, a consideration of rural areas remains important for two reasons. First, a substantial number of people will continue to live and work in rural areas, even as urbanization spreads across the world. Second, social processes have different consequences in urban and rural areas. Rural sociology must make global restructuring a key concern, it must provide information about social and economic processes in rural and urban areas, and its geographical scope must become truly international.