Urban Rural Research Articles

Planificación territorial: Visión estratégica de la franja urbana rural en Adelia María, Córdoba

The article shows how to design and evaluate the strategic vision for the Rural Urban Fringe in Adelia María, Córdoba, Argentina, and signify the commitments to the SDG 2030 agenda. Although the local periurban presents uses that synergize its operation, the community perceives unfavorable use that are not complementary (for example, bad odors from local production). A multicriteria stepwise procedure was used to design the vision and engage stakeholders. First, problems and aspirations were identified through interviews. Second, four RUF visions with strategic land uses were designed and evaluated. Third, the visions were evaluated with the PROMETHEE method. The results show that the actors want a RUF model that exceeds the trend. The chosen vision is complementary. Locate an industrial estate and take advantage of a forest area to reduce odors and noise. Additionally, it densifies future settlements on vacant land and expands the urban area by just 11% to include scattered residences. It locates 19 ha of agricultural parks and distributes recreational areas in the urban sprawl. The vision requires political efforts, and investments and shows how to signify the SDG 2030. The actors positively valued the planning process and how to agree on solutions to structural problems of the territory.

Changing Trends of the Lifestyles of the Peasantry Under the Impact of the Rural Urbanization Process in Vietnam

Changing Trends of the Lifestyles of the Peasantry Under the Impact of the Rural Urbanization Process in Vietnam

Global Value Chain Participation, Employment Structure, and Urban–Rural Income Gap in the Context of Sustainable Development

Currently, the trend of globalization is evident, and global value chain participation has had a significant impact on the urban–rural income gap in China. This article takes sustainable development as the background and constructs a theoretical mechanism for the impact of global value chain participation on the urban–rural income gap and uses a two-way fixed effects model to empirically test data from 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2014. Research finds that global value chain participation significantly widens the urban–rural income gap. Compared to the central and western regions, the participation of the eastern region in the global value chain has a more significant effect on widening the urban–rural income gap. Further research has found that employment structure plays a partial mediating role in the process of global value chain participation in widening the urban–rural income gap. The factor endowment structure and industrial structure upgrading can significantly strengthen the mechanism of global value chain participation in optimizing the employment structure. This article’s research findings have significant practical implications for reducing the income gap between urban and rural areas and fostering sustainable development in both.

Physical Activity and Obesity Risk in Adults in Colombia: The Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) Study.

This study aimed to investigate longitudinal associations between physical activity levels and obesity in adults in Colombia, where participation in large amounts of light-intensity physical activity is a necessity for many people. Participation in moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity was assessed from 2005 to 2009, and obesity was assessed from 2011 to 2019 in men and women from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Total physical activity level was categorized as low (<600 MET·min·wk -1 ), medium (600-3000 MET·min·wk -1 ), or high (>3000 MET·min·wk -1 ; 600 MET·min·wk -1 is equivalent to 150 min of moderate activity or 75 min of vigorous activity per week). Obesity was defined as body mass index ≥30 kg·m -2 . Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, smoking, socioeconomic status, diet, alcohol, sedentary time, and sleep. The main analysis included 3086 men and women aged 51 ± 9 yr at baseline (mean ± SD). Compared with the low physical activity group, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for obesity was 0.67 (0.53-0.85) in the medium physical activity group and 0.78 (0.62-0.98) in the high physical activity group after adjustment for potential confounders. Smoking is probably a major confounder, and it is noteworthy that similar associations were observed in participants who reported never smoking. The PURE study is the only prospective cohort study in Colombia. The present analysis is important because it suggests that even the busy people of Colombia could substantially reduce their risk of obesity by participating in moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity.

Rurality, islandness and public policy in Scotland

ABSTRACT Territorial classifications are routinely used in public policy. In Scotland, the primary classification used to delimit what, where and who is ‘rural’ is the Scottish Government’s Urban Rural Classification, introduced in 2003. However, in the recent past, there appears to have been a reframing of ‘rural definitions’ in the Scottish policy context. We highlight some of the challenges associated with developing a more nuanced framing of ‘rural’, drawing upon an analysis of responses to the statutory consultations associated with three recent items of draft legislation: namely, the 2015 consultation on provisions for a future Islands Bill, the 2019 consultation on a proposal for a Remote Rural Communities Bill, and the 2020–2021 consultation to support the preparation of the Fourth National Planning Framework. Implications of these new framings for rural policy, planning and development are discussed. Our conclusion is that, while no territorial classification system is perfect, extending the use of existing tools may offer both robust policy support as well as meaningful insights that differentiate types of ‘rural’ in a way that is a better fit for current purposes.

Spatial-temporal distribution pattern and driving factors of agricultural carbon sinks in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from the perspective of carbon neutrality

AbstractDeveloping policies to reduce carbon emissions in agriculture is crucial for achieving the ‘dual carbon’ goal. Therefore, scientifically analysing the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of agricultural carbon sinks and their driving factors holds paramount importance for the coordinated and integrated development of regional agriculture and the realization of sustainable development. Based on the perspective of carbon cycle in agricultural production, the measurement system of agricultural net carbon sink was established from the perspective of carbon sink/carbon source, this study conducted an analysis of the temporal and spatial variation characteristics as well as driving mechanisms of agricultural net carbon sinks. The findings are as follows: (1) The agricultural net carbon sink exhibited an increasing trend from 2009 to 2020, with favourable intensity and level. (2) Agricultural land use and livestock and poultry production constituted the primary sources of agricultural carbon emissions. Notably, agricultural carbon emissions demonstrated a decreasing trend during the study period. (3) The net agricultural carbon sink displayed local spatial aggregation, indicating significant regional differences. (4) Factors such as rural economic level, urbanization level and agricultural employment significantly promoted the net carbon sink. In contrast, the rural industrial structure, technical level and crop seeding had inhibitory effects. Therefore, it is imperative to promote the reduction of agricultural carbon emissions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. This entails accelerating the construction of new agriculture and rural areas, facilitating industrial upgrading, promoting the development of low-carbon-sink regions into high-carbon-sink regions and actively fostering the coordinated and integrated development of regional agriculture.

The Balance of Regional Economic Space Along the Urban–Rural Line

The Balance of Regional Economic Space Along the Urban–Rural Line

Confidence Across Cleavage: The Swiss Rural–Urban Divide, Place‐Based Identity and Political Trust

AbstractSince political trust is crucial to the survival of political systems, securing its high levels is essential. While Switzerland exhibits a large rural–urban divide in direct democratic votes, it has not yet been researched whether such a divide also exists with regard to political trust. In my investigation of the Swiss rural–urban divide in political trust, I bring in place as a social identity and evaluate whether the rural–urban divide is contingent upon place‐based identity. I employ OLS regression models using original survey data from 2022 with about 4,000 respondents. Results reveal a significant but irrelevantly small rural–urban difference in political trust. However, when interacting place‐based identity with place of living, I find that identity inverts the rural–urban divide. When place‐based identity is low, rural residents exhibit higher levels of political trust than urban residents, but when place‐based identity is high, trust is higher in urban than in rural places.

The Urban-Rural Heterogeneous Effect of Family SES on Achievement: The Mediating Role of Culture.

Previous studies have fully discussed the relationship between family socioeconomic status (SES) and achievement, but few of them regarded urban-rural differences as the moderating factor, which is an essential issue in urban-rural educational equalization in terms of educational outcomes. This study discusses the urban-rural heterogeneous effect of family SES on achievement and manifests the mediating role of education-related cultural factors. Based on the China Education Panel Survey data of 18,672 junior high school students, this study found the following: (1) family SES had a weaker positive effect among rural children than among urban children; (2) the urban-rural heterogeneous effect could be mediated by education-related cultural factors, i.e., learning environments and beliefs; and (3) in this regard, contemporary China is experiencing cultural reproduction rather than a cultural mobility mode. In Conclusion, although the urban-rural achievement gap will be maintained or even expanded in China, improving rural children's learning environments and beliefs opens up the possibility of alleviating disadvantages in achievement resulting from family socioeconomic disadvantages. Therefore, narrowing down the urban-rural achievement gap from a cultural perspective provides policy implications for educational development in rural areas.

Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Prevalence, Morbidity, and Mortality in Colombia: Findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) Study.

Controversies exist on whether the presence of cardiovascular risk factors and their association with major cardiovascular events (MACE) is different between men and women. Most of the evidence comes from high-income countries, hindering extrapolation of sociocultural and demographic factors of other regions. To evaluate sex differences in the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and the incidence of MACE and diabetes in Colombian adults. We performed a survival analysis from women and men aged 35-70 belonging to the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology-Colombia prospective study. Incidence rates for MACE composite (myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, death) and each outcome and diabetes were calculated. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were performed. The association between demographic, behavioral, and metabolic variables with MACE and diabetes were evaluated with Cox proportional hazards models. 7,552 participants (50±9.7 years) were included; 64% were women. Women had higher hypertension prevalence, body mass index, levels of total cholesterol, LDL-c, and HDL-c but lower triglycerides levels. Women were more sedentary but fewer smokers or active alcohol consumers and had higher educational levels. After 12-year mean follow-up (SD 2.3), the incidence rate of MACE composite was higher in men [4.2 (3.6-4.9) vs. 3.2 (2.8-3.7) cases per 1000 person-years]. Diabetes had the greatest association with MACE (HR = 2.63 95%CI:1.85;3.76), followed by hypertension (HR = 1.75 95%CI:1.30;2.35), low relative grip strength (HR = 1.53 95%CI:1.15;2.02), smoking (HR = 1.47 95%CI: 1.11;1.93), low physical activity (HR = 1.42 95%CI: 1.03;1.96). When evaluating risk factors by sex, only an increased waist-to-hip ratio was more strongly associated with MACE in men (p-interaction <0.05). The composite MACE outcome was higher in men despite having a lower overall burden of risk factors. The risk factors contribution was similar, leading us to reconsider the need to carrying out differentiated cardiovascular risk prevention and management campaigns, at least in our region.

The Restoration of Degraded Landscapes along the Urban–Rural Gradient of Lubumbashi City (Democratic Republic of the Congo) by Acacia auriculiformis Plantations: Their Spatial Dynamics and Impact on Plant Diversity

This study examines the spatio-temporal dynamics of Acacia auriculiformis in Lubumbashi city, southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in the context of rapid urbanization following the liberalization of the mining sector. The city has experienced significant demographic growth and unplanned spatial expansion, resulting in a decrease in vegetation cover. The introduction and proliferation of A. auriculiformis, an exotic tree species, have occurred without strategic planning or monitoring. Utilizing digitized remote sensing imagery from 2006, 2014, and 2021, we quantified the expansion of A. auriculiformis along the urban–rural gradient. Additionally, a floristic inventory conducted in 2021 provided insights into tree diversity within A. auriculiformis plantations. Our findings indicate a substantial increase in the number and area of A. auriculiformis patches, predominantly in urban zones. However, the patch values, highest in 2006, were shown to decline by 2021, especially in urban areas. The floristic inventory identified 39 tree species within A. auriculiformis plantations, including predominant species such as Albizia lebbeck, Albizia alba, and Leucaena leucocephala. Notably, 20 of these species are exotic, with half being invasive. In contrast, the 19 indigenous species were primarily found in peri-urban areas. While a greater number of tree species were observed in urban zones, larger average diameters were recorded in peri-urban zones. The persistence and expansion of A. auriculiformis in a landscape characterized by declining tree cover suggest its potential sustainability in this setting. However, A. auriculiformis plantations have facilitated the establishment of predominantly exotic and potentially invasive species. These findings highlight the need for the strategic management of A. auriculiformis and associated exotic flora to mitigate their spread and to consider their role in the restoration of degraded lands.

Risk factors for recognized and unrecognized SARS-CoV-2 infection: a seroepidemiologic analysis of the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study.

There are limited data on individual risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection (including unrecognized infection). In this seroepidemiologic substudy of an ongoing prospective cohort study of community-dwelling adults, participants were thoroughly characterized pre-pandemic. The SARS-CoV-2 infection was ascertained by serology. Among 8,719 participants from 11 high-, middle-, and low-income countries, 3,009 (35%) were seropositive for SARS-CoV-2. Characteristics independently associated with seropositivity were younger age (odds ratio, OR; 95% confidence interval, CI, per five-year increase: 0.95; 0.91-0.98) and body mass index >25 kg/m2 (OR, 95% CI: 1.16, 1.01-1.34). Smoking (as compared with never smoking, OR, 95% CI: 0.83, 0.70-0.97) and COVID-19 vaccination (OR, 95% CI: 0.70, 0.60-0.82) were associated with a reduced risk of seropositivity. Among seropositive participants, 83% were unaware of having been infected with SARS-CoV-2. Seropositivity and a lack of awareness of infection were more common in lower-income countries. The COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (including recognized and unrecognized infections). Overweight or obesity is an independent risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Infection and lack of infection awareness are more common in lower-income countries.IMPORTANCEIn this large, international study, evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was obtained by testing blood specimens from 8,719 community-dwelling adults from 11 countries. The key findings are that (i) the large majority (83%) of community-dwelling adults from several high-, middle-, and low-income countries with blood test evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection were unaware of this infection-especially in lower-income countries; and (ii) overweight/obesity predisposes to SARS-CoV-2 infection, while COVID-19 vaccination is associated with a reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. These observations are not attributable to other individual characteristics, highlighting the importance of the COVID-19 vaccination to prevent not only severe infection but possibly any infection. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which overweight/obesity might increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Research on China's agricultural land circulation-taking central agricultural areas as an example

The transfer of land involves many aspects in China, include property rights and transactions of land, the mode of land transfer, and the principal element is the farmer’s willingness. In order to study the basic situation of land transfer in central China and analyze the main factors affecting rural land transfer in China. This research takes Henan Province-a sizable agricultural province in central China-as the research object. Researches the principal modes of land transfer, and analyzes the effectiveness of pastoral land transfer. It uses quantitative analysis methods to determine the influencing factors of land transfer. The analyses consisted of five aspects, the level of non-agricultural industry progress, the level of agrarian modernization development, urbanization development, per capita net income of farmers, and the number of labor transfer. The conclusion is the growth rate of land transfer in Henan Province has shown a downward trend, and the gradual growth of land transfer has cut the urbanization process in Henan Province. Relevant government departments need to take effective measures to solve this problem, to promote the transfer of rural land urbanization.

Spatial pattern and driving mechanism of the coordinated development of rural revitalization and new urbanization in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River

Spatial pattern and driving mechanism of the coordinated development of rural revitalization and new urbanization in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River

Coordination relationship and identification of obstacle factors between harmonious and beautiful rural construction and tourism urbanization: Take Wuling Mountain Area as an example

Coordination relationship and identification of obstacle factors between harmonious and beautiful rural construction and tourism urbanization: Take Wuling Mountain Area as an example

Rural–Urban Divide in Mental Health Care in India: Bridging the Gaps

There are significant gaps in the distribution and utilization of mental health services between rural and urban areas in India. The rural–urban divide is prominently seen in livelihood opportunities and lifestyle, which is a matter of concern. Rural populations, constituting a large proportion in India and globally, exhibit distinct environmental profiles and lifestyle factors influencing mental health. Rural populations have unique choices regarding occupation, different social structures, expressions of illness, health belief systems, and help-seeking behavior. The treatment gap in rural regions stems from various factors, including inadequate investment in mental health, stigma, discrimination, low literacy levels, and poor motivation of mental health professionals for working in rural areas. The changes in social dynamics and family values further strain rural mental health care. India faces a considerable challenge in bridging the treatment gaps and providing mental health services that are accessible and acceptable in rural areas. The true implementation of the new Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 requires consideration of the ground realities of rural settings. While innovations and digital interventions show promise in bridging the inequalities in treatment settings, these need to be highly tailor-made keeping in view the local needs. Furthermore, integrating public mental health into general public health programs can alleviate the burden of mental disorders. It is imperative to recognize the positives in rural areas and establish effective links between urban and rural services which is crucial for providing comprehensive mental health care in these dynamic populations.

Supplemental Material for Tele-Mental Health Utilization Trends With Rural–Urban Disparities in Mississippi: 2020–2023

Supplemental Material for Tele-Mental Health Utilization Trends With Rural–Urban Disparities in Mississippi: 2020–2023

Uncertainties of Urban Heat Island Estimation With Diverse Reference Delineation Methods Based on Urban–Rural Division and Local Climate Zone

Uncertainties of Urban Heat Island Estimation With Diverse Reference Delineation Methods Based on Urban–Rural Division and Local Climate Zone

Spatial Patterns of Vegetation Phenology Along the Urban–Rural Gradients in Different Local Climate Zones

Spatial Patterns of Vegetation Phenology Along the Urban–Rural Gradients in Different Local Climate Zones

Introduction and Validation of a New Suchitra Scoring System and Determining the Cut off Value for Healthy Lifestyle Among College Students - Kumbakonam Urban Rural Epidemiological Study- KURES- 8

College students face a range of problems that might have an impact on their lifestyle, such as academic stress, restricted time, and money, as well as exposure to bad habits. As a result, understanding and promoting healthy lifestyle behaviours is crucial for college students' general health and academic achievement. The development and validation of an instrument (questionnaire) to assess college students' lifestyle practises provides an objective and trustworthy tool for analysing their lifestyle. The intent of this study sought to develop and test a lifestyle questionnaire for college students. The 11-question questionnaire was created to evaluate different areas of a student's lifestyle, including exercise routines, eating habits, sleep quality, stress management, and social behaviour. On a sample of 245 college students, the questionnaire was validated using target population, expert content validity, construct with other known scores, test and retest, alpha, and Pearson correlation analysis. The cut-off value for a good lifestyle was determined to be 21.5, with scores over this amount indicating a good living. Even though most students had poor sleep quality, little physical activity, and poor dietary pattern, we had a low incidence of alcohol and smoking in our sample. The majority were non-vegetarians, and fast-food consumption was much higher. To conclude, the questionnaire (Suchitra score), developed and validated for measuring lifestyle in college students is a reliable and valid tool for assessing various aspects of a student's lifestyle.