Urban-rural Dichotomy Research Articles

Henri Lefebvre’s Urban Critical Theory: Rethinking the City against Capitalism

ABSTRACT In the article the author highlights the main ways of the Lefebvrian sociological analysis conceived starting from the transformations of the city in the Fordist era: From the production of urban marginality, through the proliferation of precarious living in the France of the Sixties and Seventies, to recording the gradual disappearance of the urban–rural dichotomy, that goes into an authentic spatial hegemony of urbanization processes. The goal is therefore to highlight the “urban critical theory” of Henri Lefebvre, coming to discuss the famous meaning of “right to the city,” strongly interconnected with the concept of “city as an artwork,” that is the idea of an urban space intended as horizontal and common design by those who live and inhabit in it.

Urbanization, processed foods, and eating out in India

Urban consumption of processed and fast foods is a challenge to nutrition security. Observed differences in urban versus rural consumption are commonly attributed to higher income levels in urban areas. Yet, there is still no clear understanding of why and how urban dwellers consume differently. Using India as a case study, we analyze expenditures on processed foods and consumption of food away from home (FAFH) of urban, metropolitan, and rural populations using OLS regression models. We show that urban households spend more on processed foods and consume more FAFH than rural households. Most of this difference can be attributed to differing socio-economic and demographic factors, such as higher income, or smaller urban household size. However, even after controlling for these factors, we find differences not only between rural and urban areas but also between different urban areas: households in large metropolitan areas consume more than households in smaller non-metropolitan urban areas. These inter-urban variations suggest that the dichotomy of urban versus rural consumption does not adequately capture the full spectrum of food consumption complexities. Our findings indicate that urbanization is affecting how people consume food beyond shaping their socio-economic and demographic status. We also highlight the need to account for the role of urbanization—beyond an urban-rural dichotomy—when addressing the challenges associated with changing food consumption patterns.

Lack of knowledge and misperceptions about thalassaemia among college students in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional baseline study

BackgroundThalassaemia is a potentially life-threatening yet preventable inherited hemoglobin disorder. Understanding local socio-cultural context and level of public awareness about thalassaemia is pivotal for selecting effective prevention strategies. This study attempted to assess knowledge and perceptions about thalassaemia among college students in Bangladesh.MethodsA supervised cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1578 college students using a self-administered structured questionnaire. The survey took place from 15 February 2018 to 17 March 2018 in the Jamalpur district in Bangladesh. Besides the attitude-related questions, the study asked a total of 12 knowledge-related questions, which were scored on a scale of 0–12 points.ResultsOver two-thirds (67%) of the college students had never heard of thalassaemia. The urban-rural dichotomy was observed among those familiar with the term; (46.4% from urban vs. 25.8% from rural colleges). A similar pattern was observed for knowledge score; 5.07 ± 1.87 for students from the urban colleges compared to 3.69 ± 2.23 for rural colleges. Students from the science background had the highest knowledge score (5.03 ± 1.85), while those from arts and humanities background scored lowest (3.66 ± 2.3). Nearly 40% of the students were not sure or did not want to be a friend of a thalassaemia patient. Whereas 39% either declined or remained hesitant about helping thalassaemia patients by donating blood. However, most of the respondents (88%) showed a positive attitude towards ‘premarital’ screening to prevent thalassaemia.ConclusionsThis study has identified critical knowledge gaps and societal misperceptions about thalassaemia. A better understanding of these aspects will be pivotal for disseminating thalassaemia related information. As the first study of this kind in Bangladesh, findings from this study has generated baseline data that would contribute to developing effective intervention strategies in Bangladesh and other countries with a comparable socio-cultural setting.

Challenges in regional approaches: Lessons from Energy Poverty research in a small scale European member state

Energy poverty is an issue now widely recognised for its detrimental impacts and research in Europe has intensified over the last decade. Many different methodologies of examining the topic have surfaced, with a common one being based on regional-based practices. Open source data are extremely useful for such approaches, because they offer unlimited access to information. The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is a framework for data collection on different geographic levels that provides different levels of statistical analysis for regions within a single country. It was set up in the 1970’s by the European Union, and existing research work has already explored the valuable application of the NUTS system in certain areas. Nevertheless, the constraints of open source data (such as data based on NUTS regions), in reference to small scale member states, have not been exhaustively addressed.In this study the shortcomings of open source data are explored, by examining energy poverty in an area where the efficacy of the NUTS system is restricted. Cyprus is a member state in the European Union and is represented by a single NUTS category, for all levels of classification, unlike the majority of the rest. Data therefore exists only at the national level - something which contradicts the purpose of the different NUTS levels. In effect, for the case of Cyprus, this results in lack of differentiation among distinct climatic regions and disregarding the urban-rural dichotomy. It essentially renders this classification system inapt for Cyprus, while research activities become limited to the extent of data obtained through other means. Therefore, the study highlights the challenges researchers have to face when approaching a topic for Cyprus from a regional lens. To this end, geographical information systems software is used to observe a simplistic composite indicator of energy poverty in a medium-scale country (where NUTS is applicable), in relation to Cyprus. The effectiveness and potential impact of the outcomes in relation to public awareness, decision-making for policy makers and initiatives of local agents are examined and discussed.Ultimately, the study highlights that even when high quality indicators of energy poverty exist at the European Union level (Eurostat), under current circumstances they cannot be employed effectively to examine energy poverty regionally within Cyprus. Recommendations are proposed to overcome data access limitations in areas where popular open access databases are inadequate.

Inter-regional innovation cooperation and structural heterogeneity: Does being a rural, or border region, or both, make a difference?

This paper analyses the determinants of inter-regional innovation cooperation in European knowledge networks. Our main goal is to assess whether structural heterogeneity in the context of the “urban-rural dichotomy” and international borders can explain differences in the regions’ engagement in inter-regional innovation cooperation. We estimate a gravity equation to model innovation cooperation, proxied by inter-regional co-patent applications, as a function of region-specific context conditions as well as technological and geographical distance. Our data comprise dyadic information on 203 NUTS2 regions in 15 European countries (EU-15) for the year 2010. The empirical results show that the basic gravity mechanisms drive the direction and strength of innovation cooperation between EU regions; i.e., geographical distance acts as an impediment to inter-regional co-patent applications. Regarding the importance of structural heterogeneity, we find that pairs of rural regions have lower levels of innovation cooperation compared to urban regions. Similarly, border regions are generally disadvantaged compared to non-border regions in terms of the intensity of innovation cooperation. However, while the latter result points to a negative border effect, our gravity model estimates also show that pairs of border regions are more active in terms of close geographical innovation cooperation (e.g., through international cross-border cooperation), which partly compensates for the negative border effect. This finding not only holds for urban but also rural border regions and may reflect policy attempts to support border regions, e.g., by strengthening the level of international cross-border cooperation within the EU.

SOCIAL ISOLATION AND NETWORKS DO DENSE URBAN CENTERS PROVIDE LARGE SUPPORTIVE SOCIAL NETWORK TO OLDER ADULTS? A CROSS-COUNTRY COMPARATIVE STUDY

The urban-rural dichotomy underpins the common approach in studying environmental conditions influencing older adults’ lives characterized by post-Second World War urban migration in both Italy and the United States (US). However, the traditional opposition urban-rural dichotomy is inadequate to study how the environmental characteristics of a geographical area can account for the heterogeneous profile of its populations and its age distribution. This study aims to overcome the traditional mobility theories as an explanatory dichotomy for understanding the distribution of the age structure of a given population. The extent of a supportive network, and the connection between the place of residence to the proximity of other residential centres can be seen as potential resources for understanding the attractiveness of certain areas for older adults. A large harmonized set of demographic and socio-economic data were collected from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) and the American Community Survey (ACS). An analysis at the Italian municipality- and US county-level finds the population over 75 years old are overrepresented in rural areas of both countries as would be expected by available employment opportunities, but considerable heterogeneity among both urban and rural areas exist. In particular, rural more than urban settings are based on an informal support network that is argued to rely on human proximity to produce successful aging in the community. The variation in population of older adults in rural areas, therefore, might have implications on how to achieve age-friendly communities, aside from population’s traditional mobility theories and formal support network.

Urban socio-ecological dynamics: applying the urban-rural gradient approach in a high Andean city

ABSTRACTThe urban-rural dichotomy and the simple cause-effect relationship do not allow establishing specific criteria for territorial management from a socio-ecological perspective. The gradient approach could be a powerful tool to understand urban socio-ecological dynamics. This research applied a methodological protocol to obtain urban-rural gradients while considering the specific characteristics of a mid-size Andean city. To achieve this goal, a mixed classification process was applied to a Landsat 8 image. Subsequently, a factor analysis (FA) grouped 25 urbanisation variables. Finally, we applied agglomerative hierarchical clustering.FA established four factors that explained (72%) of the urbanisation metrics’ variation. From this information, we obtained factor maps and a gradient map. The resulting map differentiated six gradients that contrast with the city’s territorial planning based on the urban-rural dichotomy. This study is a starting point to apply the gradient approach in land-use management and urban ecology planning for Andean cities.

‘Back to the village’: the model of urban outmigration in post-communist Romania

ABSTRACT The paper is based on the assumption that the ‘back-to-the-village’ movement is a spatial outcome of recent choices that people make in response to emerging social, political and economic changes of post-socialist cities. It examines the combined effect of counter and suburbanization processes on the redistribution patterns of population where the countryside ‘empowered’ by the land reform and the structural changes of urban economies explain the reversal of internal migration of population in search of social security and better livelihoods. Urban outmigration reflects the articulations between labour market, business dynamics, social exclusion, economic profile and urban function across the layers of the urban system. The findings pinpoint the main drivers of urban outmigration within the context of deindustrialization, de-urbanization and ‘ruralization’ of urban economies. While the urban outmigration shows that urban-rural dichotomy is deeply ‘blurred’ by the scale and nature of urban socio-economic transformations, interurban inequalities are growing and require specific policy interventions.

Enhanced geographic information system-based mapping of local climate zones in Beijing, China

The vague urban-rural dichotomy severely restricts effective comparisons and communications among urban heat island studies. A local climate zone (LCZ) scheme has therefore been developed to classify urban and natural landscapes in a standardized and universal manner. Despite LCZ mapping efforts in worldwide cities, this study attempts to propose an enhanced geographic information system-based workflow to enable the hierarchical classification of LCZs with fewer indicators but higher accuracies while considering supplementary classes and subclasses. Specifically, five morphological and coverage indicators that were easily obtained and well differentiated among LCZs were derived from a city street map and satellite images, and 25 LCZs (including 16 standard, 3 supplementary, and 6 sub-classified zones) were determined at a block-level according to the indicator hierarchy and criteria. The method was performed over Beijing, China, and evaluations by field surveys and google earth images showed a high accuracy with little noise and sharp boundaries, outperforming the widely-used remote sensing-based method of the World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools, particularly in terms of building height and heavy industry. Results also demonstrate that the Beijing core was dominated by open (including extremely open) mid-rise buildings (28.7%) and open low-rise buildings (12.8%), forming an inner-low-middle-high-outer-low annular building-height pattern. Significant land surface temperature differences were detected among the LCZs, where the low-rise and compact LCZs had higher temperatures than the mid-/high-rise and open LCZs during daytime, and subclasses LCZ XB/C/D (LCZ XE/F) generated lower (higher) temperatures than their parent classes in May. This method was proposed to augment the LCZ mapping system and further support applications (e.g., urban planning/management and climate/weather modeling) in high-density cities similar to Beijing.

The countryside in the city? Rural-urban dynamics in allotment gardens in Brno, Czech Republic

Abstract The position of urban allotments in the rural-urban spectrum is evaluated in this paper, which contributes to literatures on urban gardening, as well as contemporary rural-urban dynamics. Historically, European allotments can be seen as a product of urbanisation. At the same time, they embody a number of “non-urban” characteristics that create the impression of “the countryside in the city”. This research project investigates how the urban and the rural are materialised, represented and practised in five allotment sites in Brno, Czech Republic. We follow three main lines of enquiry where the urban and the rural seem to meet: the physical environment of the allotments; the social life of these spaces; and food production as one of their core functions. Critical reflection of the rural-urban perspective advances our understanding of urban gardens, while, at the same time, allotments offer an example of hybrid spaces, which, in turn, contribute to discussions on current cities and countrysides. Overcoming the urban-rural dichotomy could facilitate the inclusion of urban gardening in contemporary cities.

Behavioral Analysis of Monetary Exchange and Craft Production in Rural Tuscany via Small Finds from the Roman Peasant Project

Roman archaeology has long made use of an urban-rural dichotomy to conceptualize and frame questions about the material record, carrying over values of urbanism and rusticity explicit in ancient textual sources. The construction of rural culture deserves articulation not as a received idea, but through comparison of actual assemblages recovered from archaeological contexts in the countryside. Accordingly, this paper uses the small finds from the Roman Peasant Project (2009-2014), a project to study the lives of the ancient inhabitants of the comune of Cinigiano (GR), to investigate behavioral patterns at seven sites in south-central Tuscany. I utilize a computational approach which automates the process of interpreting finds as indices of different behaviors and I compare the socioeconomic landscape of this rural community in two broad periods, the late Republican / Julio-Claudian and Late Antique. I show not only that a formal, quantitative approach to the categorization of finds and comparison of site functionality can be used to measure overall variability in each period, but also that it is possible to assess the behavioral factors that lay behind the makeup of the Roman rural economy in this region. In the earlier period, peasants' lives were distinguished by lower levels of coin circulation and greater variability in site investment, although with a more homogenous lifestyle. In Late Antiquity, craft production and coin-based exchange were much more diffuse throughout society, perhaps indicating diminishing networks of long-term reciprocity and interdependency among different communities as local production and cash transactions became more common.

Comportamiento reproductivo y lugar de residencia: algunas reflexiones para el caso de Uruguay desde un enfoque de las ruralidades

Differences in reproductive behavior according to the area of residence have been observed in fertility research. However, in Uruguay, few studies have advanced beyond the urban-rural dichotomy. The objective of this paper is to analyze fertility differentials in Uruguay from a rural perspective. With data from the 1985, 1996 and 2011 censuses, fertility rates were examined in eight areas of residence, using population size of urban areas and the degree of dependence the economically active population has on the agricultural sector. The results show, on the one hand, a reproductive pattern that is sustained over time: although the dispersed (“rural”) population has higher levels of fertility compared to the national average, the residents of the small urban areas linked to the agricultural activity are those who exhibit – systematically – the highest rates of fertility. On the other hand, a tendency toward reproductive convergence in different geographical contexts is also observed.

Beyond the urban-rural dichotomy: Towards a more nuanced analysis of changes in built-up land

Urban land and rural land are typically represented as homogenous and mutually exclusive classes in land change analyses. As a result, differences in urban land use intensity, as well as mosaic landscapes combining urban and rural land uses are not represented. In this study we explore the distribution of urban land and urban land use intensity in Europe and the changes therein. Specifically, we analyze the distribution of built-up land within pixels of 1 km2. At that resolution we find that most built-up land is distributed over predominantly non-built-up pixels. Consistently, we find that most urban land use changes between 2000 and 2014 come in small incremental changes, rather than sudden large-scale conversions from rural to urban land. Using urban population densities, we find that urban land use intensity varies strongly across 1 km2 pixels in Europe, as illustrated by a coefficient of variation of 85%. We found a similarly high variation between urban population densities for most individual countries and within areas with the same share of built-up land. Population changes have led to different combinations of urban land expansion and urban intensity changes in different study periods (1975–1990, 1990–2000, and 2000–2015) and countries. These findings suggest that land use change models could be improved by more nuanced representations of urban land, including mosaic classes and different urban land use intensities.

Challenging the urban–rural dichotomy in agri-food systems

The idea of a profound urban–rural divide has shaped analysis of the 2016 U.S. presidential election results. Here, through examples from agri-food systems, we consider the limitations of the urban–rural divide framework in light of the assumptions and intentions that underpin it. We explore the ideas and imaginaries that shape urban and rural categories, consider how material realities are and are not translated into U.S. rural development, farm, and nutrition policies, and examine the blending of rural and urban identities through processes of rural deagrarianization and urban reagrarianization. We do not argue that an urban–rural divide does not exist, as studies and public opinion polls illustrate both measured and perceived differences in many aspects of the lived experiences that shape our individual and collective actions. Ultimately, we suggest that the urban–rural divide concept obscures the diversity and dynamism of experiences each category encompasses. Additionally, it ignores the connections and commonalities that demand integrative solutions to challenges in agri-food systems, and draw attention to the power relations that shape resource access and use within and across urban and rural spaces.

Sociospatial Characteristics of Rural Gentrification – The Case of Countryside Housing Complex in Damyang-gun, Jeonnam Province –

현대의 촌락은 도시에 대한 대립물로 설정되어왔던 과거와 달리 경제적, 사회적, 인구학적, 문화적으로 빠른 속도로 변모하고 있다. 특히, 최근에는 도시에 거주하던 중상류층 주민들이 대도시 인근 촌락 지역으로 전입하여 촌락을 사회·공간적으로 재편하는 촌락 젠트리피케이션이 활발해지고 있다. 본 논문은 전남 담양군의 전원주택단지 입주자들을 젠트리파이어로 설정하고, 이들에 대한 심층면담을 토대로 촌락 젠트리피케이션의 사회공간적 특성을 분석하였다. 연구 결과에 따르면, 이들은 촌락의 자연환경과 전원성을 추구하지만 이를 도시에서와 유사한 방식으로 촌락 공간을 길들이고 전유하고 있었다. 또한, 촌락 젠트리파이어들은 촌락 커뮤니티가 지니는 공동체성을 지향하지만, 역설적이게도 도시에서보다 더 높은 고립성을 보이고 있었다. 마지막으로 이들은 촌락 젠트리파이어로서 기존 촌락 주민들과는 상이한 출신 배경이나 직업 등에서 비롯된 경제적, 사회적 차이를 뚜렷하게 인식하고 내면화하고 있으며, 이런 이질성을 전원주택단지라는 구체적 공간을 매개로 하여 자신들의 위치성을 재현하고 지리적으로 구별짓는 양상을 보이고 있다. 촌락 젠트리피케이션은 도시-촌락의 이분법적 경계를 넘나드는 복잡한 관계적 지리를 형성하고 있다.Unlike previous rural geography sheer contrasted by modern urbanity, contemporary rural space since the 21st century has been undergoing dramatic changes in terms of economy, society, demography, and culture. In this vein, influenced by imaginative geographies of rurality, upper-middle class of urban residents are increasingly moving into rural space and causing gentrification. This research conducted in-depth interviews with in-migrant residents of countryside housing complex in Damyang-gun. Research results are as follows. First, although rural gentrifiers pursue natural environment and rural idyll, the ways in which they appropriate space are quite similar to the city. Second, while they desire for rural community life and certainly enjoy a level of communalism, they simultaneously have a feeling of social isolation stronger than in the city. Third, rural gentrifiers commonly internalize their class-based social difference to native residents. Their collective consciousness is invested into material forms such as their houses, front yards, and other residential geographies. Rural gentrification configures complex relational geographies that crisscross urban-rural dichotomy

Willingness to participate in the restoration of waters in an urban–rural setting: Local drivers and motivations behind environmental behavior

Restoration projects might be easier to accomplish, and the projects and their results better supported by local communities if the beneficiaries could be more intensely involved in the projects. The aim of this study was to determine how the setting and cognitive or attitudinal factors explain pro-environmental behavior in the context of small water restoration in an urban–rural setting. We compared the results from three primary contingent valuation (CV) surveys in Finland conducted in different geographical locations: the urban capital region of Helsinki, the peri-urban Kalimenjoki river basin area, and the rural Koillismaa area of northeastern Finland. According to the results, it appears that instead of an urban–rural dichotomy, the willingness to participate in pro-environmental actions by donating money or carrying out voluntary work might be determined by place-related local factors that either motivate or discourage participation in environmental work. Awareness of the local obstacles and drivers for the restoration of watercourses might make it easier to accomplish projects in the future and help in allocating budget funding to the areas where public willingness to participate is limited.

Algerian EFL Students’ Reading Comprehension Skills Across Paper And Screen :, A Sociocultural Approach

Reading comprehension is a complex activity that requires a variety of skills in handling documents. This paper investigates the effects that the reading environment may have on reading comprehension. It aims at comparing reading comprehension skills of urban and rural Algerian EFL students in paper-based and screen-based environments. Accordingly, the leading approach to the raised issue is sociocultural. To accomplish the aim, an experimental reading comprehension test has been conducted at Mouloud Mammeri University. Ninety six Participants living in urban and rural areas participated in the study. Two tests were used to investigate whether their reading comprehension skills are the same or different in paper-based and screen-based environments. The collected data have been analysed by means of inferential statistical analysis. More to the point, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and paired-samples t-tests have been employed to measure the impact of the environment on the participants’ scores. Findings indicate that the reading environment has a significant impact on Algerian EFL students’ reading comprehension. Their reading abilities on paper and on screen are not the same. However, no discrepancy is noticed between participants living in urban or rural areas. This suggests that the urban-rural dichotomy is shallow in the Algerian context in terms of EFL students’ reading skills.

Deconstructing the staged and existential authentic of rurality in Japan

Idealised rural lifestyles depicted in Japanese produced TV dramas and movies contrast with the tightly-held traditions and hard work of the real, rural Japan. Furusato (old hometown), fureai (connectedness to each other), and shizen (nature) are concepts assumed lost in urbanisation, an urban-rural dichotomy, becoming tropes in these dramatic 'pseudo-ethnographies', used by government economic and tourism policies designed to repopulate regional Japan. Tourism campaigns encouraging locals to experience Japan are swathed in nationalism. The rural is exemplified as authentic Japan, guardian of values, culture and community and historic components of tourism culture, over time transformed to 21st century staged authenticities. The reimaging of this Japanese rural space then becomes an existential authenticity for the visitor or new community member. Using a human geography lens for the movie, Departures, this paper deconstructs the transformation of staged authenticities into existential ones as visitors become part of the rural space and places.

Deconstructing the staged and existential authentic of rurality in Japan

Idealised rural lifestyles depicted in Japanese produced TV dramas and movies contrast with the tightly-held traditions and hard work of the real, rural Japan. Furusato (old hometown), fureai (connectedness to each other), and shizen (nature) are concepts assumed lost in urbanisation, an urban-rural dichotomy, becoming tropes in these dramatic 'pseudo-ethnographies', used by government economic and tourism policies designed to repopulate regional Japan. Tourism campaigns encouraging locals to experience Japan are swathed in nationalism. The rural is exemplified as authentic Japan, guardian of values, culture and community and historic components of tourism culture, over time transformed to 21st century staged authenticities. The reimaging of this Japanese rural space then becomes an existential authenticity for the visitor or new community member. Using a human geography lens for the movie, Departures, this paper deconstructs the transformation of staged authenticities into existential ones as visitors become part of the rural space and places.

Challenges for the revitalisation of peri-urban agriculture in Spain: Territorial analysis of the Madrid and Oviedo metropolitan areas

AbstractContemporary urban sprawl and urban functional centrality at the regional scale have made the classical urban-rural dichotomy no longer valid. Instead, urban development generates a range of peri-urban transitional areas in which urban and rural uses are mixed in a fragmented land mosaic. The main objective of this paper is to detect opportunitites for the revitalisation of peri-urban agriculture based on an analysis and comparison of its evolution in two different regional contexts in Spain. The peri-urban space is delimited according to density, topography and perceptual criteria. Aerial images and cartographic bases are used to identify land quality and land use changes in the areas, concluding that peri-urban agriculture has suffered both urban occupation and internal changes in crops and agricultural uses, experiencing a process of decline. Innovative initiatives performed in these spaces are also explored as opportunities for revitalisation from a multifunctional approach, linking urban population to peri-urban agriculture, organic farming or landscape management. This analysis serves as a prerequisite to develop new policies for the planning of peri-urban agriculture at local and regional scales, based on a deep understanding of the territory and its evolution.