RURAL-URBAN DIVIDE

Overstatement of Rural - Urban Divide

Overstatement of Rural - Urban Divide

Introduction

Rural poverty is a salient aspect of poverty in Europe since rural areas represent a large part of European territory and population the 27 Member States and the extent of the rural dimension subsequently increased after the last two enlargements of 2004 and 2007. However, so far, analysis of poverty have neglected characters specific rural areas at the European level, it is true, in fact, consciousness of European public opinion, as well as the commitment of public institutions, at various levels regarding the problems of rural poverty extremely low. This study aims to analyse that whether the gap between rural and urban areas is overstated or not. The paper discusses the rural areas and the urbanization in England.

Discussion

Identification of Rural-Urban Divide Issues

A different definition of rural areas was adopted by England, the country chooses to use isolation criteria of population, presence of a predominantly agricultural economy or the distance from the main urban centres and, consequently, of the lack of access to services essential. There is no Community definition of rural areas.

It is a classification of territories returned regions three categories: Predominantly Rural (PR), Medium Areas (RM) and Predominantly Urban (PU). This distribution is based on the arrangement of three criteria: first, the identification of rural communities depending on the density of population, and then the calculation of the percentage of population living in rural communities in the region and, finally, the presence of large urban centres in the region.

The greater part of Europe is classified as Rural (PR or MR). In fact, only 26% of NUTS regions are urban (PU), while 40% is classified as PR and 34% as RM. As for other territories that are highly industrialized, such as the United States and Canada, the EU rural aspect very important.

The population distribution between the regions RA, RM and reaffirms the PU model which has been stated. High population density areas characterized PR and RM of the United Kingdom is characterized by a high concentration population in PU regions. However, in southern Europe the model proves less sharp. Indeed, PU regions of England show a high concentration of population. It shows that the prevalence of rural population is not a hallmark of peripheral countries and, similarly, all countries in the geographic and economic heart of Europe like England do not necessarily have a high prevalence in urban population.

The definition of rurality is subject to forced to reconcile simplicity and the possibility to take into account country heterogeneity. An essential criterion for defining rural areas is accessibility, namely ability to access services and activities that are ordinary and common to residents of urban areas (eg, schools, hospitals, and sports and cultural facilities). For cons, the classification neglects the factor nevertheless possible to identify the different types of rural areas.

Issues with OECD classification of Rural Urban Gap

Regional Policy DG has proposed a new approach that uses the OECD classification as a starting point and integrates the criterion ...