Problems of rural areas in LICs and MICs
Socio-economic factors…
unemployment and underemployment: often employment in agriculture is in
informal sector and may only provide seasonal work.
pop growth: leads to increased demand for food/services and shortage of land
rural-urban migration: leads to rural depopulation, ageing pop, workforce decline
but may reduce pop growth. financial remittances are important
low capital investment: vicious circle of low output and poverty
human diseases: kill people and a debilitating effect on the workforce.
wars and government corruption: effects on well-being. high rates of poorly
nourished children have been affected by conflicts. people are forced to leave
homes, become refugees and uncertain futures, effect on making long term
investments in increased food production. corrupt officials may work to maintain
own positions and wealth to the detriment of development in the area.
Provision of services and infrastructure…
clean piped water: not be available. dirty water increases the incidence of
diseases.
Sewerage: non-existent or poor. lack of toilets or the use of communal pit latrines
is common.
Electricity: not available. using oil and fires which leads to lung diseases.
tarred roads: don’t exist. remote farmers find it hard to receive supplies and info.
Can’t sell easily so won’t raise as much capital and will remain poor
clinics and schools: remote rural areas are lacking. poverty means paying fees is
hard.
Food shortages and agricultural problems:
soil exhaustion: over-cropping and monoculture. low yields. insufficient fertiliser
and manure added to replace lost minerals
drought: disastrous. tropics with seasonal rainfall, whole years food can be lost if
rain fail. seeds for following year may have to be eaten.
Floods: destroy crops. some dense rural populations live on flood plains. naturally
fertile alluvial soils which require little fertiliser led to dense populations. seasonal
flooding can lead to the complete loss of a year’s harvest.
tropical cyclones: bring strong winds, rain and floods, destroy crops.
Pests: affect crop and livestock.
Diseases: affect crops and animals. low production and death of animals
increased use of biofuels: food production land changed to produce crops for
biofuel production. increased world food prices and decreases in food supply.
social changes: can cause problems
land tenure systems: land fragmented into small plots with one person’s land being
scattered over the village area. communal grazing may inhibit possibilities of
improving the land
Case Study: Uthukela, South Africa
1/11 districts of the KwaZulu-Natal province in east south Africa. concentrates on
Okhahlamba municipality, predominantly rural area which includes part of the Drakensberg mountains. largest towns in Okhahlamba are Bergville = 700 and
Winterton = 2100. economy based on subsistence and commercial farming and
tourism focused on the hotels in the mountain foothills.
commercial farming areas, settlements formed around central area but
subsistence, pattern is more dispersed.
physical environment is variable. some areas of rich soils, developed on volcanic
rocks. droughts are common. torrential summer rains cause water erosion on even
relatively gentle slopes and hail can damage crops. in the dry winters wind erosion
is a problem. locusts and other insect pests also damage crops.
2011 pop census of south Africa showed almost 1m people left the province and
750,000 moved into. net migration of 200,000 and 1.7m people moved in/out of
the province. tradition of temporary migration of males seeking employment in the
mines around the capital. periods of low employment in mines, workers return
home, increased unemployment and poverty/food shortages. movements within
the province. unemployment rate in Kwazulu-Natal is 47.6% but 36.6% with
informal sector. temporary work in agricultural and tourism is common,
pop of Kwazulu-Natal increased by 7% between 2001 and 2007. 22 municipalities
decreased in pop. pop movements are complex and no simple overall pattern of
rural-urban migration. Uthukela 54% of the pop is female, so men to move to urban
areas for employment. Okhahlamba pop increased 10.1%. BR and DR are main
factor, average household size increased from 5 to 5.2. 38% of pop over 20, no
schooling.
Living conditions: 56% houses traditional, 41% formal. other dwellings in
Okhahlamba were classed as informal. owner occupied properties 70%, 16%
rented and 12% occupied rent free.
Rural settlements in HICs and MICs
many areas of rural settlement in Europe and north America have gone through
three phase of development. local factors mean growth and decline happen at
different times in different places.
Growth: factors are site and situation
Decline: rural urban migration and urbanisation happen earlier than LICs. First as
result of industrial revolution and later because of the decline of employment in the
primary industries. Effect has caused a series of interrelated issues. Greater in
areas more distant from urban centres; mechanisation means fewer jobs in the
primary industry. lower wages, unemployment and lack of opportunity for highskilled mean people leave. affects young people who may leave for higher
education. services close as fewer use them and accelerates the decrease in pop.
lack of demand and greater transport costs means provision of services is more
expensive. average age of the pop increases. downward spiral of depopulation
occurs. in rural areas isolated dwellings can fall into disrepair. ageing pop puts
strain on medical and social services. where rural areas are close to urban centres,
significant numbers of people may travel outside the area to work. villages become
dormitory settlements.
Redevelopment: since ‘70s, significant redevelopment of many HIC rural areas.
related to reversal of rural-urban migration; counter urbanization. most HICs,
people move between the countryside and cities in variety of ways. counterurbanisation is dominant movement of people. places that pull people out of cities
are often within commuting range of the city, so each day people travel to and
from their jobs in the city. settlements near travel methods have growth the
fastest.
Effects of counter urbanization high housing costs in cities allow people to sell city properties and buy large
houses at lower prices in the countryside. population of country towns increases,
businesses and services expanded, improved QoL, congested town. long distance
commuting not sustainable.
effects on villages are that fewer children, spend money in city or retail parks,
demand for housing has increased, new houses built and increased pop.
ICT allows homeworkers and wealthy pensioners want to live in country. house
prices have been pushed up so ageing pop created as young can’t afford to move.
effects of these changes: village services shut, transport services close, roads
busier with cars, village community life declined, old buildings renovated and
turned into expensive dwellings, house prices have risen, and youths find it hard to
live there so leave.
people who’ve moved out of cities aren’t affected but rural poor suffered. if have
no car, cut off from shops.
life is less sustainable as greater use of cars, depleting fuel resources, damaging
the environment and quality of life declined.
Managing counter urbanization
development concentrated on brownfield sites rather than town sprawling into
surrounding countryside.
new high-density housing built near town centre.
new jobs provided to reduce commuting.
villages = housing associations have been building affordable houses only locals
can buy.
in some areas counter-urbanisation has been accompanied by development of the
tourist industry, provided more jobs.
factors influencing the development of rural settlements
fishing: majority of pop engaged. settlements found on sheltered bays.
defence: nucleated. defence villages found in meander loops or hilltops. steep
slopes are a positive.
tourism: few rural settlements have first developed as tourist resorts. tourism has
allowed development
mining: mining villages are nucleated/linear in pattern and mineral deposit sites.
e.g. in coal-mining areas in west Europe.
agriculture: villages are agricultural settlements as used to be used for subsistence
farming. commercial farming is also now developing. settlements were dispersed.
on poor land areas or where grazing land needed. nucleated settlements
developed; better land. smaller kabob areas needed here so have village benefits
and be near land.
drainage and flooding: very low-lying areas which flood aren’t settled in. hard to
farm and waterlogged in tropical areas diseases might be prone. dense pop areas
and land shortage leads to living on flood plains. higher points known as dry point
sites. good for farming and settlements.
water supply: sites with reliable water sources are called wet points, are settlement
sites.
accessibility: linear settlements develop along roads/tracks. where roads meet,
bridging points of rivers, large villages and regional service centres have
developments.
altitude: high mountain areas are cold so can’t grow crops. covered in snow and
uninhabited. low areas are sparsely populated due to poor drainage, disease and
dense vegetation.
gradient: gentle slopes are well drained, easy to cultivate so settlements are here
not steep slopes (forced to live on here if lack of valley floor) more difficult to
transport and prone to landslides.
aspect: important in mountains especially in east-west running valleys. sun rises in
east and sets in west. in north hemisphere moves around southern sky
(+opposite). critical in areas far from equator, particularly in winter as sun is low in
sky. agriculture and settlements are on advet (warm and sunny) slopes not ubac
(cold and shaded) in alps.
soils: river and volcano soils are fertile. soil doesn’t influence site of settlement.